What is your middle-schooler's schedule like?

[Anonymous]

We are moving to the DC area from overseas next year, with kids who will be entering 5th and 6th grade. They currently wake up at 7am, and start school at 8.25 am after a 30-minute commute on public transit. I just read a frightening thread on the VA forum, about kids waking up at 5.45am to catch buses as early as 6.15 am. Then apparently many kids have extra-curricular activities until 8 or 9pm. Is that the norm in MoCo too? Are their any ways around these long commutes... for example is it a realistic to assume that kids can to walk to school or take their bikes, or get driven by parents instead ? And is it better or worse in Bethesda vs Takoma Park vs neighborhoods outside the Beltway? (My husband and I would probably have jobs in downtown DC that start at 8 or 9am, and we'd aim to be home by 6 or 7pm.) Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Oops, are *there* any ways around these long commutes. Don't see an editing function here...

[Anonymous]

When attending the neighborhood MS there shouldn't be a long commute. I don't know what the worst case scenario would be but I'd guess most kids would live within 5 miles of their assigned school. My DC gets up at 6:30 is at a bus stop at 7:40. First bell is 7:55 (bus has arrived at school) school day is 8:15 - 3:00, back at our door by 3:20. We're about a mile and a half from the school, the bus only has three stops. He could ride his bike or walk, he wouldn't get there any quicker. There is an after school activity bus that leaves school around 4:30 and covers multiple roots/makes more stops, so it's a longer ride.

[Anonymous]

The PP obviously doesn't live in Bethesda. OP, middle schools in this area are not neighborhood schools per se, so you might find a house that is close enough to walk or bike, but it's not the norm. My son's middle school is less than 5 miles away, but the traffic in this area is insane and bus schedules have to take into account the earlier and later runs for HS and ES. My son gets on the bus at 716am. There's actually another stop nearby that he could use and have 10-15 more minutes at home, but the buses are insanely overcrowded (apparently there are some buses where kids have to sit on the ground in the aisles) so he is highly motivated to get on at the earlier stop. He leaves the house at 710 to make sure he doesn't miss it. This is his first year there and by design he won't do any extracurricular stuff at school because the activity bus takes an hour or more to get back near our house in rush hour traffic.

Now we're zoned for BCC and by next year there will be a new middle school that will reduce distances / drive times for some. But with a 755am bell time to start I'm not assuming that will radically alter the AM schedule.

[Anonymous]

This is very location dependent. PP description was not the norm for us. The MS is a few miles away. It was about a 20 minute bus ride due to stops. The bus has seats for all (I believe all children MUST be in a seat even if they are smushed). My child does have activities that go till 9..but they might start at 7 so my child has done hw, eaten, had down time etc already. It is not like they left the house at 7:30 am and came home at 9 pm.

[Anonymous]

We live pretty far from the MS and my kid leaves the house at 7:30 and gets home at 3:30. Neighbors kid actually bikes.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks for the responses far. Which areas/school districts would allow for those short commutes? And what do working parents do when kids are home at 4pm -- should we assume we'll need a sitter five days a week in the afternoons? (Currently the kids do most of their extra-curricular activities at school, so when I pick them up at 5.30pm or 6pm we can just go home and make dinner, do hw, etc.)

[Anonymous]

My son leaves the house at 7:15 am and gets home around 3:30. He is bussed to his middle school. The school offers some after school activities which have limited space and a few sports. There is also an activity bus that gets kids home around 5 - it has fewer stops so my son has to walk a mile instead of a block. Most of his activities are not school based. I have an older child that drives my younger kids to activities but before that I hired people to drive them. Sometimes you can find carpools but I haven't been that successful because my neighbors kids don't have the same interests.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks for the responses far. Which areas/school districts would allow for those short commutes? And what do working parents do when kids are home at 4pm -- should we assume we'll need a sitter five days a week in the afternoons? (Currently the kids do most of their extra-curricular activities at school, so when I pick them up at 5.30pm or 6pm we can just go home and make dinner, do hw, etc.)

We live in walking distance of our MS, so DD leaves around 7:45 to walk to school (it starts at 8:25 but she's poky). School lets out at 3 and she's home by 3:30.

There are usually extracurriculars at least some days after school, and usually there is a parent home when she gets home, but she has a key and stays home alone after school if neither of us can be there.

[Anonymous]

Very location dependent, and MCPS doesn't make it easy to see bus routes, which is what you really need to know. Perhaps on individual school's websites?
The bus takes a certain route around the neighborhood, so if you're out of luck, despite being reasonably close to school, you can spend 45 minutes on the bus.

My son wakes up at 6:30 and his bus comes at 7:20. Despite our relative distance to his MS, the bus goes right there after picking him up and right to our house after leaving the school in the afternoon - we are lucky!
The PTA sometimes pays for an "activity bus" on certain days of the week so that children can go home by bus when their after-school activities are over. Otherwise, you have to pick them up by car.

Be careful with walking and biking. Depending on where you've lived before, your kids might not be used to scampering across busy lanes and watching for cars turning on red. Especially at DUSK, which is the most dangerous moment of the day for bikers and pedestrians!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks for the responses far. Which areas/school districts would allow for those short commutes? And what do working parents do when kids are home at 4pm -- should we assume we'll need a sitter five days a week in the afternoons? (Currently the kids do most of their extra-curricular activities at school, so when I pick them up at 5.30pm or 6pm we can just go home and make dinner, do hw, etc.)

There are before and after care services, but we find having an au pair to be more flexible and works better for us. As a pp said, if the kids are in after school activities, it can take up many but not all days, and they will get home around 5ish. Regarding the concern that kids will leave at 6 in the morning and return at 9, that is not the norm in MoCo.

[Anonymous]

We live in Rockville and the City runs afterschool programs for Middle schoolers at community centers. My son took the bus there in 6th and 7th. It was a nice program..supervised but not too structured. They also covered 1/2 days.

[Anonymous]

OP, we live 1 mile from Takoma Park MS. My child can get to school by car in 5 mins or school bus in 15-20 mins. After school activities bus leaves at 4:30.

[Anonymous]

We are in MCPS. Child wakes up at 7 and leaves at 7:40 to be at school at 7:50. Gets home around 3:40. The extracurriculars are up to you and your kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are in MCPS. Child wakes up at 7 and leaves at 7:40 to be at school at 7:50. Gets home around 3:40. The extracurriculars are up to you and your kids.

DD has this same schedule.
Extracurricular schedule varies. She tends to have a busier schedule than most of her friends. But that is all up to you and your child's interests.