DCC Choice - Wheaton or Northwood?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP. This thread has gotten out of hand. It is impossible for some parents to get off work to drive their kid to and from activities. I don't know why that PP is arguing so hard about this.

The "we make it work" perspective comes from a lot of privilege, usually with two UMC/MC parents with salaried jobs that have some flexibility although they may be demanding. I don't doubt it may require sacrifices for them to be able to drive their kid but it is not the same as someone who has rigid hours or an hourly job.

Then kid goes to home school. We choose that as transportation is an issue. Lots of ways to make it work. Privilege is wanting a different school but putting no effort into it.

No, you privileged ignoramus. The point of having activity busses provided to all students even

outside the home school zone is part of equity and access. Access to activities is important. It affects college acceptance etc.

Your privilege is ignoramus. They go to their home school like ours do if that's an issue. We don't have bus service and we are close to two miles so my children aren't walking without sidewalks across busy streets at night. So, as parents if it's important to us we make it work. OP will have to make it work. If she picks a further out school what happens for evening activities? These three schools aren't going to impact college acceptances. They are all about equal.

Idiot. Being able to participate in activities affects colleges.

I’m done wasting my time with you. You clearly don’t give a damn about equity, which includes access to extra currics.

There is no such thing as equity and you clearly don’t get high school activities don’t always end when the bus comes or start directly after school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Seems to vary quite a bit based on the school. Wheaton, for example, has only one (https://www2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/siteassets/schools/high-schools/r-w/wheatonhs/wheaton-high-school-after-school-activity-bus-routes.pdf).. Northwood supposedly has 1-2 that go to various elementary/middle schools, but there is no schedule posted on their website. Einstein has a few (https://www2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/siteassets/schools/high-schools/a-j/einsteinhs/activity-bus-routes.pdf). Blair seems to have the most (https://sites.google.com/mcpsmd.net/mbhsclubs/activity-buses)

DD is at Northwood and participated in many extracurriculars. The kids just use the Ride-On afterschool.

[Anonymous]

Yeah that will be a good option once they’re back at Northwood campus but the two years out in Rockville will be challenging.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For stem classes, Wheaton.
For sports if your child isn't a star Northwood but check the sport.
I don't think Northwood has tennis or golf but I could be wrong. The competitiveness varies year to year and by sports but this year both football teams are not having a great year I think with Northwood worse off than Wheaton. Wheaton boys soccer is usually more competitive than Northwood.

Northwood has golf and tennis.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Seems to vary quite a bit based on the school. Wheaton, for example, has only one (https://www2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/siteassets/schools/high-schools/r-w/wheatonhs/wheaton-high-school-after-school-activity-bus-routes.pdf).. Northwood supposedly has 1-2 that go to various elementary/middle schools, but there is no schedule posted on their website. Einstein has a few (https://www2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/siteassets/schools/high-schools/a-j/einsteinhs/activity-bus-routes.pdf). Blair seems to have the most (https://sites.google.com/mcpsmd.net/mbhsclubs/activity-buses)

Northwood does have an activities bus. Students can get a copy of the schedule in the office.

[Anonymous]

Wheaton’s engineering classes are terrific for both the magnet and the academy. There are many clubs that meet at lunch. Athletics and robotics are afterschool. It is super close to both Conn Ave and Randolph Rd so the ride ons or Metro buses are very helpful. My 3 sons have attended/are attending Wheaton. We’ve been very pleased.

[Anonymous]

Does either school offer ultimate frisbee

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Seems to vary quite a bit based on the school. Wheaton, for example, has only one (https://www2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/siteassets/schools/high-schools/r-w/wheatonhs/wheaton-high-school-after-school-activity-bus-routes.pdf).. Northwood supposedly has 1-2 that go to various elementary/middle schools, but there is no schedule posted on their website. Einstein has a few (https://www2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/siteassets/schools/high-schools/a-j/einsteinhs/activity-bus-routes.pdf). Blair seems to have the most (https://sites.google.com/mcpsmd.net/mbhsclubs/activity-buses)

Northwood does have an activities bus. Students can get a copy of the schedule in the office.

The issue is not all actives are just after school. This kid needs to go to their home school. Our activities start at 4-5 so kid has to stay or come back and be picked up between 6-10 at night and there is stuff on the weekend.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wheaton’s engineering classes are terrific for both the magnet and the academy. There are many clubs that meet at lunch. Athletics and robotics are afterschool. It is super close to both Conn Ave and Randolph Rd so the ride ons or Metro buses are very helpful. My 3 sons have attended/are attending Wheaton. We’ve been very pleased.

NP. Yes! I have a kid in engineering magnet and noticed that a lot of the curriculum is open to academy kids too. We've been very impressed with quality of teaching, and school is gorgeous. No after school activities bus for our mag route, so kid takes metrobus to Metro train. There are public transportation options.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. That's a bummer... and we work nowhere near Wheaton so it's also not easy to pick up from activities. It's really too bad b/c right now we're at a magnet middle school and the activity bus options are actually pretty good...

Re: Northwood, I'm actually trying to view the holding school situation as a potential plus. DS would be in a brand new school for 2 years, followed by another brand new school for the next 2 (though I hear the Woodward sports fields won't be ready next year). And for us, the bus ride to Woodward doesn't seem to be much worse (or perhaps better), than the ride alllll the way up Georgia Ave to Wheaton. It would be nice, though, if we could see the bus schedules for Northwood next year before having to submit our rankings.

Why these two schools and why not your home school? That way they can walk or get the bus. Don't make it more complicated then it needs to be. There are lots of activities in HS, and not all meet right after school so you need to take that into consideration, especially with sports and band. Even if Northwood is at Northwood for another year, the plan is to switch them to Woodward so they can tear it down.

A lot of high school club type activities meet at lunch time (vs. all afterschool in MS), so it might be worth checking whether that is the case at Wheaton or Northwood. Activity bus may not matter as much.

This is OP - Our home school is Einstein and there are only a few CompSci classes and nothing tech/engineering, so it's just not a good fit for our kid compared to Blair/Wheaton/Northwood. And it's still not close to our house at all, though the activity bus does drop about a mile away.

They have plenty of Computer Science but for Engineering you go to Wheaton. You need to plan to pick up your kid if it's an issue. It's called parenting. Why are you so opposed to driving your kid if you don't want them at the home school? Remember they are only having a handful of electives so you don't need a ton of variety, just enough.

DP. Is this the same poster who asked why I didn’t pick my kid up I wonder? And the person who mis read my post and thought we lived 1.3 miles from school?

News flash - some people work. Some people cannot rearrange their schedules to chauffeur their teenage children around. How can you not understand this?

Are you just a dumb stay at home parent oblivious to the demands on working parents? Someone from MCPS who has failed at arranging good activity bus routes from Wheaton?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. That's a bummer... and we work nowhere near Wheaton so it's also not easy to pick up from activities. It's really too bad b/c right now we're at a magnet middle school and the activity bus options are actually pretty good...

Re: Northwood, I'm actually trying to view the holding school situation as a potential plus. DS would be in a brand new school for 2 years, followed by another brand new school for the next 2 (though I hear the Woodward sports fields won't be ready next year). And for us, the bus ride to Woodward doesn't seem to be much worse (or perhaps better), than the ride alllll the way up Georgia Ave to Wheaton. It would be nice, though, if we could see the bus schedules for Northwood next year before having to submit our rankings.

Why these two schools and why not your home school? That way they can walk or get the bus. Don't make it more complicated then it needs to be. There are lots of activities in HS, and not all meet right after school so you need to take that into consideration, especially with sports and band. Even if Northwood is at Northwood for another year, the plan is to switch them to Woodward so they can tear it down.

A lot of high school club type activities meet at lunch time (vs. all afterschool in MS), so it might be worth checking whether that is the case at Wheaton or Northwood. Activity bus may not matter as much.

This is OP - Our home school is Einstein and there are only a few CompSci classes and nothing tech/engineering, so it's just not a good fit for our kid compared to Blair/Wheaton/Northwood. And it's still not close to our house at all, though the activity bus does drop about a mile away.

They have plenty of Computer Science but for Engineering you go to Wheaton. You need to plan to pick up your kid if it's an issue. It's called parenting. Why are you so opposed to driving your kid if you don't want them at the home school? Remember they are only having a handful of electives so you don't need a ton of variety, just enough.

DP. Is this the same poster who asked why I didn’t pick my kid up I wonder? And the person who mis read my post and thought we lived 1.3 miles from school?

News flash - some people work. Some people cannot rearrange their schedules to chauffeur their teenage children around. How can you not understand this?

Are you just a dumb stay at home parent oblivious to the demands on working parents? Someone from MCPS who has failed at arranging good activity bus routes from Wheaton?

A lot of high school clubs meet at lunch in many schools. Maybe check out specifics at Wheaton and Northwood to determine whether activity bus is really an issue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can anyone put real odds on whether the new Northwood will be finished on time and ready for the 2026-2027 school year? Debating rankings, and 2 years at Woodward followed by 2 years at Northwood seems ok... but it seems like no construction project is ever finished on time around here.

Once they start construction, they tend to finish on time. The delays come from projecting out a start date in 2-5 years, and then the start slides due to budget issues or shifting priorities. Woodward is pretty much on schedule, so I don’t see any issue of Northwood moving in next year. Once they start demo of Northwood, it’s possible that something comes up to delay the finishing, but at worst it’s another year in the new Woodward building .

Updating this thread to recent reflect announcement/request that Northwood hold at Woodward for 3 years, not 2. So now plan is to move back to the new Northwood for the 2027-2028 school year.

[Anonymous]

I have heard that the previous principal of Wheaton was god-awful, but the new one is a huge improvement. So maybe the admin issues at Wheaton will improve. Great AP teachers at Wheaton, too - just like Northwood.

The disruption of the move would steer me FAR AWAY from choosing Northwood.

I feel you, OP, on the lack of good STEM stuff at Einstein, but it's a generally well run school with happy close-knit families, so if I were you, I'd apply for the magnets at Blair & Wheaton, and then do your DCC lottery like this:

Blair
Wheaton
Einstein
Northwood
Kennedy

I have experience at Einstein and Blair and have friends who work at Northwood and Wheaton. The only thing I know for sure is you shouldn't go to Kennedy.

[Anonymous]

Anyone else find it funny that EINSTEIN is the school without the STEM classes?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Anyone else find it funny that EINSTEIN is the school without the STEM classes?

It's not accurate to say that. Einstein has a wide range of STEM classes, just not as many as Blair and Wheaton, due to their special programs.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1D4DTO5FaM8pcZoRLvlyOIqLuLoy0hL_ZrgxeRNcIpfg/edit?usp%253Dsharing%26amp;sa%3DD%26amp;source%3Deditors%26amp;ust%3D1699037006502563%26amp;usg%3DAOvVaw08yXqYvTkgJ2NtKbAGGXxS&sa=D&source=docs&ust=1699037006556790&usg=AOvVaw0Ul3yx37Oqfxb3AzoPKNQy