Are the non "W" schools really that bad?

[Anonymous]

Yes

QO has about 40% FARMS
And 1/3 at RM which isn’t representative of the area since it’s IB.

I grew up in Moco and now live in Va and would not want to live in Gaithersburg or Rockville, and I would not send my kids to either of those high schools.

[Anonymous]

Here's the thing, if you buy in a zone that's within your budget, you are going to be surrounded by people like you. There are plenty of perfectly normal, involved parents in schools across the county. They may not be able to afford the same things as the W school parents but neither can you if you stretch your budget just for the schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Both my dcc kids went from CES -> TPMS magnet -> Blair SMCS and I feel this was much stronger education that what any W could provide and is an option for anyone who is serious about their education.

But it is a lottery. What if your name isn’t picked? Or are you saying it is better to avoid the pressure of Ws by living in DCC and pushing your child to guaranteed magnet admission all the way through.

Obviously the 1000 high achieving kids in W schools and around the county should all sit together in the 100 seats in the magenet. It's so simple!

maybe high-achieving by W standards but most wouldn't make the cut for the magnets.

If only there were other rigorous schools that everyone who doesn't get one of the very limited magnet seats could attend!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Here's the thing, if you buy in a zone that's within your budget, you are going to be surrounded by people like you. There are plenty of perfectly normal, involved parents in schools across the county. They may not be able to afford the same things as the W school parents but neither can you if you stretch your budget just for the schools.

What the heck? How would you know what parents can afford at what school in what community? Ew. How arrogant of you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here's the thing, if you buy in a zone that's within your budget, you are going to be surrounded by people like you. There are plenty of perfectly normal, involved parents in schools across the county. They may not be able to afford the same things as the W school parents but neither can you if you stretch your budget just for the schools.

What the heck? How would you know what parents can afford at what school in what community? Ew. How arrogant of you.

You are misreading what I'm saying. OP said in the first post that a W school district is at the top of his range. I live in a cluster that most DCUMers wouldn't even consider living in and that gets bashed constantly. There is a thread right now bashing it. My point is, people always act like you have to live in a W school district to provide a good life for your child. And that's simply not true. Just because you can't afford a W school doesn't mean that your child is doomed to live in the ghetto. There are plenty of us who aren't willing to be house poor to live in a W school district and we are perfectly normal people who are still involved parents with happy kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here's the thing, if you buy in a zone that's within your budget, you are going to be surrounded by people like you. There are plenty of perfectly normal, involved parents in schools across the county. They may not be able to afford the same things as the W school parents but neither can you if you stretch your budget just for the schools.

What the heck? How would you know what parents can afford at what school in what community? Ew. How arrogant of you.

You are misreading what I'm saying. OP said in the first post that a W school district is at the top of his range. I live in a cluster that most DCUMers wouldn't even consider living in and that gets bashed constantly. There is a thread right now bashing it. My point is, people always act like you have to live in a W school district to provide a good life for your child. And that's simply not true. Just because you can't afford a W school doesn't mean that your child is doomed to live in the ghetto. There are plenty of us who aren't willing to be house poor to live in a W school district and we are perfectly normal people who are still involved parents with happy kids.

I don't know why the other PP got so worked up. A shorter way of saying what you said is: "OP presumably thinks they are an involved parent who will make sure their kid gets good opportunities. If they pick a neighborhood they can afford, there will be other people who are also involved parents making sure their kids get good opportunities. You don't have to max out your budget to find other good parents."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here's the thing, if you buy in a zone that's within your budget, you are going to be surrounded by people like you. There are plenty of perfectly normal, involved parents in schools across the county. They may not be able to afford the same things as the W school parents but neither can you if you stretch your budget just for the schools.

What the heck? How would you know what parents can afford at what school in what community? Ew. How arrogant of you.

You are misreading what I'm saying. OP said in the first post that a W school district is at the top of his range. I live in a cluster that most DCUMers wouldn't even consider living in and that gets bashed constantly. There is a thread right now bashing it. My point is, people always act like you have to live in a W school district to provide a good life for your child. And that's simply not true. Just because you can't afford a W school doesn't mean that your child is doomed to live in the ghetto. There are plenty of us who aren't willing to be house poor to live in a W school district and we are perfectly normal people who are still involved parents with happy kids.

I don't know why the other PP got so worked up. A shorter way of saying what you said is: "OP presumably thinks they are an involved parent who will make sure their kid gets good opportunities. If they pick a neighborhood they can afford, there will be other people who are also involved parents making sure their kids get good opportunities. You don't have to max out your budget to find other good parents."

Yes, thank you. You said that much more eloquently than I did.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes

QO has about 40% FARMS
And 1/3 at RM which isn’t representative of the area since it’s IB.

I grew up in Moco and now live in Va and would not want to live in Gaithersburg or Rockville, and I would not send my kids to either of those high schools.

And why are you posting on this forum?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Both my dcc kids went from CES -> TPMS magnet -> Blair SMCS and I feel this was much stronger education that what any W could provide and is an option for anyone who is serious about their education.

But it is a lottery. What if your name isn’t picked? Or are you saying it is better to avoid the pressure of Ws by living in DCC and pushing your child to guaranteed magnet admission all the way through.

Obviously the 1000 high achieving kids in W schools and around the county should all sit together in the 100 seats in the magenet. It's so simple!

maybe high-achieving by W standards but most wouldn't make the cut for the magnets.

If only there were other rigorous schools that everyone who doesn't get one of the very limited magnet seats could attend!

There are plenty of rigorous schools without the magnets.
Not everyone is into the rat-race to nowhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Both my dcc kids went from CES -> TPMS magnet -> Blair SMCS and I feel this was much stronger education that what any W could provide and is an option for anyone who is serious about their education.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Both my dcc kids went from CES -> TPMS magnet -> Blair SMCS and I feel this was much stronger education that what any W could provide and is an option for anyone who is serious about their education.

But it is a lottery. What if your name isn’t picked? Or are you saying it is better to avoid the pressure of Ws by living in DCC and pushing your child to guaranteed magnet admission all the way through.

Blair SMCS is not a lottery.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Both my dcc kids went from CES -> TPMS magnet -> Blair SMCS and I feel this was much stronger education that what any W could provide and is an option for anyone who is serious about their education.

But it is a lottery. What if your name isn’t picked? Or are you saying it is better to avoid the pressure of Ws by living in DCC and pushing your child to guaranteed magnet admission all the way through.

Obviously the 1000 high achieving kids in W schools and around the county should all sit together in the 100 seats in the magenet. It's so simple!

maybe high-achieving by W standards but most wouldn't make the cut for the magnets.

But the W kids are all high performing!

[Anonymous]

RM is great if you can get into the IB program (and the neighborhood kids are basically invited to take the IB classes anyway).

It is a little bit of a rough school. Lots of kids smoking weed jn bathrokm. And fights in hallway are not uncommon. Some issues with cars getting broken into or otherwise damaged. I think still a really good school with lots of really great kids and an incredibly diverse student body and caring administration. But don’t go expecting Candy Land. It’s an urban high school with a mixed income student body.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:RM is great if you can get into the IB program (and the neighborhood kids are basically invited to take the IB classes anyway).

It is a little bit of a rough school. Lots of kids smoking weed jn bathrokm. And fights in hallway are not uncommon. Some issues with cars getting broken into or otherwise damaged. I think still a really good school with lots of really great kids and an incredibly diverse student body and caring administration. But don’t go expecting Candy Land. It’s an urban high school with a mixed income student body.

Tell me you didn't use "urban" as code for "Black and Brown kids". Nobody would describe that area as anything but the definition of suburbia.

[Anonymous]

My kids are having good experiences at Blair and Einstein.