Recommend your public HS in Montgomery or Howard County - Looking for solid academics AND diversity

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hi,

AA mom with 3 children here. We are planning to move to Maryland next year. I am open to any County but those have been recommended as having good school districts and a diverse student body. I really need HS, MS and ES recommendations but I want to start looking at HSs. Thank you for any suggestions!

Unless your DC can attend magnets or one of the W-schools (plus BCC), MoCo schools are not worth a dime. Better to look over the county line in Howard.

[Anonymous]

Once Howard rezones, it may be the perfect spot for you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you to PPs for the Blair HS recommendation! I would not have known as the Greater School rating is a 5 out of 10
I like the racial distribution a lot but this school is big, no?

Because it's the most diverse school in the state of Maryland. If you are a truly diverse school, you're not going to get anything over 6 on Great School rating.

No, Blair is not the most diverse school in MD. In MoCo, NWHS is probably the most diverse HS. The FARMs rate is close to 40%. IMO, that is not diverse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Isn't BCC the obvious answer? Excellent academics and very diverse, including 15 percent African American and a sizeable reduced lunch population.

No, it's not the obvious answer. BCC is 57% white, <5% Asian. How in the world does that make BCC diverse?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you to PPs for the Blair HS recommendation! I would not have known as the Greater School rating is a 5 out of 10
I like the racial distribution a lot but this school is big, no?

Because it's the most diverse school in the state of Maryland. If you are a truly diverse school, you're not going to get anything over 6 on Great School rating.

No, Blair is not the most diverse school in MD. In MoCo, NWHS is probably the most diverse HS. The FARMs rate is close to 40%. IMO, that is not diverse.

https://www.niche.com/k12/search/most-diverse-public-high-schools/s/maryland/

[Anonymous]

I would also look at Blair and Richard Montgomery. I don't know about #s of AAs at Quince Orchard, but I've known people who raved about what a great school it is-- lots of school spirit. And have you looked at Wilson in DC?

I don't want to send this thread off on a tangent, but do want to warn you-- Montgomery County is in the process of redrawing school boundary lines so before you become wedded to a school/neighborhood, you'd do well to consider the fact that the lines may be redrawn a couple of years after you buy a house. Best to buy a house VERY close to the school of your choice, and even that may not make you safe. (Or perhaps rent for the first year, until you can get a better sense of what will happen with that.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you to PPs for the Blair HS recommendation! I would not have known as the Greater School rating is a 5 out of 10
I like the racial distribution a lot but this school is big, no?

I'm not the PP, but Blair is enormous and the size can mask a lot of good things happening there. I don't have kids at Blair, but I am in-bounds. All of the Blair kids I know (and it's all of the high school aged kids in the neighborhood over the last decade) are successful, well-adjusted, socially conscious and engaged, and go on to great colleges and universities.

If the GS score scares you, I get it, but I would put it on your list of schools to get to know a bit better and go beyond the score. Click around the website, look at student government and other initiatives and note the critical mass of high-performing kids of color. It's a pretty special place.

It sounds like any HS in MCPS which has the diversity the OP needs, would work fine?

+1 The highest "ranked" schools are all going to lack the diversity OP is looking for. Of the highly ranked schools, B-CC is the most diverse. If commute isn't a problem (and maybe it isn't based on OP looking in either HCPS or MCPS), then Quince Orchard is a great suggestion. But if she doesn't have $1m+ for B-CC and needs a decent commute to DC, TPMS to Blair is a strong option.

Blair's SAT score by demographic cohort and overall college placement are fairly strong especially since it's the most diverse HS in the state of MD.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What kind of “diversity” do you mean? Honest question.

For example: 1/4 white, 1/4 black, 1/4 Hispanic, 1/4 other

And I would love majority middle class with some working class.

So you classify Asians as "other"?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi,

AA mom with 3 children here. We are planning to move to Maryland next year. I am open to any County but those have been recommended as having good school districts and a diverse student body. I really need HS, MS and ES recommendations but I want to start looking at HSs. Thank you for any suggestions!

Blair and done.

This is the kind of racist attitude i hate. So, put all black kids with other black kids and problem solved? What a jacka$$.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Isn't BCC the obvious answer? Excellent academics and very diverse, including 15 percent African American and a sizeable reduced lunch population.

No, it's not the obvious answer. BCC is 57% white, <5% Asian. How in the world does that make BCC diverse?

You do realize that in most parts of the country, BCC would be considered very diverse? And highly successful. Its not perfectly racially balanced though nor does the 30% of FARMS students that county progressives would like it to have. BUT, in spite of what those progressives might think, it’s still a diverse school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What kind of “diversity” do you mean? Honest question.

For example: 1/4 white, 1/4 black, 1/4 Hispanic, 1/4 other

And I would love majority middle class with some working class.

Are you willing to live with redistricting every few years to keep that ideal balance? Serious question, as demographics naturally change over time. Also remember that our area is becoming more diverse, not less diverse, pretty rapidly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Isn't BCC the obvious answer? Excellent academics and very diverse, including 15 percent African American and a sizeable reduced lunch population.

No, it's not the obvious answer. BCC is 57% white, <5% Asian. How in the world does that make BCC diverse?

You do realize that in most parts of the country, BCC would be considered very diverse? And highly successful. Its not perfectly racially balanced though nor does the 30% of FARMS students that county progressives would like it to have. BUT, in spite of what those progressives might think, it’s still a diverse school.

But it's not what OP is looking for, nor is it considered very diverse for MoCo. If we were all living in KY, yes, maybe BCC is diverse, but certainly not if you are living in MoCo.

And I'm not a progressive, but I am a minority with biracial children, and I would not want my children to go to a nondiverse school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What kind of “diversity” do you mean? Honest question.

For example: 1/4 white, 1/4 black, 1/4 Hispanic, 1/4 other

And I would love majority middle class with some working class.

Are you willing to live with redistricting every few years to keep that ideal balance? Serious question, as demographics naturally change over time. Also remember that our area is becoming more diverse, not less diverse, pretty rapidly.

DP.. demographics do indeed shift, but in certain parts, it would not shift that drastically nor that quickly such that OP's children would see a dramatic shift while still in school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you to PPs for the Blair HS recommendation! I would not have known as the Greater School rating is a 5 out of 10
I like the racial distribution a lot but this school is big, no?

I'm not the PP, but Blair is enormous and the size can mask a lot of good things happening there. I don't have kids at Blair, but I am in-bounds. All of the Blair kids I know (and it's all of the high school aged kids in the neighborhood over the last decade) are successful, well-adjusted, socially conscious and engaged, and go on to great colleges and universities.

If the GS score scares you, I get it, but I would put it on your list of schools to get to know a bit better and go beyond the score. Click around the website, look at student government and other initiatives and note the critical mass of high-performing kids of color. It's a pretty special place.

It sounds like any HS in MCPS which has the diversity the OP needs, would work fine?

+1 The highest "ranked" schools are all going to lack the diversity OP is looking for. Of the highly ranked schools, B-CC is the most diverse. If commute isn't a problem (and maybe it isn't based on OP looking in either HCPS or MCPS), then Quince Orchard is a great suggestion. But if she doesn't have $1m+ for B-CC and needs a decent commute to DC, TPMS to Blair is a strong option.

Blair's SAT score by demographic cohort and overall college placement are fairly strong especially since it's the most diverse HS in the state of MD.

For the last time, Blair is NOT the most diverse HS in the state.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you to PPs for the Blair HS recommendation! I would not have known as the Greater School rating is a 5 out of 10
I like the racial distribution a lot but this school is big, no?

Because it's the most diverse school in the state of Maryland. If you are a truly diverse school, you're not going to get anything over 6 on Great School rating.

No, Blair is not the most diverse school in MD. In MoCo, NWHS is probably the most diverse HS. The FARMs rate is close to 40%. IMO, that is not diverse.

https://www.niche.com/k12/search/most-diverse-public-high-schools/s/maryland/

Per MCPS website, Blair is not the most diverse. I have no idea how niche determines "most diverse".