Looking for info on various Bethesda/CC/etc neighborhoods

[Anonymous]

Not going to quote PP at length but just noting that a lot of us had really good experiences at RHPS— it does have a lot of classes per grade but the while school being oriented to k-2 is a great way to start school and it has a great parent community. If you are curious there are lots of threads in this forum on RHPS.

I will also say that I did not love the principals at RHPS or CCES but (with one exception who has now left) I did really like my kid’s teachers and I always figured that was more important.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not going to quote PP at length but just noting that a lot of us had really good experiences at RHPS— it does have a lot of classes per grade but the while school being oriented to k-2 is a great way to start school and it has a great parent community. If you are curious there are lots of threads in this forum on RHPS.

I will also say that I did not love the principals at RHPS or CCES but (with one exception who has now left) I did really like my kid’s teachers and I always figured that was more important.

Agree that many of the teachers of the teachers at CCES and RHPS are absolutely amazing. Unfortunately, both of the Principals have strong nasty personalities that set the tone for the entire school and even the teachers dislike them. It permeates the halls. I would agree the CCES principal is the absolute worst. As far as special needs, she should be sued for neglect. She willfully ignores kids who might have dyslexia and will refuse to test them for disabilities even if the parents are proactive. MCPS as a whole is terrible for special needs kids. The entire system has been sued over lack of appropriate services. Please do not put a dyslexic kid in MCPS if you have another option. Any other option.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The 2E middle school in Silver Spring is Brooke Lee (now with a name change?) And the 2E high school is Northwood. The schools aren't wealthy, but they are lovely, full. of engaged students and excellent teachers. In our experience. If your child qualified for the Asperger's program instead they'd be shipped back west to Wooten? And Tilden? From what I've heard, SSIMS has a better track record with SN than Takoma Park MS.

It's now Odessa Shannon MS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have you considered Silver Spring/Takoma Park?

We have, and it seems like a lovely area in terms of people/diversity, but were advised against it due to my special needs kid and the school options there. However, if the schools are good for neurotypical kids and otherwise fits our needs, we could look into loans for private school I guess. Are there specific neighborhoods you are thinking of?

Why?

Because people who can afford both don’t want to live on the poor side for the rest of their lives. It is ok being the value pick just don’t pretend that you appeal to non-value shoppers

This last poster is why Bethesda Chevy Chase may not appeal to you OP. I can imagine our Bethesda Chevy Chase neighbors saying this type of thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Bradley Hills Elem has pretty down to earth families.

It has some. It also has plenty of SAHM plastics married to law firm partner / lexus types.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bradley Hills Elem has pretty down to earth families.

It has some. It also has plenty of SAHM plastics married to law firm partner / lexus types.

Damn you, Poe's Law!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not going to quote PP at length but just noting that a lot of us had really good experiences at RHPS— it does have a lot of classes per grade but the while school being oriented to k-2 is a great way to start school and it has a great parent community. If you are curious there are lots of threads in this forum on RHPS.

I will also say that I did not love the principals at RHPS or CCES but (with one exception who has now left) I did really like my kid’s teachers and I always figured that was more important.

Agree that many of the teachers of the teachers at CCES and RHPS are absolutely amazing. Unfortunately, both of the Principals have strong nasty personalities that set the tone for the entire school and even the teachers dislike them. It permeates the halls. I would agree the CCES principal is the absolute worst. As far as special needs, she should be sued for neglect. She willfully ignores kids who might have dyslexia and will refuse to test them for disabilities even if the parents are proactive. MCPS as a whole is terrible for special needs kids. The entire system has been sued over lack of appropriate services. Please do not put a dyslexic kid in MCPS if you have another option. Any other option.

I don’t want to minimize your bad experience but it certainly wasn’t my experience that the principals’ personalities permeated the halls.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have you considered Silver Spring/Takoma Park?

We have, and it seems like a lovely area in terms of people/diversity, but were advised against it due to my special needs kid and the school options there. However, if the schools are good for neurotypical kids and otherwise fits our needs, we could look into loans for private school I guess. Are there specific neighborhoods you are thinking of?

Why?

Because people who can afford both don’t want to live on the poor side for the rest of their lives. It is ok being the value pick just don’t pretend that you appeal to non-value shoppers

This last poster is why Bethesda Chevy Chase may not appeal to you OP. I can imagine our Bethesda Chevy Chase neighbors saying this type of thing.

I agree. PP above is Exhibit A for Why People Don't Want to Live in Bethesda.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not going to quote PP at length but just noting that a lot of us had really good experiences at RHPS— it does have a lot of classes per grade but the while school being oriented to k-2 is a great way to start school and it has a great parent community. If you are curious there are lots of threads in this forum on RHPS.

I will also say that I did not love the principals at RHPS or CCES but (with one exception who has now left) I did really like my kid’s teachers and I always figured that was more important.

Agree that many of the teachers of the teachers at CCES and RHPS are absolutely amazing. Unfortunately, both of the Principals have strong nasty personalities that set the tone for the entire school and even the teachers dislike them. It permeates the halls. I would agree the CCES principal is the absolute worst. As far as special needs, she should be sued for neglect. She willfully ignores kids who might have dyslexia and will refuse to test them for disabilities even if the parents are proactive. MCPS as a whole is terrible for special needs kids. The entire system has been sued over lack of appropriate services. Please do not put a dyslexic kid in MCPS if you have another option. Any other option.

I don’t want to minimize your bad experience but it certainly wasn’t my experience that the principals’ personalities permeated the halls.

Depends on how much you have to deal with the Principals I guess. If you have a special needs kid, you spend a lot more time advocating for appropriate resources so the Principal becomes a major part of your experience. They can literally make or break your kid. Much more so than the teachers. We’ve always loved our talented teachers at both schools but they are not special educators and I don’t expect them to be. That is not their job. They do a great job teaching Neurotypical students and I would recommend any of the teachers for kids without learning differences. The OP has a SN kid and will have to interact and advocate for her child with the Principal regularly to discuss IEPs. As I said, MCPS is horrible with dyslexia as a whole no matter where you go so it is best to have a Principal who will work with you instead of against you. That is what I am addressing because it is specific to OP and her situation.

In fact I saw somewhere a couple of weeks ago where a school in MCPS is finally getting an Orton Gillingham program going. It is one school. It is decades overdue and too late for my kid but it is a start. If I am OP, I am finding that school and figuring out how to get into that program if dyslexia is her kid’s issue. It might be something else, but quite sure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bradley Hills Elem has pretty down to earth families.

It has some. It also has plenty of SAHM plastics married to law firm partner / lexus types.

I disagree. Sure, there are a few SHAM plastic types but they are not in the majority.

[Anonymous]

Sorry meant…*but not quite sure. OP’s child might have different needs. I am just trying to be helpful to OP in deciding where to buy a home. It is an incredibly important decision especially when you need specific services from your public school. Just trying to help OP, but your opinion is also valid.

[Anonymous]

We moved from Bethesda to near downtown Silver Spring because we really could get a great house for a lot less than Bethesda. Downtown is about a mile away so very walk-able even with 2 kids (5,2) in the stroller. We looked around for a year because the house we wanted buy is the house we were planning to raise our kids in through high school. We have been here a year now and are really happy with our decision.

[Anonymous]

I was actually thinking about this thread yesterday while running errands in Bethesda and running into a lot of rudeness.

One thing I really hate about this area is that when people are clearly struggling with bags or something no one helps. No one opens the door or anything. I was at UPS and saw an older man with a big package and he looked like he was about to fall over. I had to run halfway across the strip mall to help him while all the people around him just walked past him.

Come on people. You can do better than this. I have lived all over and the DC area or maybe Bethesda is the only place where I have seen this kind of disregard for other people. In every other place I have lived people will help others in this situation. This is not a covid thing. Happened precovid too. We just went somewhere else in the country, a big city, and saw lots of people helping strangers.

My impression of living here is that people care a lot about how they look to their fellow parents at school and their child's sports teams but they show their true colors in how they treat strangers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bradley Hills Elem has pretty down to earth families.

It has some. It also has plenty of SAHM plastics married to law firm partner / lexus types.

I disagree. Sure, there are a few SHAM plastic types but they are not in the majority.

+ 1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I live in Bethesda but really like Kensington.

We’ve lived in both but are now in Bethesda. Pluses and minuses to each.