Somerset ES - Chevy Chase; honest feedback please
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Anonymous
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Hello
Considering moving into the Somerset/ Westland/ BCC Cluster. Could you please provide me with honest feedback on Somerset ES. Kid will be entering K this Fall. How many kids in K classes, how are the teachers, the curriculum, the community in general. How is the PTA and how much money is one expected to contribute each year. Does the school have aftercare till 6:00 or 6:30pm and how much does it cost per kid per month. Does everyone get in, or by lottery? The other alternative would be NW DC, zoned to H. Mann ES, which is excellent as well, but we would need to move for Middle/High School. Thank you! |
Anonymous
| If you are prepared to move again, I would definitely go with Mann - just an unbelievably good school, with much better ratios than you will get in Somerset. But I agree that for MS and HS, you would do better in MCPS, unless Hardy changes dramatically. |
Anonymous
| OP - thanks, that's very useful! I guess, that is what will happen. Move for MS. |
Anonymous
| We had friends whose two extremely high achieving children were at Somerset. The family was from China the kids born in the USA so they were bilingual and could write in Chinese as well as English. They loved the school and thrived there and were very high achieving. |
Anonymous
| OP - thank you PP. Was this recently? |
Anonymous
| We are at Westbrook, so a neighborhood over, but we have only heard great things about Somerset- especially the community. K class sizes vary by year so it is hard to know, but I'm sure you would be happy there! |
Anonymous
| OP- thank you PP. I read some negative reviews about the school and the fact that there is only one teacher per K class, scares me a bit. H. Mann ES in AU Park has two adults per class...the PTA pays for second adult. |
Anonymous
No MCPS kindergarten will have a second adult, as local law prohibits using PTA funds for staffing. If it is important to you that the class have a second adult, you need DCPS. |
Anonymous
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Somerset has a foundation so there are lots of extras for the kids: free tutoring, professional play production, wonderful summer camp, etc.
Diverse student body (international, not domestic). |
Anonymous
| OP - thanks PP. I am just wondering about K class sizes, and student to teacher ratio. So, if you are a parent there, I would appreciate any info. Also, about aftercare options. Cost and availability. |
Anonymous
| Google " Montgomery schools at a glance Somerset elementary. " All the data on the school and demographics are there and you can compare to other schools in MCPS in a standardized way. Similarly, google the Somerset elementary website which has costs of before and after care. |
Anonymous
| Somerset aftercare is through Wonders; you can look up the cost online on the Wonders site. They used to prove Mann aftercare, but I think Mann just switched to a different provider. On availability, I would call the director and ask--varies by program. |
Anonymous
| OP - Thanks PP. I am trying to compare Somerset with H. Mann in NW DC, not to any other MCPS. Our choice as to where to move depends on these two ES. |
Anonymous
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OP, 6 years will go by in the blink of an eye. Why would you buy a house when your kid is starting K if you would have to move by middle school? (I'm not of the opinion that you have to move if you choose Mann, but if that's your going in position, you should either find room in your budget for private or move to whatever district enables you to avoid having to move simply for better schools.)
It's also strikes me as pretty silly to pick a house based on whether the school has a teacher's aide for elementary levels. |
Anonymous
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You will be fine.
This school has an education foundation, so it has activities that other schools without a foundation do not have http://somerset-foundation.org/ http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/somersetes/ Any elementary school that has money and high SES parents is basically doing well. |