Tuition to W school? Is it possible?

[Anonymous]

Hi All,

We are living in DC, we like our neighborhood and amenities but we are not happy with DD attending Wilson and we can't quite afford private school. DH and I were wondering if we can pay tuition to allow DD to attend an MCPS school of our choice? Does anyone have experience with this? If we are paying tuition to MCPS, would we have the choice of which school we want to attend?

Thank you for your help.

[Anonymous]

If it's cheaper than moving, that would make sense.
You could call them.

[Anonymous]

I grew up in Chevy Chase and this was definitely a thing in the 80s and 90s. It appears that it is still possible, but I don't think you could do it now to any of the W schools because they are all overcrowded.
http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/policy/pdf/jed.pdf
Google paying tuition in MCPS for more info.

[Anonymous]

I know of one kid who did this recently but it was at George Mason HS in Falls Church City. So it happens, but not sure if MCPS does it.

[Anonymous]

There are circumstances under which the one can pay tuition to attend an MCPS school, but they are not the circumstances you are describing. Typically it would be that a child is living inside the boundaries of MCPS but not with their custodial parent.

Almost always this means a foster or kindship care situation and social services pays the tuition.

http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/policy/pdf/jedra.pdf

[Anonymous]

You don’t need to pay tuition. MCPS does not require proof of anything - they are not allowed to because we have a large population of kids who may lack appropriate documentation.

You can use a friend’s address who lives in bounds. Much cheaper than trying to figure out a way to pay tuition! Or just offer to pay someone to use their address.

We have quite a few kids at our ES and MS who do not live in boundary. They use family members’ or friends’ addresses.

Also, once you get into a MS, you can automatically go to the HS that MS feed into.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You don’t need to pay tuition. MCPS does not require proof of anything - they are not allowed to because we have a large population of kids who may lack appropriate documentation.

You can use a friend’s address who lives in bounds. Much cheaper than trying to figure out a way to pay tuition! Or just offer to pay someone to use their address.

We have quite a few kids at our ES and MS who do not live in boundary. They use family members’ or friends’ addresses.

Also, once you get into a MS, you can automatically go to the HS that MS feed into.

yeah good luck with that. you need to show two months of utilities and pay stubs with a custodial parent's address (just registered my kid this year). that's some pretty serious fraud you'd be engaging in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You don’t need to pay tuition. MCPS does not require proof of anything - they are not allowed to because we have a large population of kids who may lack appropriate documentation.

You can use a friend’s address who lives in bounds. Much cheaper than trying to figure out a way to pay tuition! Or just offer to pay someone to use their address.

We have quite a few kids at our ES and MS who do not live in boundary. They use family members’ or friends’ addresses.

Also, once you get into a MS, you can automatically go to the HS that MS feed into.

yeah good luck with that. you need to show two months of utilities and pay stubs with a custodial parent's address (just registered my kid this year). that's some pretty serious fraud you'd be engaging in.

Serious fraud? Show where anyone has ever gotten in trouble for doing this.

[Anonymous]

Yes, it is possible but it has to be to a school that is under enrolled. That pretty much knocks out the schools you’d be willing to exchange for Wilson.

[Anonymous]

We had to show proof of residency to enrol in W feeder ES. “Not allowed” to ask for documentation - that is crap.

[Anonymous]

The school cannot ask for documentation of CITIZENSHIP but they can and do ask for documentation of RESIDENCY.

My kids are at a school that most DCUMers would dismiss outright, with large numbers of recent immigrants, and we still had to show documentation to enroll. I've also been in the office when new families have turned up and have seen the front office staff ask for proof of residency.

[Anonymous]

The school asks for proof of residency.

Some get around it. I've known one student whose family did this in the 7 years we've been in Bethesda-area schools.

Others get official dispensation - I've known one too, who was allowed to transfer to a different school because of bullying, which at least shows that MCPS takes it seriously.

[Anonymous]

What's wrong with Wilson HS. W schools don't seem worth the trouble.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, it is possible but it has to be to a school that is under enrolled. That pretty much knocks out the schools you’d be willing to exchange for Wilson.

+1

[Anonymous]

We live in the area. You can't buy into any of the W schools because they are all over capacity. You can only buy into a school that has space.