Are these West Laurel schools good-Vansville Elementary, MLK Middle, Laurel HS?

[Anonymous]

Hi i am looking at moving to West Laurel in an area zoned for Vansville ES, MLK Middle, and Laurel HS. I would be moving from moco so i would like to know whether you consider these schools good and your experiences if you have kids attending.

I would appreciate it. Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hi i am looking at moving to West Laurel in an area zoned for Vansville ES, MLK Middle, and Laurel HS. I would be moving from moco so i would like to know whether you consider these schools good and your experiences if you have kids attending.

I would appreciate it. Thanks.

Bothy Vansville and MLK have great reviews and decent test scores. Middle school options in certain parts of the county are tricky so being in school pyramid where you have access to one is def a plus. Laurel High school however is not on par with the other decent HS in the county. Maybe private school would be an option at that point? The county has very good private school options and they tend to be cheaper then neighboring districts

[Anonymous]

If your kids can get into Eleanor Roosevelt for high school, you'd be set.

[Anonymous]

Is there a lottery or magnet program to Roosevelt HS?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is there a lottery or magnet program to Roosevelt HS?

Science and Tech Program that is open to the norther half of the county. It is very competitive and kids are selected by GPA and test scores.

[Anonymous]

We were zoned for Laurel HS and moved to moco to avoid it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi i am looking at moving to West Laurel in an area zoned for Vansville ES, MLK Middle, and Laurel HS. I would be moving from moco so i would like to know whether you consider these schools good and your experiences if you have kids attending.

I would appreciate it. Thanks.

Bothy Vansville and MLK have great reviews and decent test scores. Middle school options in certain parts of the county are tricky so being in school pyramid where you have access to one is def a plus. Laurel High school however is not on par with the other decent HS in the county. Maybe private school would be an option at that point? The county has very good private school options and they tend to be cheaper then neighboring districts

I live in this area. When we first moved here (2006), Vansville was rated much higher and had good feedback from the parents and a lot of parental participation. Since we had kids (2011), the reputation has gone down. I've met neighbors and other residents who have kids of elementary school age and they say that there is a lot less parental participation than before, that the school has lost a lot of good teachers and the staff is not as motivated as they used to be. We've decided to move to the HoCo side of West Laurel and will put our kids in Hammond ES/MS.

From what I've heard, MLK Middle school was and still is a good school.

Laurel HS is definitely one to avoid. There is absolutely no way that my kids would ever go there. The is a lot of violence and bullying in that school. There are cliches that pick on loners and nerd/geek kids. I've had two neighbors who tried it and pulled their kids within the first semester.

[Anonymous]

Look at Bond Mill for elementary

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We were zoned for Laurel HS and moved to moco to avoid it.

Did you move to moco after your kids finished middle school in PG?

Which schools in moco did you choose?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi i am looking at moving to West Laurel in an area zoned for Vansville ES, MLK Middle, and Laurel HS. I would be moving from moco so i would like to know whether you consider these schools good and your experiences if you have kids attending.

I would appreciate it. Thanks.

Bothy Vansville and MLK have great reviews and decent test scores. Middle school options in certain parts of the county are tricky so being in school pyramid where you have access to one is def a plus. Laurel High school however is not on par with the other decent HS in the county. Maybe private school would be an option at that point? The county has very good private school options and they tend to be cheaper then neighboring districts

I live in this area. When we first moved here (2006), Vansville was rated much higher and had good feedback from the parents and a lot of parental participation. Since we had kids (2011), the reputation has gone down. I've met neighbors and other residents who have kids of elementary school age and they say that there is a lot less parental participation than before, that the school has lost a lot of good teachers and the staff is not as motivated as they used to be. We've decided to move to the HoCo side of West Laurel and will put our kids in Hammond ES/MS.

From what I've heard, MLK Middle school was and still is a good school.

Laurel HS is definitely one to avoid. There is absolutely no way that my kids would ever go there. The is a lot of violence and bullying in that school. There are cliches that pick on loners and nerd/geek kids. I've had two neighbors who tried it and pulled their kids within the first semester.

How difficult is it on the kid to change school for High School? I worry How much it affects kids when they live their friends and go to a totty different school.

[Anonymous]

I know about MLK and Laurel HS. MLK is a good middle school. Quite a few of the MLK kids end up at ERHS instead of Laurel HS. So you might be okay.


Now....as it relates to Laurel, they have a pretty decent IB program and a okay AP program at the school. The cisco program is really good too, but other than that the school still has a long way to go. It has a lot of potential, but unfortunately there are some factors keeping it from being great.


One factor is communication between parents and teachers, parents and administration, kids and teachers, etc. Another factor is the administration. The VP's are decent folks and to a degree look out for the teachers and the kids, however the principal is buffoon. It all starts from the top and this guy in many cases don't know what's going on in the school from an admin perspective and really don't know how to properly handle situations. I've had a child who went and graduated from there, friends who have kids there, and a good friend who use to coach there. We have all said that Laurel could be a good school, but the guy at the top is way too incompetent. Also....his communication is awful and we have discovered that he's a liar.


Laurel is not the worst school, so it has potential to be really good school. As a parent you have to stay on top of the teachers, be involved(PTA, boosters, etc.) and hold the administration accountable. There are still some very smart kids that go there and some decent teachers.