The Best Elementary School in MoCo

[Anonymous]

What is your opinion of which MCPS Elementary School is the best and for what reasons?

[Anonymous]

There have been many, many threads on this topic before. In a nutshell, every MoCo ES follows the exact same curriculum so in that respect there are no differences. Some have newer facilities, some have fewer poor students, some have more engaged principals, etc. Opinions vary widely, however, as to which is the "best." General consensus seems to be that all Bethesda/Chevy Chase ones are excellent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There have been many, many threads on this topic before. In a nutshell, every MoCo ES follows the exact same curriculum so in that respect there are no differences. Some have newer facilities, some have fewer poor students, some have more engaged principals, etc. Opinions vary widely, however, as to which is the "best." General consensus seems to be that all Bethesda/Chevy Chase ones are excellent.

This is interesting. There are probably parents out there who do not have their children at Bethesda/CC elementary schools who may feel that their school is the best. Hope that the post above does not discourage non-Bethesda/CC parents from posting their opinions.

[Anonymous]

Don't judge a book by its cover (or an elementary by its test scores/FARMs, etc.). Go visit a school. Talk to the principal. Ask other parents for input. Also: don't focus solely on the elemenary school -- check into the middle and high schools. There are lots of great schools in MoCo, and there's really no "best" school. The schools in Kensington, Olney and Brookeville are comparable to those in the Bethesda-Chevy Chase area. There are also some great schools in Silver Spring.

[Anonymous]

I highly regard College Gardens ES (Rockville)/Richard Mont. cluster, because it is the first (and maybe only, or at least one of only two) elementary schools in MoCo to have the prestigious IB program in the early grades. It's a brand new bldg., diverse student population (A plus for us) and great facilities, etc...

Maybe not a popular option for the billionaire Bethesda/Potomac crowd who feel the need to compete their kids like horses by hiring private tutors and shipping their cranky, over-tired ponies to Kumon every afternoon in order to buy their way into GT programs, or force them to work two grades 'ahead'.

But, I prefer the former any day to the latter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I highly regard College Gardens ES (Rockville)/Richard Mont. cluster, because it is the first (and maybe only, or at least one of only two) elementary schools in MoCo to have the prestigious IB program in the early grades. It's a brand new bldg., diverse student population (A plus for us) and great facilities, etc...

Maybe not a popular option for the billionaire Bethesda/Potomac crowd who feel the need to compete their kids like horses by hiring private tutors and shipping their cranky, over-tired ponies to Kumon every afternoon in order to buy their way into GT programs, or force them to work two grades 'ahead'.

But, I prefer the former any day to the latter.

I don't live in the Montgomery cluster nor do I live in Bethesda/Potomac, but based on this posting, I would choose anywhere except where this poster lives--what an arrogant, mean-spirited comment.

[Anonymous]

So just because we have chosen to live in Bethesda, our children are ponies? Your stereotype is old, boring and broken.

[Anonymous]

Billionaires in Bethesda? I don't think they are in my neighborhood. We don't have any children treated like horses either. Someone's got a weird chip on their shoulder.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I highly regard College Gardens ES (Rockville)/Richard Mont. cluster, because it is the first (and maybe only, or at least one of only two) elementary schools in MoCo to have the prestigious IB program in the early grades. It's a brand new bldg., diverse student population (A plus for us) and great facilities, etc...

Do you know if College Gardens follows the IB curriculum proper? Since the school is part of MoCo where all the public schools must follow the Montgomery County Curriculum, how do they simultaneously follow IB?

[Anonymous]

Another Bethesda parent here (Whitman cluster) - I would also consider Richard Montgomery cluster, for the reasons described (more diversity and IB program), but what a bitter and angry poster and such generalizations! They are so far from describing who we are or our neighborhood.

[Anonymous]

i live in downcounty (love my silver spring) and find it interesting to see all the bcc folks go on their high horses (no pun intended ;o) because someone critized (unjustly i'll concur) their schools and schooling practices. downcounty is relentlessly trashed on dcum, simply because it's poorer. now you get a taste of your own medicine: how does it feel to be trashed by people who have no idea who you are when you're just a parent trying its best for their kids, like everyone else? not fun.

[Anonymous]

pp here again: op, my kids will be going to forest knolls elementary, which i hear, along with woodlin, is a great elementary school. four corners is a very nice neighborhood and might be cheaper than near FG, because it's not as close to kensington. the zip code is 20901.
good luck with your search.

[Anonymous]

pp here again: op, my kids will be going to forest knolls elementary, which i hear, along with woodlin, is a great elementary school. four corners is a very nice neighborhood and might be cheaper than near FG, because it's not as close to kensington. the zip code is 20901.
good luck with your search.

[Anonymous]

Wow, what a load of horse hooey. I really think class wars are going to break out soon enough - everybody jealous or resentful of everybody else. This post is evidence of that. Give it up. Some would say living in Montgomery County makes you a "have".

On topic - if you can, ask around your neighborhood. We have heard good things about our elementary, but I think I'd drive myself nuts trying to compare it to others.

Also, the county has a pdf on its website as to statistics for each school, including class size. I think it even has a diversity breakdown.

I would think the IB program at College Gardens would follow the IB program, and not follow the standard county curriculum.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:i live in downcounty (love my silver spring) and find it interesting to see all the bcc folks go on their high horses (no pun intended ;o) because someone critized (unjustly i'll concur) their schools and schooling practices. downcounty is relentlessly trashed on dcum, simply because it's poorer. now you get a taste of your own medicine: how does it feel to be trashed by people who have no idea who you are when you're just a parent trying its best for their kids, like everyone else? not fun.

fwiw, I just heard a neighbor in bethesda asking how to get into the downcounty magnet middle schools....