Westland vs. Deal?

[Anonymous]

Holding aside elementary feeder schools and HS options, and focusing instead on just the two middle schools, are there strong reasons to favor one of these over the other? TIA!

[Anonymous]

[Anonymous]

In our experience Westland was the weak link in the BCC cluster. But, then again, most parents will say that about any middle school -- public or private. Indeed, when our disappointment with Westland led us to switch DS over to a K-12 independent school, we found that while it was a much stronger school in comparison to Westland, it nonetheless fell far short of the upper school division. So, you might want to focus less on middle school and more on elementary and high schools after all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In our experience Westland was the weak link in the BCC cluster. But, then again, most parents will say that about any middle school -- public or private. Indeed, when our disappointment with Westland led us to switch DS over to a K-12 independent school, we found that while it was a much stronger school in comparison to Westland, it nonetheless fell far short of the upper school division. So, you might want to focus less on middle school and more on elementary and high schools after all.

Thanks very much, PP. I certainly agree that elementary and HS are important, quite possibly more so than MS, but they also seem to be much easier to research! That's why I'm hoping to get some input from parents who have specifically considered the Deal vs. Westland question (or from others with insights).

[Anonymous]

bump

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Why the eye roll? Does talking about teenagers cause you to act like one?

[Anonymous]

Everyone I know with children at Deal loves it. I know a student at Westland, they're also happy. It might be hard for people to answer this since most people don't visit/compare the two.

[Anonymous]

I don't know where you live but I have heard of DC students attending Westland. There has to be room at the school and it is the at the principal's discretion. Also, I think there is a fee. Not private school tuition but still significant.
I toured Westland before my child got to middle school, not as an option, but to compare a MoCo middle school with Deal (our neighborhood school). Our child is at Deal now and we love it, our child loves it, it is a good school. The curriculum is rich and the teachers are wonderful. Melissa Kim is really on the ball, the best principal I've seen in all our time in DCPS. We are so glad we decided to give it a try.
From a facilities standpoint, Deal is much nicer than Westland now that the renovation is reaching completion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Why the eye roll? Does talking about teenagers cause you to act like one?

Maybe because this thread looks like it might be a little trollish? And likely (whether intended or not) to stir up trouble?