Please convince me: DCPS over MoCo for smart kids

[Anonymous]

OP here. We're visiting DC, and trying to figure out where to live. I asked my DC whether she'd like to go to DCPS or to MoCo schools, and she said MoCo because she wants to go to a better school (she doesn't get to decide, but I thought I'd ask). She said she's tired of the disruptive kids (25% of her class), and wouldn't mind being in a whole roomful of kids who are just as smart as she is, rather than being one of the brightest kids in the class. On the other hand, she said she likes her current school because she likes her teacher and her friends.

After all this discussion, I still can't decide (DH is leaning toward MoCo, but the "mixed" areas, not Bethesda or CC). I see the value of both arguments. I suppose it comes down to personality, values and tolerance for risk--and I can see risks in either choice.

BTW, our neighborhood is full of over-privileged kids, whom I'd like to get DC away from (kids with too many material goods and the expectation that they deserve them). If I put her into DCPS in NWDC, am I in danger of throwing her together with an even larger group of over-privileged kids?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:BTW, our neighborhood is full of over-privileged kids, whom I'd like to get DC away from (kids with too many material goods and the expectation that they deserve them). If I put her into DCPS in NWDC, am I in danger of throwing her together with an even larger group of over-privileged kids?

Talk about a loaded question. Yes, if your child attends a school in upper NWDC or SW MoCo, s/he is likely to encounter many children who have lots of material goods. Are they nasty spoiled brats? Based on the sample at our school, I doubt it, but you may disagree.

[Anonymous]

OP, We've looked at Chevy Chase, DC and Takoma Park and Kensington, MD. I'd say we're Takoma Park people (not crunchy, but organic and lefty), but DH is frightened of the crime rate, and we're not thrilled that one child would be bussed for a year, and the other would go to a so-so elementary school.

BTW, the kids in our neighborhood are not nasty, spoiled brats, but they seem to think they deserve a lot of material things, without understanding what it takes to earn such things. I think it's OK to give kids nice things, as long as they appreciate that they are privileged, and that most children in the world don't have such nice stuff. Not all parents make that distinction.

[Anonymous]

What about the parts of Kensington/Silver Spring that feed into Oakland Terrace? Or other parts of Silver Spring that feed into good elementary schools? There are plenty of crunchy people around there....

[Anonymous]

I think Oakland Terrace feeds into Einstein high school. Lots of discussion about Einstein on previous threads...

[Anonymous]

If you and your child both want a high quality education but not be in a completely rarified atmosphere with only upper-middle-class mostly white, privileged kids, there are options in DC that could suit you. Haynes and Cap City charter schools both maintain a diverse student body and high academic standards. Ditto Oyster-Adams. I agree that at Lafayette or Murch, you'd have the same quite privileged demographic as in Bethesda or Chevy Chase MD, but DC has a wide variety of neighbhorhoods and choices.

[Anonymous]

I am a Lafayette parent and I wouldn't describe the children at the school as a privileged demographic. Yes its true that the income levels may be similar to Bethesda and Chevy Chase but you won't find kids in the upper grades dressed to the nines or overly concerned about material things. In fact I think most parents work really hard to keep their kids grounded and everyone is very, very low key. The kids and families just don't have those kinds of attitudes. I am an active parent at the school and have never encountered any child or parent that acted "entitled" - it just does not exist at our school.

[Anonymous]

I would ditto the previous responder for Murch. It's pretty diverse racially, socioeconimically, and quite international. The kids in my neighborhood of CC DC seem pretty down to Earth.

[Anonymous]

Do the Bethesda and CC upper graders dress to the nines? I guess when I'm driving past, the high school kids look sort of sloppy and sporty to me. Same as many Upper NW kids, actually.

[Anonymous]

And I'm sure most of the parents there think they're pretty grounded too!

[Anonymous]

I think the point is that you can't make generalizations unless you actually have first-hand knowledge.

[Anonymous]

Yes, actually that was my point too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I posted on the general discussion forum, but heard from only a few DCPS parents, and most were ambivalent about DCPS. My kids are in K and 4th gr., academically talented. We move to DC soon, and are torn between DCPS and MoCo because of the schools. (We are not suburban types.) I'd be willing to send them to a good NW elementary school, but I'm not getting a great feeling about DCPS for MS and HS. Has anyone send their smart (several grades ahead in reading, a year ahead in math, etc.) kids all the way through DCPS and not regretted it? We can't afford private school, nor can we afford to move twice. I'm nervous about the competitiveness of MoCo schools, esp. the gifted programs. I want my kids challenged, not pressured. Childhood is short enough. Thanks for your responses. (And if you think we should just take our kids to MoCo, please let us know that too.)

It hoenstly really sounds like DCPS would be better for you. Why not try it for a few years (through 6th grade) and then decide? Rhee adn folks may have made some changes to middle schools by then, and then high schools after that.
It sounds like we have a lot of the same values and concerns, but I plan on being fully involved in the PTA (Oyster-Adams) and am also willing to pull dd out if necessary. DD is "advanced", as was I, and she's just going to have to deal with it. You can be friends with kids not as smart as you - you can join acitivities afterschool and on weekends - you can read extra books. But you can't teach true diversity, understanding and acceptance. You can't teach a curiousity about others and a true knowledge of economic diversity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do the Bethesda and CC upper graders dress to the nines? I guess when I'm driving past, the high school kids look sort of sloppy and sporty to me. Same as many Upper NW kids, actually.

Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School cluster actually draws from a somewhat diverse area, both racially and socio-economically. It draws from parts of Bethesda, Silver Spring and Friendship Heights which are higher density/less expensive housing (i.e. apartments). There are also parts of the cluster which have neighborhoods that are big expensive houses on big lots. BCC doesn't have a 20% FARMS rate, and it's got a 60/40 white/nonwhite population ratio, but its students, by and large, are not bratty, spoiled, racially isolated nor ignorant of the world around them as some seem to imply.

I went to BCC (ok, long ago, so things can change) and never heard of dressing to the nines there.... money was never that important, nor race. All in all, I'd say a pretty even-keeled place. Those kinds of inclusive attitudes don't just appear out of the blue in high school; they exist and are nurtured by parents and schools from childhood.

There's just so much myth and attitude about Chevy Chase on this board it's kind of surprising.

Perhaps you are confusing us with our Potomac/Whitman BMW-driving brethren? (Just kidding on that last part....)

[Anonymous]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/15/AR2008121503114.html?g=1