Bethesda vs Kensington

[Anonymous]

We are looking to move to relocate to MD. Currently looking to purchase a home in the area and have a 2yo. We were wondering if there is a "safe" choice in terms of schools (public elementary and high school). We value education and want to have the best options. However currently private school is not our first option.

We're looking in Bethesda, Kensington (Parkwood or Garrett park). Considering the age of our daughter, and the fact that we want to settle down and be close to the friends and family in the area, where is a good choice?

HHI ~$250K mid 30 small international family. Value education, diversity, hard work.

Thanks

[Anonymous]

What kind of down payment do you have? Or more directly, how much do you feel you can spend? How big a house do you want and can you deal with one that needs some work?

Your $ will go further in Kensington, but you almost certainly could afford something in Bethesda, depending on your priorities.

You should also think about your commute.

[Anonymous]

OP here:

Thanks for your reply. I also posted the similar thing in the real estate forum as I thought the housing-related questions may be more relevant there.

We're moving from Seattle and comfortable to spend $150-$200K on downpayment and were looking for sub or low $800K houses. minimum 3br. Anything that doesn't need major renovation is fine. So basically we're ok with a 3br 1.5bth and old interior as we can move in there but improve it over years.

Looking at Kensington, I read that a new HS may open and may not be as good. I know we have many years and a lot of things may change, but in general, I want to get a feeling of the community and neighborhood. As I think if other like-minded people live in the neighborhood they may have this as their priority and somehow keep the school quality high.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here:

Thanks for your reply. I also posted the similar thing in the real estate forum as I thought the housing-related questions may be more relevant there.

We're moving from Seattle and comfortable to spend $150-$200K on downpayment and were looking for sub or low $800K houses. minimum 3br. Anything that doesn't need major renovation is fine. So basically we're ok with a 3br 1.5bth and old interior as we can move in there but improve it over years.

Looking at Kensington, I read that a new HS may open and may not be as good. I know we have many years and a lot of things may change, but in general, I want to get a feeling of the community and neighborhood. As I think if other like-minded people live in the neighborhood they may have this as their priority and somehow keep the school quality high.

A former high school, Woodward, will be reopening in several years. The boundaries aren't known yet. But there's no reason to think it won't be as good. Parkwood and Garrett Park are great neighborhoods.

[Anonymous]

Bethesda hands down, OP.

Both are lovely areas with great people, but know that Kensington will have to fight against a boundary change just like it did years ago, to stay in the Walter Johnson cluster. There is a demographic explosion in Montgomery County, and everyone who can tries to move into the best school clusters - some elementaries, middle and nearly all the high schools are over capacity and a new high school is set to be built on Old Georgetown Rd in the early to mid 2020s: Woodward high school. MCPS will redraw boundaries to determine who gets to go there. I hope Kensington will cluster there, but who knows? They could be clustered with Einstein, which is geographically closer, and not very good.

So first figure out where the current boundaries are, then target an area that is practically sure to lead to a good high school, even if they change boundaries. Your best bet is buying between Walt Whitman, BCC and Walter Johnson.

Of course, that area is significantly more expensive than Kensington or Garret Park...

[Anonymous]

21:19 again, to clarify that the new Woodward high school will be great. Why? Because the families in that area (Bethesda) are wealthy. It's the zoning towards the east you want to watch out for.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:21:19 again, to clarify that the new Woodward high school will be great. Why? Because the families in that area (Bethesda) are wealthy. It's the zoning towards the east you want to watch out for.

Yes, watch out for those of us who live towards the east. We could be dangerous!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:21:19 again, to clarify that the new Woodward high school will be great. Why? Because the families in that area (Bethesda) are wealthy. It's the zoning towards the east you want to watch out for.

Yes, watch out for those of us who live towards the east. We could be dangerous!

I used to live in downtown Silver Spring. I visited the schools there, before deciding to move to Bethesda. I have friends in SS, who send their kids to school there. Sure, the curriculum is the same. Some teachers are wonderful. With involved parents, a determined child can succeed in any MCPS school!
But come on. The level of achievement, engagement and culture is simply not the same as in wealthier public schools. If my friends could move, they would.

And before someone starts whining that it's all to get away from Blacks and Hispanics, it's not that. My friends and I are multiethnic and diversity is important to us. Luckily, downtown Bethesda has a ton of international families. My daughter's elementary holds a MultiCultural Night with a parade of flags, where close to 50 nations are represented each year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Bethesda hands down, OP.

Both are lovely areas with great people, but know that Kensington will have to fight against a boundary change just like it did years ago, to stay in the Walter Johnson cluster. There is a demographic explosion in Montgomery County, and everyone who can tries to move into the best school clusters - some elementaries, middle and nearly all the high schools are over capacity and a new high school is set to be built on Old Georgetown Rd in the early to mid 2020s: Woodward high school. MCPS will redraw boundaries to determine who gets to go there. I hope Kensington will cluster there, but who knows? They could be clustered with Einstein, which is geographically closer, and not very good.

So first figure out where the current boundaries are, then target an area that is practically sure to lead to a good high school, even if they change boundaries. Your best bet is buying between Walt Whitman, BCC and Walter Johnson.

Of course, that area is significantly more expensive than Kensington or Garret Park...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:21:19 again, to clarify that the new Woodward high school will be great. Why? Because the families in that area (Bethesda) are wealthy. It's the zoning towards the east you want to watch out for.

Yes, watch out for those of us who live towards the east. We could be dangerous!

I used to live in downtown Silver Spring. I visited the schools there, before deciding to move to Bethesda. I have friends in SS, who send their kids to school there. Sure, the curriculum is the same. Some teachers are wonderful. With involved parents, a determined child can succeed in any MCPS school!
But come on. The level of achievement, engagement and culture is simply not the same as in wealthier public schools. If my friends could move, they would.

And before someone starts whining that it's all to get away from Blacks and Hispanics, it's not that. My friends and I are multiethnic and diversity is important to us. Luckily, downtown Bethesda has a ton of international families. My daughter's elementary holds a MultiCultural Night with a parade of flags, where close to 50 nations are represented each year.

We get it. Some of your best friends are diplomats of color!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:21:19 again, to clarify that the new Woodward high school will be great. Why? Because the families in that area (Bethesda) are wealthy. It's the zoning towards the east you want to watch out for.

Yes, watch out for those of us who live towards the east. We could be dangerous!

I used to live in downtown Silver Spring. I visited the schools there, before deciding to move to Bethesda. I have friends in SS, who send their kids to school there. Sure, the curriculum is the same. Some teachers are wonderful. With involved parents, a determined child can succeed in any MCPS school!
But come on. The level of achievement, engagement and culture is simply not the same as in wealthier public schools. If my friends could move, they would.

And before someone starts whining that it's all to get away from Blacks and Hispanics, it's not that. My friends and I are multiethnic and diversity is important to us. Luckily, downtown Bethesda has a ton of international families. My daughter's elementary holds a MultiCultural Night with a parade of flags, where close to 50 nations are represented each year.

We get it. Some of your best friends are diplomats of color!

No. Stop trolling.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:21:19 again, to clarify that the new Woodward high school will be great. Why? Because the families in that area (Bethesda) are wealthy. It's the zoning towards the east you want to watch out for.

Yes, watch out for those of us who live towards the east. We could be dangerous!

I used to live in downtown Silver Spring. I visited the schools there, before deciding to move to Bethesda. I have friends in SS, who send their kids to school there. Sure, the curriculum is the same. Some teachers are wonderful. With involved parents, a determined child can succeed in any MCPS school!
But come on. The level of achievement, engagement and culture is simply not the same as in wealthier public schools. If my friends could move, they would.

And before someone starts whining that it's all to get away from Blacks and Hispanics, it's not that. My friends and I are multiethnic and diversity is important to us. Luckily, downtown Bethesda has a ton of international families. My daughter's elementary holds a MultiCultural Night with a parade of flags, where close to 50 nations are represented each year.

I live in Woodside Park, in a wonderful large colonial worth about $1m. Our kids attended Woodlin, Sligo, and Einstein. Our older DC attended an Ivy League school and just finished medical school, and our younger DC is at a SLAC ranked in the single digits by USNWR.

We have never doubted they were getting a great public school education.

We could have moved at any time, but have never had any desire to live anywhere else.

[Anonymous]

BCC has an open IB program and fair # of international families - WB, IMF, DoS ambassadors or similar types.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:21:19 again, to clarify that the new Woodward high school will be great. Why? Because the families in that area (Bethesda) are wealthy. It's the zoning towards the east you want to watch out for.

Yes, watch out for those of us who live towards the east. We could be dangerous!

I used to live in downtown Silver Spring. I visited the schools there, before deciding to move to Bethesda. I have friends in SS, who send their kids to school there. Sure, the curriculum is the same. Some teachers are wonderful. With involved parents, a determined child can succeed in any MCPS school!
But come on. The level of achievement, engagement and culture is simply not the same as in wealthier public schools. If my friends could move, they would.

And before someone starts whining that it's all to get away from Blacks and Hispanics, it's not that. My friends and I are multiethnic and diversity is important to us. Luckily, downtown Bethesda has a ton of international families. My daughter's elementary holds a MultiCultural Night with a parade of flags, where close to 50 nations are represented each year.

We get it. Some of your best friends are diplomats of color!

No. Stop trolling.

Not trolling. Spot on.

You want “diversity” meaning, people mostly like you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I used to live in downtown Silver Spring. I visited the schools there, before deciding to move to Bethesda. I have friends in SS, who send their kids to school there. Sure, the curriculum is the same. Some teachers are wonderful. With involved parents, a determined child can succeed in any MCPS school!
But come on. The level of achievement, engagement and culture is simply not the same as in wealthier public schools. If my friends could move, they would.

And before someone starts whining that it's all to get away from Blacks and Hispanics, it's not that. My friends and I are multiethnic and diversity is important to us. Luckily, downtown Bethesda has a ton of international families. My daughter's elementary holds a MultiCultural Night with a parade of flags, where close to 50 nations are represented each year.

What does this mean? Both in general, and in terms of the education a specific child (for example, OP's child) would get?