Mistake to move out of Whitman cluster?

[Anonymous]

We're currently in the Bradley Hills/Pyle/Whitman district but we are really wanting to get a nicer home, and I don't think we'll be able to find anything we like in our price range in this district. Would we be making a huge mistake to leave this school district? What opportunities would my daughter be deprived if she went, for instance, to schools in the Walter Johnson, Richard Montgomery, Churchill or BCC cluster? (Walter Johnson may be most likely). What's the real difference? Just reputation? My daughter is Asian, so I like the diversity at some of the other schools better than this one. Many of the test scores seem reasonably close between districts. If it's really worth it for her to go to Bradley Hills/Pyle/ Whitman, we can certainly manage here but it would be nice to not feel so restricted in neighborhoods as we look at houses. Thanks for any insights. Any positives to NOT being in the Whitman district?

[Anonymous]

Assuming she has the same grades, same scores, same experiences when applying to college (as she would if she were to stay at Whitman), she will be competing with fewer peers for the limited spots at most competitive colleges. These colleges will only admit a certain number of kids from each high school's senior class. That is one benefit of leaving Whitman and going to another (still excellent) MoCo high school.

[Anonymous]

Whitman also has a reputation as a bit of a pressure cooker-- some kids do well in that environment but I certainly wouldn't think it's the only (or even necessarily the best) place to get a good education.

[Anonymous]

Don't do it--Whitman's a great cluster!

[Anonymous]

My son has many friends at all of these schools and I would say that all have a great deal to offer. (n.b.: my son goes to an independent school, so I don't have a horse in this race) In particular, WJ has developed a great internship program with NIH where many WJ parents work; BCC has a terrific theatre program and offers IB courses for certification or a la carte. RM has a 4-year, competitive entrance IB program leading to certification. It draws from the whole county, though I don't know whether kids from the RM district get any preference in admission.

As far as college admissions, comparing the RM IB, WJ, and BCC to Whitman, they all do well quite well. I would disagree with the PP who suggested that the other schools might offer an edge over the others in terms of numbers of applicants to competitive schools . Sure, in any given year this might be true with any given college or university, but my guess is that this varies considerably from year to year depending on the mix of kids who are applying and trends in popularity of colleges and universities. In any case, the edge would be ever so slight; basically a kid is never going to score points for geographical diversity coming from any school in this area -- unless, maybe, he/she is applying to the University of Hawaii.

In light of the strength of the high schools in all these clusters, I'd suggest that you might want to look more closely at the middle schools in each cluster. Westland is the weak link in the BCC cluster for sure while Pyle parents seem generally pleased with their school. I don't know much about the schools that feed into WJ and RM.

[Anonymous]

Wootton and Churchill are also both incredibly strong.

[Anonymous]

I think you should stay put and try to enjoy the house you're in. Whitman is the best school of the choices you mentioned.

[Anonymous]

Stick with the Whitman, Wootton or Churchill clusters and you can't go wrong.

[Anonymous]

If you're in Bethesda or western MoCo, you're safe no matter what. If you move to Silver Spring, Takoma Park or Wheaton, you will probably find your kid applying to magnets for MS or HS. The competition for some of the magnets is really intense, for example 1::7 for Richard Montgomery or Blair, and lots of really talented kids don't get in (sort of like Harvard rejecting lots of talented kids). If I were you, I'd stick to where you already have solid school options.

[Anonymous]

From a former Whitman parent, here are some positives if you are not in the Whitman cluster
Your children won't expect to go expensive outdoor hiking camps in Colorado or Europe because all their friends are going.
Your child won't expect a car at age 16 because all of their friends are getting one. Some ever get new cars for their birthday
Your child won't have to compete with Type A students to participate in yearbook, the school newspaper, or TV production

For the record, my children worked during the summer and shared a car. One became an editor on the school newspaper and the other was rejected to Whitman Shorts as a freshman and never want to try out again. This is not to say you won't experience these things at Churchill or Wooten...

[Anonymous]

Wow, thanks so much for all your feedback! Seeing how much more house and land we could get in the Churchill or Wooton districts is making it seem very appealing, not to mention the difference in diversity (though I could be way off, using 2008 demographics to anticipate 12 years from now!)

Does anyone have a sense of what the differences in school "cultures" are? i.e. between Churchill, Wootton, Whitman, and perhaps Walter Johnson? Or perhaps they are all similar enough that it's not a valid question?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:From a former Whitman parent, here are some positives if you are not in the Whitman cluster
...
Your child won't expect a car at age 16 because all of their friends are getting one. Some ever get new cars for their birthday

Hah! DH went to Whitman back in the dark ages, and this was true even then. He drove a Dodge Dart and felt very uncool parking it next to the beamers.

[Anonymous]

I also went to Whitman years ago and it doesn't sound like it has changed much. We chose to live in the WJ district. But I think most of the schools in this area are high pressure/ultra competitive these days...

[Anonymous]

What is it about the WJ district that caused you to choose it? How do you perceive the WJ school culture being different from the neighboring high schools?

[Anonymous]

WJ is more diverse, and feeds from Rockville neighborhoods that are solid upper middle class (not upper-upper middle class like Whitman), some apartments by Montgomery Mall and Tuckerman, and NIH neighborhoods.

The honors and AP offerings are excellent, and open to most of the white and Asian kids. The latino and AA kids are often tracked into lower tracks. Segregation is an issue at both B-CC and WJ, but at least there's the possiblility of diverse friendships, which is more than Whitman really offers.

Also, significantly fewer mega rich kids. More of the work to pay for your own car types.