Moving - Middle School Advice

[neuropoetry]

We are moving to the Bethesda area sometime over the summer from Westchester County (New York). We have a DS entering 6th grade in the Fall (2021).

We are looking for a school who has a solid administration that supports teachers and students, as well as, nurturing, enthusiastic teachers.

Additionally we are looking for a middle school who has a strong orchestra program (he is an avid violin player), computer science/technology and art program. It appears that all the MCPS schools are amazing, but are there specific middle schools that might standout in these areas? We know Middle School years are a difficult couple of years to navigate.

Lastly, due to the eLearning a lot of the normal curriculum is not posted on individual middle schools websites because their websites are dedicated to eLearning - which is understandable. From the MCPS grade 6 curriculum page there appears to be up to 6 different Coding, Engineering and Robotics Design STEM electives - but they are not offered at all middle schools. Can you share what is offered in what middle schools from your personal experiences? And will DS have to choose among orchestra, computer science and art?

Thank you!

[Anonymous]

For Orchestra, you have good options at any of the schools you would consider. Check out the Maryland All-State Junior Orchestra if you want to see where the bulk of middle schoolers are coming from.

Cabin John and Frost are always well-represented. Now, that doesn't really tell you whether the school orchestra teacher is great, just which schools have kids who are extremely serious and well-trained, so it is a start.

[neuropoetry]

Anonymous wrote:For Orchestra, you have good options at any of the schools you would consider. Check out the Maryland All-State Junior Orchestra if you want to see where the bulk of middle schoolers are coming from.

Cabin John and Frost are always well-represented. Now, that doesn't really tell you whether the school orchestra teacher is great, just which schools have kids who are extremely serious and well-trained, so it is a start.

Thank you! This is helpful on many levels!

[Anonymous]

Most (but not all) middle schools allow for two electives. Most students take a world language and an art or tech elective. So, for example, if your DS wants to take Spanish, he’d need to choose between orchestra, art, and technology. Some schools require the kids to take world language, and others have more wiggle room. Also, some schools have clubs for world language, art, music, and/or tech, so he might be able to participate that way.

[Anonymous]

Takoma Park middle school

[Anonymous]

My almost 6th grader just had orientation for the fall at Silver Creek Middle School (not zoned for Bethesda, and maybe not the side of town you want), but here’s what their program is:

Advanced English - they supposedly differentiate within the class for higher and lower levels but I doubt that as I don’t see it happening in 5th grade
SS is a version of ancient world - they have an honors SS course but you must be invited by the “district” and they use standardized testing and other data that you as a parent don’t know about.
Math - tracked from 3rd grade - it appears if you are on level in math you’ll only be able to test out a bit by 7th grade though I am still unclear on that
Foreign Lang - Spanish or French
Electives - choice of orchestra, chorus, or band (full year), or a split year of digital art/regular art coupled with an engineering/ STEM something

OP, hear me.
I just moved here from Bergen County and I’m also an educator in secondary education. This is a different animal here. The academics are decent but it’s very poorly run. Go private or stay in Westchester. We are already looking to move out of the DMV as it’s honestly just not a good fit for any of us.

Best of luck to you!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My almost 6th grader just had orientation for the fall at Silver Creek Middle School (not zoned for Bethesda, and maybe not the side of town you want), but here’s what their program is:

Advanced English - they supposedly differentiate within the class for higher and lower levels but I doubt that as I don’t see it happening in 5th grade
SS is a version of ancient world - they have an honors SS course but you must be invited by the “district” and they use standardized testing and other data that you as a parent don’t know about.
Math - tracked from 3rd grade - it appears if you are on level in math you’ll only be able to test out a bit by 7th grade though I am still unclear on that
Foreign Lang - Spanish or French
Electives - choice of orchestra, chorus, or band (full year), or a split year of digital art/regular art coupled with an engineering/ STEM something

OP, hear me.
I just moved here from Bergen County and I’m also an educator in secondary education. This is a different animal here. The academics are decent but it’s very poorly run. Go private or stay in Westchester. We are already looking to move out of the DMV as it’s honestly just not a good fit for any of us.

Best of luck to you!

MCPS does make it a little bit hard to “place up” if you’re moving in from another district. Silver Creek is stricter about that than some of the other schools, but it is possible if you have MAP and PARCC scores from your current district.

Silver Creek has fewer electives than other middle schools. They also require most kids to take a full year of high school level world language every year. My cynical take on this is that they intentionally have skimpy electives so that people won’t complain as much about the language requirement. FWIW, the music and art programs are both quite good. They also have an interim principal right now, so who knows if the new principal will make any changes.

OP, it is annoying but true that schools across MCPS do not have the same course offerings or requirements. The district either can’t or won’t give you any information, so you have to individually contact the counseling office of whatever schools you’re considering to get accurate information. That said, the counseling offices are generally responsive. DCUM might give you quicker answers, but there’s also a lot of misinformation.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Pyle
for all your orchestral / administrative needs

[Anonymous]

neuropoetry wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For Orchestra, you have good options at any of the schools you would consider. Check out the Maryland All-State Junior Orchestra if you want to see where the bulk of middle schoolers are coming from.

Cabin John and Frost are always well-represented. Now, that doesn't really tell you whether the school orchestra teacher is great, just which schools have kids who are extremely serious and well-trained, so it is a start.

Thank you! This is helpful on many levels!

another thing to note here would be that all of Frost goes to Wootton High School but Cabin John is split between Churchill and Wootton.....so if you want to avoid the split avoid Cabin John

[Anonymous]

One of the instrumental music teachers at Cabin John MS produces great-sounding results but is a bully.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My almost 6th grader just had orientation for the fall at Silver Creek Middle School (not zoned for Bethesda, and maybe not the side of town you want), but here’s what their program is:

Advanced English - they supposedly differentiate within the class for higher and lower levels but I doubt that as I don’t see it happening in 5th grade
SS is a version of ancient world - they have an honors SS course but you must be invited by the “district” and they use standardized testing and other data that you as a parent don’t know about.
Math - tracked from 3rd grade - it appears if you are on level in math you’ll only be able to test out a bit by 7th grade though I am still unclear on that
Foreign Lang - Spanish or French
Electives - choice of orchestra, chorus, or band (full year), or a split year of digital art/regular art coupled with an engineering/ STEM something

OP, hear me.
I just moved here from Bergen County and I’m also an educator in secondary education. This is a different animal here. The academics are decent but it’s very poorly run. Go private or stay in Westchester. We are already looking to move out of the DMV as it’s honestly just not a good fit for any of us.

Best of luck to you!

Rent first in the Whitman or BCC area - you’ll be with plenty of ex NYers - and then see how your kid does in public. If you choose to go private after a year or two, you can buy in a less expensive area. Schools here cannot compare to Westchester, sorry.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Pyle
for all your orchestral / administrative needs

Pyle sucks, but Whitman is amazing.

[Anonymous]

I don't think this is what you are looking for, but TPMS has one of the strongest orchestra teachers in the county, and is generally regarded as one of the best-run schools from an administrative standpoint. It houses the STEM magnet for the middle school level in down-county, which means it has active robotics clubs and other options that might not be as robust in other schools.

The fact that you are looking only at Bethesda suggests you've already decided against the eastern part of the county, but just in case you are still open to other options - Takoma Park fits your stated goals pretty ideally.

[neuropoetry]

Anonymous wrote:I don't think this is what you are looking for, but TPMS has one of the strongest orchestra teachers in the county, and is generally regarded as one of the best-run schools from an administrative standpoint. It houses the STEM magnet for the middle school level in down-county, which means it has active robotics clubs and other options that might not be as robust in other schools.

The fact that you are looking only at Bethesda suggests you've already decided against the eastern part of the county, but just in case you are still open to other options - Takoma Park fits your stated goals pretty ideally.

We are very open minded but I'm concerned about commuting distances. We have been focusing in on Bethesda, northern DC area, Potomac, parts of Rockville/North Bethesda and Takoma Park. Not being from the area, I'm a little afraid that the commute from Takoma Park to Bethesda will not be pleasant. Is it doable?

[Anonymous]

neuropoetry wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't think this is what you are looking for, but TPMS has one of the strongest orchestra teachers in the county, and is generally regarded as one of the best-run schools from an administrative standpoint. It houses the STEM magnet for the middle school level in down-county, which means it has active robotics clubs and other options that might not be as robust in other schools.

The fact that you are looking only at Bethesda suggests you've already decided against the eastern part of the county, but just in case you are still open to other options - Takoma Park fits your stated goals pretty ideally.

We are very open minded but I'm concerned about commuting distances. We have been focusing in on Bethesda, northern DC area, Potomac, parts of Rockville/North Bethesda and Takoma Park. Not being from the area, I'm a little afraid that the commute from Takoma Park to Bethesda will not be pleasant. Is it doable?

Yes, Takoma Park to Bethesda is doable. In a few years the Purple Line will be another option.