Somerset Elementary School v. Bethesda Elementary?

[Anonymous]

Hi. I'll be moving to Montgomery County for the schools, and need to be near a Metro. Right now I'm looking at Somerset Elementary School and Bethesda Elementary School. They both look terrific. I'm also open to other elementary schools near a Metro in MoCo.
If you have any experience with either school, I'd be grateful for any insights.
Also, how do I find out how large the classes are in the schools? I have a preference for small classes. (Who doesn't? But I fear my quiet, shy daughter might get lost in a large class.) I've looked at the schools' Web sites and can't tell how many kids are in a class.
Thank you all again!

[Anonymous]

You can look at the "At a Glance" reports for any of the county schools here:

http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/

They have info on average class sizes, test scores, etc.

Once you've selected a school to look at, you can also see survey results from students, parents, and staff, which you can compare to the school's history, the cluster, or the county as a whole.

[Anonymous]

We have a daughter in kindergarden at Bethesda Elem. and have been extremely pleased. The kindergarden classes this year have 22 or 23, which is lower than the last two years.

[Anonymous]

I find the most useful info. isn't at the school's individual website. If you want demographic/test/class size info. you should go to this page http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/
and select the school you want from the "school-odex." Then, on the school's MCPS page, select "[school name] at a glance" and it will give a bunch of information, including class size. The MCPS page also has results of a parents' survey, but the response rate on those is usually small enough that I am not sure they are helpful.

For what it's worth, my child is also pretty shy and quiet and has done well at a school with larger class sizes.

[Anonymous]

We're at Somerset and I love it. About 22-24 kids per class which I also love. Yes, I know that that is counterintuitive, but that size allows for lots of different friendship groups and the ability to move around the friendship groups. No one is locked in to a clique. And there is so much parent volunteering that it seems that whenever the teacher needs help, she or he has it. The principal is just fantastic as is the school counselor.

[Anonymous]

I'm the original poster--just wanted to say THANK YOU! Such quick and helpful responses.

[Anonymous]

Our kids went to Somerset and had a great experience overall -- excellent teachers for the most part and a friendly community. I would note, however, that MCPS class size is creeping up everywhere, including Somerset. Moreover, it's very difficult to predict class sizes from year to year, so small classes this year are no guarantee that classes will stay small next year for the same grade or any other. Our kids are not shy at all, but, as a former teacher who has volunteered as a parent extensively, I do think class size makes a huge difference for all kids, regardless of temperament, ability level, maturity or other factors. We switched our kids to independent schools after elementary school, and have found tremendous benefits in the smaller class sizes.

[Anonymous]

The boundaries for Somerset ES aren't really near the Metro, unless you're fortunate enough to snag one of the 20 houses right near Wisconsin (which never go on the market). something to keep in mind.

[Anonymous]

If you want your child somewhere that has a rich PTA, it's Somerset all the way. You should see their tax filings.

[Anonymous]

I went to Somerset and there are a ton of houses in that area that are walk to Metro-friendly - I did the walk from the Friendship Heights metro station throughout middle and high school and it took about 15 minutes to a house just about equidistant between the FH and Bethesda Metros. I have a friend who just rented a townhouse that's in the Somerset district which is an easy walk to the Bethesda Metro, and much of Chevy Chase Village is in the Somerset district and much of it is very walkable to Metro.

[Anonymous]

If you think that a 25 minute walk each way to the Metro is friendly, then yes, there are plenty of houses in Somerset that are Metro friendly. That's good exercise I guess but 50 minutes of walking every work day sucks up a lot of time.

[Anonymous]

If you look up the academic statistics for both schools, they do not compare.

Somerset is an amazing school--the parent involvement, lack of cliques, and lack of bullying makes it a wonderful family environment. Another plus is the number of international families. My husband and I always comment on how many languages are spoken at school functions! Pretty neat evironment for kids.

Yes, there is a lot of money in that school, which is why the PTA can do what it does. We are not in that group (we rent in the area), but do enjoy the benefits of the PTA.

[Anonymous]

We live in the Town of Somerset; it's an easy 15-minute walk to the Friendship Heights Metro -- my DH does it every day and loves the exercise.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you want your child somewhere that has a rich PTA, it's Somerset all the way. You should see their tax filings.

Where do you locate this information?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you look up the academic statistics for both schools, they do not compare.

Yes, Somerset is even wealthier than Bethesda, which unsurprisingly results in slightly higher test scores, and there may certainly be differences between the school, but the idea that they are not comparable is just silly.