Positive and negative posts are welcome. It is good to receive as many opinions about the situation as possible. I know I've had a lot of soul searching about how I envision the perfect education experience while navigating NYC and Westchester school systems. It is true Westchester's schools are ran at a local level but that also means that you can pay as much as private school in your property tax bill, and depending on the town - you do not always get what you pay for.

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 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!

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!