Reply to New to MCPS...had a few questions

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Welcome!

Montgomery County is a huge, diverse county with 26 (soon to be 28) high schools and 209 total schools. To the first order, you can get a fantastic education in every school. Don't just go by school ratings - many schools have a wide range of SES in the school. A mix of high SES and FARMS/ELLs can bring down average scores. At the elementary level, there is extra funding towards high needs schools, so they have lower class sizes in K-2 compared to ES in wealthier neighborhoods. There are usually boundary changes when new schools are opened. There are 2 new high schools that will open in the next 5 years, and that will definitely shift articulation patterns. No one knows how yet, so don't try to buy based on high school. Especially because things can change a lot in 10 years.
https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/

For your purposes, you should start by choosing a neighborhood that suites your commuting needs and fits your budget. Do you want access to metro? How close - walking? Do you want more urban, suburban, or rural? Do you want a newer home or an older home? There is a lot of newer construction up-county (Gaithersburg, Montgomery Village, Germantown, Clarksburg, Poolesville) and you can get newer, bigger homes for the same price as in downcounty areas. Newer neighborhoods likely have a lot more younger families with younger children. Look for things like summer swim teams, local sporting leagues, etc. that your kids may become involved in. If you are in the area, I would do some driving around and just look at the schools and neighborhoods to get a feel of the region.

Pre-K is designed for low income students. https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/dtecps/earlychildhood/prek/ If that is not you, there are a variety of full-day care programs around. Personally, I'm a fan of Montessori schools.

The Centers for Enriched Studies uses universal screening in 3rd grade, for students to begin in 4th grade. Currently it is a combination of existing data, some cohort analysis (if there are many kids at your ES, they can be served at the ES), and lottery. There are lots of threads here about it. Many, many opinions...
There are also several two-way ES language immersion programs to consider. Students are taught in both languages through ES and then in MS begin taking HS language courses.
https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/curriculum/specialprograms/elementary/[/quote]

Thank you for the comprehensive response :-)[/quote]

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