Reply to considering move to Bethesda for 9th grade. HS recs?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I would take a tour of BCC before committing. During a school day. It is crowded and hectic and not an easy transition if they are currently at private and anxious and introverted. [/quote]

I'm the PP who had a kid at WJ and now has a kid at BCC. BCC is so much less crowded than WJ, currently. It's also smaller. But to be honest, I wouldn't choose the school based on how crowded or large it is, even with an anxious kid (both my kids are anxious).

All the Bethesda area schools are great schools. BCC may be the least academic, but it's still very good. Colleges all look at MCPS as being one block of similar schools, so for college admissions, there's no advantage to picking one in particular... unless your kid wants a particular language or math class. Not all high schools offer all courses. Walt Whitman is supposed to offer languages that are of value to the Foreign Service (Russian, Arabic, etc) and Walter Johnson has Latin - at least, a few years ago, they did. I haven't checked recently. BCC, since it has fewer students who take STEM APs than WJ, announced that they cannot guarantee AP Chem, and other APs, every year, because it will depend on enrollment. This is unheard of at WJ, where there's always enough kids to take those APs.

If OP wishes to consider diversity, then BCC is the most socio-economically and ethnically diverse of Bethesda schools. Walt Whitman is the wealthiest and whitest.

But this won't be exclusively a schools decision. OP needs to find housing. It won't be easy. OP, the spring real estate market is going to rev up in February. You might want to drive around when the snow clears, look at neighborhoods you like, check Redfin regularly to get a handle on comps and prices, and get your financial ducks in a row so you're ready to sign as soon as you see something you like. Or, alternatively, find a rental first so you have more time to pick a neighborhood and home you want.

There's also commute to consider. Downtown Bethesda is not where you want to be driving through at 9am or 6pm, but maybe you have some flexibility. I live right off the downtown, and can generally avoid being on the road when it's most congested.

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Rising BCC 9th. When did they announce they can’t guaranteed AP Chem, etc.? This doesn’t apply to my student for next year, but this is the kind of info that would be good to have as we are looking ahead and making a loose plan for future years. [/quote]

PP you replied to. There was a no school-wide announcement, apparently. We received an email about it from my kid's counselor, and I thought everyone had received the same email. There are multiple counselors, who each get a group of kids based on letters of the alphabet. My kid's friend (same grade, same interest in STEM), who has a different counselor, did not receive such an email. I confirmed with my kid's counselor, who told me she'd had this info from the science coordinator at BCC. My kid's chemistry teacher also said that if enrollment is too low, courses get cancelled. However, she also said it had not happened in the recent past for chemistry.

So it's a bit frustrating. Perhaps this information wasn't supposed to be shared with families, because it's not something anyone has control over, and it was a prediction for the future. My kid signed up for AP Chem next year (enrollment deadline was on the 15th), and we hope it works out.

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Thanks for following up. That explanation makes sense. It feels like there’s all kinds of info that would be helpful to have, that isn’t really communicated unless you seek it out or hear through the grapevine. [/quote]

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