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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]OP,

We have kids in the Walter Johnson and BCC cluster and have friends in other Bethesda MCPS schools.

You have to realize that there are structural limitations in MCPS due to rapid demographic changes which bring overcrowding and, in some schools, many children who do not speak English as a first language, but this is not a pressing issue in the Bethesda-area schools. Certain Bethesda schools which are not in the immediate downtown have very affluent families with children who for the most part have always lived a very comfortable lifestyle and thus may have a skewed perception of reality.

Every teacher is supposed to follow the same curriculum HOWEVER some schools or teacher teams in certain grades implement extra add-ons, for example the Lucy Calkins writing program, which could be considered an enrichment. We have found that each teacher has a lot of leeway in what he or she does in the class.

So your question is really too large. By the time your child hits certain grades at a certain school, that teacher might not be teaching there anymore and her approach might not be implemented by the current teacher!

As a European who studied at various private schools in the UK, France and Germany, and who did a stint in a Japanese school, here's what I've noticed:
1. The MCPS curriculum, as well as many private school curriculae, are "a mile wide and an inch thick", meaning that the students are introduced to a wide variety of concepts without having the time to go in-depth and develop critical thinking skills to answer complex problems in each. This is particularly problematic in writing development and math thinking.
2. There are no textbooks so review and reading ahead are difficult.
3. Certain MCPS schools are excellent at caring for special needs, particularly the Bethesda Elementary School, some of them are terrible, it depends on the attitude of each school administration, but none except selective magnets are adept at challenging advanced students. Magnets at the elementary school level (Highly Gifted Centers) will be close to you, but in middle and high school have been deliberately chosen to be far away from Bethesda, to revive other downtowns such as Silver Spring, Takoma Park or Wheaton. This poses a transportation issue for Bethesda-area students.
[/quote]

OP,

I'm the above poster. We don't really know what knowledge base you're starting from, and what your expectations are, so perhaps you should visit a handful of schools to get an idea yourself. 
At the Bethesda Elementary school in downtown Bethesda, coming from a Montessori preschool experience, we found that socialization was the important learning experience, and that academics took a back seat, even in the supposedly "advanced" math and reading groups. The academic level is about the same in all elementary schools. Teachers were mostly caring and nurturing, particularly the K and 1st grade ones, within limits since classes are large (29 in my 1st grader's classroom). Some teachers in upper grades yelled or were quite cold, but that didn't mean they were terrible teachers! Every teacher my kids have ever had, had some good points and some bad points. The worst ones were actually the "warm and fuzzy" variety because they couldn't keep order in their classroom and no learning could happen. I'm a fan of no nonsense teachers :-)
And as I said, the special needs team at BE is excellent compared to the surrounding schools. We are grateful for their support for one of our children.
The Lucy Calkins writing program challenges the students more than the usual curriculum, which is abysmal.
The new addition built last year is ALREADY above capacity, which exemplifies the type of planning done by MCPS.

I have heard good things about Kensington Parkwood and Bradley Hills, and mixed feelings about Wyngate (good but a bit chaotic) and Woodacres (difficult period during building but maybe it's better now) and Somerset (narrow minded principal and disastrous SN services but that was some years ago). Bear in mind this is from my friends' comments, not personal experience.

As for middle and high schools, the whole area is in flux because of overcrowding. BCC cluster will have a new middle school in Kensington by 2017-2018.
Walter Johnson is trying to solve its high school overcrowding problem by relocating its high school or possible eliminating a feeder elementary.
Haven't heard from Walt Whitman.[/quote]

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