Reply to Montgomery Blair/Albert Einstein vs. B-CC/Whitman -- help me understand the differences

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Reply to "Montgomery Blair/Albert Einstein vs. B-CC/Whitman -- help me understand the differences"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]We are looking at moving to Maryland close in to DC along the red line and have started investigating the schools. We are white UMC and have a student who is reasonably intelligent but not that academically motivated, so will need a push from school.

Based on Great School ratings and other reputational rankings there seem to be very sharp differences between schools in the Silver Spring area like Montgomery Blair, Albert Einstein, and Northwood, as compared to Bethesda/Chevy Chase schools like B-CC, Whitman, and Walter Johnson. But they are all part of the same system. When I look at the school stats on the MCPS web site the big difference seem to be racial makeup (although frankly all schools are pretty diverse) and the proportion of kids taking the SATs. Are the reputational differences mostly just picking this up? What difference will it actually make to our kid's high school experience?[/quote]
NP here. Welcome to MoCo! As you’ve already seen, this board has strong opinions, and if you search past threads, well, you will find a lot more. Take it all with a grain (or 3) of salt. MCPS is one very big district with 110 schools. The entire county tax base supports the entire district, and funding is allocated with need in mind. You don’t need to buy an expensive home to know that your school is receiving appropriate funding.Great schools ratings for MCPS are mostly a reflection of SES, and also the diversity of the area. MoCo has” 5 of the top 10 “most diverse cities” in the country. Schools have varying numbers of English Language Learners, which skews testing results.

If you are thinking red line for commuting purposes, I’d like to suggest looking at Rockville area, with Richard Montgomery High School. There is a variety of housing types/cost close by, strong elementary schools, and easy access to both downtown (via metro) and upcounty shopping, restaurants, parks, and agricultural reserve farms and wineries. It’s also a little less intense than downcounty.”

I hope you have the opportunity to drive around different areas. The neighborhoods are very different ages and have very different feels. If you are UMC, make your housing choice based on neighborhood and commute. You’ll be fine in any of the related school pyramids. Good luck![/quote]

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