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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I'm an MCPS veteran.

Think of it in these terms, OP:

A. The wealthy neighborhoods to the south-west of MoCo (Bethesda, Chevy-Chase, Potomac, etc) have the schools with the best test scores and largest cohort of families who care about education. The schools are generally safer (be aware that there are safety issues at all schools, we're talking about a gradient in terms of frequency of incidents), and the general atmosphere in school is mostly studious, with a very large list of advanced courses that kids can take at the high school level.

[b]No, most parents care about their kids' education.  At the other schools, kids do not have access to the same education and courses.  Many of our kids also test well but there is a huge mix of kids, including ESOL and SN, unlike those schools that send them to our schools.  Our kids don't have math classes after AP Calc BC.  So much for MCPS equity.
[/b]

B. There's a number of more affordable middle class neighborhoods where schools are acceptable, with parental involvement to make sure their kids are kept on an academically successful path and don't get distracted by social problems at school. There might not be all the course options that the top schools have, but they're still OK.

[b]No, there are many good neighborhoods and middle class is subjective.  Many of us in these neighborhoods are highly involved, if not more involved than you are.  You really have no clue.  [/b]

C. There are less privileged neighborhoods with schools that are constantly beset by the behavior problems of multiple students, some of whom are in gangs. These schools have many families who due to financial pressures and lack of education, cannot adequately nurture their children's academics. Don't go there.

[b]The behavior is just as bad at the W and richer schools - read the news)[/b]

So are the wealthy schools "cut-throat"? Maybe, but you also have the benefit of a studious cohort, a certain level of daily safety in school, more academic options (Walter Johnson has Latin, Walt Whitman has all the languages prized by the State Department and intelligence agencies, both have post-AP college math courses).

There are other, critical, considerations:
1. Commute, for daily life satisfaction.
2. Real estate prices, for what you can afford but also how you invest your money.

Personally, I would go with the best school district you can afford that also works with your commute. Even in the 2008 recession, my house in Bethesda didn't lose value. I didn't just invest in an education. I invested in the neighborhood.

Finally, I am multiethnic and not American and couldn't care less about diversity. My kids' education and my money (real estate investment) matter far more than how many kids look like them in their school. It's not like any other kid could have the same mix of ethnicities anyway :-)

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I'm so grateful my kids don't go to school with your kids as you are exhausting and racist.[/quote]

+1another MCPS veteran “grateful etc”

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