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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]OP, I live in Takoma Park and like it.  That said, I wish we found a place that is zoned for East Silver Spring so that we could have saved money on city taxes :-)[/quote]

Curiously, there is a small section of SS zoned for TPES and PBES that isn't part of TKPK so avoids the additional property taxes.[/quote]

There's also a small section of Takoma Park zoned for ESS. I think the boundaries are weird in part because BOTH ESS and TPES used to feed to Piney Branch. Then Piney Branch got too big, and their footprint can't be expanded, so ESS moved to a K-5 system and the boundaries ended up a little muddled.

With all of that said, I've had kids at both schools and they both have their strengths and weaknesses. TPES/PBES benefit from the in-house gifted programs, and from a generally wealthier parent community that allows the PTA to really flourish. They also suffer from that same wealthier student community, with some parents advocating just a little too strenuously for the interests of their own children over the interests of the broader (and diverse) student body. They have push-in STEM enrichment, somehow funded by the city as far as I can tell, which is unique among schools in the area. The school reflects Takoma Park values, which is nice if you want your bake sale to have vegan gluten free ethically sourced chocolate chip cookies, which I do. The K-2 model lets TPES really focus on the needs of littler kids, and lets the 2nd graders have some responsibility when they are the "big kids." The down side is that the size of the schools, and the shift from TPES to PBES, means that the kids aren't "seen" by teachers, counselors, and administration. There are just too many little kids, and the school knows them for too short a period of time. That can be fine, or it can be frustrating if you have a kid who needs a little extra care and attention.

ESS has a more economically diverse student body, and a smaller number of parents with the time, money, and interest to volunteer. That's changing, however, as new families come into the school and broaden the base of parent volunteers. While they don't have the in-house gifted programs, they do some differentiation that the Takoma Park schools didn't, like William & Mary starting in 2nd grade. They are also apparently piloting the new Enhanced Literacy Curriculum in 4th grade this year.  There is a new principal who seems interested in improving outreach to parents, from what I hear, and getting the school more engaged in the broader TP/SS community. My child at ESS was also absolutely known and loved and "seen" by the school. From the principal and AP to the counselor and classroom teachers even outside their grade, my child definitely felt known and appreciated as an individual student and community member. Oh, and you get the same preference going in to TPMS magnet admissions as kids coming out of Piney Branch, and anecdotally, ESS kids have done pretty well.

Basically, they are both great schools, with pluses and minuses, like literally every other school in MCPS. I wouldn't prioritize one over the other unless I had a child who desperately needed the math enrichment available at TPES, or unless curbside composting was on my Top 3 list for a neighborhood. [/quote]

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