Reply to Would you live in Takoma Park, MD with young family?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]We almost purchased a home and then decided not to. Here's why:

1. The commute into downtown (where we work) is long. You have to cross through local traffic and it takes twice as long as it should just based on distance alone. 
2. The schools are not good, despite what some may say. See the scores for yourself. Talk to some of the teachers about having to teach to the middle (which isn't so middle). We wanted a good public school option. 
[/quote]

I'm not going to argue with someone else's experience, but it sounds like PP here is describing a driving commute. I can see that being a challenge, but driving into the city also seems like such a waste of living as close in as Takoma Park. Why not just ride the Metro?

The schools are an interesting case. TPES is well regarded, as is Piney Branch but I can see what a PP said about stratification.  If you look at the scores, poor kids do significantly worse at Piney Branch than the statewide average. That is a bit worrying, because I always figure you should look at the scores of the kids who aren't getting outside enrichment to see how the school is really doing.  If you look at the schools around Piney Branch, poor kids test better at the other schools, even schools with much higher percentages of poor children.

BUT...it seems middle class kids do fine wherever, which pretty much confirms what we already know about test scores.  [/quote]

I live in Takoma Park (and love it) and am also surprised by the test scores for lower-income children. I'm not sure what is behind it. Is there a higher immigrant population than in other areas (which can mean language barriers in addition to income differences)? Or is the teaching of quality of the education actually worse than other areas nearby. Our children haven't started school yet so I really don't know.[/quote]

I live on the border of TP and DTSS and  LOVE it. Beautiful tree-lined streets, nice yards, friendly neighbors, all the amenities of a vibrant downtown with shops and restaurants in DTSS with the quaint and character-filled TP a stone's throw away.
That said, the scores for minority and lower SES kids at Piney Branch ES are extremely troubling. And I say that as an AA mom who has paid close attention to the lack of relative growth in those groups' scores over the past few years.
Just compare them to the scores of nearby, and sometimes unfairly maligned ESS elementary. That school does a better job, in terms of tests at least, with helping close the achievement gap and they actually have more lower income and ESL kids by percentage of the population than Piney Branch. That school has steadily been moving all kids forward and it is reflected in their overall score bump. A few years ago ESS was a 4, now they are at a 6 on Great Schools. Not stellar, but definitely growth in the right direction. 
Piney Branch's scores seemed to be largely buttressed by the high scores of the white kids. They are at a 7 overall.
And if you look more closely at the actual state and county scores (from which Great Schools pulls data) the trend tracks across all subjects for both schools. 
Why is this the case? 
Piney Branch is a slightly higher rated school overall, but there is something troubling about such a huge achievement gap that can't just be explained away by demographic. 
All of this is to say, TP is lovely but a utopia for all it is not. [/quote]

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