Anonymous
01/12/2024 21:16
Subject: inside BCC
As an update to earlier threads, the conclusion still stands, but the details are a little fresher -
In brief:
BCC is the poor cousin of W schools, but it's still way better academically than the rest of MCPS (apart from academic magnet programs).
Pros: BCC is one of the few schools in MCPS to offer a large variety of AP courses, AND IB courses. It's also in the downtown, which is very convenient for kids. A lot walk to and from school, and have places to socialize. We love that.
Cons: BCC families are currently worried about the violence problem. There are a handful of perpetrators that are repeat offenders. If rumors are true (because MCPS has privacy policies), one has an ankle bracelet from all his misdeeds, and another has been thrown out of 3 previous MCPS high schools. This fall, there was an armed carjacking in Silver Spring in which BCC students were involved (they drove the car back to campus). There was also a beat-down of a WJ student by a group of BCC students after a game, near the Bethesda Metro (caught on video). And recently, there's been a fight at school, in which both the Principal and the head of security - again, if rumors are true - were manhandled and injured, respectively. They were trying to break up the fight. There is a safety meeting on Jan 17th to try to alleviate parent concerns (ha). What parents want is that violent students be placed in special schools, away from kids and school staff who deserve to feel safe.
Last year there was a drug problem with a knot of student dealers and users that was mitigated by closing some bathrooms during lunch, so the rest could be better monitored.
I've had kids in the WJ and BCC cluster. At WJ a few years ago, there was a knife fight at the lunch places next to campus, where kids also threw chairs. The Principal dealt with it by rescinding open lunch for some grades. I didn't hear of drug deals in bathrooms, but maybe my kid wasn't using the right bathrooms. It does seem like BCC is a little hotter than WJ, I have to say. I haven't heard egregious things through the grapevine coming out of Whitman and Churchill.
In brief:
BCC is the poor cousin of W schools, but it's still way better academically than the rest of MCPS (apart from academic magnet programs).
Pros: BCC is one of the few schools in MCPS to offer a large variety of AP courses, AND IB courses. It's also in the downtown, which is very convenient for kids. A lot walk to and from school, and have places to socialize. We love that.
Cons: BCC families are currently worried about the violence problem. There are a handful of perpetrators that are repeat offenders. If rumors are true (because MCPS has privacy policies), one has an ankle bracelet from all his misdeeds, and another has been thrown out of 3 previous MCPS high schools. This fall, there was an armed carjacking in Silver Spring in which BCC students were involved (they drove the car back to campus). There was also a beat-down of a WJ student by a group of BCC students after a game, near the Bethesda Metro (caught on video). And recently, there's been a fight at school, in which both the Principal and the head of security - again, if rumors are true - were manhandled and injured, respectively. They were trying to break up the fight. There is a safety meeting on Jan 17th to try to alleviate parent concerns (ha). What parents want is that violent students be placed in special schools, away from kids and school staff who deserve to feel safe.
Last year there was a drug problem with a knot of student dealers and users that was mitigated by closing some bathrooms during lunch, so the rest could be better monitored.
I've had kids in the WJ and BCC cluster. At WJ a few years ago, there was a knife fight at the lunch places next to campus, where kids also threw chairs. The Principal dealt with it by rescinding open lunch for some grades. I didn't hear of drug deals in bathrooms, but maybe my kid wasn't using the right bathrooms. It does seem like BCC is a little hotter than WJ, I have to say. I haven't heard egregious things through the grapevine coming out of Whitman and Churchill.
Anonymous
01/12/2024 20:42
Subject: inside BCC
Anonymous wrote:Please post the real stuff. Are the things you or your kid seen at BCC similar to what you know or hear at other Bethesda area HSs (Whitman, WJ) or other MCPS schools? Should we buy zoned for one of the three Bethesda HS or elsewhere? Will HS boundaries change by start of 2025-2026 school year?
No, not that soon. Most likely changing for the 2027-2028 school year.
Anonymous
01/12/2024 19:02
Subject: inside BCC
Please post the real stuff. Are the things you or your kid seen at BCC similar to what you know or hear at other Bethesda area HSs (Whitman, WJ) or other MCPS schools? Should we buy zoned for one of the three Bethesda HS or elsewhere? Will HS boundaries change by start of 2025-2026 school year?