Anonymous wrote:Walter Johnson has a good music program.

+1 Join us at WJ. Great music department, great academics, great spirit, good diversity. Some reasonably affordable housing in zone. If you're worried about redistricting to Woodward in 2027-2028 - Woodward will be an equivalent school.

Anonymous wrote:I would take a tour of BCC before committing. During a school day. It is crowded and hectic and not an easy transition if they are currently at private and anxious and introverted.

I'm the PP who had a kid at WJ and now has a kid at BCC. BCC is so much less crowded than WJ, currently. It's also smaller. But to be honest, I wouldn't choose the school based on how crowded or large it is, even with an anxious kid (both my kids are anxious).

All the Bethesda area schools are great schools. BCC may be the least academic, but it's still very good. Colleges all look at MCPS as being one block of similar schools, so for college admissions, there's no advantage to picking one in particular... unless your kid wants a particular language or math class. Not all high schools offer all courses. Walt Whitman is supposed to offer languages that are of value to the Foreign Service (Russian, Arabic, etc) and Walter Johnson has Latin - at least, a few years ago, they did. I haven't checked recently. BCC, since it has fewer students who take STEM APs than WJ, announced that they cannot guarantee AP Chem, and other APs, every year, because it will depend on enrollment. This is unheard of at WJ, where there's always enough kids to take those APs.

If OP wishes to consider diversity, then BCC is the most socio-economically and ethnically diverse of Bethesda schools. Walt Whitman is the wealthiest and whitest.

But this won't be exclusively a schools decision. OP needs to find housing. It won't be easy. OP, the spring real estate market is going to rev up in February. You might want to drive around when the snow clears, look at neighborhoods you like, check Redfin regularly to get a handle on comps and prices, and get your financial ducks in a row so you're ready to sign as soon as you see something you like. Or, alternatively, find a rental first so you have more time to pick a neighborhood and home you want.

There's also commute to consider. Downtown Bethesda is not where you want to be driving through at 9am or 6pm, but maybe you have some flexibility. I live right off the downtown, and can generally avoid being on the road when it's most congested.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Moving from Petworth, DC. Obviously new address not yet known, but would love to get public HS recs here. Just starting to research neighborhoods (most likely an apartment building area vs house).

Into skateboards and music
Plays in an orchestra club, so a great HS music program is highly desirable
No IEP, but needs smaller classes to concentrate
Quiet kid that keeps to herself and has a hard time making friends due to shyness/anxiety

BCC has a great music program and a lot of nice kids and clubs, so she will find her people. Lots of kids in the apartments in Bethesda/Chevy Chase/one corner of Silver Spring.
Classes are 30-35 kids, however, and can get pretty loud depending on teachers classroom management skills (it varies).

Lack of discipline with kids hanging out in bathrooms does bother anxious kids.

Can you share more about this? At a different school, my neighbor's kid had an issue w/getting bullied in the bathroom so would sneak home at lunch. And got marked as truant ... lots of issues ensued. (Sweet kid; hard school environment.)

BCC is open lunch, you are allowed to leave campus. So if you are close enough to walk home for lunch, that is fine. (Just get back in time for 5th period.) A lot of vaping in the bathrooms, some drug dealing/use. Admin locks a lot of bathrooms during parts of the day (at lunch only first floor bathrooms are open and sometimes they get locked as well) and has staff/security check them. I believe the bathroom in the health room is always available, and is more monitored if kids feel unsafe in the regular bathrooms.
My kids have not loved the bathroom situation, but are pretty comfortable at the school in general and have dealt with it OK. They have never complained about not being able to use a bathroom or being bullied.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Moving from Petworth, DC. Obviously new address not yet known, but would love to get public HS recs here. Just starting to research neighborhoods (most likely an apartment building area vs house).

Into skateboards and music
Plays in an orchestra club, so a great HS music program is highly desirable
No IEP, but needs smaller classes to concentrate
Quiet kid that keeps to herself and has a hard time making friends due to shyness/anxiety

BCC has a great music program and a lot of nice kids and clubs, so she will find her people. Lots of kids in the apartments in Bethesda/Chevy Chase/one corner of Silver Spring.
Classes are 30-35 kids, however, and can get pretty loud depending on teachers classroom management skills (it varies).

Lack of discipline with kids hanging out in bathrooms does bother anxious kids.

Can you share more about this? At a different school, my neighbor's kid had an issue w/getting bullied in the bathroom so would sneak home at lunch. And got marked as truant ... lots of issues ensued. (Sweet kid; hard school environment.)

I would pick Whitman

I would take a tour of BCC before committing. During a school day. It is crowded and hectic and not an easy transition if they are currently at private and anxious and introverted.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I strongly encourage you to move to MCPS or FCPS in general, if you're currently in DC. Academically it's a better choice, and financially you will have access to in-state tuition in MD or VA. For MCPS in particular, west of the county is wealthier and has more studious school atmospheres than east of the county. My kids have attended Walter Johnson (North Bethesda) and Bethesda-Chevy Chase (downtown Bethesda) high schools. We loved Walter Johnson: it was academically rigorous and most of the kids were pretty studious. BCC, which my youngest currently attends, is less so, but still good. Walt Whitman (west Bethesda) is supposed to be the highest-ranked high school. Churchill is also supposed to be very good.

Having said that, public schools always have large classes. My oldest with severe ADHD was medicated, and had access to a resource class when he had an IEP, then still had extended time when he progressed to a 504. Most teachers implement IEPs and 504s, and a few are terrible to work with: he only had one terrible teacher in all his years of MCPS, so we're lucky!

Both my kids are introverted and socially anxious. One of them still made friends easily, the other didn't. Same type of schools. This will depend on the kid.

All these schools have good music programs, and they all have students who get into selective private youth orchestras like MCYO.

Welcome to Bethesda!

PS: There's also the new Woodward High school, on Old Georgetown Rd, between BCC and WJ, that will open in a couple of years. The boundaries will be redrawn shortly and reduce the overcrowding at WJ, but is not supposed to affect BCC, which right now is not overcrowded.

That's misleading. BCC and its feeder middle schools are in fact included in the boundary study. We won't know the new boundaries until spring 2026.

PP you replied. Sorry, I wasn't aware! I defer to people who know more. I believe there's a long-running thread about Woodward on DCUM, if OP can find it.

Anonymous wrote:I strongly encourage you to move to MCPS or FCPS in general, if you're currently in DC. Academically it's a better choice, and financially you will have access to in-state tuition in MD or VA. For MCPS in particular, west of the county is wealthier and has more studious school atmospheres than east of the county. My kids have attended Walter Johnson (North Bethesda) and Bethesda-Chevy Chase (downtown Bethesda) high schools. We loved Walter Johnson: it was academically rigorous and most of the kids were pretty studious. BCC, which my youngest currently attends, is less so, but still good. Walt Whitman (west Bethesda) is supposed to be the highest-ranked high school. Churchill is also supposed to be very good.

Having said that, public schools always have large classes. My oldest with severe ADHD was medicated, and had access to a resource class when he had an IEP, then still had extended time when he progressed to a 504. Most teachers implement IEPs and 504s, and a few are terrible to work with: he only had one terrible teacher in all his years of MCPS, so we're lucky!

Both my kids are introverted and socially anxious. One of them still made friends easily, the other didn't. Same type of schools. This will depend on the kid.

All these schools have good music programs, and they all have students who get into selective private youth orchestras like MCYO.

Welcome to Bethesda!

PS: There's also the new Woodward High school, on Old Georgetown Rd, between BCC and WJ, that will open in a couple of years. The boundaries will be redrawn shortly and reduce the overcrowding at WJ, but is not supposed to affect BCC, which right now is not overcrowded.

That's misleading. BCC and its feeder middle schools are in fact included in the boundary study. We won't know the new boundaries until spring 2026.

Anonymous wrote:Moving from Petworth, DC. Obviously new address not yet known, but would love to get public HS recs here. Just starting to research neighborhoods (most likely an apartment building area vs house).

Into skateboards and music
Plays in an orchestra club, so a great HS music program is highly desirable
No IEP, but needs smaller classes to concentrate
Quiet kid that keeps to herself and has a hard time making friends due to shyness/anxiety

BCC has a great music program and a lot of nice kids and clubs, so she will find her people. Lots of kids in the apartments in Bethesda/Chevy Chase/one corner of Silver Spring.
Classes are 30-35 kids, however, and can get pretty loud depending on teachers classroom management skills (it varies). Lack of discipline with kids hanging out in bathrooms does bother anxious kids.

Walter Johnson has a good music program.

I strongly encourage you to move to MCPS or FCPS in general, if you're currently in DC. Academically it's a better choice, and financially you will have access to in-state tuition in MD or VA. For MCPS in particular, west of the county is wealthier and has more studious school atmospheres than east of the county. My kids have attended Walter Johnson (North Bethesda) and Bethesda-Chevy Chase (downtown Bethesda) high schools. We loved Walter Johnson: it was academically rigorous and most of the kids were pretty studious. BCC, which my youngest currently attends, is less so, but still good. Walt Whitman (west Bethesda) is supposed to be the highest-ranked high school. Churchill is also supposed to be very good.

Having said that, public schools always have large classes. My oldest with severe ADHD was medicated, and had access to a resource class when he had an IEP, then still had extended time when he progressed to a 504. Most teachers implement IEPs and 504s, and a few are terrible to work with: he only had one terrible teacher in all his years of MCPS, so we're lucky!

Both my kids are introverted and socially anxious. One of them still made friends easily, the other didn't. Same type of schools. This will depend on the kid.

All these schools have good music programs, and they all have students who get into selective private youth orchestras like MCYO.

Welcome to Bethesda!

PS: There's also the new Woodward High school, on Old Georgetown Rd, between BCC and WJ, that will open in a couple of years. The boundaries will be redrawn shortly and reduce the overcrowding at WJ, but is not supposed to affect BCC, which right now is not overcrowded.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Moving from Petworth, DC. Obviously new address not yet known, but would love to get public HS recs here. Just starting to research neighborhoods (most likely an apartment building area vs house).

Into skateboards and music
Plays in an orchestra club, so a great HS music program is highly desirable
No IEP, but needs smaller classes to concentrate
Quiet kid that keeps to herself and has a hard time making friends due to shyness/anxiety

Quiet?
Small classes?
Go private.

OP wants public HS recs. Very demure. Very mindful, PP

Anonymous wrote:Moving from Petworth, DC. Obviously new address not yet known, but would love to get public HS recs here. Just starting to research neighborhoods (most likely an apartment building area vs house).

Into skateboards and music
Plays in an orchestra club, so a great HS music program is highly desirable
No IEP, but needs smaller classes to concentrate
Quiet kid that keeps to herself and has a hard time making friends due to shyness/anxiety

Quiet?
Small classes?
Go private.

We moved from Petworth too. We picked BCC because it was the most urban of the suburban Bethesda schools. You can skate in DT Bethesda tho somewhat low key. If he does mostly IB or AP it will help with a smaller cohort. Look at the buildings along Friendship Heights next to Western Avr. My kid can take the metro or bus to DC easily

Moving from Petworth, DC. Obviously new address not yet known, but would love to get public HS recs here. Just starting to research neighborhoods (most likely an apartment building area vs house).

Into skateboards and music
Plays in an orchestra club, so a great HS music program is highly desirable
No IEP, but needs smaller classes to concentrate
Quiet kid that keeps to herself and has a hard time making friends due to shyness/anxiety