Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Going to be 100% honest, the Rockville cluster and Wood in general is probably the weakest out of the 3 other clusters in Rockville (4 if you count Magruder too)

Wood’s theater program is great for your kid. Does your kid have a lot of friends they’ve made at the school so far? If that’s the case, then maybe try to stay at the cluster if they simply would do it as a hobby rather say a career in the future.

You could opt out to move to another school but it takes risks like other posters have said, best wishes.

Weak in what way? Test scores? That’s because the schools have a higher percentage of ESOL students, so test scores are lower as those students are processeing information in more than one language at a time, and if they are really new to English, Of course their test scores are low.

Most of the teachers are really good. Some aren’t, but that is the case in every school. Rockville is unique because it’s so small. It’s easier to make the sports teams and clubs aren’t overrun so your kid has a chance to serve as leaders. It’s a great community. I don’t see it as weak at all.

Sounds like a Wootton parent

Anonymous wrote:Going to be 100% honest, the Rockville cluster and Wood in general is probably the weakest out of the 3 other clusters in Rockville (4 if you count Magruder too)

Wood’s theater program is great for your kid. Does your kid have a lot of friends they’ve made at the school so far? If that’s the case, then maybe try to stay at the cluster if they simply would do it as a hobby rather say a career in the future.

You could opt out to move to another school but it takes risks like other posters have said, best wishes.

Weak in what way? Test scores? That’s because the schools have a higher percentage of ESOL students, so test scores are lower as those students are processeing information in more than one language at a time, and if they are really new to English, Of course their test scores are low.

Most of the teachers are really good. Some aren’t, but that is the case in every school. Rockville is unique because it’s so small. It’s easier to make the sports teams and clubs aren’t overrun so your kid has a chance to serve as leaders. It’s a great community. I don’t see it as weak at all.

RMHS actually has an amazing theater program, but JWMS doesn't seem to. Pretty weak, IMO. My kid does/did both.

Something to consider.

Going to be 100% honest, the Rockville cluster and Wood in general is probably the weakest out of the 3 other clusters in Rockville (4 if you count Magruder too)

Wood’s theater program is great for your kid. Does your kid have a lot of friends they’ve made at the school so far? If that’s the case, then maybe try to stay at the cluster if they simply would do it as a hobby rather say a career in the future.

You could opt out to move to another school but it takes risks like other posters have said, best wishes.

Anonymous wrote:Wood is good. I believe Blake HS has some sort of theatre program--it might be a magnet--that you might want to look into.

Blake is not a magnet school. You have to live in the NEC area and hope to place there through the lottery.

Generally speaking, most neighboring middle schools perform better than Wood, and if your kid doesn’t seem to be making a lot of friends in elementary, then I would say it would be a chance to try and move to another cluster.

Anonymous wrote:I have a 4th grader and have similar questions. We are at a different ES that feeds into Wood and people generally like our ES but don’t seem as happy with Wood. It also just seems like MCPS middle schools stink all around. Really not looking to do a magnet though since my kid just wants to be with their friends.

As someone said earlier, Wood is the only feeder school into Rockville so I like the fact that my kids have had continuity with the elementary school friends and they have met some great kids at Wood who have gone to Rockville with them. Unless you are planning to do a magnet or private for high school, I have seen some kids struggle socially when they had the three year break from their elementary friends as those friends have expanded into other groups while in middle school. This is not always the case of course, and I find the kids at Rockville to be very welcoming and inclusive, but just something to consider if your child has found a good group of friends.

I have heard good things about Loiderman if your child is into the arts and at least its close. Some of the other magnet programs are also very good academincally but can be a LONG bus ride and an early morning for a middle schooler.

I have a 4th grader and have similar questions. We are at a different ES that feeds into Wood and people generally like our ES but don’t seem as happy with Wood. It also just seems like MCPS middle schools stink all around. Really not looking to do a magnet though since my kid just wants to be with their friends.

Theater is decent at Wood. Their musical last year was great.

Wood isn’t wonderful but it isn’t terrible. It’s middle school afterall, did anyone love middle school? There has been a lot of turnover recently, by teachers who had been there a long time. This generally speaks to a problem with administration.

If your kid is currently in 5th then it’s too late for this, but younger and you can consider applying to get a lottery spot at Loiderman, which is an arts magnet.

It’s a very mediocre school, definitely the worst out of all the RHS cluster schools, but it’s not really all that bad.

My kids had problems with the safety and security at the school when they were still at EBW, but Wood offers great clubs and activities before they go to high school.

I wouldn’t suggest having your kid go to RHS if they want to see new friends—it’s a very small cluster and the high school only has 1.5k students. Wood is the only feeder school for Rockville and most of the students will be the same ones that went to any of the elementary schools and Wood.

Wood is good. I believe Blake HS has some sort of theatre program--it might be a magnet--that you might want to look into.

Wood is fine. Is it the best middle school in the county? No, but it's fine. I have been impressed with most of the teachers and my kids have been happy. They have also been involved in the plays and they have been well-run. The director does a good job--very organized and communicative.

I have a kid at Meadow Hall ES who is heading to Wood MS for the upcoming year but I’ve heard many parents at the Rockville Cluster that Wood is a pretty bad school.

My kid wants to do something like theater soon so I’ve also wanted to ask about the theater program at the school, and I heard that their recent play went decent actually.

So, is Wood really that bad or should I not worry about taking my kid there?