I was in this situation and have zero regrets about Pyle /Whitman.

I would start at DCI. Use the 6th Grade year to get as much insider information about the school as possible. If you’re not happy after 6th, move to Pyle for 7th. Quite a few kids join Pyle in 7th (from private or other MCPS school pyramids). That way your student still has time to build friendships before they all move to Whitman.

I can't compare, but my kid did the Pyle Whitman route and kid and I thought it was a good experience. Pyle was ok - middle school is tough everywhere, but Whitman was great with a lot of options for classes, friends, clubs and interests.

Why don't you do DCI for middle? And you can always transfer since kid is inbounds at other school. And you can't do it the other way around. If the divorce is recent, keeping kid with friends is probably pretty important.

how strong is your student? My friends with kids at DCI do not universally like it, some have left and those who stuck it out and had kids who went on in STEM fields in college often found their kids were not well prepared.

I think we need more information. Tell us about your kid. Into languages? Good student? Into sports?

You probably want to post this in the MCPS and DCPS forums. Not a lot of people really have the experience to compare two specific schools. But you’ll get opinions on each

5th grade graduation around the corner!

Deciding between DC International (DCI) for the 6th-12th grade journey (mom resides in DC) or Thomas Pyle MS and Walt Whitman HS (dad resides in Bethesda).

Biracial child whose into sports, art and friends…go!