Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the trick is to be in the IB program at either school. I haven't talked to a large sample, but I've gotten the impression that the kids at Richard Montgomery who aren't in the IB program are having a markedly less enriching experience than those who are (vis a vis classroom challenge and peer motivation).

I tend to agree with this, but would add that in order to be in the IB program at RM, you have to test in (and it is very competitive), whereas the IB program at Einstein is open to all.

The IB curriculum/standards are set by the international IB organization, so the rigor will be there in any case. The peers at RM, however, will be more highly qualified than those at Einstein, simply because they tested in.

Completely true, but I think in both places, the IB program will have the most motivated kids, which I think is half the battle.

PP you quoted, and I completely agree.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the trick is to be in the IB program at either school. I haven't talked to a large sample, but I've gotten the impression that the kids at Richard Montgomery who aren't in the IB program are having a markedly less enriching experience than those who are (vis a vis classroom challenge and peer motivation).

I tend to agree with this, but would add that in order to be in the IB program at RM, you have to test in (and it is very competitive), whereas the IB program at Einstein is open to all.

The IB curriculum/standards are set by the international IB organization, so the rigor will be there in any case. The peers at RM, however, will be more highly qualified than those at Einstein, simply because they tested in.

Completely true, but I think in both places, the IB program will have the most motivated kids, which I think is half the battle.

Anonymous wrote:I think the trick is to be in the IB program at either school. I haven't talked to a large sample, but I've gotten the impression that the kids at Richard Montgomery who aren't in the IB program are having a markedly less enriching experience than those who are (vis a vis classroom challenge and peer motivation).

I tend to agree with this, but would add that in order to be in the IB program at RM, you have to test in (and it is very competitive), whereas the IB program at Einstein is open to all.

The IB curriculum/standards are set by the international IB organization, so the rigor will be there in any case. The peers at RM, however, will be more highly qualified than those at Einstein, simply because they tested in.

I think the trick is to be in the IB program at either school. I haven't talked to a large sample, but I've gotten the impression that the kids at Richard Montgomery who aren't in the IB program are having a markedly less enriching experience than those who are (vis a vis classroom challenge and peer motivation).

Anonymous wrote:Both are good schools that also cater to a wide range of demographics and income levels
Neither one is exclusively wealthy/white like the W-schools cluster

Guess Asians are officially white now since that's about the only way a statement like this could be made.

Both are good schools that also cater to a wide range of demographics and income levels
Neither one is exclusively wealthy/white like the W-schools cluster

Einstein has is a great school!,my son attends there and is in the competitive VAC program but they do have a great IB program but when you're child is a 8th grader he would have a choice to choose 1 high school out of the 5

I used to live in Twinbrook and the elementary school was the reason we moved. We moved before our oldest went into K, but I had gone to some parent meetings to prepare myself and I wasn't pleased with the principal at that time.

My disclaimer is that I don't have "first hand" experience at the school since my kids did not actually go there. However that was a few years ago, so things may have changed as, right around the time we moved out, it looked like more educated people were moving in. The demographic change of the parents may have impacted the school since the time I lived there.

Rock View has lower scores than some of the neighboring schools like Oakland Terrace. Not sure why that is.

Our daughter is at Einstein and we are happy with it. There is a core group of high-performing kids, very tight-knit group, all are "pre-IB" and most plan to continue with IB when they are juniors. We've been happy with the academics and overall environment.

Einstein has an IB program for its students, and Richard Montgomery has a more competitive magnet IB program open to the whole county that is harder to get into. Not yet a HS parent myself so I hope more of them will weigh in here.

If you end up in the Einstein zone, when high school rolls around, your kids will be able to apply to any high school in the Downcounty Consortium (http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/downcounty/). My kids are in ES but we live in the Einstein area and have no plans to move.

Have two elementary school age kids and deciding between neighborhoods in Montgomery County. Am considering a house in Twinbrook - have heard mixed reviews on the ES, but great reviews on the MS and HS. Am also considering a house in the North Kensington/Silver Spring area that zones for Rock View ES (which I've heard good things about) but is zoned for Einstein (again, mixed reviews). Any help in deciding between these two school clusters would be much appreciated!