I would loom at budget and commute. If you can afford Whitman Churchill or WJ then do it. If you don't work downtown and can afford Wottoon do that. If none of the above then maximize your home/commute priorities.

JW wasn't terribly challenging for my daughter, but she was able to take Spanish and Algebra 2 at RM in 8th grade. She applied in 8th grade for the IB program and was accepted. I don't think the IB program at RM would get a 1000 applicants for a 100 spots every year if it was less that and excellent program.

Anonymous wrote:How much can you afford to spend on a house? I'm thinking that there will be less expensive housing near Wooton than near Whitman. I would not send my kids to RM if I had a choice among the three schools you mention in your post.

I agree with this. Wootton is probably the best for the money for a house. You pay a serious premium for WW. I would never pay to go to an RM school. I am sure there are some nice kids in there but we sadly chose a house in this cluster and have moved my son and daughter to private school. One after 7th grade and the other before she hit JW. I guess I am not allowed to say what I think of this school or I would be considered a "hater" but it gets bashed for a reason. It is just not a good school. 2 years were plenty for my son. I will leave it at that.

Anonymous wrote:We are in the RM cluster. I wouldn't recommend it. Julius West is an overcrowded underachieving middle school. And the "diverse" population people speak of is poor illegals with little English from Twinbrook and other areas of thugs that do not give 2 craps about school. Drive by these schools during lunch. You will see your diversity alright.

While there are certainly some kids I wouldn't want mine hanging with, my children both have friends from Twinbrook, and they're good kids from families (some of them, gasp! immigrants) that value education. You can't paint an entire neighborhood or ethnic group with the same brush.

And frankly, I resent the hell out of the idea that my mixed race daughter and her multi-culti friends - all of them IB and AP students - hanging out at lunchtime would be seen as some sort of undesirable diversity.

I know, I know, don't argue with the crazy.

I was wondering when the JW/RM hater would show up..

Anonymous wrote:We are in the RM cluster. I wouldn't recommend it. Julius West is an overcrowded underachieving middle school. And the "diverse" population people speak of is poor illegals with little English from Twinbrook and other areas of thugs that do not give 2 craps about school. Drive by these schools during lunch. You will see your diversity alright.

Shorter PP: Choose RM if you want more scope for expressing racist beliefs.

How much can you afford to spend on a house? I'm thinking that there will be less expensive housing near Wooton than near Whitman. I would not send my kids to RM if I had a choice among the three schools you mention in your post.

We are in the RM cluster. I wouldn't recommend it. Julius West is an overcrowded underachieving middle school. And the "diverse" population people speak of is poor illegals with little English from Twinbrook and other areas of thugs that do not give 2 craps about school. Drive by these schools during lunch. You will see your diversity alright.

I'm in Wootton cluster. It's great on paper. I wouldn't kill myself to live here, though. Super-competitive and not much social room for those who aren't straight A, 2300 SAT score kids. I like Quince Orchard better in terms of well-roundedness.

I would be very happy in Richard Montgomery district, too. There are some magnet programs that your child may get into for high school, so home school, while most likely, isn't 100%. There is an upcounty STEM, downcounty STEM, and the IB program at RM.

Because they live in the area, and they are more likely to be less affluent and more "diverse" than the kids who got in earlier all across the county. RM serves some of the less affluent and older areas of Rockville, including Maryvale and Twinbrook. Of course with all the new condos, that's probably changing too.

Thank you very much. Forgive my ignorance (my child is 8, so I am still learning all about the IB programs, etc), why is it that RM cluster has more chances to get into the IB program?

I have one child at RM and another who will be there next year. Neither one had any interest in the IB diploma program.

Instead, my older child is taking a mix of honors and AP classes. It's not as coherent as the IB curriculum, but it's still quite rigorous. I'm not at all worried about her ability to get into a good college.

I don't worry at all about the school environment. The kids she hangs out with - some in IB, some not - are nice, hard working, and serious about their studies. Of course there are kids who are not, but she doesn't really interact with them.

Also, 8:48 is right. Kids in the RM cluster get a chance to apply to the IB program in 10th grade, and my daughter reports that most of those she knows who applied got in. Much better odds than when they apply in 8th grade.

Thank you very much.

RM has a much more diverse population (both economcally and ethnic). Their test scores are boosted by the presence of a competitive magnet program that represents about 20% of the school. The 'W' schools are likely considered stronger over all. However, I live in the RM cluster. My kids are not there yet but my neighbors older kids all seem to be happy and have generally gone on to strong colleges. Going to a diverse school provides many opportunities for learning that likley don't show up on tests. Also, if you live in the cluster you are more likley to get in to that presitgious magnet than if you don't...

Hello,
We are looking to buy a house in one of the above clusters. I am not sure that we will be able to afford Wooton or Whittman cluster. Could someone please chime in on Richard Montgomery? Also, what are your views in how Richard Montgomery compares to Wooton and Whittman?
Thank you.