I work in that area and I would send my kid to Watkins Mill ES but don't think I would do the cluster middle and high school. The area is definitely diverse and many of the kids come from a lower SES. The lower test scores wouldn't bother me in the lower grades since most ES follow very similar curriculum. However, middle and high school can be a game changer.

Anonymous wrote:OP I don't know anyone with kids there. I do know several people with kids at Stedwick Elementary, which is the same cluster and has similar stats regarding poverty levels and English as a Second Language rates. They've been very happy with Stedwick.

But that's the closest comparison I can offer.

Non- PC advice.

Avoid.

Stedwick was ok...but it feeds into Neelsville Middle School. It is bottom of the heap.

What else can I say? Let your kids try out for HGC (Highly Gifted Center) in 3rd grade. That is how we have managed, my kids have gone to HGC and magnet schools to avoid low performing MCPS schools. We love our house and everything else about the neighborhood - but not the schools. Everyone we know have either opted for private school or magnet schools.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, you will get no responses from people who's kids actually go there.

Right, because the children of the people who post on DCUM go to Bethesda ES, Chevy Chase ES, Somerset ES, and Ritchie Park ES. (One of these things is not like the other, but that's ok.)

OP, if you're interested in the place, I suggest that you talk to neighbors who have children who go to the school. Comments from real people are worth much more than comments from anonymous posters on DCUM.

Sorry that my post came across this way--my point was that OP was likely to get people posting school-at-a-glance and greatschools info (which looks bad), rather than parents whose children actually attend. I did not mean this to say that DCUM is too "upscale" or whatever. My kids go to a Title I school that I see slammed here often, undoubtedly by people who have never set foot in the school, but simply look at stats and then steer others away. Again, sorry my post wasn't clear.

I also recommend asking neighborhood people.

I am the PP that leaves in the area. Just FYI, its not about diversity, from the 7 families I mentioned two were white (one of which raved about the school), the rest are AA, hispanic, indian. In decision to move for us was more about test scores and general dislike for school itself (ugly old building, dim halls, etc.) You get to visit there for voting and such and its was a bad feeling for us.

]

Anonymous wrote:I know quite a few people who have sent their kids to WMES, as well as a few staff members. The school is fine. In the local area, though, Stedwick and Whetstone Elementary are better thought of, although even in the neighborhoods that feed into those schools there are people who send their kids to private (mainly because they have some fear of their child attending a school that is very diverse).

[/b]The MV area is very diverse, so if seeing people who are different than you on a daily basis is frightening to you, as it seems to be to a lot of people on this board, don't move there. For the children who grow up in this area, they become very accepting of people of all races/cultures/income levels, which I think is be a good thing.[b]

I know that's often the case on here but I doubt it's the case for OP. You don't live in MV to begin with if diversity bothers you. You move to Bethesda/Chevy Chase or up to Poolesville or Damascus.

But these schools have poor test outcomes too. That is something to consider. Because it generally means a school is forced to put its resources to helping challenged kids make the grade, and there are fewer resources provided for more middle-of-the-road kids. These schools take more investigation to make an informed decision about sending your kid there.

I know quite a few people who have sent their kids to WMES, as well as a few staff members. The school is fine. In the local area, though, Stedwick and Whetstone Elementary are better thought of, although even in the neighborhoods that feed into those schools there are people who send their kids to private (mainly because they have some fear of their child attending a school that is very diverse).

The MV area is very diverse, so if seeing people who are different than you on a daily basis is frightening to you, as it seems to be to a lot of people on this board, don't move there. For the children who grow up in this area, they become very accepting of people of all races/cultures/income levels, which I think is be a good thing.

I am divorced and my ex is zoned for Watkins Mill ES (walking distance) - I am zoned for Ritchie Park and we concluded that Ritchie Park is a better learning environment for our child after looking at the school statistics and other factors. As others have said, you can draw your own conclusions from that.

I am so glad there was a post..refuting the earlier assumption that no one would. Thank-you!

Funny. We are actually zoned for WMES, so people posting here do leave in that area
However, we did just by a new house in CGES zone, so no personal experience with WMES. However, I did talk to a lot of my neighbors with kids there and the ones that chose to do private instead. Overall, some people were very happy and crediting WMES for letting their kid thrive and eventually get into a gifted program in different elem, and some people moved away after giving it a 2 year try with first kid and didnt want second to be measirable too. Anyhow, out of the 7 families I talked to only one is going there now and they are renters that just moved in. Others are in private schools or found a way to do an alternative placement (grandparents address, etc.). So make your own conclusions.
The other issue is middle school in that cluster is absolutely awful - consensus of all the parents I talked to around here.
I did here a lot of good things about Stedwick ES though.

Anonymous wrote:OP, you will get no responses from people who's kids actually go there.

Right, because the children of the people who post on DCUM go to Bethesda ES, Chevy Chase ES, Somerset ES, and Ritchie Park ES. (One of these things is not like the other, but that's ok.)

OP, if you're interested in the place, I suggest that you talk to neighbors who have children who go to the school. Comments from real people are worth much more than comments from anonymous posters on DCUM.

OP I don't know anyone with kids there. I do know several people with kids at Stedwick Elementary, which is the same cluster and has similar stats regarding poverty levels and English as a Second Language rates. They've been very happy with Stedwick.

But that's the closest comparison I can offer.

OP, you will get no responses from people who's kids actually go there.

If you go here:

http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/

and type Watkins Mill ES into the box for "Enter name to select school", that will bring up all of the Montgomery County Public School reports for Watkins Mill ES.

No personal experience but here is more info..

http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/regulatoryaccountability/glance/currentyear/schools/02561.pdf

The title 1 status will mean small classes up to grade 2 which is a plus..

We are looking at a place that's near Watkins Mill Elementary in Gaithersburg. I asked the realtor about the school and she wasn't sure about it. The area seems nice enough but I'm not sure on the school. The real estate website gave it a 2 but I couldn't find more on the school.