Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'd go for B-CC in a heartbeat over Einstein. Let's not beat around the bush, it's just an academically stronger peer group and the chances are lower than your kid will fall in with a crowd that places a low priority on education. And it's not like B-CC is without diversity, it's just that the overall tone is more conducive to getting a good education.

I recall seeing some of Einstein's SAT scores rising a few years ago. At first I was impressed, but when I did some digging I learned that the percentage of students bothering to take the SATs was surprisingly low. It made me think there is a big cohort there that is not academically motivated.

Of course, most people who live in SS are going to say good things about Blair and Einstein, but WJ and B-CC are worth stretching for, IMO.

I hear this warning a lot on this board, and it always strikes me as odd, because I don't think it is very usual for a high-performing teenager who hangs out with similar-interest peers to "fall in with" a bad crowd. I don't see it happening among my group of friends and family. I live in Silver Spring 20910 and I know many teens at Blair and Einstein who are busy and engaged and working, and participating in school and in their community. Without exception, they are all working towards attending, or currently attending good colleges and universities.

I will say, however, that at Whitman HS, my niece definitely fell in with the wrong crowd. She became addicted to drugs and alcohol and my brother has had a heck of a time getting treatment for her and generally trying to steer her in a different direction.

This. I attended a HS (in another state) that people on this board would probably consider "unsafe." Once, a kid threw a trash can at a teacher. The guys I knew didn't use the bathroom at school because they might get jumped (one kid I knew got his arm broken). We would joke once the weather started getting warmer and the fights at lunchtime more frequent that spring must be here. But it just is what it is. It doesn't take your focus away from learning. I was actually a pretty sheltered kid. My friends were academics like me who for the most part were left alone. The major upside of a school like that is that, academically, you're a much bigger fish in a small pond. All those "high performing" kids you want your kid to hang out with and lift him up, they're also major competition for college spots. I was at the top of my class in high school, but had I gone to a BCC-like school, I may have been a C student, for all I know. Plus, you know what rich kids have much easier access to? Drugs. The worst I ever did in high school was a little pot. No one I knew was doing anything harder, which was certainly not the case at nearby private schools, for instance.

Anonymous wrote:I'd go for B-CC in a heartbeat over Einstein. Let's not beat around the bush, it's just an academically stronger peer group and the chances are lower than your kid will fall in with a crowd that places a low priority on education. And it's not like B-CC is without diversity, it's just that the overall tone is more conducive to getting a good education.

I recall seeing some of Einstein's SAT scores rising a few years ago. At first I was impressed, but when I did some digging I learned that the percentage of students bothering to take the SATs was surprisingly low. It made me think there is a big cohort there that is not academically motivated.

Of course, most people who live in SS are going to say good things about Blair and Einstein, but WJ and B-CC are worth stretching for, IMO.

What school does your DC attend?

Anonymous wrote:I'd go for B-CC in a heartbeat over Einstein. Let's not beat around the bush, it's just an academically stronger peer group and the chances are lower than your kid will fall in with a crowd that places a low priority on education. And it's not like B-CC is without diversity, it's just that the overall tone is more conducive to getting a good education.

I recall seeing some of Einstein's SAT scores rising a few years ago. At first I was impressed, but when I did some digging I learned that the percentage of students bothering to take the SATs was surprisingly low. It made me think there is a big cohort there that is not academically motivated.

Of course, most people who live in SS are going to say good things about Blair and Einstein, but WJ and B-CC are worth stretching for, IMO.

I hear this warning a lot on this board, and it always strikes me as odd, because I don't think it is very usual for a high-performing teenager who hangs out with similar-interest peers to "fall in with" a bad crowd. I don't see it happening among my group of friends and family. I live in Silver Spring 20910 and I know many teens at Blair and Einstein who are busy and engaged and working, and participating in school and in their community. Without exception, they are all working towards attending, or currently attending good colleges and universities.

I will say, however, that at Whitman HS, my niece definitely fell in with the wrong crowd. She became addicted to drugs and alcohol and my brother has had a heck of a time getting treatment for her and generally trying to steer her in a different direction.

Anonymous wrote:I'd go for B-CC in a heartbeat over Einstein. Let's not beat around the bush, it's just an academically stronger peer group and the chances are lower than your kid will fall in with a crowd that places a low priority on education. And it's not like B-CC is without diversity, it's just that the overall tone is more conducive to getting a good education.

I recall seeing some of Einstein's SAT scores rising a few years ago. At first I was impressed, but when I did some digging I learned that the percentage of students bothering to take the SATs was surprisingly low. It made me think there is a big cohort there that is not academically motivated.

Of course, most people who live in SS are going to say good things about Blair and Einstein, but WJ and B-CC are worth stretching for, IMO.

Yes, people in Silver Spring are going to say good things about Blair and Einstein because we actually live in Silver Spring and have EXPERIENCE at these schools. Duh!

I'd go for B-CC in a heartbeat over Einstein. Let's not beat around the bush, it's just an academically stronger peer group and the chances are lower than your kid will fall in with a crowd that places a low priority on education. And it's not like B-CC is without diversity, it's just that the overall tone is more conducive to getting a good education.

I recall seeing some of Einstein's SAT scores rising a few years ago. At first I was impressed, but when I did some digging I learned that the percentage of students bothering to take the SATs was surprisingly low. It made me think there is a big cohort there that is not academically motivated.

Of course, most people who live in SS are going to say good things about Blair and Einstein, but WJ and B-CC are worth stretching for, IMO.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't have personal experience (we're in the Blair cluster) but do have friends whose kids have gone through Einstein and they've been very happy with it. I think this has something to do with your individual kid, though. The appeal of a school like BCC is that you are more likely for all of your kids' friends to also be the children of upper-class professionals whose parents are expecting them to go to college. Since peer groups are incredibly important, it's easy to see why folks want to curate the candidate pool as much as they can.

However, our experience has been that our kids self-selected a strong peer group. It's not exclusively middle or upper class the way it would be on the West Side, but the other kids are also bright and driven.

I *like* that my kids are exposed to kids who are working hard with far fewer advantages. I think it has given them compassion, but also spurred them on a bit because they realize that other kids might want it more than them.

I agree with this. My kids are at Blair as well, but we have lots of friends whose high-achieving children are at, or have graduated from Einstein.

One thing I like a lot about Einstein (which is our home school; my kids are in the Blair magnet) is the small size and strong sense of community. In fact, I envy that.

My kids both need the experience the Blair magnet offers, but if they did not, I would be very comfortable sending them to Einstein. For this reason, we did not have a "Plan B" when they applied to the magnet - we were fine with Einstein as the default.

This is nice to hear. I just want to make sure it is a good environment (and before someone jumps - I don't mean all white. We are actually Latino but several generations in and mixed up with a variety of other backgrounds). I also agree with the peer group. Growing up, my DH was FARMS and my family was solidly blue-collar middle class but grew up in families where there was no question of whether we would go to college - just which one we would go to. We were also lucky that our families were educated (either self or schooling) so in both instances, they were very involved.

My parents moved us when I was young to avoid a bad school (think metal detectors) and stressed how important it is to have a safe environment where you can just focus on your classes and have fun. I never felt unsafe at the new school (whereas my friend from my old neighborhood had stories of kids who were in their 5th and 6th year of HS but would just hang around and harass the younger kids).

I just don't want to make the wrong decision and then have to move quickly - and pull the kids out when they have formed friendships.

I appreciate the input, it is hard to really have insight without being there.

Anonymous wrote:I don't have personal experience (we're in the Blair cluster) but do have friends whose kids have gone through Einstein and they've been very happy with it. I think this has something to do with your individual kid, though. The appeal of a school like BCC is that you are more likely for all of your kids' friends to also be the children of upper-class professionals whose parents are expecting them to go to college. Since peer groups are incredibly important, it's easy to see why folks want to curate the candidate pool as much as they can.

However, our experience has been that our kids self-selected a strong peer group. It's not exclusively middle or upper class the way it would be on the West Side, but the other kids are also bright and driven.

I *like* that my kids are exposed to kids who are working hard with far fewer advantages. I think it has given them compassion, but also spurred them on a bit because they realize that other kids might want it more than them.

I agree with this. My kids are at Blair as well, but we have lots of friends whose high-achieving children are at, or have graduated from Einstein.

One thing I like a lot about Einstein (which is our home school; my kids are in the Blair magnet) is the small size and strong sense of community. In fact, I envy that.

My kids both need the experience the Blair magnet offers, but if they did not, I would be very comfortable sending them to Einstein. For this reason, we did not have a "Plan B" when they applied to the magnet - we were fine with Einstein as the default.

We're a Blair family but we're friends with at least 8-10 families with kids at Einstein, both in the VAC and the regular program. Knowing these very involved parents like I do, there is NO WAY they would be sending their kids to Einstein if it was in any way "unsafe."

Anonymous wrote:http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/sharedaccountability/safetyglance/definitions.aspx

This is the glossary for all the safety at a glance reports (http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/sharedaccountability/safetyglance/).

Looking at it again, it also includes pushing or hitting another student so I wonder if it is double reported with fights. I agree that there seems to be a different interpretation on classification and I wonder if some schools don't suspend just to make the numbers look good.

So attack =/= attack on a teacher. It includes attacks on teachers but also attacks on students.

Physical Attack—Teacher/Staff (Suspension Code 401)—Physically attacking an employee of the school system or other adult, including striking a staff member who is intervening in a fight or other disruptive activity.

Physical Attack—Student (Suspension Code 402)—Physically pushing, hitting, or otherwise attacking another student.

FWIW, I have a child that goes to BCC but went to a non-BCC cluster MS with a much higher rate of problems (fighting, suspensions, etc.) DC regularly told stories of fights in the hallway, kids being jumped on the way home from MS and then not appearing at school for several days because they had been so badly injured etc. DC never was attacked, but I think it was still distressing for DC to even know that these kinds of things were going on. And, then to see teachers and administrators handle things so poorly and with such inequitable practices by race..... well, it was a lot to witness at a MS age.

My child was surprised by the difference at BCC. Basically, for the vast majority of students, it's unthinkable that they would get in a fight at school. The entire atmosphere is different. I think in the entire first year, DC saw maybe 1 "fight". It was quickly stopped by security. And, it wasn't really a fight, more like shoving and yelling that was stopped before something more evolved.

This isn't to say that BCC kids are perfect. They are skipping school, smoking pot, doing stupid stuff to, I am sure, but the level of violence at school is significantly different that what we've witnessed at other schools.

That said I don't know Einstein well enough to compare.

I don't have personal experience (we're in the Blair cluster) but do have friends whose kids have gone through Einstein and they've been very happy with it. I think this has something to do with your individual kid, though. The appeal of a school like BCC is that you are more likely for all of your kids' friends to also be the children of upper-class professionals whose parents are expecting them to go to college. Since peer groups are incredibly important, it's easy to see why folks want to curate the candidate pool as much as they can.

However, our experience has been that our kids self-selected a strong peer group. It's not exclusively middle or upper class the way it would be on the West Side, but the other kids are also bright and driven.

I *like* that my kids are exposed to kids who are working hard with far fewer advantages. I think it has given them compassion, but also spurred them on a bit because they realize that other kids might want it more than them.

http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/sharedaccountability/safetyglance/definitions.aspx

This is the glossary for all the safety at a glance reports (http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/sharedaccountability/safetyglance/).

Looking at it again, it also includes pushing or hitting another student so I wonder if it is double reported with fights. I agree that there seems to be a different interpretation on classification and I wonder if some schools don't suspend just to make the numbers look good.

Anonymous wrote:An attack is an assault on a teacher.

Where did you get this from?

I can't really comment but I don't think the reporting criteria for "attacks" is the same between all the schools.

Trying to decide whether to buy at a comfortable price in a really nice neighborhood in Silver Spring or to stretch and move further west. Commutes are accounted for and price point would be $550 is very comfortable (can upgrade house, go on vacations and pay for college without worry), $750 depletes the savings but can be doable and will probably buy the same type of house in SS (but without the spare cash to upgrade).

I really want to like SS. Score-wise, Einstein seems to be on par and my kids will likely be in IB (just based on grades thus far). I have talked to people and they say the school is great, but also feel like this is a self-selecting crowd (if you didn't think it was great, you would move). I am concerned though about the safety stats. They have ~21 "attacks" a year. An attack is an assault on a teacher. That says to me that kids do not respect the hierarchy and feel there are no repercussions. To attack a teacher just seems crazy and I am concerned about that environment.

That said, BCC had no suspensions at all listed and that seemed like BS so not sure what to believe.

Can someone tell me about the environment and safety. Do you have a kid there and are there kids they have to watch out for? I wouldn't want to send my kid to a place where they were worried about getting jumped in the bathroom.