OP here, our house needs to be walkable to Metro, not necessarily the school. I mentioned Oyster vs Bethesda ES because these are the in-bound schools for two condos that we are looking at. We much prefer the Oyster condo and neighborhood feel, but were advised that Bethesda ES was a better choice. Just looking for more info. as there is plenty of good feedback online about Oyster and other upper NW elementary schools. I am equally happy with immersion or not.

OP, you might be better off reading some of the threads on Bethesda Elementary school in the Maryland forum and the threads on Oyster in the DCPS forum. There aren't a lot of people who are going to be intimately acquainted with both schools.

Anonymous wrote:From my observation, some of these schools aren;t walkable from the Redline.

Not sure she needs it to be- she just needs to be able to walk to the redline from her house, thus she needs a house in a school zone hear a redline stop. Kid can take the bus.

Anonymous wrote:Is somerset walkable to red line?

Definitely walkable to the Friendship Heights metro.

Anonymous wrote:Is somerset walkable to red line?

Totally- Friendship Heights.

Is somerset walkable to red line?

Anonymous wrote:From my observation, some of these schools aren;t walkable from the Redline.

Which ones?

We walk from Hearst to Van Ness every day. Last year I toured Eaton, and it is definitely walkable to the red line. So is Janney.

From my observation, some of these schools aren;t walkable from the Redline.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This seems like such an odd comparison. Do you want immersion? If so, I think Oyster is great. Do you not? If so, I think Bethesda Elementary is great. I have friends who send their kids to both those schools and like it--but they very different. Not to mention that the neighborhoods have very different feels.

I agree with this. And if you are looking to be able to walk to the redline, why wouldn't you consider Murch, Eaton or Westbrook?

Or Hearst or Rosemary Hills/Chevy Chase Elementary.

Anonymous wrote:This seems like such an odd comparison. Do you want immersion? If so, I think Oyster is great. Do you not? If so, I think Bethesda Elementary is great. I have friends who send their kids to both those schools and like it--but they very different. Not to mention that the neighborhoods have very different feels.

I agree with this. And if you are looking to be able to walk to the redline, why wouldn't you consider Murch, Eaton or Westbrook?

This seems like such an odd comparison. Do you want immersion? If so, I think Oyster is great. Do you not? If so, I think Bethesda Elementary is great. I have friends who send their kids to both those schools and like it--but they very different. Not to mention that the neighborhoods have very different feels.

I think the question is more whether you would stay in DC past third grade.

How to they compare in terms of curriculum and overall school culture? (Is the science curriculum strong in both schools? Active PTA? Educated and engaged parents? Friendly?)

The more general question is: are the elementary DCPS zoned to upper NW along the red line comparable to Bethesda ES in MCPS? We would prefer to live in DC.

Anonymous wrote:We are looking for a small condo along the red line in NW DC or Bethesda for an easy commute to NIH. Our child will be in K next year. I am very interested in the bilingual program at Oyster and think that it would be my preference but wondered if anyone had experience with how Oyster might compare to Bethesda ES in MCPS. Thanks!

One is bilingual, and the other is not. Apples and oranges.

We are looking for a small condo along the red line in NW DC or Bethesda for an easy commute to NIH. Our child will be in K next year. I am very interested in the bilingual program at Oyster and think that it would be my preference but wondered if anyone had experience with how Oyster might compare to Bethesda ES in MCPS. Thanks!