I think Somerset would fit your needs better. Small school, great neighborhood within walking distance of metro, shops at Friendship Heights and Bethesda and a very strong parent community. They just raised $550,000 to rehabilitate their playing field so I would say that they are committed! Within the neighborhood of Somerset itself, I would say 80-85% of the kids go to public school. They surrounding neighborhoods, which also feed into the school tend to have more private school kids. Bethesda Chevy Chase HS has an IB program, which Whitman does not and is a very good school. It has more middle income kids feeding into the school, which is why the test scores are not as high as Whitman's. There are no neighborhoods in the Whitman cluster that is close to the metro or walking distance to what you'd consider a city or town center. I think Edgemoor in Bethesda might be the only one and I think that feeds into Bethesda ES, which is in the BCC cluster.

All the schools you mention are great. We are at Wood Acres and love it. Lots of the kids in the neighborhood go public, although there are a few private. Agree that it is probably between 60 to 80 percent public.

I would guess PP's estimate of some neighborhoods 60/40 public/private and some 75/25 public/private is right on target.
Somerset is probably in the former, Burning Tree in the latter. There is a very strong sense of community at BT and the school has close ties with the neighborhood. This is similar at some of the other smaller schools, Bannocburn, Carderock, Westbrook, Bradley Hills.
You really can't go wrong with Wood Acres either. They were overcrowded but are expanding their physical space so it shouldn't be a problem soon. It also has advantages because of its size in that they have more specialists on site, more activities and that kind of thing. If your child has any issues like being delayed at reading or something Wood Acres has more staff to work with your child. A big complaint among parents at those smaller schools is that they are not very tolerant of kids who are less than stellar in all areas. While that's clearly an attitude problem it may also have to do with lack of resources.

Hi all, just wanted to thank you for your posts. I've read each of them several times and find the advice very valuable. You are saving me a bunch of time in searching for a home in the right area! Thanks.

The neighborhood where Wood Acres is located has a strong sense of community as it is centered around the school and park. While schools vary in size, class sizes and curriculum will all be similar across all of these schools. Also, the largest schools have more resources should any needs arise.

Anonymous wrote:Burning Tree is not close to the Metro and shops -- none of the Whitman cluster schools are. Bethesda Elementary, part of the BCC cluster, is walkable to Metro and shops in downtown Bethesda.

Actually the Bradley Hills zone goes very close to the shops and metro - if you look on the map, it ends on Park Lane where it meets Maple Ridge - that is only 5 mins walk from all the restaurants in Bethesda which are on Norfolk Ave. Also, some of Moorland lane in Edgmoor which are usually zoned for BE are also zoned for Bradley Hills - again, a quick walk to town.

You need to look at the catchment zone maps to be really accurate. If you live close to Bradley Hills school of course you're a schlep to central Bethesda and the metro but its possible to live over a mile south of it and get the best of both worlds.

I'm in the Wood Acres district although my kids went to private school for ES. They did go to Whitman. Our neighbors and DCs classmates were happy with Wood Acres. The percent of private v public varies a little bit by neighborhood. Ours is probably 60/40 public/private, which is on the high side for private school. In some neighborhoods it is more like 75/25 public/private. There will always be some kids going to catholic schools or some of the top tier private schools.

Agree that most Whitman neighborhoods aren't walkable to metro. You can do the bus to metro pretty easily though but it adds time.

Burning Tree is not close to the Metro and shops -- none of the Whitman cluster schools are. Bethesda Elementary, part of the BCC cluster, is walkable to Metro and shops in downtown Bethesda.

Tour the schools.

OP welcome to the area. We like Wood Acres. All the schools in the cluster are good. One factor that differentiates them is size, Wood Acres being the largest and Bannockburn I believe being the smallest. What you heard about McLean, I've heard about some neighborhoods in the BCC cluster (parts of Westmoreland Hills, Edgemoor, parts of Chevy Chase). By contrast, in the Whitman cluster the % of families going to private doesn't seem so high that it impacts neighborhood feel.

Bethesda is not unlike McLean in terms of % of kids in private. Every 5 minutes you drive here you'll hit another private.

I live in the area and my daughter goes to one of the elementary schools mentioned. Honestly, they are all good. I would send my kid to any of them without hesitation. Burning Tree has a lower GreatSchool score due to the special needs program at that school. You can't go wrong with any of the 20817 schools.

tier = cluster in MoCo. I don't think Burning Tree is actually close to the metro..it is close to the Beltway. I think the Bethesda Chevy Chase Cluster is the best for metro access and shops. All Bethesda clusters have good elementary schools. I think Burning Tree has a special ed center which affects its scores. Scores are really not a full picture of a school. Good luck!

Hi we are relocating from NYC and looking for a very strong public school system for our 8 yr old twins. We like the Whitman tier a lot. Can anyone give me a sense of how they like Wood Acres elementary? We are also considering Bradley Hills and Bannockburn. Burning Tree is convenient for us (we want to be close to metro and shops) but it seems not as strong as the other elementary schools, is this correct? Also we want a strong public school community, in that we've been disheartened recently to see many NYC neighbors pull their kids from public and send them to private, despite the strength of our local school. I know everywhere will have students who opt for private, but can someone give me a sense of what Bethesda is like in regards to the public vs private culture? I've heard, for example (and I know just enough to be dangerous) that McLean has a strong culture of sending kids to private despite the excellent public schools, which is not something we want. I really appreciate any input.