You should also look at neighborhoods headed to the new school, Rustin. The school is going to be far nicer and have more amenities for kids (including a maker's area for STEM project and a TV studio). The principal is experienced, authentic, and welcoming -- she was much beloved at her former school. And best of all: no Horizon Hill crazies!

My kid also attended RP. The teachers vary from good to very good. But extraordinary ones are few and far between. Principal is average. But tries her best. My kid ended up at Barnsley, Takoma and Finally at Blair. But not many kids from RP take that route and majority of them are not interested in taking that route. So there is some indifference from the kids and by extension from Parents. To be a super school, it has to come from both the school and parents. One without the other is not a winning formula.

Anonymous wrote:The school will still be overcrowded next year. The parents who were the most vocal in the zoning fight were clear they only cared about getting poor/minority kids OUT of their school. So while FARMS will be reduced, classrooms will still be overcrowded and classes will still be held in trailers (oops, I mean "portables").

The principal is neither good nor bad. She simply repeats what MCPS tells her to say, and nothing more. She knows most of the kids by name, but is not an overly caring or sympathetic person. She does make personal phone calls to parents when kids are in trouble. She has not made much effort to address the issues of bullying at recess -- simply says more parents need to volunteer during recess time, which is not encouraging or helpful to a household where both parents (or the single parent) are working professionals.

Not sure why PP said there is no time for specials. Kids go to specials 4 days a week: music, media/library, art, gym.

That's because the current 4th graders from the town center area will still be going to RP next year. Year after that, all kids from that area will go to the new school.

RE: more aides at recess.. I think probably most schools need more aides at recess, not just RP.

The school will still be overcrowded next year. The parents who were the most vocal in the zoning fight were clear they only cared about getting poor/minority kids OUT of their school. So while FARMS will be reduced, classrooms will still be overcrowded and classes will still be held in trailers (oops, I mean "portables").

The principal is neither good nor bad. She simply repeats what MCPS tells her to say, and nothing more. She knows most of the kids by name, but is not an overly caring or sympathetic person. She does make personal phone calls to parents when kids are in trouble. She has not made much effort to address the issues of bullying at recess -- simply says more parents need to volunteer during recess time, which is not encouraging or helpful to a household where both parents (or the single parent) are working professionals.

Not sure why PP said there is no time for specials. Kids go to specials 4 days a week: music, media/library, art, gym.

Anonymous wrote:11:25 is simply misinformed, or is just a disgruntled witch.

I know plenty of Fallsgrove families who love RP, and are very devoted to the school, the PTA and the community. So you are wrong there, and should apologize for disparaging them ("they are not like the families in [other neighborhoods.]" You are despicable for even writing that.

Also false that there was not enough time for specials, lunch/recess. That is simply not true.

PTA issues don't have to do with the principal.

You sound like Sarah Huckabee Sanders, spewing lies.

Yea, many FG parents are quite active in the school. The PTA president is from there. I don't where that person got the idea that FG are not like the families in other neighborhoods. Maybe she meant that the area near town center that is now zoned for the new school, and not FG?

In any case, the FG folks fit in just fine at RP.

And they do have specials a few times a week. Lunch/recess is staggered because of the overcrowding.

11:25 is simply misinformed, or is just a disgruntled witch.

I know plenty of Fallsgrove families who love RP, and are very devoted to the school, the PTA and the community. So you are wrong there, and should apologize for disparaging them ("they are not like the families in [other neighborhoods.]" You are despicable for even writing that.

Also false that there was not enough time for specials, lunch/recess. That is simply not true.

PTA issues don't have to do with the principal.

You sound like Sarah Huckabee Sanders, spewing lies.

Anonymous wrote:Here comes the RP bashers. Great school and my DD has loved it. Sure, there are some issues, but no school is perfect. They don't churn through Vice Principals - people get rotated out. Try some facts before you post lies.

"Rotated out" is a weird expression. It makes it sound like changing assistant principals is a normal regular occurrence. At CGES, they've had two since 2009 (when my oldest started there). The first AP was named Acting Principal in 2011 (ish) when the then principal resigned in the middle of the school year. She was then named the principal and a permanent AP was hired for the next school year.

I have no dog in this fight, but my friends from RPES have complained about the principal and staff turnover. I haven't had that same experience at a different school.

Anonymous wrote:Here comes the RP bashers. Great school and my DD has loved it. Sure, there are some issues, but no school is perfect. They don't churn through Vice Principals - people get rotated out. Try some facts before you post lies.

Why do you always call people RP bashers? People just disagree with or have different experiences than you. That doesn't make them wrong.

Anonymous wrote:Here comes the RP bashers. Great school and my DD has loved it. Sure, there are some issues, but no school is perfect. They don't churn through Vice Principals - people get rotated out. Try some facts before you post lies.

New poster here and you can't say that people who don't like the school are bashers.

The principal is not very good. They have only had two decent principals in the last 10-15 years and they were both 1 year temporary. Both should have been given the position, but neither were offered, and went on to other schools and are now FABULOUS principals. Both were African American which I think was sorely needed in our more diverse school. Instead, we get another older white lady who doesn't do much at all. She isn't terrible and she is very nice to the kids, but the PTA has plummeted with her in office and this used to be a very active PTA and involved school. College Gardens and Beall both have better principals which leads to better involvement. Ritchie Park struggles because it is a struggle to work with the principal and every VP there has never had a voice. They are gone in 1-2yrs.

I think overall the school would have been better not having Fallsgrove and keeping the Hungerford kids, but I agree that they will all be walkable and will have a great new involved school. Fallsgrove is just too far away and the families from that area are not like the families from Potomac Woods, Orchard Ridge, Horizon Hill, Montgomery Square. They have never really wanted to be at the school and it doesn't feel like a neighborhood elementary school when half the kids are miles away. We are the only cluster school so disjointed.

Do I think the school will be better with less kids? Absolutely. We were so overcrowded, have 6 portables, and just didn't have the time for specials, computer lab, and lunch/recess times, etc...
Do I think it will seem wealthier or more fluent? Not really. Most are middle class, not wealthy. Plus, the race/cultural diversity will stay almost the same. It won't turn more white, so that is very nice
Do I think you shouldn't move here because of the principal? No, as that can change any given year.

Do I like the area? Most of the time. It is great area for the price compared to houses right up the street that go to Potomac schools. I think there are certain neighborhoods that are better and more involved than others. Potomac Woods shopping area is nice as is Fallsgrove shopping area. Rockville Town Center is nice. Pools and playground camps. Rockville services are so much better than county services. RM is a pretty decent high school although it too has gone down in the rankings and their IB program is struggling with a new coordinator. The area isn't perfect, but I think QO and RM are probably the two best schools for middle class normal families who want diversity. MCPS is just hard to swallow sometimes, but you will get that pretty much everywhere.

Here comes the RP bashers. Great school and my DD has loved it. Sure, there are some issues, but no school is perfect. They don't churn through Vice Principals - people get rotated out. Try some facts before you post lies.

Despite the smaller size and wealthy demographic at RP, College Garden and Beall seem to be more popular.

The principal is awful they churn through vice principals.

I have never had a problem with the Principal, but I know others who have. I guess it depends on your issues.

The school is ok. Not the best; not the worst. It's on the smaller side, and will get even smaller. Doesn't mean the class size will get smaller though. There are some great teachers, some not so great teachers. Regardless, my DC loves that school.

I don’t think the FARMS rate was a problem for the school so I don’t see a reduction in FARMS having an impact. But if there are less students in general that’s a positive. We live in an adjacent school district and know many families at or who have attended Ritchie Park. The issue has always been the principal.

thinking about houses that are zoned for ritchie park. I noticed that the upcoming rezoning is going to dramatically reduce the FARMS rate to about 7.5 percent and make it more of a "wealthy" school. DO you all think that this is going to have a noticeable impact on the school ? positive and negative.