Keep in mind, Greenbelts schools are over crowded. While good, you have to have "that" child. I have a child that can be in a class of 50 and do good. I have another that needs to be able to concentrate because they have audio processing issues. When I went to register here, it was 28 kids in what would've been her kindergarten class. No bueno. Roosevelt has 2500 plus kids.

Yeah, central PG county where Upper Marlboro is located, is one of the weaker parts of PGCPS. Very hit-or-miss. That said, the real estate is very affordably priced, so that you can get more bang-for-your-buck on housing so pay for private/parochial schools if needed.

If you want public schools, you would do better to look in Greenbelt. It's very similarly priced for housing, but the public schools in Greenbelt are stronger than the schools in central PG county (Greenbelt is considered northern PG county along with Laurel and Bowie and arguably the strongest part of PGCPS).

Also, if your kids are young (pre-schooling), then you have a chance to get in to one of the lottery schools, either the Robert Goddard Montessori or the French Immersion program. Those are good programs, but since most kids transfer up from lower classes, the number of openings for children to enter the program outside of the lowest grade are few and far between. Much easier to enter at the lowest grade. That said, I know families that have done both and they said that the programs are both strong.

And if your kids are good in science/match, the tech magnet program at Eleanor Roosevelt HS is a very good program. I work at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and we often have kids from ERHS tech come over to GSFC for various programs, some day programs, others like SHARP internships and the kids are sharp and invested and interested in learning. Plus, I know several families where the kids graduated from the ERHS tech magnet and got into good college programs.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The public schools are horrible, but there are decent parochial school options.

As nice as the houses are, this is true!

I don't know much about Perrywood or Kettering ES but Kingsford Elementary is a solid school. I would send my children there if we lived in zone.

If I moved to that area I would plan on paying for private middle and possibly high school in case the you can't get into any specialty programs.

Catholic school is your best bet.

Anonymous wrote:The public schools are horrible, but there are decent parochial school options.

As nice as the houses are, this is true!

The public schools are horrible, but there are decent parochial school options.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Upper Marlboro addresses encompass a large geography in PG.
Are you talking about the area around the county offices or are you talking about Greater Upper Marlboro. There are some ok elementary schools in Greater Upper Marlboro.

We went to Watkins Park and also over near the river/manmade lake. The Main street had a cute coffee/bakery.

Watkins park is located in the Largo area of upper Marlboro. Elementary school would either be Kingsford, perrywood or Kettering. Kettering middle and then Largo High. It’s gonna be hit or miss and really boils down to parent involvement and the kids remaining focused. I don’t have kids but I understand the TAG programs are pretty good.

Depending on TAG in that are of the county is tricky. The elementary TAG center is very good but a lot of that area is zoned for the Walker Mill Middle TAG program which doesn't have a great reputation.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Upper Marlboro addresses encompass a large geography in PG.
Are you talking about the area around the county offices or are you talking about Greater Upper Marlboro. There are some ok elementary schools in Greater Upper Marlboro.

We went to Watkins Park and also over near the river/manmade lake. The Main street had a cute coffee/bakery.

Watkins park is located in the Largo area of upper Marlboro. Elementary school would either be Kingsford, perrywood or Kettering. Kettering middle and then Largo High. It’s gonna be hit or miss and really boils down to parent involvement and the kids remaining focused. I don’t have kids but I understand the TAG programs are pretty good.

Anonymous wrote:Upper Marlboro addresses encompass a large geography in PG.
Are you talking about the area around the county offices or are you talking about Greater Upper Marlboro. There are some ok elementary schools in Greater Upper Marlboro.

We went to Watkins Park and also over near the river/manmade lake. The Main street had a cute coffee/bakery.

Upper Marlboro addresses encompass a large geography in PG.
Are you talking about the area around the county offices or are you talking about Greater Upper Marlboro. There are some ok elementary schools in Greater Upper Marlboro.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We did a day trip with kids there and really liked the architecture and parks. What are the local schools like? We are in NW DC currently.

Trash! Our schools are Melwood, James Madison and Wise. Wise is probably 5/10. The other two 3/10.

-Signed an Upper Marlboro parent

Do you do private school then? Our DC IB elementary is borderline, but the middle school/high school are bad, so we might be doing private - in which case we would need cheaper housing outside DC.

We do a private in DC. Kid is in kindergarten. The commute isn’t for the weak but worth it. My neighbors do privates in Annapolis and VA.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We did a day trip with kids there and really liked the architecture and parks. What are the local schools like? We are in NW DC currently.

Trash! Our schools are Melwood, James Madison and Wise. Wise is probably 5/10. The other two 3/10.

-Signed an Upper Marlboro parent

Do you do private school then? Our DC IB elementary is borderline, but the middle school/high school are bad, so we might be doing private - in which case we would need cheaper housing outside DC.

Anonymous wrote:We did a day trip with kids there and really liked the architecture and parks. What are the local schools like? We are in NW DC currently.

Trash! Our schools are Melwood, James Madison and Wise. Wise is probably 5/10. The other two 3/10.

-Signed an Upper Marlboro parent

We did a day trip with kids there and really liked the architecture and parks. What are the local schools like? We are in NW DC currently.