Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Takoma Park would have lots of similar families to yours, and has good schools throughout, Highland View in Silver Spring is an excellent elementary feeding into a pretty good middle school. High school is less strong (Northwood). Forest Knolls is the same trajectory as Highland view.Woodside has an excellent middle elementary school in Woodlin, a good high school with Einstein, but I am not sure of the middle school.
Lots of people on this forum will tell you to go to Bethesda, they will bad mouth Silver Spring, etc. They will tell you about the one diverse family they know in their bethesda school, and how everyone is nice to them. But if you want a supportive environment with lots of other families who look like yours, your best bet is Takoma Park or Silver Spring.

Typical.
Always with the chip on your shoulder SS resident. Try boosting your area without cutting down others.

But, isn't the prediction pretty much how this thread ended up? I guess maybe no one tried to convince OP that bethesda is diverse, but otherwise, this thread seems pretty typical of how these discussions proceed.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Takoma Park would have lots of similar families to yours, and has good schools throughout, Highland View in Silver Spring is an excellent elementary feeding into a pretty good middle school. High school is less strong (Northwood). Forest Knolls is the same trajectory as Highland view.Woodside has an excellent middle elementary school in Woodlin, a good high school with Einstein, but I am not sure of the middle school.
Lots of people on this forum will tell you to go to Bethesda, they will bad mouth Silver Spring, etc. They will tell you about the one diverse family they know in their bethesda school, and how everyone is nice to them. But if you want a supportive environment with lots of other families who look like yours, your best bet is Takoma Park or Silver Spring.

Typical.
Always with the chip on your shoulder SS resident. Try boosting your area without cutting down others.

NP. Plenty of people from other areas have posted in SS threads, cutting down the city and its residents. This thread is a perfect example.

Why are you posting in this thread? Do you have any recent first-person experience with the schools here?

Welcome and good luck. It is overwhelming. We just moved to this area as well.
We live in Kensington and I'd recommend it to anyone interested in schools. We mostly based our decision on schools and taling to people. One friend who teachers at the high school (Walter Johnson) said she liked it because the kids work hard, and they have to do chores at home and it is not a culture of entitled kids (though I am sure a bunch are).
My kids attend Kensington Parkwood elementary and North Bethesda Middle School (NBMS). They are set to attend Walter Johnson. We love the area and the schools.
Good luck.

Anonymous wrote:Takoma Park would have lots of similar families to yours, and has good schools throughout, Highland View in Silver Spring is an excellent elementary feeding into a pretty good middle school. High school is less strong (Northwood). Forest Knolls is the same trajectory as Highland view.Woodside has an excellent middle elementary school in Woodlin, a good high school with Einstein, but I am not sure of the middle school.
Lots of people on this forum will tell you to go to Bethesda, they will bad mouth Silver Spring, etc. They will tell you about the one diverse family they know in their bethesda school, and how everyone is nice to them. But if you want a supportive environment with lots of other families who look like yours, your best bet is Takoma Park or Silver Spring.

Typical.
Always with the chip on your shoulder SS resident. Try boosting your area without cutting down others.

Can some on speak to northwood?

Anonymous wrote:My impression is that Einstein is already very good, that that improvement has already occurred.

+1

I have one kid at Blair, the other at Einstein. Love Einstein.

8:37 here. Thanks for all of the encouraging responses!

My impression is that Einstein is already very good, that that improvement has already occurred.

I think PPs statement is true for most DTSS middle schools. Stronger elementaries feeding in, involved professional families, just a shift in both demographics and potential- the MS are going to get stronger. Some like SSMIS already have a great reputation, others have good new leadership and active families.

Anonymous wrote:NP here. I am familiar with SS elementary schools and which ones are recommended. What about middle and high schools? I'd like to buy where I don't have to move in a few years. I have heard little about middle school and mixed to negative things about Einstein. I am unfamiliar with the other schools. Thoughts from SS parents?

Live in Silver Spring and zoned for Newport and Einstein. Others around me are zoned for Sligo and Einstein. Over the years I have lived here, the neighborhood went from a "starter home, move out/private at middle school" to more permanent families planning to stay (including my family).

They just recently had a principal change at Sligo that people are saying is positive and much more direct contact and involvement with the principal at Newport. I have heard good things about Einstein and they have a great IB program. Many active PTA members over the last year or so are now in the middle school and proactively working with the schools. I am hoping and anticipate that by the time my kids hit middle school and high school (Woodlin, Oakland, and Flora Singer all feed into Einstein), the schools will be great.

We live in the part of downtown Silver Spring that feeds into Takoma Park Middle School and Blair High. Very pleased with those options. Great neighborhood, too!

NP here. I am familiar with SS elementary schools and which ones are recommended. What about middle and high schools? I'd like to buy where I don't have to move in a few years. I have heard little about middle school and mixed to negative things about Einstein. I am unfamiliar with the other schools. Thoughts from SS parents?

Anonymous wrote:Lots of us have lived in SS at one point in our lives. Many of us sent our kids to schools in SS...some of us moved right before K to avoid the schools. Some parts of SS ate great...but others aren't as great...and lots of folks buy starter homes in those parts and trade up at some point.

This is not surprising, given that most of eastern Montgomery County is "Silver Spring".

Lots of us have lived in SS at one point in our lives. Many of us sent our kids to schools in SS...some of us moved right before K to avoid the schools. Some parts of SS ate great...but others aren't as great...and lots of folks buy starter homes in those parts and trade up at some point.

There are so many. Anti-Silver Spring posters who don't live in Silver Spring, it really makes you think there are a lot of haters who live west of Rock Creek.