They all great schools but size is the big difference. you should consider your child's needs when deciding between schools. The bigger schools tend to be less personal, and there's more competition for things like the parent organized sports teams. But the bigger schools have more diversity so a quirky kid may find they fit in there more and your social kid may enjoy meeting more people.

The smaller schools can have a wonderful small town community feel to them. The main drawback is that some are so small that the kids and interests tend to be very similar so if your child does not fit that mold it may be more difficult to fit in. It's the same for parents. If you don't fit a certain mold you may find it harder to click with other parents.

All the PTAs are really active with strong leadership. I'm sure some more cliquey than others but it probably varies from year to year.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bethesda Elementary is definitely the worst of the bunch. It's overcrowded, has many problem teachers, and has an awful Principal. There are still some great teachers there, and the quality of the families and kids they bring keeps it afloat, but it's not good.

Disagree. I think she was the best principal my kids had during their time in MCPS. She’s direct, efficient, and gets stuff done. She’s not a mealy mouthed do-nothing bureaucrat like so many other school officials.

+ 1. The overcrowding is terrible though. Not her fault obviously.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bethesda Elementary is definitely the worst of the bunch. It's overcrowded, has many problem teachers, and has an awful Principal. There are still some great teachers there, and the quality of the families and kids they bring keeps it afloat, but it's not good.

Disagree. I think she was the best principal my kids had during their time in MCPS. She’s direct, efficient, and gets stuff done. She’s not a mealy mouthed do-nothing bureaucrat like so many other school officials.

She’s focused on equity over everything else. She certainly is direct about that. She can barely hide her disdain for certain types of people. If your kid has special needs, she’s great. Otherwise, be prepared to do most teaching at home.

Wyngate has a really great family community. The parents sponsor a lot of extra activities like multi-cultural night and the science fair that are great for the kids and really foster community. I was surprised when I moved in, expecting the usual mix of lawyers and policy wonks, but there are a ton of research scientists that work at NIH or some of the pharma companies, and also a ton of foreign (mostly European and South American but some Asian) families that work at embassies, the World Bank and IMF. Which makes it diverse in a different kind of way.

As noted upthread, the principal is leaving and a new one is being hired. There has been a lot of teacher turnover in the past couple of years, but many of the team leads are still there and are very strong (including K, 2 and 3). Probably half of the teachers have been there for a long time. I think all of the schools are having turnover problems, though.

I think Wyngate and Ashburton are also a smidge more economically diverse than some of the other Bethesda schools. We have some military families who are posted at Walter Reed, a lot of government workers, and also a fair number of parents who work at non-profits. So that won't show up in the FARMS numbers, but it is more middle class income than you often find in Bethesda.

I did hear that Wyngate's old priincipal, who is great, is heading to Somerset.

Anonymous wrote:Bethesda Elementary is definitely the worst of the bunch. It's overcrowded, has many problem teachers, and has an awful Principal. There are still some great teachers there, and the quality of the families and kids they bring keeps it afloat, but it's not good.

Disagree. I think she was the best principal my kids had during their time in MCPS. She’s direct, efficient, and gets stuff done. She’s not a mealy mouthed do-nothing bureaucrat like so many other school officials.

Just for all of these people commenting on class size...that's not the school's decision. It's based on enrollment and handled by the county. If your school becomes much smaller, you may lose a teacher and class sizes may go up. It's all how the numbers fall each particular year. Now facilities being crowded - that is a real possibility, but the tie some people are trying to make to class size is not how things work.

My kid is in ashburton K. There are 23 kids in the class.
I think ashburton is a good school.

Anonymous wrote:We have three kids at Bradley hills and love it. We lost a bunch of kids to private during COVID virtual learning and class sizes are pretty small now (none of my kids have more than 25 kids per class). The principal is retiring after next year and we are all crossing fingers and toes that our amazing AP takes over…
But it’s not a diverse school. Everyone is wealthy and white or Asian. So if diversity is important to you this is not the school for you. Also keep in mind that with the redrawing of boundaries a lot of Bradley hills may get shifted to go to north bethesda and Walter Johnson instead of Pyle and Whitman.

Even if the boundary changes all these schools are great. I just don't see a big downside.

Bump

We have three kids at Bradley hills and love it. We lost a bunch of kids to private during COVID virtual learning and class sizes are pretty small now (none of my kids have more than 25 kids per class). The principal is retiring after next year and we are all crossing fingers and toes that our amazing AP takes over…
But it’s not a diverse school. Everyone is wealthy and white or Asian. So if diversity is important to you this is not the school for you. Also keep in mind that with the redrawing of boundaries a lot of Bradley hills may get shifted to go to north bethesda and Walter Johnson instead of Pyle and Whitman.

Anonymous wrote:All great schools but the bethesda cluster schools seem much more overcrowded than other areas of the county.

As mentioned upthread, three elementary schools are overcrowded; the rest are not.

All great schools but the bethesda cluster schools seem much more overcrowded than other areas of the county.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My school is terrible. OP, please don't move into my zone.

It's DUCM! Everyone's school is terrible. Unless their school is awesome and it's everyone else's school that's terrible.

i

This.

Anonymous wrote:Bethesda Elementary is definitely the worst of the bunch. It's overcrowded, has many problem teachers, and has an awful Principal. There are still some great teachers there, and the quality of the families and kids they bring keeps it afloat, but it's not good.

And by worst, it's still great because they're all fine.

Bethesda Elementary is definitely the worst of the bunch. It's overcrowded, has many problem teachers, and has an awful Principal. There are still some great teachers there, and the quality of the families and kids they bring keeps it afloat, but it's not good.