Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our elementary has a very proud Rainbow Club, and our circle of friends and neighbors has many diverse and wonderful kinds of families. No world is perfect, but this is the kind of world I want my kids to grow up in.

I love this! Do you mind sharing which elementary or which area?

DP but our Westland cluster ES has a rainbow club

Anonymous wrote:Hello parents! I am moving to the area. I have two non-binary kids. Are the schools accepting/embracing of this? Any areas in the county that they will have a better experience or any areas to avoid?

I teach at Eastern Middle School. I would say that it is barely remarkable in our magnet population and not unheard of in the comprehensive population. The students are generally accepting.

Yes and no. Microcosm of society. Those who are accepting will help but those who aren’t won’t.

School doesn’t matter in the end, comes to who the kid ends up having with them at lunch

My DD is at a title 1 school with a trans child and a child who is non binary. She is friends with both and I haven't heard of any bullying. The school has read progressive books about LGBTQ and has talked about pride month.

Anonymous wrote:I'm the PP who had kids at EMS, TPMS, AEHS, and MBHS, and just wanted to note that my nonbinary kid only ever encountered bullying from US-born kids, so I'm a little leery of this narrative about immigrants.

While it might be true that some of the families in MCPS (particularly in the eastern part of the county) come from religious backgrounds, the kids are usually pretty good at code-shifting. At home, they are diligent and Orthodox or Catholic or whatever, but at school they are just the same mix of theater kids, math kids, jocks, and science nerds as anyone else.

Yeah, you can invalidate my kid's experiences all you want, but they are real. Many of the kids may be American born, but they are growing up with very conservative religious backgrounds and their families are from conservative cultures (at least as far as LGBTQ people are concerned). Of course many kids can, "code-switch," and respect differences. On the other hand, not all of them can or do.

However, I agree that there are plenty of mean white kids out there and in fact that's why I brought up how hostile a lot of (overwhelmingly white women) staff at a past W feeder school I worked at were to LGBTQ staff and students.

Anonymous wrote:Takoma will be great for this.

I am in another part of Silver Spring and MCPS has been great - affirmatively asking about what bathroom feels comfortable, etc. My kid taught their third grade class to introduce themselves with pronouns and the teacher (a late 60s white lady) loved it. But be a little careful of areas with high immigrant populations- in our experience, recent immigrants from Central America and parts of Africa have not been as open on gender issues. No violence or bullying, or anything dramatic, but the hesitation has been there. But when official policies are so great, my kid at a very ethnically diverse schools feels comfortable and happy.

Definitely TP. I heard some TP teens joking just the other day that yet another kid in the neighborhood has has changed their pronouns.

I'm the PP who had kids at EMS, TPMS, AEHS, and MBHS, and just wanted to note that my nonbinary kid only ever encountered bullying from US-born kids, so I'm a little leery of this narrative about immigrants.

While it might be true that some of the families in MCPS (particularly in the eastern part of the county) come from religious backgrounds, the kids are usually pretty good at code-shifting. At home, they are diligent and Orthodox or Catholic or whatever, but at school they are just the same mix of theater kids, math kids, jocks, and science nerds as anyone else.

Anonymous wrote:Hello parents! I am moving to the area. I have two non-binary kids. Are the schools accepting/embracing of this? Any areas in the county that they will have a better experience or any areas to avoid?

Welcome to Montgomery County OP! I want add the Richard Montgomery HS cluster in Rockville to your list to consider. It’s a fairly big school (2400) with a lot of academic and extracurricular opportunities. There are relatively a lot of non-binary students and/or trans students there (I usually teach 2 or 3 each year) and we are adding gender neutral student bathrooms this summer (I don’t know exactly how these will work yet.) The counseling department is excellent in regards to helping students navigate any issues.

As other posters have said, there is a lot of diversity in the county and there are students with cultural and religious backgrounds who are not accepting of trans/non-binary students, but the school system has a lot of policies in place that everyone belongs and should feel safe at school, and part of that is teaching all students about all the varied cultures, backgrounds, and ways of being that are important to their peers.

Best wishes for your family!

I'm going to dissent a little. I have a child that is non-binary. They go to a high school in Silver Spring. As far as staff, yes, they have been pretty understanding. This high school is very diverse and a lot of the kids are from religiously conservative homes. My kid hasn't been bullied, but there are plenty of students that (due in part anyway to what they've learned at home) struggle to accept this and/or just refuse to use my childs preferred pronouns. There are a lot of other understanding and open-minded kids as well.

That said, I worked in a school in the more western (W feeder school) part of the county and a trans member of staff was regularly disparaged and (in my opinion) bullied by other staff (though not administration) of the school, AND some of the parents were likewise very hostile. It was very distressing to me as a parent of a non-binary child because I got to see what happens behind the backs of those that are different in this way, and it wasn't pretty.

So I think what you'll find is a mixed bag.

Anonymous wrote:
MoCo in general is liberal, the south (downcounty) more so than the north (upcounty). But please remember that bullying is always present everywhere, OP! It just takes one kid to get something started, and it can happen in the most progressive school district.

and

But be a little careful of areas with high immigrant populations- in our experience, recent immigrants from Central America and parts of Africa have not been as open on gender issues. No violence or bullying, or anything dramatic, but the hesitation has been there. But when official policies are so great, my kid at a very ethnically diverse schools feels comfortable and happy.

are both true. While there's many good schools to choose from, don't go into it thinking there will be no bullying.

OP, you might find this interesting:

https://www.k12dive.com/news/parents-maryland-opt-out-case-4th-circuit/716477/

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our elementary has a very proud Rainbow Club, and our circle of friends and neighbors has many diverse and wonderful kinds of families. No world is perfect, but this is the kind of world I want my kids to grow up in.

I love this! Do you mind sharing which elementary or which area?

NP
Here is the thing Takoma Park would be really nice so your child can experience total and unadulterated acceptance.

But it's very expensive. So just avoid upcounty like Damascus and you will be fine but if you can afford Takoma Park you will be happiest there.

MCPS is one of the most progressive liberal school districts in the country.

Very common

Anonymous wrote:Our elementary has a very proud Rainbow Club, and our circle of friends and neighbors has many diverse and wonderful kinds of families. No world is perfect, but this is the kind of world I want my kids to grow up in.

I love this! Do you mind sharing which elementary or which area?