Anonymous
Post 12/13/2011 04:55     Subject: Re:Elementary Schools in Bethesda
Anonymous wrote:
There won't be any Bethesda residents attending Rosemary Hills in the next few years - will be all Chevy Chase, Silver Spring, and some Kensington. Regardless, I wouldn'y recommend it. We're going private b/c we want to avoid RH. Crowded, HUGE, and we get some pretty disturbing reports from neighbors who have or do send their kids there.


Lots of inaccuracies above from the PP - most importantly that RH is a problem. Check the archives, go to the school, ask other parents. Our child has had a great experience at RHPS - great teachers, great school environment, and a very active and enthusiastic parent community. The school is large in terms of grade cohort but not in terms of overall size; all the Bethesda area elementaries are in the 500-700 kid size, and I'd rather have 600 kids in K-2 than 600 kids in K-5 - there are no big kid bullies or age-inappropriate influences for the little ones. It is slightly more racially/ethnically/socioeconomically diverse than the other Bethesda elementaries, but fwiw all the parents I meet are yuppie professionals (not that this is necessarily a good thing!) DCUM seems to attract one particular poster who is constantly denigrating RHPS and whining about the bus routes, I'm guessing the previous post is hers.


Listen - I don't think anyone has ever denigrated RH itself, other than a couple people in this thread. What people have denigrated is the inconvenience that some in the Bethesda community are faced with in sending their kids much further away than just about anyone else in this part of the county; to say the least of splitting up siblings prematurely. Though one may appreciate some of the comments you have about RH, to others the RH situation is a bad deal.
Anonymous
Post 12/12/2011 19:30     Subject: Elementary Schools in Bethesda
Burning Tree is the place to be these days. The Superintendent's kids go there and they have a wonderful new Principal and Asst Principal. Most of the teachers have been there for years and it's a very warm/close knit environment...
Anonymous
Post 12/12/2011 16:41     Subject: Elementary Schools in Bethesda
I was the PP from months back who is interested in WJ and not in Whitman. I also attended Whitman years ago. I want my children to have more economic and ethnic diversity than Whitman provides. I also want my children to not feel very much "less than" if they are not taking a full load of AP courses. This is not to say that Whitman is a bad school--of course we know it is one of the best--but sometimes what is "best" for one family isn't the "best" on paper.
Anonymous
Post 12/12/2011 15:59     Subject: Elementary Schools in Bethesda
Agree with PP. I have heard wonderful things about RH from parents. Let's face it, not every school is going to be a good fit for every kid. You pretty much can't go wrong with any Bethesda elementary school. However, you may end up with a bad fit. We left Wood Acres for private -- but, by in large, most of the families are happy with it. We had good teachers there, but it just ended up not being the right place for our kid.
Anonymous
Post 12/12/2011 15:55     Subject: Re:Elementary Schools in Bethesda
There won't be any Bethesda residents attending Rosemary Hills in the next few years - will be all Chevy Chase, Silver Spring, and some Kensington. Regardless, I wouldn'y recommend it. We're going private b/c we want to avoid RH. Crowded, HUGE, and we get some pretty disturbing reports from neighbors who have or do send their kids there.


Lots of inaccuracies above from the PP - most importantly that RH is a problem. Check the archives, go to the school, ask other parents. Our child has had a great experience at RHPS - great teachers, great school environment, and a very active and enthusiastic parent community. The school is large in terms of grade cohort but not in terms of overall size; all the Bethesda area elementaries are in the 500-700 kid size, and I'd rather have 600 kids in K-2 than 600 kids in K-5 - there are no big kid bullies or age-inappropriate influences for the little ones. It is slightly more racially/ethnically/socioeconomically diverse than the other Bethesda elementaries, but fwiw all the parents I meet are yuppie professionals (not that this is necessarily a good thing!) DCUM seems to attract one particular poster who is constantly denigrating RHPS and whining about the bus routes, I'm guessing the previous post is hers.
Anonymous
Post 12/12/2011 15:38     Subject: Elementary Schools in Bethesda
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:What about Rosemary Hills?


There won't be any Bethesda residents attending Rosemary Hills in the next few years - will be all Chevy Chase, Silver Spring, and some Kensington. Regardless, I wouldn'y recommend it. We're going private b/c we want to avoid RH. Crowded, HUGE, and we get some pretty disturbing reports from neighbors who have or do send their kids there.


We went to RH and really liked it. It is large but there are benefits to being only k-2 (and to having a large parent pool to draw on). There are a few portables, but I don't think it's very crowded compared to other schools.
Anonymous
Post 12/12/2011 15:38     Subject: Elementary Schools in Bethesda
I think that most of the schools are overcrowded. All of the schools are good (there really aren't any horror stories for most -- just isolated incidents of unhappy kids/parents). I agree that Wood Acres is not the school it was 5-7 years ago. While most parents are still happy, there are definitely bullying issues. I hear the best things about Burning Tree Elementary. I've also heard very positive things about Carderock. I personally know one family that had a terrible experience at Wyngate, but again -- that really is just one family of many that are probably very happy there. I would look for the neighborhoods that seem to be the best match for you and your family. PP is right; there are many snotty areas of Bethesda. However, you'll find good people everywhere!!
Anonymous
Post 12/12/2011 15:34     Subject: Elementary Schools in Bethesda
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I would not pick a school that is slated for renovation. Two years of dust, noise, safety concerns.....etc. The physical environment is very important to me. Some people don't mind portables, but I do. I also know that teachers do not like them so portables have an affect on their morale. I would also pick Carderock or Seven Locks. Renovated schools also get the technology from MCPS (I never understood the rationale behind it). Old schools have to raise money for technology.


The kids love being in portables.


Portables cover homeroom only. Still one single crowded lunchroom, art room, library stocked for a much smaller student body, music room, etc. Would avoid over-crowded schools if possible. The addition of classrooms only doesn't solve whole over crowding issue IMO.


It's true that classroom additions don't solve all the problems that come with overcrowding. However, at this time ALL the schools in Bethesda are overcrowded. So how is it possible to avoid an overcrowded school and still live in Bethesda?
Anonymous
Post 12/12/2011 15:33     Subject: Re:Elementary Schools in Bethesda
I don't have children who go to RH, but I do have friends, and they've been nothing but glowing in their recommendations for RH. Interesting.
Anonymous
Post 12/12/2011 14:48     Subject: Elementary Schools in Bethesda
Anonymous wrote:What about Rosemary Hills?


There won't be any Bethesda residents attending Rosemary Hills in the next few years - will be all Chevy Chase, Silver Spring, and some Kensington. Regardless, I wouldn'y recommend it. We're going private b/c we want to avoid RH. Crowded, HUGE, and we get some pretty disturbing reports from neighbors who have or do send their kids there.
Anonymous
Post 12/12/2011 14:31     Subject: Elementary Schools in Bethesda
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Why would you pick the WJ cluster over Whitman? Thanks!


I am not the pp but I went to Whitman and Whitman has always been a great school and WJ was not very good for a long time but WJ has made greater strides in the past than Whitman has and as with many other high schools in the area, the schools-they have caught up to Whitman.


It's generally true that the other schools have closed the gap, although Whitman still has signficantly higher numbers of NMSFs, the highest SATs and the highest performance on AP tests than the other high schools (excluding the magnets of course). But a kid in the top 10-20% will do well at any of the Bethesda/Potomac high schools.
Anonymous
Post 12/12/2011 12:34     Subject: Elementary Schools in Bethesda
My $.02: Wood Acres = lots of bullying and very overcrowded. I'd ask a lot of questions a visit a couple of times before committing to this school. Not the same school it was 5-7 year ago.
Anonymous
Post 12/12/2011 10:42     Subject: Elementary Schools in Bethesda
Just visit the schools that serve the neighborhoods you like. Once you visit a school, you'll get a good sense of whether you/your child would be comfortable in that school. In any case, you have a lot of great elementary schools to chose among. Good luck.
Anonymous
Post 12/12/2011 10:35     Subject: Elementary Schools in Bethesda
Anonymous wrote:Why would you pick the WJ cluster over Whitman? Thanks!


I am not the pp but I went to Whitman and Whitman has always been a great school and WJ was not very good for a long time but WJ has made greater strides in the past than Whitman has and as with many other high schools in the area, the schools-they have caught up to Whitman.
Anonymous
Post 12/12/2011 10:15     Subject: Elementary Schools in Bethesda
Why would you pick the WJ cluster over Whitman? Thanks!