Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can anyone speak to the class sizes at any of the elementary schools in these neighborhoods? What does the typical class size look like at Greenbelt ES/Hyattsville ES/University Park ES/Berwyn Height ES? Or is there a way to find that on the PGCPS site? (sorry, I'm a newbie to this) I've heard these are ok non-lottery options, but I've also heard that overcrowding is an issue. I'm not sure what that means in terms of number of kids in a class though.

2nd grade are about 22-23 kids per class
3rd grade a little more.
4th grade got an extra teacher and I want to say it's back down to 25 a class. Last year it was 33+.

Greenbelt Elementary

Anonymous wrote:Can anyone speak to the class sizes at any of the elementary schools in these neighborhoods? What does the typical class size look like at Greenbelt ES/Hyattsville ES/University Park ES/Berwyn Height ES? Or is there a way to find that on the PGCPS site? (sorry, I'm a newbie to this) I've heard these are ok non-lottery options, but I've also heard that overcrowding is an issue. I'm not sure what that means in terms of number of kids in a class though.

2nd grade are about 22-23 kids per class
3rd grade a little more.
4th grade got an extra teacher and I want to say it's back down to 25 a class. Last year it was 33+.

Anonymous wrote:OP here. The Charter in College Park does look good, but the charter/tag schools in PG are really hard to get in to. I can't assume our kids would get in any of them. We will look closer at Greenbelt and Bowie again. Greenbelt is a great community, although the homes are really small and close together. We appreciate all the suggestions so far.

Stay in Old Greenbelt because Greenbelt Elementary is the school you want to be in. The GHIs are small, same with Charlestown Townhomes but there are some good sized single family homes. Look in Lakeside and Boxwood Village neighborhoods. I like Lakeside better because of it's layout and proximity to the lake.

If you want to buy in DC check out the government loan programs for purchasing assistance. It is a loan for those eligible that will help you make the downpayment. This won't get you into a NW house unless you got a run down one or extremely lucky, BUT if you did the charter system you could buy anywhere and know which school you'd end up in. The other option is renting in a neighborhood with a school you like and then moving the next year when you're ready to buy - I am pretty sure you get to stay in your school.

Has anyone heard any reviews for Woodmore elementary school near mitchellvile maryland

Class size is a number that will fluctuate from year to year. With Student Based Budgeting, principals can determine how many classroom teachers they want to fund, and which grade levels to place those teachers.

Can anyone speak to the class sizes at any of the elementary schools in these neighborhoods? What does the typical class size look like at Greenbelt ES/Hyattsville ES/University Park ES/Berwyn Height ES? Or is there a way to find that on the PGCPS site? (sorry, I'm a newbie to this) I've heard these are ok non-lottery options, but I've also heard that overcrowding is an issue. I'm not sure what that means in terms of number of kids in a class though.

Sorry, I missed that. Yeah, renting somewhere with high test scores could be an option.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't buy if you're going to be here only 5 years unless you want to be a long-distance landlord. Rent somewhere with better schools and a decent commute, and save to buy a house wherever you're moving to.

For example? What if you can only afford a $220,000 house? Where in the DC area can you buy a house in a good school district with a decent commute, for that money?

??? PP was saying don't buy at all, just rent. I don't think anyone has suggested that OP try to buy in DC for the prices houses sell for in Greenbelt/Hyattsville/Cheverly.

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't buy if you're going to be here only 5 years unless you want to be a long-distance landlord. Rent somewhere with better schools and a decent commute, and save to buy a house wherever you're moving to.

For example? What if you can only afford a $220,000 house? Where in the DC area can you buy a house in a good school district with a decent commute, for that money?

I wouldn't buy if you're going to be here only 5 years unless you want to be a long-distance landlord. Rent somewhere with better schools and a decent commute, and save to buy a house wherever you're moving to.

OP, keep in mind that how well a school educates its learning disabled population and its ESOL population is important -- but if your child isn't in either of those categories, it might not be all that relevant to YOU.

I think your best bet is to find a house you can afford, in a community where you feel comfortable, with an elementary school (at least) that people seem happy enough to send their kids; and where there are a lot of parents who are trying to be active and involved in helping to improve the school; and where there is momentum towards making the neighborhood school a better option every year. It helps is the parents seem to be working together and there isn't a lot of sniping and bickering going on. (Always a bad sign).

If there's an active PTA already established, so much the better -- so many schools have a very minimal PTA or one that is only involved in fund raising. Test scores are not everything -- community involvement, after school clubs and programs, and a sense of kids being happy to be in school, are all important. In my opinion, perhaps the most important thing to evaluate is the responsiveness of the principal. I can't stress enough how important this is. You can have a bad teacher or bad school policy at any school, even those with high test scores. How respectful is the principal of parents' issues, even complaints? Is he approachable? Does she respond to concerns? Will he or she attend PTA meetings and hear parents out? This is something that is hard to figure out just by visiting the school, though; you really need to talk with current parents, especially those who have had a problem with a teacher, to find this out.

Anonymous wrote:Getting in TAG or Charter schools in PG is pretty hard. Lots of applicant for very few openings. You need to make sure the public schools are acceptable first and hope you will get into a TAG school.

It actually got a lot easier this past year as they opened up a lot more slots in Elementary. 80% of the people I know whose kids applied were accepted.

Or, of course, you can buy a house where the neighborhood school IS the TAG school. In that case, your child will have an automatic in and if TAG identified can go to the TAG classes.

Getting in TAG or Charter schools in PG is pretty hard. Lots of applicant for very few openings. You need to make sure the public schools are acceptable first and hope you will get into a TAG school.

schooldigger.com ranks schools based on percentage of students passing the MSA. I believe they also look specifically at how the special ed kids are doing.

In my opinion, if a school does a bad job with its LD kids, they will sink in this rating. If they are educating their special ed kids well, (and their ESOL kids) or if they don't have a lot of them, they will do better.

Keep in mind also that schools are only rated based on how well subgroups are doing -- such as Special Ed or ESOL -- if they have a certain number of students in each group. I believe anything under 20 kids per group and it doesn't count. So a school MAY be high because they are doing a great job with their subgroups. Or they may be high because their subgroups tanked, but they only had 15 instead of 20 of them.

Here's the list of PG schools... ranked by # in the state of MD. (ignore the first three schools which are the three lowest performing schools in MCPS)

http://www.schooldigger.com/go/MD/schoolrank.aspx?sortexp=LEANAME&sortdir=a&year=2012&findletter=P

#19 in the state -- Tulip Grove (Bowie) -- up 51 ranks since last year
#50 in the state -- Capitol Heights (Capitol Heights) - up 302 ranks - TAG magnet school but open to neighborhood children
#51 Heather Hills - down 26 ranks from last year TAG magnet school but open to neighborhood children
#76 Robert Goddard French Immersion -- open by lottery - up 15 points from last year
#188 Glen Arden Woods -- TAH magnet school -- no longer open to neighborhood kids - all TAG school -- up 20 points