Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What are the W schools?
What is BCCs IB program like? Is it rigorous? Is it worth it?

The W schools are the high schools in MCPS that start with a W: Whitman, Wootton, Walter Johnson, and Churchill. (In Montgomery County, Churchill starts with a W, and Wheaton doesn't.)

Well, yes, Winston Churchill High School starts with a "W"...

Do you have a child at Churchill? Does your child say, "I go to Winston Churchill"? I'm sincerely curious. I've only ever heard people talk about "Churchill" (which starts with a C).

Right. And Wootton is Thomas S. Wootton.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a former RM IB student that now lives in a W district, I would encourage my child to attend our local school over the IB program.

The program is wonderful but exceedingly rigorous. I lived through it but I wouldn't want to subject my children to it.

My kid got into all Magnet programs. Chose RMIB. Most days bemoans her life...her writing and reasoning has transformed dramatically.

I agree. If you are in W school, no need for RMIB. You have the option of choosing the rigot of your courses in W, that is not the case in RM. Do not borrow 4 years of stress.

I lived in the WJ district and went to RM for IB. Admittedly, it was 20 years ago, but I don't remember high school being so horribly difficult. If your kid thinks the IB program is interesting, why not send him/her to RM? They can always a) decide not to pursue the IB diploma, but stay at RM or b) transfer back to their neighborhood W school, where they'll know hundreds of kids from middle school anyway.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Please keep in mind that MCPS non-magnet high school courses are the same throughout the district.

The peer group varies, and some people put a lot of stake in that. Teaching varies by teacher but there are some amazingly good and dedicated teachers in the poorer areas.

But in terms of actual curriculum, the courses are standardized. So you won't get different courses, just richer kids, at the W schools.

As a W. school, honors-level, high school science teacher (on my lunch break at the moment) I can tell you that the course curricula are NOT standardized throughout the county. Yes, we all use the same county exams but the curriculum goes into more depth in some schools than others.

I believe that. I know at our W school some of the teachers who have come from other schools have mentioned that there is a difference in what they can cover when the kids get the material right away and are engaged in the class. In English they read extra books, in history there is more time for class discussion, etc.

Anonymous wrote:Nothing in that reply indicates that anyone knows what the teacher would say...just that a parent is not likely to get a very complete/transparent answer. I do happen to think the anonymous teacher above will be more honest about the type of information typically given out.

I'm sorry that you have such a low opinion of your child's teachers.

Nothing in that reply indicates that anyone knows what the teacher would say...just that a parent is not likely to get a very complete/transparent answer. I do happen to think the anonymous teacher above will be more honest about the type of information typically given out.

Anonymous wrote:So a teacher would tell a parent, there are 5 levels of IM in MCPS, at our school we teach level 2 because the children can't handle more than that. I am guessing not.

Well, if you already know what the child's teacher will say, and that it won't be honest, I guess there's no point in asking the child's teacher for information. Anonymous people on DCUM are a much more reliable source of information.

So a teacher would tell a parent, there are 5 levels of IM in MCPS, at our school we teach level 2 because the children can't handle more than that. I am guessing not.

Have you talked to the teacher? That's the first thing I would do, if I were concerned about my child's IM class and curriculum.

Who decides which curriculum will be used at which school? Is there a way to know what your child is getting? I was just writing about my child's experience with IM..a repeat of Math 7 with little homework to someone else child at Pyle finding it very challenging with tons of HW. COul dbe my child is a math whiz but I doubt it.

I actually faced this situation 15-20 years ago. Was in W school district, and eligible for Blair and RM. A few friends went to each, while I stayed at W. It came down to being close to my W School, and transportation. Being close to my school meant I could on a whim stay after school to participate in an activity or just work on a project, and there were no repercussions like missing the 1-hour bus to take me home.

I'm glad I did -- I have fond memories of impromptu after-school activities, whether hanging around in a lab or a media center working with teachers and other students, or just socializing.

Anonymous wrote:So is BCC a good school? If SES is one factor, clearly Chevy Chase/Bethesda has a lot of rich, well educated families. I mention this because someone mentioned peer group. Does it have a good reputation?

Here's a MoCo ranking list - I think the "college readiness" ranking is helpful: http://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/maryland/districts/montgomery-county-public-schools/sort+college_readiness_index/sortdir+desc

Rankings/ stats never tell the full story, and every school has it's issues, but overall I would say yes, B-CC is a good school.

So is BCC a good school? If SES is one factor, clearly Chevy Chase/Bethesda has a lot of rich, well educated families. I mention this because someone mentioned peer group. Does it have a good reputation?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Please keep in mind that MCPS non-magnet high school courses are the same throughout the district.

The peer group varies, and some people put a lot of stake in that. Teaching varies by teacher but there are some amazingly good and dedicated teachers in the poorer areas.

But in terms of actual curriculum, the courses are standardized. So you won't get different courses, just richer kids, at the W schools.

As a W. school, honors-level, high school science teacher (on my lunch break at the moment) I can tell you that the course curricula are NOT standardized throughout the county. Yes, we all use the same county exams but the curriculum goes into more depth in some schools than others.

With all due respect, I don't believe you. Can you back this up with any data or curriculum samples?

Anonymous wrote:PP here. This is true but it should be noted that high schools that are NOT W schools can have interesting and challenging. For example, Blair, Einstein (esp. the IB program and the Renaissance Academy which is extremely cool), Wheaton (engineering), and some of the theater and arts offerings at Blake.

I'm sure there are more. Of course BCC has a lot.

We're a DCC family, and somehow I've never heard of this program before you posted about it. But I just looked it up and it does sound very cool! We were at the overview for all the DCC programs a few months ago (I have an 8th grader) and I don't recall the Einstein rep mentioning this program at all. Perhaps I had just zoned out. Anyway, thanks for mentioning it. It's interesting to know.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What are the W schools?
What is BCCs IB program like? Is it rigorous? Is it worth it?

The W schools are the high schools in MCPS that start with a W: Whitman, Wootton, Walter Johnson, and Churchill. (In Montgomery County, Churchill starts with a W, and Wheaton doesn't.)

Well, yes, Winston Churchill High School starts with a "W"...

Do you have a child at Churchill? Does your child say, "I go to Winston Churchill"? I'm sincerely curious. I've only ever heard people talk about "Churchill" (which starts with a C).

Agreed completely, but the reason it's a "W" school is because the school name starts with a "W".