Honestly? They are both excellent elementary schools with fairly homogenous populations. If those are the only two you are considering, then you probably don't care about the demographics and should just pick a house that you like.

Just to follow up on a previous, misleading post. There is indeed a type of artificial turf that has recently been linked to certain types of cancers. It is made up of recycled tires -- look it up.
The turf that Somerset Elementary is looking to install will not be that kind of material. Luckily, the school and foundation are aware of the issues and will provide the best and safest environment for the kids.

Anonymous wrote:A good friend of mine moved from dc to md, has a child a westbrook. She is not impressed with westbrook at all. Has extra math and writing tutors for her kid. Found the other moms not at all welcoming when they came in 2nd grade.
I went to a recent event there and found the all white crowd very homogeneous as my friend had been describing to me.
She regrets the move.

The school is not all white. It is only 3/4 white -- https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/regulatoryaccountability/glance/currentyear/schools/02408.pdf

Anonymous wrote:A good friend of mine moved from dc to md, has a child a westbrook. She is not impressed with westbrook at all. Has extra math and writing tutors for her kid. Found the other moms not at all welcoming when they came in 2nd grade.
I went to a recent event there and found the all white crowd very homogeneous as my friend had been describing to me.
She regrets the move.

Same experience.

I know people that swear by Somerset vs Westbrook. Hedge fund managers, lobbyists, law firm partners, surgeons - they can't be wrong.

A good friend of mine moved from dc to md, has a child a westbrook. She is not impressed with westbrook at all. Has extra math and writing tutors for her kid. Found the other moms not at all welcoming when they came in 2nd grade.
I went to a recent event there and found the all white crowd very homogeneous as my friend had been describing to me.
She regrets the move.

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/investigations/how-safe-artificial-turf-your-child-plays-n220166

Turf has been linked to cancer.

Has the bullying at somerset resolved itself? I know that was a major problem a few years ago when we were looking.

Anonymous wrote:At this point I would recommend Westbrook because Somerset is getting artificial turf, would you want your small child to roll in artificial turf every recess?

What is the issue with that--are there health risks? Otherwise, why would it matter? Serious question.

At this point I would recommend Westbrook because Somerset is getting artificial turf, would you want your small child to roll in artificial turf every recess?

Another Somerset resident who would vote for Somerset. A big plus for us is the sidewalks. We looked at Greenacres (near Westbrook) and the streets are narrow, hilly, and have to sidewalks. We love that every resident of Somerset has access to the community pool (with out the 6 year wait that the Westbrook pool has) which really brings everyone in the neighborhood together. I think the majority of the kids go to Somerset ES with few exceptions. The people are very nice, tend to be on the crunchy side. The listserv gets very heated about trees and the environment. The school is amazing and we do really like being close to the CC trail.

Somerset resident and parent here. Most of our neighbors send their kids to Somerset Elementary. There are a few private school families (some who even send some of their kids to private and some to Somerset) but I wouldn't say it is the majority like Kenwood. Another wonderful thing about Somerset is the summer camp called Summerset. Many of the teachers teach during the summer and everybody goes to the pool. There are many kids from Westbrook and elsewhere who come for it.

Anonymous wrote:Most of the families I know in Somerset boundary send children to private schools.

You need to get out more.