Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A 22 classroom addition and modernization to JW will be completed this fall. It will no longer be over crowded.

But they have ZERO land for a middle school. It is terrible. Compared to Hoover inside and out, it pales. The front area of JW looks like it has been abandoned. Weeds overgrowing where mulch used to be. A broken front sign that the PTA just seems to not care about. The one field that have in the back is awful and it backs up to 270. No tennis, no basketball, no tables to eat outside. Gym and cafeteria are dark and dreary.

Yes, schools that are construction sites generally do not look as good on the outside as schools that are not construction sites.

However, the PP brings up a good point. OP, if it is very important to you that your child's middle school not be next to I-270, then pick the Churchill cluster.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Torn between 2 houses. If your kids have attended any of these schools, could you please share your experiences. It would be helpful if you would state the school you are commenting on, the grades your child attended the school, and even better if you have older children who have attended multiple schools in the cluster.

Option 1: Ritchie Park/JW/RM
Option 2: Beverly Farms/Hoover/Churchill

My guess is since you are looking between these two locations, you will get more house for your $$ in RM district and will probably be around more people like your family. Churchill seems to have two families. Very rich or Asian. A small minority of others paying just to be in Churchill.

This is so stupid. Do you know ANY families that live in say, Fox Hills? Or the area right by Cabin John Middle School near Gainsborough?

Anonymous wrote:A 22 classroom addition and modernization to JW will be completed this fall. It will no longer be over crowded.

But they have ZERO land for a middle school. It is terrible. Compared to Hoover inside and out, it pales. The front area of JW looks like it has been abandoned. Weeds overgrowing where mulch used to be. A broken front sign that the PTA just seems to not care about. The one field that have in the back is awful and it backs up to 270. No tennis, no basketball, no tables to eat outside. Gym and cafeteria are dark and dreary.

Anonymous wrote:Torn between 2 houses. If your kids have attended any of these schools, could you please share your experiences. It would be helpful if you would state the school you are commenting on, the grades your child attended the school, and even better if you have older children who have attended multiple schools in the cluster.

Option 1: Ritchie Park/JW/RM
Option 2: Beverly Farms/Hoover/Churchill

My guess is since you are looking between these two locations, you will get more house for your $$ in RM district and will probably be around more people like your family. Churchill seems to have two families. Very rich or Asian. A small minority of others paying just to be in Churchill.

A 22 classroom addition and modernization to JW will be completed this fall. It will no longer be over crowded.

We live in the RPES/JW/RM cluster, and my kids have attended all three schools. We were at a small, private school until our oldest started 7th grade, so she began in the public school system at JW and is now at RM. Our middle child attended RP from 1-3rd grade (K in private, then to Barnsley for HGC). Our youngest will start RP in the fall.

RP is ok. It is crowded, and our experience with teachers has been mixed. I had no other public school to compare until we started at Barnsley, so I have since learned that there are certain things I like and don't like, but they are my subjective opinions (e.g. the Barnsely principal sends a recorded call to us every week, where as the RP principal e-mails. I like having it in writing to read when I feel like it). I don't love RP, but the PTA seems really active, and I feel like I know more what is going on there, even though I don't have a child there at the moment because I still get their facebook notices, etc.

My oldest adjusted surprisingly well to starting in the cluster at middle school. I truly was surprised. But it is also crowded, and it is at JW where I would say she began to speak in terms of racial divides. FWIW. RM is a nice facility, relatively new building, and having the IB is a good boost for the school, I think, even though my child is not in the IB program. They have so many AP and honors classes. I don't really compare test scores of schools, so i can't speak to that, but my kids have been pretty happy in this cluster and have done well.

We have thought about moving and have considered the Churchill cluster. I am sure it is good too. For us, maybe we are just insistent to changes, I don't know. . . but I just don't think we would get "better" schools for our kids to go there, and we would give up the convenience of Rockville (for metro access, among other things). I am sure you would be fine in either area. If you have specific questions, I can try to answer.

Anonymous wrote:The county publishes test scores by school grouped by demographic to evaluate a school’s potential as opposed to its SES. Although probably obvious, it's not unusual for schools with lower overall score to outperform their less diverse counterparts for similar cohort groups. Looking deeper, most schools in MoCo seem comparable, and the ratings published by sites like great schools aren’t meaningful beyond fluffing real-estate values. Best of luck!

IMO, a school is good if FARMS kids are generally performing well. High scores for higher income kids don't really mean that much since they tend to score high regardless of school cluster, so those test scores don't tell you much about the quality of the teachers and instruction.

The county publishes test scores by school grouped by demographic to evaluate a school’s potential as opposed to its SES. Although probably obvious, it's not unusual for schools with lower overall score to outperform their less diverse counterparts for similar cohort groups. Looking deeper, most schools in MoCo seem comparable, and the ratings published by sites like great schools aren’t meaningful beyond fluffing real-estate values. Best of luck!

Anonymous wrote:I am always amazed when i saw someone choses a scholl cluster based its racial and social economic diversity. Have you been a cafeteria in any middle school or high school? When my DC was in middle and high school, i was told there were tables for the white kids, tables for asian kids, tables for black kids, and table for hispanic kids. Of course there were a few tables for the outliners who had friends with different culcure background.
The best thing about diversity in school is the international night.

From what I have heard (yes, it's all hearsay), this is a problem mostly in the W schools like Wootton. I have neighbors with HS aged kids at RM. They talk about how their DC has friends of all colors, and SES background. Their DC has taken a few IB classes (though not in IB program), as well as AP classes. So, sounds to me they have plenty of opportunities to take challenging classes if they so desire. Another HSer there is very involved with the theater dept. So, again, sounds like there are various opportunities for various interests. I know, it has its share of problems. What HS doesn't.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am always amazed when i saw someone choses a scholl cluster based its racial and social economic diversity. Have you been a cafeteria in any middle school or high school? When my DC was in middle and high school, i was told there were tables for the white kids, tables for asian kids, tables for black kids, and table for hispanic kids. Of course there were a few tables for the outliners who had friends with different culcure background.
The best thing about diversity in school is the international night.

This is probably the most tone deaf post I've ever read on DCUM and that is a hard thing to say.

Yup, those are high standards, but the top PP meets them.

Top PP, it's 2016 in Montgomery County. What is it where you are?

Anonymous wrote:I am always amazed when i saw someone choses a scholl cluster based its racial and social economic diversity. Have you been a cafeteria in any middle school or high school? When my DC was in middle and high school, i was told there were tables for the white kids, tables for asian kids, tables for black kids, and table for hispanic kids. Of course there were a few tables for the outliners who had friends with different culcure background.
The best thing about diversity in school is the international night.

I wish you could see my kids' groups of friends. Not sure which schools you have visited but my visits look like a UN meeting.

Anonymous wrote:Churchill cluster is for winners.

As obviously evidenced by the lack of leadership with the current principal and the recent suicides.

Anonymous wrote:I am always amazed when i saw someone choses a scholl cluster based its racial and social economic diversity. Have you been a cafeteria in any middle school or high school? When my DC was in middle and high school, i was told there were tables for the white kids, tables for asian kids, tables for black kids, and table for hispanic kids. Of course there were a few tables for the outliners who had friends with different culcure background.
The best thing about diversity in school is the international night.

This is probably the most tone deaf post I've ever read on DCUM and that is a hard thing to say.

Churchill cluster is for winners.

I am always amazed when i saw someone choses a scholl cluster based its racial and social economic diversity. Have you been a cafeteria in any middle school or high school? When my DC was in middle and high school, i was told there were tables for the white kids, tables for asian kids, tables for black kids, and table for hispanic kids. Of course there were a few tables for the outliners who had friends with different culcure background.
The best thing about diversity in school is the international night.