Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ok so what I am hearing is that people do magnet, stay in charter, move private or homeschool. Most mc and umc do not use public middle (though it is slowly changing). Seems like pg isn't for us then as private and homeschool aren't options, we don't want to have to move again, and charter is too risky statistically. And we can't assume our kids will get into magnet. A pp mentioned that white mc families don't use the child. Do non white families us the publics? The fee we know in pg county use parochial.

What? Most families I know in Mount Rainier, white, brown, black, etc. go to Mount Rainier elementary. What does mc and umc mean?

Middle class and upper middle class.

Mount Rainier Elementary is one of the smallest schools in the county and therefore has good class sizes. Someone who taught in PG county for over 20 years described the school to me as a "little gem" and said the teachers there are very happy and there isn't much turn over. It has a great community vibe as does the neighborhood of Mount Rainier. Yes, a little "crunchy", but in all the best ways!

Mount Rainier Elementary is one of the smallest schools in the county and therefore has good class sizes. Someone who taught in PG county for over 20 years described the school to me as a "little gem" and said the teachers there are very happy and there isn't much turn over. It has a a a great community vibe as does the neighborhood of Mount Rainier. Yes, a little "crunchy", but in all the best ways!

Anonymous wrote:Ok so what I am hearing is that people do magnet, stay in charter, move private or homeschool. Most mc and umc do not use public middle (though it is slowly changing). Seems like pg isn't for us then as private and homeschool aren't options, we don't want to have to move again, and charter is too risky statistically. And we can't assume our kids will get into magnet. A pp mentioned that white mc families don't use the child. Do non white families us the publics? The fee we know in pg county use parochial.

What? Most families I know in Mount Rainier, white, brown, black, etc. go to Mount Rainier elementary. What does mc and umc mean?

Anonymous wrote:Pp was just asking what the public options are and getting lots of answers about privates..... weird to comment that wanting to go public would mean you're not in invested in the community.

What?

Pp was just asking what the public options are and getting lots of answers about privates..... weird to comment that wanting to go public would mean you're not in invested in the community.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Private isn't an option because almost all the privates are Christian based (and thus less expensive) and we would not send our kids to a parochial school. The DC privates are way too expensive and far. Are we missing inexpensive options in PG? I know there is a Quaker school that has more of a non denominational feel but it only goes through 8 and it is 20k a year. So for 2 kids that will get expensive fast. Plus if you don't get in then there are Zero options.

Listen, if you don’t like the options, don’t move here. There’s a reason real estate is cheap and you either have to be willing to take some chances on public, or you need to cough up the money for private. You can’t have it both ways.

MtR Resident

Agreed. And also come to terms with the fact that when you choose to buy in a certain area you’re taking your chances on ANY public school, regardless of how conventionally “good” those schools are.
“Good” schools can have bad teachers, ineffective principals, intransigent administrators, pervasive teen drinking, drug use, risky behaviors, entitlement and other hallmarks of “affluenza,” more competitive college admissions, longer and more dangerous commutes...the lost goes on.

I have a feeling you would not be happy in PG county but good luck with whatever you choose.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Private isn't an option because almost all the privates are Christian based (and thus less expensive) and we would not send our kids to a parochial school. The DC privates are way too expensive and far. Are we missing inexpensive options in PG? I know there is a Quaker school that has more of a non denominational feel but it only goes through 8 and it is 20k a year. So for 2 kids that will get expensive fast. Plus if you don't get in then there are Zero options.

Listen, if you don’t like the options, don’t move here. There’s a reason real estate is cheap and you either have to be willing to take some chances on public, or you need to cough up the money for private. You can’t have it both ways.

MtR Resident

I mostly agree with this sentiment. I think that if you move here and want to complain about PGCPS you should do something about it. Volunteer or donate to the school, go to school board meetings, or just go VOTE and research the candidates before hand. Some of the school board elections are won by 20-30 votes. The Board member for Cheverly is dismal at best. MtR has a much better board member.
The folks I get most irritated with are those that say "they should do XXX" but then don't want to do anything to make it happen.

Anonymous wrote:Private isn't an option because almost all the privates are Christian based (and thus less expensive) and we would not send our kids to a parochial school. The DC privates are way too expensive and far. Are we missing inexpensive options in PG? I know there is a Quaker school that has more of a non denominational feel but it only goes through 8 and it is 20k a year. So for 2 kids that will get expensive fast. Plus if you don't get in then there are Zero options.

Listen, if you don’t like the options, don’t move here. There’s a reason real estate is cheap and you either have to be willing to take some chances on public, or you need to cough up the money for private. You can’t have it both ways.

MtR Resident

Private isn't an option because almost all the privates are Christian based (and thus less expensive) and we would not send our kids to a parochial school. The DC privates are way too expensive and far. Are we missing inexpensive options in PG? I know there is a Quaker school that has more of a non denominational feel but it only goes through 8 and it is 20k a year. So for 2 kids that will get expensive fast. Plus if you don't get in then there are Zero options.

We are happy at MRE, lots of great teachers and principal Till is great too. It's really a good community feel with the MRE families. We are diverse, but tend to be sort of "crunchy". I do have some friends who have their kids at St. Jerome, planning on De Matha for high school. There are a lot of young families here. We also go pretty all out for Halloween. ?

Are you sure private is not an option for you? Because homes are less expensive, many people can afford private. Also, the privates are less expensive.

Ok so what I am hearing is that people do magnet, stay in charter, move private or homeschool. Most mc and umc do not use public middle (though it is slowly changing). Seems like pg isn't for us then as private and homeschool aren't options, we don't want to have to move again, and charter is too risky statistically. And we can't assume our kids will get into magnet. A pp mentioned that white mc families don't use the child. Do non white families us the publics? The fee we know in pg county use parochial.