My kids are in the WJ cluster, but my impression is this:

1. HS Reputations are highly correlated with socioeconomic status and may or may not reflect reality.
2. HS in lower socioeconomic areas usually get more county resources with lower class sizes and special programs like the IB program at Einstein.
3. Didn't the Washington Post Education columnist say that even the so-called worst HS in MOCO is probably among the top HS in the country.

I second the recommendation of Carroll Knolls. My child will attend Oakland Terrace next year (and possibly the new ES in 2012 depending on zoning). We are concerned about HS but are taking a wait and see approach because we love the active community.

To the previous poster - are the colleges below a list of all the schools the kids will attend next year or is the list made up of schools that attended the recent Einstein college fair? It seems odd that not one kid is going to an Ivy and the list seems close to the fair list.

Gawd, I hate the snobbery of the town of Kensington types. Too listen to them, you'd think all AEHS kids were headed off to prison.

COLLEGES THE EINSTEIN CLASS OF 2010 WILL ATTEND

Andrews University
Arcadia University
Auburn University
Bennington College
Boston University
Bowie State University
Bryn Mawr College
California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
Case Western Reserve University
College of Mount Saint Vincent
Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science & Art
Davis & Elkins College
Dean College
DePaul University
Dillard University
Eckerd College
Frostburg State University
Green Mountain College
Grinnell College
Hampton University
High Point University
Hood College
Howard University
Lehigh University
Lewis & Clark College
Lincoln University
Marymount Manhattan College
Marymount University
McDaniel College
Montgomery College, Rockville
Montgomery College, Takoma Park
Morgan State University
Mount Allison University
New York University
Norwich University
Old Dominion University
Pennsylvania State University, University Park
Prince George's Community College
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey at Camden
Salisbury University
San Francisco State University
School of Art and Design at Montgomery College
School of Visual Arts
Seton Hall University
St. John's University Manhattan Campus
St. Mary's College of Maryland
Swarthmore College
Temple University
The Art Institute of California-Hollywood
The Art Institute of Washington
The Catholic University of America
The College of Wooster
The Evergreen State College
The University of Texas, Austin
Towson University
Trinity University in Washington, DC
Tulane University
United States Merchant Marine Academy
United States Naval Academy
University of Chicago
University of Maine
University of Mary Washington
University of Maryland University College
University of Maryland, College Park
University of Maryland, Eastern Shore
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
University of Portsmouth
University of Richmond
Valley Forge Christian College
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Wagner College
West Virginia University ?

I live in the Carroll Knolls area (just north of McKenney Hills near Forest Glen metro). I love the community - very active list serve and lots of small children with involved parents. We couldn't afford jumping districts so we chose a nice community and a good elementary school (we are slated for Oakland Terrace and they are building a new school for McKenney Hills in 2012 - demo is done so far). We are concerned about the HS but feel we have some time and are hoping that involved families like the ones around us will help improve it over the years.

Hope this helps!

Anonymous wrote:For PP, you fill out a form early in 8th grade, ranking your top 3 choice schools. You pretty much automatically get into the high school that your house is zoned for in the consortium. But if you want another school (not one of the test-in magnet programs), you list that one first. There's a lottery if there are a lot of kids that want to get into a school, such as Blair. I'm not sure what the odds are. My child isn't old enough for high school yet, but have friends who went through the process this year.

I agree totally with the above poster. Forest Glen is a great neighborhood. As the daughter of a public school teacher, public schools are pretty ingrained in me, and I don't have the means or interest to keep up with the Bethesda lifestyle (I know, very broad stereotype).

Thanks! This is very helpful!

For PP, you fill out a form early in 8th grade, ranking your top 3 choice schools. You pretty much automatically get into the high school that your house is zoned for in the consortium. But if you want another school (not one of the test-in magnet programs), you list that one first. There's a lottery if there are a lot of kids that want to get into a school, such as Blair. I'm not sure what the odds are. My child isn't old enough for high school yet, but have friends who went through the process this year.

I agree totally with the above poster. Forest Glen is a great neighborhood. As the daughter of a public school teacher, public schools are pretty ingrained in me, and I don't have the means or interest to keep up with the Bethesda lifestyle (I know, very broad stereotype).

This is incredibly helpful! thanks OP for your question!

I'm about to make an offer on a home in 20910 and we have a 3 mo. old baby. I just sold my condo in DC and went back to work FT at the same time--moving is so stressful we don't want to do it again, so we are going for a SFH in walking distance to Forest Glen Metro. A good part of the reason is that we can't afford private schools. I went to public school and did very well in life through hard work, so I'm sort of also against private schools in principle (hope I did not offend anyone), but then again would not have my child go to HS in DC in the neighborhoods we could afford to live in.

We're going to have a middle class bilingual kid, and we want him to have the best education possible, but of course we would feel intimidated trying to keep up in with lifestyles in Bethesda. And I'm not sure if that is the best education---it might help the kids get into college but once you're in the working world yuppiness is never really helpful.

FWIW my hairdresser's kids went to Einstein and she recommends it.

And BTW how does the Downcounty choice consortium process work? Does that mean our child can go to Blair if we choose that?

We are in Forest Estates too and I second the PP. We have a child at OTES now and we are very happy with the school. The neighborhood is great, so many children and interesting people. I love that we are in walking distance to the Metro. There aren't too many HS kids in the neighborhood though, and the only one I can think of goes to Blair (in one of the magnets). This is because the neighborhood has a ton of younger kids and older folks- not because people are moving away at high school age.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Thank you for this post. We are slated for Einstein, but our first and only so far is 20 months old so we have a while. I went to private school and am a big fan of the nontraditional curriculum, smaller classes, etc., so that is still on the table for middle and high school, but we can't depend on that. Obviously private is expensive and we are planning for two kids - we will just have to see. But we love our neighborhood in Silver Spring - a great and walkable community, great house, and great commutes, so we aren't anxious to leave. It's good to know Einstein and the consortium might be an option. It seems like so many parents in my neighborhood are very involved in the elementary school, and I've been hearing really positive things about the schools for the future (but admittedly don't track it too much because middle and high school are so far off and there is also a chance we will be leaving the DC area).

OP here: What is your zip? Sorry for being so nosy, but I am not familiar with SS at all, so any bit of info helps.

20902. We are in Forest Estates - absolutely love it. You can definitely find a great house for 550K. We can walk to the Forest Glen metro. My husband works in SS and I work downtown DC so we really are loving the commute, and the neighborhood, like I mentioned, is great. We are slated for Oakland Terrace elementary school and have heard great things about the school, though there is also an elementary school opening in 2012 I think.

Einstein has various programs (arts, business, IB), and from what I hear the quality of education depends on the program. I hear good things about the IB program, less good things about some other aspects of the school. I don't have a kid at Einstein, however, so this is all second hand.

Woodmoor, Northwood, Forest Knolls,

If you are willing to have Silver Spring International MS and Northwood HS be your assigned schools, you should look in Indian Spring. Strong community, and nice houses in that price range. Just make sure you are in bounds for Highland view elementary, not New Hampshire Estates.

OP: what a great resource this forum is!
thank you, all posters.

The Woodside neighborhoods (woodside park, woodside forest, north woodside) and nice and close to downtown silver spring. They are a little more expensive than near the Forest Glen metro, but you can find a house for under $550k.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree with the previous poster that people in real life speak more highly of Einstein (I mean people I know who have kids there) than what is said on this board.

What is your budget? What kind of commute do you want? For many, the Einstein area is great in terms of commute and affordability. Some of the neighborhoods are very nice and there is a real sense of community.

OP here: the budget is 550K tops. Commute is the most important factor, that is why we are looking in the close-in suburbs. Could you please tell me which neighborhoods did you consider nice?

You can get a very nice house for that amount. The area that is walking distance to the Forest Glen metro is nice- Forest Estates, Forest Glen, and maybe some of McKenney Hills.