I'd look at ssfs instead of Lowell.

I have a child at the lower school and I agree it’s odd. Last year there was an issue with bullying in my kid’s grade, but the kids who were an issue got counseled out.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Absolutely not a fan of Norwood. We had a horrible experience there. They have a bad reputation for bullying in middle school. Just check the other post in this forum. Proceed with caution.

+1

I'm sort of baffled by these posts, I haven't heard this about Norwood at all (honestly it's the only school on this board that no one seems to complain about). Can't help but wonder if these are from another school's admissions staff....

Funny, I was thinking the same thing. Or administrative staff...

Totally agree! I'm the PP who has had kids at Norwood for many years and currently in the middle school. So weird these are suddenly popping up and it sounds like the same person.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Absolutely not a fan of Norwood. We had a horrible experience there. They have a bad reputation for bullying in middle school. Just check the other post in this forum. Proceed with caution.

+1

I'm sort of baffled by these posts, I haven't heard this about Norwood at all (honestly it's the only school on this board that no one seems to complain about). Can't help but wonder if these are from another school's admissions staff....

Funny, I was thinking the same thing. Or administrative staff...

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Absolutely not a fan of Norwood. We had a horrible experience there. They have a bad reputation for bullying in middle school. Just check the other post in this forum. Proceed with caution.

+1

I'm sort of baffled by these posts, I haven't heard this about Norwood at all (honestly it's the only school on this board that no one seems to complain about). Can't help but wonder if these are from another school's admissions staff....

Anonymous wrote:Absolutely not a fan of Norwood. We had a horrible experience there. They have a bad reputation for bullying in middle school. Just check the other post in this forum. Proceed with caution.

+1

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hands down would recommend Norwood. Just very polished and a high caliber education all around. We've been there for years and haven't had any criticisms or complaints. The close attention to each individual students by the teachers and administrators is really valuable and noticed. FWIW, we know families who transferred their kids from Lowell to Norwood and have been very happy - I don't have a consensus view of their experiences, but they generally shared that Norwood feels more organized.

Norwood is a good education, yet I don't think it is better than the good MCPS schools. It is good for a kid who needs more support and perhaps a bit more care. Otherwise- I would pass on Norwood. Really.

As someone who sent two kids to a very well regarded MCPS school and switched both of them to Norwood, I could not disagree more.

Yes, having had one kid at a highly regarded mcps Ms and another at Norwood, Norwood is vastly superior both academically and socially. The fastest math track at Norwood is equivalent to the fastest math track in MCPS. Norwood offers more languages, including Mandarin iand Latin. Norwood instrumental music program is stunningly good - though here the two are closer as our MCPS school had a truly excellent instrumental music program. There’s vastly more writing ams public speaking at norwood than in mcps The science department is truly top-notch, with (I think?) all of the teachers having advanced degrees in science. I could go on and on but there’s really no comparison. As for as the non-academic side of things: The administration is incredibly responsive and sensitive and each child truly is known and cared for. I understand that some of the feedback on this board may seem over the top, but the place really is just exceptional in our family’s experience, and my only regret is that we didn’t send our first child there.

Anonymous wrote:We love Norwood.The middle school is an amazing place where kids are challenged academically but still get to be kids. The teachers really know each student (as does just the entire staff) and pushes them to grow while also supporting them every step of the way. By the time they graduate, they’re confident, curious, and truly ready for high school.

I say Norwood, too, OP!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hands down would recommend Norwood. Just very polished and a high caliber education all around. We've been there for years and haven't had any criticisms or complaints. The close attention to each individual students by the teachers and administrators is really valuable and noticed. FWIW, we know families who transferred their kids from Lowell to Norwood and have been very happy - I don't have a consensus view of their experiences, but they generally shared that Norwood feels more organized.

Norwood is a good education, yet I don't think it is better than the good MCPS schools. It is good for a kid who needs more support and perhaps a bit more care. Otherwise- I would pass on Norwood. Really.

As someone who sent two kids to a very well regarded MCPS school and switched both of them to Norwood, I could not disagree more.

Anonymous wrote:We had our son at Norwood for two years and then pulled him out because he just was not challenged in the classroom. Too many of his classmates needed support for impulsive control and had language based learning needs. We were told to try to supplement outside of the class. We left and started at another independent school and are so glad that we did. I'd skip Norwood.

Excuse me — what’s the problem with your kid going to school with kids who have language based learning needs?

— mother of a Norwood child with dyslexia

Anonymous wrote:We had our son at Norwood for two years and then pulled him out because he just was not challenged in the classroom. Too many of his classmates needed support for impulsive control and had language based learning needs. We were told to try to supplement outside of the class. We left and started at another independent school and are so glad that we did. I'd skip Norwood.

where did you go?

SAES is far superior to Norwood in every way. LOVE the teachers, community and the kids. Norwood - not so much. Our neighbor's boys go there and they are a handful. The struggled in MCPS because of ADHD and Norwood was the only school they were accepted to.

We had our son at Norwood for two years and then pulled him out because he just was not challenged in the classroom. Too many of his classmates needed support for impulsive control and had language based learning needs. We were told to try to supplement outside of the class. We left and started at another independent school and are so glad that we did. I'd skip Norwood.

Anonymous wrote:We left Norwood because of bullying in the middle school. Definitely try to get off the waitlist at St. Andrew's - far superior. Lots of the kids at Norwood come after having been behavioral issues in the public schools.

I have sent two kids through Norwood and one through SAES and I can tell you unequivocally that SAES has the more toxic bully culture and does far less to stop it.

Be wary of what Lowell will tell you about high school admissions results. A lot of sad 8th grade families this year, very few admissions to top schools, and no ownership or accountability from the school’s leadership. They’ll show you a list of what schools they had admissions to but won’t disclose it’s the same few kids getting into all of them. It’s a wonderful middle school that ends with a thud. It’s not viable as a top MS if they can’t get more of their students into the top schools. You’re better off leaving for one of the top K-12 schools before MS if that’s important to your family.