Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The smaller NW DCPS elementaries feel like privates: small grade sizes, two teachers per class in K, beautiful facilities, and more varied after-school enrichment offerings than MCPS ES.

There is more latitude in DC for PTAs to fund extra staff than in MCPS, where there is no allowance for it. PTAs also seem more active in DC, by percentage of parents participating in them and funds raised per capita.

Some NW DCPS also teach a foreign language once a week during the core school day. (DC has many immersion schools, too, if you want to go that route).

Also, many MCPS don’t allow parent tours; it’s up to the principal. I was only able to tour two Bethesda publics, one Silver Spring, and one Chevy Chase public school. The MCPS schools I toured wouldn’t let us observe a class (with the exception of Somerset, whose parent guide let us pop into two classes for a few minutes) and wouldn’t allow us to come by during recess, when student—staff ratio is lowest / chaos level is highest.

DCPS, on the other hand, provides so much transparency. I visited nearly every NW school, some multiple times, and it made me feel more comfortable with DCPS as a whole. I was able to take pre-scheduled and one-off tours. Everyone was so friendly in administration! The front office staff just seem happier in DC.

I also like that DC schools are largely walkable. In MCPS, many students bus to school. I know many kids enjoy the bus, but we want to sort of “root” ourselves in a walkable school community.

Finally, I liked how diverse the parents on the tour were, by nationality and race in DC. In the Bethesda and Chevy Chase elementaries, it was almost universally white, American parents (many born in Maryland) on the tours — maybe 80-90% of the parents fit that description. We were looking for more international family community.

I agree with everything you've said. Am making the move from MCPS to DC.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The smaller NW DCPS elementaries feel like privates: small grade sizes, two teachers per class in K, beautiful facilities, and more varied after-school enrichment offerings than MCPS ES.

There is more latitude in DC for PTAs to fund extra staff than in MCPS, where there is no allowance for it. PTAs also seem more active in DC, by percentage of parents participating in them and funds raised per capita.

Some NW DCPS also teach a foreign language once a week during the core school day. (DC has many immersion schools, too, if you want to go that route).

Also, many MCPS don’t allow parent tours; it’s up to the principal. I was only able to tour two Bethesda publics, one Silver Spring, and one Chevy Chase public school. The MCPS schools I toured wouldn’t let us observe a class (with the exception of Somerset, whose parent guide let us pop into two classes for a few minutes) and wouldn’t allow us to come by during recess, when student—staff ratio is lowest / chaos level is highest.

DCPS, on the other hand, provides so much transparency. I visited nearly every NW school, some multiple times, and it made me feel more comfortable with DCPS as a whole. I was able to take pre-scheduled and one-off tours. Everyone was so friendly in administration! The front office staff just seem happier in DC.

I also like that DC schools are largely walkable. In MCPS, many students bus to school. I know many kids enjoy the bus, but we want to sort of “root” ourselves in a walkable school community.

Finally, I liked how diverse the parents on the tour were, by nationality and race in DC. In the Bethesda and Chevy Chase elementaries, it was almost universally white, American parents (many born in Maryland) on the tours — maybe 80-90% of the parents fit that description. We were looking for more international family community.

Your observations are bizarre and inaccurate. MCPS publishes data on the demographics of all of its elementary schools--Bethesda Elementary school is 60% non-white. Chevy Chase Elementary School is 50% non-white. There are several other elementary schools in the BCC cluster but none of them are "universally white. And there are walkable parts of Bethesda and Chevy Chase--you just need to do your research.

Anonymous wrote:The smaller NW DCPS elementaries feel like privates: small grade sizes, two teachers per class in K, beautiful facilities, and more varied after-school enrichment offerings than MCPS ES.

There is more latitude in DC for PTAs to fund extra staff than in MCPS, where there is no allowance for it. PTAs also seem more active in DC, by percentage of parents participating in them and funds raised per capita.

Some NW DCPS also teach a foreign language once a week during the core school day. (DC has many immersion schools, too, if you want to go that route).

Also, many MCPS don’t allow parent tours; it’s up to the principal. I was only able to tour two Bethesda publics, one Silver Spring, and one Chevy Chase public school. The MCPS schools I toured wouldn’t let us observe a class (with the exception of Somerset, whose parent guide let us pop into two classes for a few minutes) and wouldn’t allow us to come by during recess, when student—staff ratio is lowest / chaos level is highest.

DCPS, on the other hand, provides so much transparency. I visited nearly every NW school, some multiple times, and it made me feel more comfortable with DCPS as a whole. I was able to take pre-scheduled and one-off tours. Everyone was so friendly in administration! The front office staff just seem happier in DC.

I also like that DC schools are largely walkable. In MCPS, many students bus to school. I know many kids enjoy the bus, but we want to sort of “root” ourselves in a walkable school community.

Finally, I liked how diverse the parents on the tour were, by nationality and race in DC. In the Bethesda and Chevy Chase elementaries, it was almost universally white, American parents (many born in Maryland) on the tours — maybe 80-90% of the parents fit that description. We were looking for more international family community.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The smaller NW DCPS elementaries feel like privates: small grade sizes, two teachers per class in K, beautiful facilities, and more varied after-school enrichment offerings than MCPS ES.

There is more latitude in DC for PTAs to fund extra staff than in MCPS, where there is no allowance for it. PTAs also seem more active in DC, by percentage of parents participating in them and funds raised per capita.

Some NW DCPS also teach a foreign language once a week during the core school day. (DC has many immersion schools, too, if you want to go that route).

Also, many MCPS don’t allow parent tours; it’s up to the principal. I was only able to tour two Bethesda publics, one Silver Spring, and one Chevy Chase public school. The MCPS schools I toured wouldn’t let us observe a class (with the exception of Somerset, whose parent guide let us pop into two classes for a few minutes) and wouldn’t allow us to come by during recess, when student—staff ratio is lowest / chaos level is highest.

DCPS, on the other hand, provides so much transparency. I visited nearly every NW school, some multiple times, and it made me feel more comfortable with DCPS as a whole. I was able to take pre-scheduled and one-off tours. Everyone was so friendly in administration! The front office staff just seem happier in DC.

I also like that DC schools are largely walkable. In MCPS, many students bus to school. I know many kids enjoy the bus, but we want to sort of “root” ourselves in a walkable school community.

Finally, I liked how diverse the parents on the tour were, by nationality and race in DC. In the Bethesda and Chevy Chase elementaries, it was almost universally white, American parents (many born in Maryland) on the tours — maybe 80-90% of the parents fit that description. We were looking for more international family community.

Your observations are bizarre and inaccurate. MCPS publishes data on the demographics of all of its elementary schools--Bethesda Elementary school is 60% non-white. Chevy Chase Elementary School is 50% non-white. There are several other elementary schools in the BCC cluster but none of them are "universally white. And there are walkable parts of Bethesda and Chevy Chase--you just need to do your research.

Anonymous wrote:The smaller NW DCPS elementaries feel like privates: small grade sizes, two teachers per class in K, beautiful facilities, and more varied after-school enrichment offerings than MCPS ES.

There is more latitude in DC for PTAs to fund extra staff than in MCPS, where there is no allowance for it. PTAs also seem more active in DC, by percentage of parents participating in them and funds raised per capita.

Some NW DCPS also teach a foreign language once a week during the core school day. (DC has many immersion schools, too, if you want to go that route).

Also, many MCPS don’t allow parent tours; it’s up to the principal. I was only able to tour two Bethesda publics, one Silver Spring, and one Chevy Chase public school. The MCPS schools I toured wouldn’t let us observe a class (with the exception of Somerset, whose parent guide let us pop into two classes for a few minutes) and wouldn’t allow us to come by during recess, when student—staff ratio is lowest / chaos level is highest.

DCPS, on the other hand, provides so much transparency. I visited nearly every NW school, some multiple times, and it made me feel more comfortable with DCPS as a whole. I was able to take pre-scheduled and one-off tours. Everyone was so friendly in administration! The front office staff just seem happier in DC.

I also like that DC schools are largely walkable. In MCPS, many students bus to school. I know many kids enjoy the bus, but we want to sort of “root” ourselves in a walkable school community.

Finally, I liked how diverse the parents on the tour were, by nationality and race in DC. In the Bethesda and Chevy Chase elementaries, it was almost universally white, American parents (many born in Maryland) on the tours — maybe 80-90% of the parents fit that description. We were looking for more international family community.

Anonymous wrote:How do the schools compare on extracurriculars?

Anonymous wrote:How do the kids feel lacking Asian friends? is this something that bothers them?

Anonymous wrote:We are an Asian American family and did NW DC for elementary, Bethesda for middle/high school. I think the academic experience has been pretty good.

Our kids have been lacking Asian friends in both places (though the Wasian population is relatively high). We could have moved further out to Rockville, Wootton but valued being closer to DC, metro commutes, and like the semi-urban areas.

Anonymous wrote:We are an Asian American family and did NW DC for elementary, Bethesda for middle/high school. I think the academic experience has been pretty good.

Our kids have been lacking Asian friends in both places (though the Wasian population is relatively high). We could have moved further out to Rockville, Wootton but valued being closer to DC, metro commutes, and like the semi-urban areas.

Anonymous wrote:I was given tours at all the Bethesda elementary schools I was interested in during my house hunting last year .. so I’m not sure what OP is talking about.

Anonymous wrote:I was given tours at all the Bethesda elementary schools I was interested in during my house hunting last year .. so I’m not sure what OP is talking about.