Anonymous
Post 06/03/2014 09:15     Subject: Re:Thinking of Moving to MoCo for schools - please advise
Anonymous wrote:Can you swing private school for both kids? If you already own your condo or townhouse in DC it will have greater appreciation than the Montgomery County suburbs. If you're not set on a house, you could look at a condo in Arlington or a very small house in Falls Church. Mclean is another option if you are looking for a more suburb feeling.

I moved to Montgomery for the schools and am incredibly disappointed. It was a waste of money and I would not recommend it to anyone.


I am sorry that you are disappointed. I moved to Montgomery County for the schools and am satisfied.
Anonymous
Post 06/03/2014 09:07     Subject: Re:Thinking of Moving to MoCo for schools - please advise
Can you swing private school for both kids? If you already own your condo or townhouse in DC it will have greater appreciation than the Montgomery County suburbs. If you're not set on a house, you could look at a condo in Arlington or a very small house in Falls Church. Mclean is another option if you are looking for a more suburb feeling.

I moved to Montgomery for the schools and am incredibly disappointed. It was a waste of money and I would not recommend it to anyone.
Anonymous
Post 06/02/2014 17:39     Subject: Re:Thinking of Moving to MoCo for schools - please advise
Hello All!
This is OP. I was getting very worried reading about the typical reading levels in MoCo K classes, but was encouraged when my daughter came home last week and reported that she is currently reading at the G level. I have to report that the ESs on the Hill are widely varied. Brent, School Within a School, and Maury are all doing quite well. Unfortunately, we are inbound to Watkins, which is having problems (see thread under DC Pub and Charter Schools entitled "feed from Peabody to Brent or Ludlow-Taylor - dump the cluster" for some interesting reading). After many painful discussions DH and I decided to enroll our rising 1st grader in parochial school all the way across town in Georgetown, while we decided what to do. This means I will have one in school on the Hill, and one in Georgetown and we will be paying $10,000 for the convenience of it all. I don't see this being tenable to too terribly long. So please - keep advising!
Anonymous
Post 06/02/2014 10:13     Subject: Thinking of Moving to MoCo for schools - please advise
I thought Capitol Hill public schools (at least elementary level) were quite good. If I were you and private weren't an option, I'd stay put until getting closer to middle school. Moco elementary isn't all that. Huge class sizes, one teacher... it works great for the majority, but not all. I'd wait and see what your children's learning and personality styles are like before making a move like this. And sorry, but the commute sucks. Sure, people will say you get used to it, but getting used to something horrible doesn't make it good.
Anonymous
Post 05/29/2014 10:39     Subject: Re:Thinking of Moving to MoCo for schools - please advise
Anonymous wrote:Very confused by this. I've never heard of this and there isn't one at our W-cluster elementary school. In fact, this is one of the main complaints about MCPS (that there are no Gt programs at individual schools)/

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
We didn't know it when we moved here, but MoCo also has a second level of GT programming -- there is a GT program in each school, and a county-level GT program (highly gifted center or HGC) that kids can test into -- takes the top 2-3% of the kids. So whereas in DC, our kids struggled to find grade-level academic peers, they had them in spades in MoCo (both tested into HGC), which has given them challenges they were missing. We miss many things about our community in DC (for one, diversity was much better), but for our kids, academically, it was the right thing to do. We have been very pleased with our kids' experience overall. Good luck!


The HGC (highly gifted center) program is the county-level program. There are 8 centers in the county, so only 8 ES's in the county will house one. For the W schools, there are 3: Barnsley, Cold Spring, and Chevy Chase. If you're a parent of a 3rd grader, you got a letter in the fall inviting you to apply for your child. Then your child would have tested in January. Acceptances went out in March/April for attendance in 4th and 5th grade.

http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/curriculum/specialprograms/elementary/highly-gifted-centers.aspx

But I agree that what the GT designation gets your kid in his/her home school short of the HGC is a question mark.
Anonymous
Post 05/28/2014 22:03     Subject: Thinking of Moving to MoCo for schools - please advise
Anonymous wrote:Interesting thread and I am obviously late to the party so I will keep this relatively brief. As to commutes, you can expect a 40 minute commute from most of the areas you are talking about, which, and this is the part that is frustrating, means anywhere from 30 mins on a good day to an hour on a bad day. Many roads are one way during commute times and that speeds things up but if you miss that it can take awhile and one bad driver can cost you 20 minutes easily. But you could generally plan on 40 minutes, which is, I think, about average in this area. The subway is less stressful until it breaks down, but those delays are not all that common. All of the close in school clusters are very good -- not perfect and there is certainly some overcrowding depending on the school, but the schools are excellent. But you can find good elementary schools anywhere, including DC. Where MCPS shines, statistically at least, is at the HS level (middle schools tend to suck everywhere) and you might consider waiting until your children are older to move. But if you are moving for elementary schools, any of the close in ones should be fine, with some better than others and many Principal-driven which can change (for better or worse). As others have noted, your primary issue will be finding a home you can afford and it would likely make sense to concentrate on that initially to see what turns up where. Good luck.


Totally disagree. MoCo's writing curriculum stinks. I moved my kid into private because he was making simple English mistakes even though he was in "advanced" English.
Anonymous
Post 05/28/2014 21:52     Subject: Re:Thinking of Moving to MoCo for schools - please advise
Anonymous wrote:Very confused by this. I've never heard of this and there isn't one at our W-cluster elementary school. In fact, this is one of the main complaints about MCPS (that there are no Gt programs at individual schools)/

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
We didn't know it when we moved here, but MoCo also has a second level of GT programming -- there is a GT program in each school, and a county-level GT program (highly gifted center or HGC) that kids can test into -- takes the top 2-3% of the kids. So whereas in DC, our kids struggled to find grade-level academic peers, they had them in spades in MoCo (both tested into HGC), which has given them challenges they were missing. We miss many things about our community in DC (for one, diversity was much better), but for our kids, academically, it was the right thing to do. We have been very pleased with our kids' experience overall. Good luck!


I haven't heard about this is elementary schools but there is such a program that was rolled out in a few middle schools called Middle School Reform. Our school was added in Phase II of the project and has a enriched Math and Science component to kids who qualify. We are not a magnet school
Anonymous
Post 05/28/2014 21:43     Subject: Re:Thinking of Moving to MoCo for schools - please advise
Very confused by this. I've never heard of this and there isn't one at our W-cluster elementary school. In fact, this is one of the main complaints about MCPS (that there are no Gt programs at individual schools)/

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
We didn't know it when we moved here, but MoCo also has a second level of GT programming -- there is a GT program in each school, and a county-level GT program (highly gifted center or HGC) that kids can test into -- takes the top 2-3% of the kids. So whereas in DC, our kids struggled to find grade-level academic peers, they had them in spades in MoCo (both tested into HGC), which has given them challenges they were missing. We miss many things about our community in DC (for one, diversity was much better), but for our kids, academically, it was the right thing to do. We have been very pleased with our kids' experience overall. Good luck!
Anonymous
Post 05/28/2014 09:00     Subject: Thinking of Moving to MoCo for schools - please advise
Interesting thread and I am obviously late to the party so I will keep this relatively brief. As to commutes, you can expect a 40 minute commute from most of the areas you are talking about, which, and this is the part that is frustrating, means anywhere from 30 mins on a good day to an hour on a bad day. Many roads are one way during commute times and that speeds things up but if you miss that it can take awhile and one bad driver can cost you 20 minutes easily. But you could generally plan on 40 minutes, which is, I think, about average in this area. The subway is less stressful until it breaks down, but those delays are not all that common. All of the close in school clusters are very good -- not perfect and there is certainly some overcrowding depending on the school, but the schools are excellent. But you can find good elementary schools anywhere, including DC. Where MCPS shines, statistically at least, is at the HS level (middle schools tend to suck everywhere) and you might consider waiting until your children are older to move. But if you are moving for elementary schools, any of the close in ones should be fine, with some better than others and many Principal-driven which can change (for better or worse). As others have noted, your primary issue will be finding a home you can afford and it would likely make sense to concentrate on that initially to see what turns up where. Good luck.
Anonymous
Post 05/27/2014 20:12     Subject: Re:Thinking of Moving to MoCo for schools - please advise
Anonymous wrote:

I disagree that there is no differentiation in MCPS and that the kids in the highest groups are just working independently. My experience has been that the teachers do try to work with each group separately and at their appropriate level. But I'm sure it takes skilled teachers to pull it off, and so your mileage can vary.


That is my experience too.
Anonymous
Post 05/27/2014 17:28     Subject: Re:Thinking of Moving to MoCo for schools - please advise
Anonymous wrote:
This is OP. I am deeply curious. Are ther GT programs generally available in MoCo ESs? This is one thing we have been asking for on Cap Hill. Have been told it is imposdible (ven laughable to ask) in all of DCPS. We have been told that "differentiation" is the norm, but I have my doubts.


MCPS HGC centers only accept 3% of kids. In some clusters 40% and higher of the kids test as GT. Nothing is done for kids who test as GT other than offer them additional testing and the ability to apply to a GT center. HGC centers are wonderful for writing, reading, and projects but not as challenging for math. Math is the weakest point in MCPS and acceleration is no longer allowed. Compacted math isn't very challenging. For a math centric student who really needed to be working 2 years ahead, there are no options.

There is no differentiation in MCPS either. Reading groups work at different levels but this only means that the kids in the high group get to work independently. The enriched math options are a complete joke. If your child scores off the charts, is an excellent writing, loves writing and is independently motivated than you have a shot at HGC and could take the chance. Unless your child is very math centric, he or she would probably enjoy the HGC option in MCPS but its still a chance whether you get in or not.


No one needs to be designated GT in order to test for HGC -- the test administered to all kids whose parents apply, and every parent of a third grader is invited to apply. Obviously, being designated GT is usually an indication that your child is a candidate for the HGC...but not a prerequisite per se.

I disagree that there is no differentiation in MCPS and that the kids in the highest groups are just working independently. My experience has been that the teachers do try to work with each group separately and at their appropriate level. But I'm sure it takes skilled teachers to pull it off, and so your mileage can vary.

Also, we're talking about DCPS -- I think MCPS compares quite favorably...although people can still weigh in on the differences between the MCPS clusters.
Anonymous
Post 05/27/2014 09:24     Subject: Re:Thinking of Moving to MoCo for schools - please advise
This is OP. I am deeply curious. Are ther GT programs generally available in MoCo ESs? This is one thing we have been asking for on Cap Hill. Have been told it is imposdible (ven laughable to ask) in all of DCPS. We have been told that "differentiation" is the norm, but I have my doubts.


MCPS HGC centers only accept 3% of kids. In some clusters 40% and higher of the kids test as GT. Nothing is done for kids who test as GT other than offer them additional testing and the ability to apply to a GT center. HGC centers are wonderful for writing, reading, and projects but not as challenging for math. Math is the weakest point in MCPS and acceleration is no longer allowed. Compacted math isn't very challenging. For a math centric student who really needed to be working 2 years ahead, there are no options.

There is no differentiation in MCPS either. Reading groups work at different levels but this only means that the kids in the high group get to work independently. The enriched math options are a complete joke. If your child scores off the charts, is an excellent writing, loves writing and is independently motivated than you have a shot at HGC and could take the chance. Unless your child is very math centric, he or she would probably enjoy the HGC option in MCPS but its still a chance whether you get in or not.
Anonymous
Post 05/25/2014 20:45     Subject: Re:Thinking of Moving to MoCo for schools - please advise
Anonymous wrote:This is OP. I am deeply curious. Are ther GT programs generally available in MoCo ESs? This is one thing we have been asking for on Cap Hill. Have been told it is imposdible (ven laughable to ask) in all of DCPS. We have been told that "differentiation" is the norm, but I have my doubts.


8:07 PP here: To be honest, I have very little understanding about what the GT designation in the home school means. My kids' non-HGC teachers always differentiated the classroom instruction, so I don't know what difference the GT designation makes, really. I don't recall the kids being pulled out for anything special. I had the sense that even after we came to MoCo, the kids were not being fully challenged, but the teachers were open to finding ways to push them harder in their regular class, and as I said, the large number of high-performing peers alone has been a good influence on them. HGC has been great for them...the biggest thing is teaching them how to apply themselves to longterm tasks that cannot be whipped out on the bus before school, as they typically do.
Anonymous
Post 05/24/2014 21:12     Subject: Re:Thinking of Moving to MoCo for schools - please advise
Excuse my typos. On the phone in the dark while DCs are going to sleep!
Anonymous
Post 05/24/2014 21:11     Subject: Thinking of Moving to MoCo for schools - please advise
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
I think there are two parts to the current situation. The county is implementing a new curriculum which has a learning curve for the teachers and not surprisingly needs some tweaking. Part II: Parents hate change.


Excellent analysis.

(Except that people, in general, hate change -- not just parents.)


As a concerned parent, this is how I am dealing with the current situation. I am investing my time and money in making sure that my kid is getting a good education inspite of MCPS.