I think it's funny the assumptions people are making about Texas schools.

Forget about Churchill or WJ, Watkins Mill is where you should take your kid.

Source: Trust me.

Anonymous wrote:My kids friends at Churchill have allowances that are big. Like $ 500 to $750 a week. And credit cards and debit cards no limit. But there is no charity. So you will get invited to expensive activities and you are paying your fair share.

My kid has a friend with a 750 square foot bedroom. I had to look it up. She 4,000 sft finished basement for parties.

Its interesting. Also makes you feel poor at same time.

And I’m a parent of 2 Churchill kids. We live in a small (rented) townhouse. We thrift a lot of clothes and buy little. Both kids have part time jobs for spending money and no allowance, though I’m happy to contribute a few dollars here and there.

Yes, they have rich friends who invite them to their pools and huge houses, but it’s never been an issue. Adults let money get in the way much more than kids.

There are rich and poor kids at every school. The W’e are not an exception.

My kids friends at Churchill have allowances that are big. Like $ 500 to $750 a week. And credit cards and debit cards no limit. But there is no charity. So you will get invited to expensive activities and you are paying your fair share.

My kid has a friend with a 750 square foot bedroom. I had to look it up. She 4,000 sft finished basement for parties.

Its interesting. Also makes you feel poor at same time.

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Anonymous wrote:I'm a big fan of Churchill. Good environment, plenty of opportunities for challenge, great principal and teachers, safe school. I can't compare it to others, but it has worked well for my children.

Same for Churchill. Some very affluent students, but lots of down to earth kids too.

Whitman is also very affluent. I find the kids are the most badly behaved of the Ws at sporting events (can be mean-spirited in a crowd and I don't like it).

WJ is good, large, has the APEX program which is for smarter kids. Kids can leave for lunch in all grades, I think.

Wootton is similar to Churchill with higher SES families but less outrageous affluence.

My preference would be Churchill or Wootton, Whitman, WJ.

Definitely, especially because she's coming from Texas. She will appreciate the country atmosphere at Churchill compared to the other W and it will remind her more of Texas. Churchill is still a highly affluent school, but more down to earth.

Please expand on the "country" atmosphere at Churchill.

Just go to Churchill during dismissal time and see for yourself that roughly 1/8 to 1/4 of the kids are wearing camo, and many of them like bass pro shop. Lots of outdoorsy people at Churchill.

This is not true.

+1 what a bizarre post. Just regular affluent suburban folks.

Yes, regular affluent suburban kids wear expensive name brand clothing, accessories, drive expensive cars, and have the $$$ to buy designer drugs.

I moved from a "regular affluent suburban" area out west, and that was the HS. No, thank you.

My kids have a mix of friends - some who are more affluent than others. We are in the middle. They realize they are more fortunate than some, and not as fortunate as others. Still, my youngest DD seems to want more and more crap, go on shopping sprees, etc. (It old her to get a job, and she has). If DD went to a wealthy W school, she'd want even more expensive crap.

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Anonymous wrote:Probably more rentals in WJ cluster that you might like (and aren’t terribly expensive). If you stay walking distance to WJ, as others have said, may not be affected with boundary changes. (The school board has said that in the past at least.)

As WJ parent, can confirm that it is a wonderful place. Something for everyone and inclusive.

That's a very small area. Also, WJ is likely to look and feel different after boudary change. It won't be old WJ.

I think that will apply to a lot of HS after the boundary changes.

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Anonymous wrote:Probably more rentals in WJ cluster that you might like (and aren’t terribly expensive). If you stay walking distance to WJ, as others have said, may not be affected with boundary changes. (The school board has said that in the past at least.)

As WJ parent, can confirm that it is a wonderful place. Something for everyone and inclusive.

That's a very small area. Also, WJ is likely to look and feel different after boudary change. It won't be old WJ.

It's not a small area - it is a 2 mile radius around WJ, which, incidentally, includes Woodward.

The 2 mile radius is a general guideline, but there are many cases where a HS walk zone is smaller than that. Rule of thumb: if your neighborhood currently has school bus stops, you're not inside the walk zone and would be subject to a boundary change.

Or, if your neighborhood is within two schools' walk zones, such as between WJ and Woodward, you could also have a boundary change.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Probably more rentals in WJ cluster that you might like (and aren’t terribly expensive). If you stay walking distance to WJ, as others have said, may not be affected with boundary changes. (The school board has said that in the past at least.)

As WJ parent, can confirm that it is a wonderful place. Something for everyone and inclusive.

That's a very small area. Also, WJ is likely to look and feel different after boudary change. It won't be old WJ.

It's not a small area - it is a 2 mile radius around WJ, which, incidentally, includes Woodward.

The 2 mile radius is a general guideline, but there are many cases where a HS walk zone is smaller than that. Rule of thumb: if your neighborhood currently has school bus stops, you're not inside the walk zone and would be subject to a boundary change.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Probably more rentals in WJ cluster that you might like (and aren’t terribly expensive). If you stay walking distance to WJ, as others have said, may not be affected with boundary changes. (The school board has said that in the past at least.)

As WJ parent, can confirm that it is a wonderful place. Something for everyone and inclusive.

That's a very small area. Also, WJ is likely to look and feel different after boudary change. It won't be old WJ.

It's not a small area - it is a 2 mile radius around WJ, which, incidentally, includes Woodward.

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Anonymous wrote:I'm a big fan of Churchill. Good environment, plenty of opportunities for challenge, great principal and teachers, safe school. I can't compare it to others, but it has worked well for my children.

Same for Churchill. Some very affluent students, but lots of down to earth kids too.

Whitman is also very affluent. I find the kids are the most badly behaved of the Ws at sporting events (can be mean-spirited in a crowd and I don't like it).

WJ is good, large, has the APEX program which is for smarter kids. Kids can leave for lunch in all grades, I think.

Wootton is similar to Churchill with higher SES families but less outrageous affluence.

My preference would be Churchill or Wootton, Whitman, WJ.

Definitely, especially because she's coming from Texas. She will appreciate the country atmosphere at Churchill compared to the other W and it will remind her more of Texas. Churchill is still a highly affluent school, but more down to earth.

Please expand on the "country" atmosphere at Churchill.

Just go to Churchill during dismissal time and see for yourself that roughly 1/8 to 1/4 of the kids are wearing camo, and many of them like bass pro shop. Lots of outdoorsy people at Churchill.

+1. Lot of tobacco chewing, NASCAR loving, camo wearing rednecks at Churchill.

This! Everyone is acting like people said that majority of students at Churchill are like this. That's not what was said, it's just that Churchill has a significant number of students like this compared to the other W schools. Yes, it is mostly affluent suburban kids, but about 1/8 of the students are country/rural. People forget that there are pockets of rural and working-class families in Churchill's cluster. Also, people are ignorant as to what high schools in Texas are like. Plenty of them mix upper-middle-class Asian Americans and white students with a small country feel, much like Churchill. It's not just Texas, but other southern states too. Johns Creek in GA is similar.

OP, the W high schools are essentially interchangeable in that they have good academic and extracurricular opportunities, strong peer groups if your kid is a striver, and are large. All high schools in the County follow the same curriculum.

In your shoes I’d put my commute first and foremost - living near Wootton HS compared to Whitman HS will be a large difference in “nearby” work commutes.

Anonymous wrote:Probably more rentals in WJ cluster that you might like (and aren’t terribly expensive). If you stay walking distance to WJ, as others have said, may not be affected with boundary changes. (The school board has said that in the past at least.)

As WJ parent, can confirm that it is a wonderful place. Something for everyone and inclusive.

That's a very small area. Also, WJ is likely to look and feel different after boudary change. It won't be old WJ.

My kids both had great experiences at Whitman. The new principal seems great.

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a big fan of Churchill. Good environment, plenty of opportunities for challenge, great principal and teachers, safe school. I can't compare it to others, but it has worked well for my children.

Same for Churchill. Some very affluent students, but lots of down to earth kids too.

Whitman is also very affluent. I find the kids are the most badly behaved of the Ws at sporting events (can be mean-spirited in a crowd and I don't like it).

WJ is good, large, has the APEX program which is for smarter kids. Kids can leave for lunch in all grades, I think.

Wootton is similar to Churchill with higher SES families but less outrageous affluence.

My preference would be Churchill or Wootton, Whitman, WJ.

Definitely, especially because she's coming from Texas. She will appreciate the country atmosphere at Churchill compared to the other W and it will remind her more of Texas. Churchill is still a highly affluent school, but more down to earth.

Please expand on the "country" atmosphere at Churchill.

Just go to Churchill during dismissal time and see for yourself that roughly 1/8 to 1/4 of the kids are wearing camo, and many of them like bass pro shop. Lots of outdoorsy people at Churchill.

+1. Lot of tobacco chewing, NASCAR loving, camo wearing rednecks at Churchill.

HAHA, thats funny!!

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Anonymous wrote:Be aware that there is a huge boundary study going on that will affect all the “W’s.”

Your best tactic is to rent a place within a very short walking distance of the school, meaning there is no school bus service in that neighborhood.

My friend lives within a 10 min walking distance of Wooton. Their kid gets bussed to another school.

Yes, some of the boundaries created decades ago are wonky. But let's hope they avoid those situations this time around.