Pros and Cons of Living in Maryland

Are you trying to decide where to live in the Washington DC Area? The pros and cons of living in Maryland is always a popular topic! We’re going to talk about everything I love about Maryland – except for two things.

1. Green Space

Maryland is excellent at preserving green space and trees. There is rarely a development that wasn’t thought-out well. Each jurisdiction responsible for approvals gives serious consideration to every single tree on a property when there is a development application. They use something called “tree banks.” What are those? The counties all have “master plans” that guide the development rights and standards. Within that plan there are requirements on the number of acres of trees and green space, and allowable approaches when dealing with existing trees.

When someone submits an application to develop a piece of property or change the use, the county in question has to consider this for approval. If the location would be served well by more homes instead of less, then the approval may be granted and developer allowed to remove more trees than allowed by the zoning. To compensate, they may be required to purchase from a tree bank – which is another area in the county that will never be developed. This keeps the overall proportions of development to green space within the original design intention (that “master plan”) of the county.

Some counties in the country will want to save all the trees at any cost, others will not. Maryland tends to lean on the side of saving the trees – even when multiple 3rd party arborists testify that they are dead.

2. Location

The location of Maryland is amazing for both its proximity locally to everything you need but also in the country. Depending on where you live, you will have the choice of two international airports – Baltimore and Dulles in Northern Virginia, and then Reagan National in Arlington for domestic flights.

The location is also great for taking advantage of weekend getaways. Day trips to Baltimore, Frederick or Annapolis are all a lot of fun. You can get to the mountains in less than 2 hours, the beach in 2 hours, and on a good day you can get to New York in 4 hours by car or bus, but definitely by train. It’s also easy to get to Philadelphia or Hershey Park in Hershey, PA for a quick weekend trip.

3. Diversity

When clients contact me asking about diversity and inclusion for their family, I can count on so many locations in Maryland to be a place they will feel at home. Montgomery County is the main area I service in Maryland and there is such a diversity in so many capacities – not just backgrounds. Yes, people can come from all over the world and find their place to call home in Maryland. But there is also a diverse array of lifestyles.

If you want to live in an urban or city environment, you can find that in Maryland. If you want more rural, you can find that too. And some communities are even progressive such as places like Takoma Park where you can vote in local elections at 16 years old.

4. Crabs, I Mean – Food (but I really mean crabs)

When I lived in Rockville, I would sit at Tower Oaks Lodge every weekend inhaling their crab artichoke dip. If you like crab, there is no better place to be on the east coast than Maryland. If you’re a crab-purist, and you don’t like your crab mixed with artichokes and cheese, you can find many crab houses where you can hammer away at fresh crabs and pull your own meat. It’s an art, and I can teach you! If you have a shellfish allergy, I’m sorry. But there is so much more here in the way of ethnic foods. We benefit tremendously from such a diverse population in the metro area with so many restaurants and ethnic grocery stores.

There are so many different food choices that you would have trouble hitting them all without gaining a few dozen pounds. French, Italian, Lebanese, Ethiopian, Middle Eastern, Greek, Asian, Farm to Table, Cuban, Mexican, Brazilian – the list goes on and on as does the eating!

5. Climate

Depending how you feel about the weather, climate could appear on either side of the pros and cons of living in Maryland. I feel it’s thankfully quite mild here in the DC Area. We have four seasons. Actually, locals say that we have 12 seasons. They are: Winter, Fool’s Spring, Second Winter, Spring of Deception, Third Winter, The Pollening, Actual Spring, Summer, Hell’s Front Porch, False Fall, Second Summer, Actual Fall.

Seasons like Actual Spring? That lasts for about 45 minutes so enjoy it.

Expect to wear shorts for June, July, August and September. Hats and gloves in December, January and February. Our winters are usually not too bad, we don’t often get weather below 20 degrees Fahrenheit. Summers can get to 100 but it usually tops out in the 90’s. If you live north toward Frederick or north of I-70, you may actually have snow when it’s 15 degrees warmer further south. I lived northwest of Baltimore and would routinely arrive at work in Columbia, 20 minutes away, with snow on my car and everyone else thought I was lying until they went to the window and looked.

6. Education

The school systems for the kiddos are top notch. Montgomery County Schools are progressive and very highly sought after. There’s a lot of school choice as well, and different consortia where you have options to go to different high schools within a region.

There are several top high schools in the country that are located in Montgomery County, but when Bethesda Magazine puts out their annual college issue, the results are staggering. Students at the many of the county high schools are very successful well when it comes to college applications. There is no one “top” high school here like people may say, there are close to a dozen in the county that rank extremely well.

7. Recreation

The outdoor recreation in Maryland is so unbelievable. It’s easy to hop on the various trails like the Capital Crescent Trail which goes from Bethesda to Georgetown in DC or all the trails along the Potomac River or through Rock Creek Park if you want to get close to nature. Maryland is very pedestrian friendly, and you will notice that on any road you drive. You can also take advantage of the many recreation centers where they offer all kinds of classes from fitness, dance, art & crafts, martial arts – there are a ton of choices.

People who move here from the west coast and more progressive areas tend to really like Maryland and everything it has to offer. Don’t forget that I promised you a couple things I don’t love, so let’s do that next.

Cons of Living in Maryland’s Suburbs of Washington DC

Traffic & Drivers

Because Maryland home prices have trended slightly lower than neighboring Virginia, and Maryland has a lot more of the “close-in” affordable areas, there are more commuters heading back to Maryland after work. If you drive, you will be in this traffic. The metro also doesn’t go as far into Maryland as it does on the Virginia side, so this creates the perfect storm for flows of traffic.

A tidbit of good news – so far, Maryland has not imposed any toll lanes. There is an HOV overpass lane on 270 you can use to get to 270 and flyover the traffic below in the interchange, but lots of people cheat so this doesn’t always save a lot of time.

Now a tidbit of bad news. Well, it’s more than a tidbit. Maryland drivers are some of the worst I’ve seen in this country. I talk about it all the time. People move here and think I was joking then they say, “Nope, you were right, they are truly bad drivers.” I can’t explain it, I can only repeat it incessantly because defensive driving takes on a whole new meaning in Maryland.

Cost of Living

It’s expensive in Maryland. Some slight good news – there is more housing affordability on the Maryland side close to the beltway than you could ever find on the Virginia side. You can get homes in Silver Spring in the $600,000’s. It’s virtually impossible to find a single-family home in the $600,000’s on the Virginia side until you’re pretty far from the beltway. This is definitely not the case in Maryland. But that doesn’t mean life is cheaper on this side of the Potomac!

Maryland has a state income tax similar to Virginia. It’s not a flat tax, you move up in brackets, but it caps out where Virginia does – 5.75%. There’s one huge difference though. The Maryland counties impose income taxes as well. In most cases, this adds another 3% or more to the income tax you will owe. Virginia does not have income tax at the county level.

That sums up the pros and cons of living in Maryland. I hope this gave you all the details you need to consider in your move to the Crab State (it’s not really called the crab state.) If you are ready to crack some crab shells, my contact info is coming next!

Georgetown DC

What neighborhood recently discovered the remains of 28 slaves underground, is home to a University that only stayed solvent due to the sale of 272 slaves to Louisiana, and has reinvented itself more times than Madonna? GEORGETOWN! We are also going to talk to you about the biggest tourist trap in the city that’s here in Georgetown and what you should do instead.

A few years ago, even last year, this would have been a different video. Georgetown started out as the original port of the nation’s capital. It became its own municipality. Then turned into Ground Zero for the preppy kids at the same time a huge portion of the punk movements was happening here as well. If you are thinking, “How could punks and preps co-exist?” Well, they really couldn’t. In the 1970’s and 80’s, Georgetown was known as the best place for indie stores. In the late 90’s, many of those stores were taken over by large chains. Then about ten years ago, many of those large chains moved over to 14th Street. Lots of storefronts were boarded up. During the pandemic and riots, it was evident how dire the situation in Georgetown had become.

But now, Georgetown is BACK. It’s BACK BABY! It’s so heartwarming to see. The restaurants have lines, the sidewalks are packed. It’s awesome. I keep adding to the list of places I want to visit and restaurants where I want to eat in Georgetown.

I do these videos for you every week and break down living in DC, Maryland and Northern Virginia. I’ve lived here over 20 years and I know these areas. I go deeper than anybody. Make sure you subscribe so you don’t miss the new videos.

Location

Georgetown is in the Northwest Quadrant of DC, about as far south as you can go without falling into the Potomac River. Roughly bordered by Rock Creek on the east, Glover Archbold Park on the west, Reservoir Road on the north and the Potomac on the south. The Key Bridge takes you across the Potomac into Rosslyn which is in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Real Estate

Georgetown has always been one of the most expensive neighborhoods with prestige unmatched by most of the rest of DC.

Georgetown real estate is pretty wild. There are single family detached homes here, but there aren’t thousands of them. They exist though and they cost a pretty penny, $2M up past $20M.

There are also a handful of 1 bedroom rowhomes here! There aren’t many and they have anywhere from 500 – 800 square feet. History tells us that these smaller homes were once servant’s quarters or potentially the homes of slaves at one time. Side note: in most of DC property records it will be rare to find a home with a year built in the 1800’s. This is due to a fire that happened at land records where much was lost. So many homes that say they were built in 1900 is purely a guess. Georgetown is indeed the oldest neighborhood in DC, and many of these homes were in existence in the 1800’s – we just can’t prove it.

Most Georgetown home prices start in the mid $1M’s. If you want something close to 2000 sf, you are going to pay close to $2M. Yes, real estate really costs in excess of $1000/sf here. Prices climb steadily to the $5M point. Then there are properties priced beyond that, into the tens of millions or more. These are very unique homes typically with a ton of history and often famous previous residents.

There are condos in Georgetown and they fall into a couple different types. The condo buildings along the Potomac River offer stunning views. They also offer stunning prices and stunning monthly condo fees. You will be paying over $1M to live along the water and have a view. Some of these gorgeous beauties can sell over $5M up to $8M. You can get into some buildings for less than $1M but you’ll be facing north, away from the Potomac, so, no river view for you!

There are some other condo buildings throughout Georgetown that are not on the waterfront. These buildings are much older and historic in nature, though may have been renovated inside. One great example here is the Colonial at 1305 – 1315 30th Street. Built in 1820, it was originally a female seminary with visitors such as Martin Van Buren, James Buchanan and Andrew Johnson. After the Union defeat at the Battle of Bull Run, the building became an army hospital. After the war was over it was converted into apartments. The building was restored in 1953, and now in present day is getting a full makeover into condominiums.

Fun

There is lots of shopping here. There have been many generations of the shopping scene in Georgetown. Natives lament the days of the local mom and pop shops that made up the retail options in Georgetown. Britches, Sunny’s Surplus, Up Against the Wall and Commander Salamander to name a few. But now you have a mostly robust retail area, though the rents have hurt many businesses who moved over to 14th Street. Some awesome stores like West Elm and Barnes & Noble left. But guess what? Barnes & Noble is coming back! June 26, they are re-opening in Georgetown at 3040 M Street and I’m thrilled!

The Georgetown Waterfront Park provides a scenic setting for strolling, jogging, or picnicking. There’s a splash pad open in the summer and an ice skating rink open in winter. You can also access the Capital Crescent Trail from the waterfront for walking, running, or biking that stretches for miles along the river and goes up to Bethesda.

The Georgetown Boat House is on the water and you can rent canoes or kayaks and head out on the Potomac.

You can also grab a water taxi here and ferry over to the DC Waterfront or Old Town Alexandria.

There are some notable landmarks to visit. The Exorcist Stairs usually have someone snapping a photo when you go by. Dumbarton Oaks Museum and Gardens, Tudor Place Historic House and Garden are both worth a visit. Then there’s Old Stone House, which is the oldest unchanged building in DC.

In April, there is the Georgetown French Market. More than 35 local boutiques, antique stores, restaurants, salons and galleries display their discounted wares for up to 75% off. This year the French Embassy had a chocolate tasting on the weekend of the French Market too.

From June to October, there is Dancing on the Waterfront which is a free weekly outdoor dance with the Potomac as your backdrop! This unique event takes place in Georgetown Waterfront Park, where participants of all ages and skill levels gather to embrace the joy of dancing in the open air.

In December there is Georgetown GLOW, which is a festival of outdoor light installations.

Every Sunday there is the Georgetown flea market in the parking lot of Hardy Elementary School.

Do not miss Blues Alley. It’s a Jazz Club that opened in 1965 and you have definitely heard of many musicians who have played here. Tony Bennett, Dizzy Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald and Stan Getz are some of the few who have bestowed their talent at Blues Alley. Side note – Blues Alley has a non-profit arm for young performers which offers a summer camp and orchestra.

Pinstripes in Georgetown has fantastic food, which I wouldn’t have expected and it’s a great place to bowl or play bocce ball.

Volta Park and Pool is one of my favorite parks in DC. There is a playground with equipment for all ages, basketball court, tennis courts and of course the pool. It does get crowded, however.

The best vet in DC is here, Georgetown Veterinary Hospital. Dr. Morgan and his wife Kris own it and I’ve been going there with my pups for over 17 years.

There’s also a cat café, Crumbs and Whiskers, where you can have a snack and play with cats.

This isn’t quite “fun” but I’m sticking an honorable mention here for the dueling auto repair shops on Wisconsin Avenue. We’ve always been partial to the Shell Station. They haven’t done us wrong and their prices are fair. The old service manager was so good of course he got moved, and now they have a female manager, Elizabeth! The funniest thing is her husband is the service manager across the street at the Exxon. I once said, “whose shop should I take my car to?” and she said, “OH DEFINITELY US!” Just know that you have two great options for car repair in Georgetown, which is pretty impressive.

Family & Kids

Georgetown Library is one of my happy places. It smells good, the librarians are awesome and it’s easy to park right out front. You can have any book in the library system delivered here, and they also have a really great Children’s Room downstairs. There’s reading time and other gatherings for the little ones. The kids room is just a great place to hang out.

There’s a cooperative play location at Volta Community Center if you’re able to get a spot there for your little one.

Did you know? The public elementary school that serves Georgetown is Hyde-Addison. Before we dive into Hyde-Addison, let’s do a comparison. I live in the neighborhood north of Georgetown called Glover Park. Our Elementary School is Stoddert. Stoddert has 87% in boundary students and 20% of the school is classified as an English Language Learner.

Hyde-Addison is 33% in boundary and 7% are classified as English Language Learners.

This may seem like a super curious statistic that only 33% of the Georgetown Elementary School is in-boundary but there are a couple reasons for this. First, Georgetown generally doesn’t lend itself well to family living. The house prices are high, green space is limited aside from Volta Park and generally the people who live in Georgetown seem to trend older. But there are families in Georgetown. I know some of them. And I also know that they send their kids to private schools.

Hyde-Addison feeds to Hardy Middle School, and then Georgetown is zoned for the new high school coming to the Palisades. It’s tentatively called MacArthur, but they are going to rename it at some point. It’s opened Fall 2023 for the 9th grade and some 10th graders. All reports are generally positive.

There are a few private schools in Georgetown too – Georgetown Visitation, Holy Trinity and just off Reservoir Road is WIS, Washington International School. There’s also a charter high for those interested in the arts, Duke Ellington.

Food

Georgetown’s M Street used to be THE place for all the eats. There are still restaurants there, but many now are off the beaten path and tucked away on streets that aren’t Wisconsin or M.

Filomena is the best best best Italian Food hands down. It’s the old-school kind of Italian. Reservations are usually booked weeks out. This is the real deal for Italian. Leave the gun, take the Cannoli. I mean this, do not leave without getting the Cannoli.

Il Canale is another Italian favorite, located just off M Street at 31st.

Café Milano is on Prospect Street, just off Wisconsin. This is a big Presidential favorite with many of the people who lead this country choosing Café Milano for dinner.

Fabio Trabocci’s Fiola Mare is the best place for ambiance, people watching and all kinds of delicious. It’s spendy and also very dark so you will probably be dining near someone famous but you won’t be able to see them so you’ll never know.

Over by Georgetown University there is 1789, a long-standing and highly rated favorite in the Clyde’s chain. I always assumed 1789 was named for the year the George Washington became our first President but nope. It was named for the year Georgetown University was founded.

Taking it down a notch, next door to 1789 is the Tombs, a basement level pub with bar food for the Georgetown students and their families. It’s worth a visit to be part of the student culture as much as for the food.

We can’t not mention Clyde’s on M Street. They consistently crank out the best food, one of my all-time favorites since I moved to the DC Area, I will always say yes to Clyde’s. Another local all-American place is Martin’s Tavern which opened in 1933 and is at the corner of Wisconsin and N Street.

Angolo Ristorante is one of the Italian Restaurants on M Street, and it feels very much like you’re in a trattoria in Italy. The owners are awesome and so nice, and it’s great to grab lunch there when we are at our office.

Sweet Green started in Georgetown in the original Little Tavern which was a chain of burger places in the 1930’s and 40’s. You can’t miss the tavern building at the corner of Bank Alley and M Streets.

One of the “newer” places in Georgetown opened in 2011, and that’s Stachowskis Butcher. They are on P Street, and offer a large selection of smoked and cured meats and also prepared foods as well that you can pick up for dinner.

If you want a café or pastry, Georgetown has that covered. Boulangerie Christophe has some delectable pastries, and they also have pre-made sandwiches that are excellent. Laduree is a French Café that is absolutely gorgeous inside with the way the pastries are displayed.

Also, don’t forget a stop to Call Your Mother, which has bagels so good there’s always a line. You’ll recognize it as the gorgeous pink building on 35th Street where no matter what time you drive by, someone is doing a photo shoot out front.

What about cupcakes? Where are the best cupcakes in Georgetown?

Don’t say Georgetown Cupcake. That’s basic and there are better options. If you haven’t been to Baked and Wired, you’re missing out. Don’t always go to the place with the longest line. The locals all laugh at the tourists lined up for Georgetown Cupcake because Baked and Wired is absolutely where it’s at.

Thomas Sweet on Wisconsin Avenue and P is the go-to for ice cream and forget what we said about avoiding long lines because Thomas Sweet will always have a long line when the weather is warm.

For grocery stores you have to get a little outside of Georgetown to what they call “Upper Georgetown,” or as I call it, “Glover Park.” There you will find Safeway, Trader Joes and Whole Foods.

There is also a Farmer’s Market at Rose Park on Wednesdays in the summer months from 3-7 p.m.

History

The founding of Georgetown pre-dates the founding of DC as our capital city. Because this was one of the only areas of DC where people were settled, if you expected that there would also be slaves living in Georgetown, you are correct. More on this in a bit.

Georgetown was a separate municipality until 1871 at which time Congress deemed it part of the whole city. Within the next couple decades, Georgetown’s local ordinances were repealed and their streets renamed to fit in with the rest of the city.

Did You Know: There’s a long-standing myth in DC that Georgetown residents fought the metro coming to the neighborhood for fear of crime. The real reason there isn’t a metro is that the infrastructure changes to bring the train safely underground was a non-starter. This would have required underpinning many homes, compromising their structural integrity.

Here’s a photo of Wisconsin and M Streets, facing east, in the early 1900’s.

(c) Photo by Streets of Washington

In the 1970’s, Georgetown was the OG of hipster land, known for its thrift stores and record shops.

The Exorcist was partially filmed here, with the steps being the obvious scene you will remember.

In the 1980’s, Georgetown became the place to see and be seen. In Maryland, the drinking age changed from 18 to 21 in 1982. But you could still drink in DC at 18 until 1986. Guess which Mayor supported raising the drinking age? Marion Barry. For most of the 80’s, the city would be flooded on weekends with kids looking for a good time. Georgetown streets were straight up gridlock. If you want to know what Georgetown was like in the 80’s, watch St Elmo’s Fire. It was filmed here, and it captures this time perfectly.

Did You Know: The Preppy Handbook named Clyde’s in Georgetown as THE Definitive Preppy Bar for DC. Clyde’s opened in 1963 in what used to be a motorcycle hangout. Clyde’s had the first full size bar since Prohibition.

In the mid 1980’s there was also a growing punk movement and some of the major players lived or worked in Georgetown, Glover Park and other parts of Northwest. I did a punk video with the girls too, definitely check that out! In the 80’s the city was experiencing a high crime wave. Georgetown was somewhat of a respite from the crime happening in the rest of the city.

In the 1990’s when the grunge era hit, the preppies were gone. Alternative music was everywhere. As the 1990’s wore on, people started going to other places like Adam’s Morgan and the nightlife started to shift. In came the national chain stores and high-end hotels that began a new definition of Georgetown into the turn of the 21st century.

In the past five to ten years, lots of stores have closed or relocated to other parts of the city. The rents here are just too high for many retailers and the customer base is likely as much tourist as local. But, this spring there has been an amazing influx of people again! Lines at restaurants and packed sidewalks. It feels like the heyday is back.

In 2021, archeologists discovered the remains of 28 African Americans, believed to be slaves, from the early 1800’s.

One of the biggest residents of Georgetown is Georgetown University. Founded by Jesuits, it has come to light in the past several years that the University has ties to slavery. First, the big donors to the University were living in Maryland Plantations. It’s money that was made from the work of slaves that made these families wealthy enough to donate to the school.

The second and more outrageous tie to slavery was in 1838. Two early Presidents of the University, in a quest to keep the school solvent, sold 272 slaves to Plantation Owners in Louisiana. The reason this was discovered was because the school was going to name a couple buildings after the people who organized this sale.

Conclusion

That is Georgetown, the oldest neighborhood in DC with so much history, charm and great places to chow down. The retail area is currently not as robust as it has been in decades past, but this neighborhood endures and will once again thrive, I’m sure of it.

DC vs Florida Schools

I received an email from a desperate mama in Florida. She has been watching my videos. She said she wanted to get her kids out of their current schools and into a system where the politics and beliefs were more aligned with her way of thinking. The naïve me would have said, “what do politics have to do with schools?” Well, the 2024 me knows much better. Florida Mama said that Governor DeSantis’s policies have had drastic effects on their schools.

I’m using this call from Florida Mama to tell you about the differences in schools here vs what she described to me. But, this isn’t only Florida-specific. It could apply to any state where political influence on schools is similar. Also, remember that when I say “DC” schools, it includes the surrounding areas, known here as the “DMV.” This means the Northern Virginia and Maryland suburbs of DC.

I lived in Florida for 4 years. Granted that was in the Miami Vice years. My parents have also maintained a residence in Florida since the 1980’s so I’ve spent a lot of time there. I know that Florida is gonna Florida no matter what the rest of the country is up to. At the time of this call, DeSantis was considering his run for Republican nomination for President. We found out this week that he’s dropped out.

Vaccines

Florida Schools: Required are DTaP, Polio, MMR, Hepatitis B, Tdap and Varicella. In April 2021, DeSantis signed the order that Covid -19 Vaccines aren’t required.

DC Schools: They require all of the above, but also require Hepatitis A, Flu & Pneumonia. In teen years they also require Meningitis and HPV. Yes. HPV. You may ask yourself why the school system is requiring a vaccine against some types of cancer caused by a virus that’s sexually transmitted. My feelings on whether my daughters can and should get this vaccine have nothing to do with how I feel about DC making it a requirement. I’ll be damned if DCPS is going to require us to prove the girls got HPV vaccines.

In November 2023, the DC Council repealed a mandate for the Covid Vaccine.

Montgomery County, Maryland: Same vaccines as Florida, plus Meningitis. There’s no Covid requirement nor is Hepatitis A required in Maryland. HPV is “required” but you can opt out.

Hepatitis A is not required in Virginia either but the Virginia school districts near DC do require it.

Fairfax County, Arlington County and the City of Alexandria in Virginia: Hepatitis A and Meningitis are required. HPV is also included in the required lineup, but the first sentence right after that says the parent or guardian can opt out or they can opt out of providing proof. Well played, Fairfax, Arlington and Alexandria. This is how you handle a parent and student population.

The Don’t Say Gay Bill

Florida: Class instruction in gender identity and sexuality was originally banned through grade 3, but expanded to include all grades.

DMV Schools: You won’t see gender identity education at the elementary level here, but will the kids have it in older grades? Yes.

Parental Involvement

Florida: Also known as “there’s a form for that,” parents have to fill out forms for everything. Florida Mama told me that her child can’t even go to the nurse unless they have a permission slip saying the student can see the nurse. Use of nicknames, allowable library books, there are forms for all of this. Florida wants parents to know everything about their own kids and leave these decisions to the families.

Quick note here, I read the legislation.

What the media doesn’t say is that the law specifically says that should the school believe any revelation of this information would result in abuse, they do not have to share it.

DMV Schools:

First, it’s very important for me to get this off my chest 5 years after it happened. When Mercina went to Kindergarten, they were putting her on a bus once a week to go to art classes at a different location in DC. I didn’t find this out until she mentioned it one day and I was really confused. Same thing happened to Leia when she was in Pre-K. The school stuck our kids on a bus and took them a couple miles away and no one bothered to let their parents know.

Parental involvement on other issues is a constant conversation here. You should know that if your child identifies as LGBTQIA at school, it’s unlikely anyone will call you from the school to inform you. The area is quite liberal and parents are likely more open and accepting of their children’s choices than they are in perhaps more conservative areas. Know that while the laws here are always being updated and revised, if your child is identifying as LGBTQIA and they ask the school to maintain that confidence, their wishes are going to be honored.

In Virginia where there is a Republican Governor, there have been laws enacted more in line with what you see in Florida. However, there’s been pushback from the Northern Virginia Counties where school districts are willing to violate Commonwealth Law to protect student rights.

Let’s lighten this up from with something less controversial. In our school, kids can go to the nurse on their own and they don’t need permission from their parents to be seen. My kids don’t really complain to go to the nurse. One time I missed the call and they sent Mercina back to class. They are always sending them back to class. When you call back, the first thing they say is, “She’s okay, but…” and then they tell you what the issue is. They could say “Leia came in today with both arms and legs ripped off but we gave her a band aid and sent her back to class.” And no, we don’t have a form for that.

Conclusion

Aside from permission slips for everything, the general sentiment from Florida Mama was that the school district was going in a crazy direction. I concede that having to agree to let my kid choose to see the nurse is excessive. But, I told her that if they moved here, she would probably find that everything she’s trying to correct could swing wildly in the opposite direction. I offered several examples of things that happen in schools here for which we get no active notice. Last week there were bomb threats and they chose not to evacuate schools. Last year we had serious safety issues and weren’t told because 1 child’s privacy was more important than the other 500 kids in school whose days were altered by what happened. While the forms seem extreme now, the alternative might be worse.

Fairfax vs Montgomery County Schools

So you have kids, you’re moving to the DC Area and you want to know the difference of Fairfax vs Montgomery County Schools? I did a deep dive into each of the school districts. You can find a couple Montgomery County school videos, Fairfax, Arlington and Alexandria videos on my channel.

I’m going to zero in on the two most popular school districts – Montgomery County in Maryland and Fairfax County in Virginia. These are often the two districts that go head-to-head when people consider where to move in the area. It should be noted though that suburban DC school districts also include Arlington, the City of Alexandria and Falls Church City which is a small district. I have videos on Arlington and Alexandria so be sure to check those out as well.

Background – Fairfax vs Montgomery County

One of the largest districts in the country, Fairfax County has 199 schools. Students can take International Baccalaureate (IB) or AP classes in high school, but that’s not all. There are magnet schools, STEM schools and Academies that offer a school within a school. The #1 High School in the country is also in Fairfax County – Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology. This is a 4 year magnet school program created in 1985 to improve education in science, math and technology and is very well regarded.

Montgomery County’s 211 schools offer both local “by-right” schools as well as regional and countywide programs. Students can enroll in language immersion programs for French, Spanish and Chinese. There are magnet middle schools which offer digital design, performing arts and aerospace technology. At the high school level, the choices blow wide open. There are IB Programs offered at many high schools and AP Courses as well. Many high schools also offer Career related programs. You don’t have to be in boundary for these programs. If it’s not offered at your in boundary high school but it is in a high school nearby, you can likely apply.

If you think politics doesn’t have any influence in schools, think again. As someone who hates politics, I never would have believed that politics infiltrates the schools – but they do. When school boards lean one way or the other, policies follow suit.

Generally, people say Montgomery County is more liberal.

Generally, people would not have said Fairfax County is as liberal as Montgomery County, but it has rapidly joined the party. Is this good or bad? It depends what you want for your child and their education. When it comes to politics in Fairfax vs Montgomery County Schools, the schools are more alike than they are different.

Academics & Curriculum: Fairfax vs Montgomery County

In Fairfax County, the school board has a lot of input on the curriculum. Fairfax County is very transparent about their curriculum. The instruction is guided by the Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL) which can be found on the Virginia Department of Education’s website. What does that mean? This is not Common Core.

Fairfax County has a separate Advanced Academics Program. It requires paperwork, parental sign off and school review and approval. It’s not as straightforward as there are various levels to AAP. Levels 2 & 3 are at the school level, Level 4 requires testing, review and approval. And you may not be at your in-boundary school if they don’t offer Level 4 of academics.

Equitable outcomes is the latest to come from Fairfax County as of October 2023. We won’t just see this in Fairfax though.

Montgomery County was subject of the infamous 2018 Johns Hopkins audit where Hopkins found that English and Math curricula were unsatisfactory. Fewer than 1/3 of the students understood math for their grade level and fewer than 1/4th understood English Language Arts. They revamped the curriculum but it still makes use of lots of screens and programs and doesn’t appear to offer textbooks.

Montgomery County has focused on differential instruction in the classroom. But they also have moved toward some subjects being “honors for all” or implementing the 50% rule, also known as equity based grading. This is where a zero isn’t a zero, it’s a 50%. It’s still a failing grade, but the rationale was to give students who made an honest attempt but failed a boost so it wasn’t so hard to recover.

For example, if you couldn’t turn in an assignment and received a zero and then turned in another and received a 100%, you still failed. But if you average a 50% and 100%, that’s a solid C at 75%. In what normal, adult professional world can you do nothing but still get half the credit, half the promotion or half the paycheck? This is the argument against this sort of policy.

Same with Honors for all – They created this base level “honors” designation in some subjects to tinker with metrics. If you have higher percentages in honors classes, it can’t be inequitable can it?

There is an excellent thread on Reddit from a MoCo teacher, and there is lots of chiming in, I’ll link that here.

Administration

If Montgomery County Public Schools were invited to Festivus, Frank Costanza would scream, “I got a lot of problems with you people!” It used to be one of the best school districts, but the discipline problems plaguing much of the country’s schools is also rampant in Montgomery County.

Current Superintendent Monifa McKnight started as an interim position in June 2021 and was appointed to a 4 year term in February, 2022. One of her first letters to the school community stated, “One of my top three priorities is rebuilding community trust in MCPS… I am committed to transparency and responsiveness as we work to address our challenges and celebrate our many strengths.”

School Safety, Communication, Transparency, Increase Teacher Autonomy, Improve Special Education Services, Hire More Teachers, Reduce Class Sizes – these are currently the major issues facing Montgomery County Public Schools.

There’s a Central Office for Montgomery County where all the new programs originate. The ideas coming from here include getting rid of the differentiated classrooms or “tracking.”

At the Festivus table, Fairfax County Schools would be seated next to MoCo, because over in Fairfax the story is somewhat the same. The Superintendent, Michelle Reid, is relatively new. She’s held her position just over a year and has been the maker of such popular decisions like spending $455,000 on an Equity Consultant who worked for 9 months. The result of that consultant was that FCPS needs to ensure “equitable outcomes.”

Both districts are implementing some form of “Restorative Justice.”

Both districts have relatively new Superintendents who have already jettisoned some of their original staff.

Conclusion

Which is better, in the Fairfax vs Montgomery County School showdown?

Shockingly right now, they are more alike than they have ever been. Other than the different curriculum (Virginia Standards of Learning vs. Montgomery County’s piecemeal Common Core) they are both headed in the same direction with restorative justice, equal outcomes, honors for all.

That said, the only people who have really strong opinions about Fairfax vs Montgomery County Schools are the natives. Find the house and neighborhood that makes sense for your family with an eye on the schools too, and no matter what side of the bridge you land on, you will be fine!

Montgomery County Public Schools

Two school districts that often go head to head in the DC Suburbs are Montgomery County Public Schoolsin Maryland and Fairfax County in Virginia. There are decades of history where these districts were home to some of the top high schools in the country. Covid changed that for many schools and locally – we were not unaffected. Let’s see where these two highly regarded school districts currently fare in the education department. This is going to be a deeper dive into what Montgomery County Schools offer – both the good and not so good.

Montgomery County School System

There are a lot of educational choices in Montgomery County Public Schools. When I went to school we matriculated through the in-boundary elementary, middle and high school. Other than a few elective choices, there weren’t other schools you could choose from, nor was there a way to tailor your education to a specific career path. Sure, a few guys took auto-body shop class, but there were no pathways paved toward college.

This is not the case in Montgomery County Public Schools.

Montgomery County’s 211 schools offer both local “by-right” schools as well as regional and countywide programs. There are language immersion programs for French, Spanish and Chinese. There are Centers for Enriched Studies which is like Talented and Gifted for 4th and 5th grade. There are magnet middle schools which offer digital design, performing arts and aerospace technology. At the high school level, the choices blow wide open.

In 8th grade, students can apply to one of the many programs available at county high schools. Some of these programs are criteria-based and selective, and some are administered by a lottery. Some programs are open to the whole county, some are just the geographic region around the high school. Applications open in early October with a deadline in early November.

The first step is to go to the website where you can see the program offerings: https://www2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/curriculum/specialprograms/high/

We will start with likely the most well-known of the programs, the IB or International Baccalaureate Program. The IB program at Richard Montgomery HS is a countywide, criteria- based (magnet) program. There are IB programs at Kennedy, Springbrook and Watkins Mill High Schools which are regional, criteria-based (magnet) programs. IB programs are also offered at Bethesda-Chevy Chase, Einstein, Seneca Valley and Rockville High Schools.

Rockville High School offers IB / International Baccalaureate career related programs in engineering, biomedical, computer science, hospitality management and child development. This is open to students in about a dozen surrounding high schools.

Blair and Poolesville High Schools are Science, Math and Computer Science Magnet schools.

Clarksburg High School has an I.T. / Tech program where students can earn certifications and college credit. This is open to several surrounding schools near Clarksburg.

Wheaton High School also offers engineering and biomedical programs open to those in the Down County Consortium* as well as college and career programs in construction, healthcare, hospitality and I.T. open to a group of southern Montgomery County High Schools. The same programs are also available at Seneca Valley for the northern part of Montgomery County.

The Down County Consortium comprises 5 high schools (Blair, Einstein, Kennedy, Northwood and Wheaton) which offer different academic focuses. Students in these high school pyramids, meaning, the feeder schools that go to these high schools, participate in a lottery called the High School Choice Process. You’re always guaranteed a spot in your base / in-boundary school, but you have a preference to attend one of the other schools based on where an older sibling is attending, socioeconomic status, school capacity, etc.

Kennedy High School has the Leadership Training Institute open for those in the DCC. Einstein High School has a Visual Arts Program. Blair, as mentioned earlier, is a Science, Math and Computer Science Magnet School.

The DCC or Down County Consortium was created in the Silver Spring area of the county which is highly dense with fluid boundaries that, in the future, may be continually readjusted.

Similarly, there is a Northeast Consortium for Blake, Paint Branch and Springbrook High Schools. Springbrook as said earlier, has the IB Program as well as Engineering and I.T. Academies. Paint Branch has Science and Media Academies and Blake has Arts, Communication, Humanities and Public Service focuses.

Whitman High School is one of the most popular high schools in the county and they have a Leadership Academy for Social Justice. This is open to the whole county, but transportation options are currently limited. Montgomery County promises they are working on it.

Magruder High School has Aviation and Aerospace Engineering programs open to the entire county.

There are other high schools too which are highly rated and offer AP, dual enrollment and a variety of academic focus area programs as well. They aren’t always open to the whole county so if you want a school like Walter Johnson or Winston Churchill then you would need to live in the boundary for those schools.

North in the county, it’s not as population dense and the high schools are more spread out.

The graduation rate for Montgomery County Maryland’s Public Schools is almost 92%.

Montgomery County Public Schools – Academics

After the infamous 2018 Johns Hopkins audit, there have been a lot of unhappy parents. Summing it up, Hopkins found that English and Math curricula were unsatisfactory. Fewer than 1/3 of the students understood math for their grade level and fewer than 1/4th understood English Language Arts.

Teachers said it contained too much busywork, too much screen time, not enough time to practice skills and did nothing to help those in special education. The teachers tried to supplement Common Core with other material. Parents lost a lot of trust in Montgomery County Public Schools.

Montgomery County re-bid the curriculum and in 2019, 2.0 was replaced. The new math curricula have turned out better than the ELA.

It feels very a la carte style. It makes use of online apps / technology, plus workbooks. But then there was Covid, and the timing could not have been worse to train teachers on new systems and a new curriculum.

Direct from a teacher, “Kids are subjected to endless testing ($$$) and we are required to collect and document hundreds of data points – for what purpose? We are unable to use that information to modify the curriculum. Data should be used to drive further instruction, and as teachers, our hands are tied.”

This is not great news, but it’s also not unique to Montgomery County. The same is happening in many other districts in the country.

Montgomery County Public Schools: Administration

Current Superintendent Monifa McKnight started as an interim Superintendent in June 2021 and was appointed for a 4 year term in Feb, 2022. When she started, she had a lot to address. Her letter to the school community stated, “One of my top three priorities is rebuilding community trust in MCPS… I am committed to transparency and responsiveness as we work to address our challenges and celebrate our many strengths.”

We are only a few months into the 2023 school year and already there have been several personnel changes. The deputy superintendent was no longer employed by MCPS, and three administrative personnel at the main office were placed on leave.

One of her first orders of business was to survey the parent community. They put out this handy graphic of what the school system is doing right and what needs to change. The left side is what is going right. The middle is where change is needed. The column on the right is what parents believe is the one thing that needs to be addressed to make the biggest change.

School Safety, Communication, Transparency, Increase Teacher Autonomy, Improve Special Education Services, Hire More Teachers, Reduce Class Sizes – these are currently the major issues facing Montgomery County Public Schools.

Montgomery County Today – a Snapshot in Time

In the last couple months alone, the following issues have occurred or come to light.

• 12-year old just caught for calling in Bomb Threats to several Montgomery County Schools.
• a 17 year old student was arrested last week of October for bringing a loaded handgun to Walter Johnson High School.
• Sexual Harassment Lawsuit against MCPS – 18 complaints filed for sexual harassment against a middle school Principal over 12 years. When the investigation launched, the investigator revealed victim names to other witnesses.
• Ongoing behavioral / violence issues that MCPS wants to address with “restorative justice” instead of removing the violent child from the class. They are averse to special placements for these students, which cost more money, until a ton of data is “collected.” Meanwhile, people are getting hurt and teachers are quitting mid-year.

Montgomery County Public Schools – Conclusion

Montgomery County Public Schools has some of the best high schools in the region. According to Niche.com, Poolesville is ranked #2 in the area, Whitman is #3 and Churchill is #4. They round out the top 10 as well with Wootton at #6, Walter Johnson at #7, Richard Montgomery at #8 and Bethesda Chevy-Chase (BCC) at #9. The fact that there is almost no Fairfax County presence in the top 10 and I have long felt Niche.com is not the place to go for information.

On U.S. News’s rankings, Poolesville, Whitman, Wootton, Churchill, Walter Johnson, BCC, Richard Montgomery, Northwest, Blair and Blake are the top 10 for Montgomery County.

There are always going to be problems at schools, especially in light of a pandemic and shifting approaches to education and behavior issues but Montgomery County Public Schools stand the test of time. This is a highly educated area where parents push their kids to aim high and achieve. It’s also an area where a lot of parents can afford private schools but opt for public schools because of their stellar reputation.

School Administrators – DC Metro Schools are a Shitshow

Since Covid, a lot of school districts are suffering. Kids have fallen behind. Teachers are burned out. Let’s look at the year in review 2022 for DC Area Schools and see what’s going on.

Let’s Start this Party in DC

For the whole year, reports coming out of schools everywhere that teachers are quitting without notice and that the substitutes they are finding seem to be, uh, questionable. DC is no exception.

In the spring, the middle school in Glover Park / Georgetown had 28 teachers call in sick on the same day. This is when covid rates were rising and DCPS was too stupid to call the school year and let everyone be done. Kids were dropping like flies. They didn’t have enough subs to fill the open spots so they just piled the kids in the gym and let them hang out there.

Another Elementary School in Chevy Chase, a long time darling of the Elementary School Lineup in DC, can’t seem to keep their teachers. The turnover has been consistent over the past several years – even pre-covid, with up to double digits leaving per year.

In the fall, another Elementary School sent students on a sweet little trip to a farm for the Fall Pumpkin Festival, something most of the schools do. On the way home, their bus crashed. The bus driver was drunk. The adults on the bus asked him to pull over. Police came and he blew a point D-R-U-N-K. A new bus was called and that driver wasn’t properly licensed. Then a third driver was also called and he too didn’t have the proper license. DC “terminated” the relationship with the bus company.

This isn’t enough, you morons. This kind of stuff happens on DCPS watches all the time.

Contracted school bus driver charged with DWI after crash with DCPS students

Next, In November, The Department of General Services, or DGS, the agency responsible for maintenance and repairs to DC Public School buildings had an audit report released. The report revealed “multiple failures” in the way DGS manages work orders, according to a report from the city’s auditor.

Do the classroom doors lock in the event of an incident, aka “active shooter?” Well, two months after the shooting in Uvalde, the DC Council voted to require schools to report how many doors locked and the status of Heating/Air Conditioning Systems. Mayor Bowser was against this by the way, she thought that DGS was already publishing the HVAC Repair Requests. So what, Muriel? Now that we have the audit report, it shows that a lot of the info they provided was basically a lie – using stock images from the internet as proof that something in a school was fixed. Imagine if we all lied like that in our jobs.

Does your DC Public School have mice? Rats? Mold? You’re probably on your own. You as parents can band together and fix this yourselves and await the wrath of DGS, or you can keep sending your kid to an unsafe, unsanitary school. Your choice.

In case you’re still wondering how competent DGS is, also in November, the Department of General Services sent some of their people to my children’s elementary school to work on something. They ended up hitting the “lockdown” button, sending the entire school into closets, hopefully with doors that locked. For 15 minutes the kids thought there was an active shooter in the school. Good job DGS!

Multiple Failures in Department of General Services Management of Work Orders

Also in November, the fall was very busy by the way, the Dean of Students Jamie White of Bancroft Elementary School in Mount Pleasant? Arrested for shaking his junk at some people in a park.

Dean of students at DC school arrested for indecent exposure incidents in Greenbelt

Virginia

In 2021, a 15 year old male entered a bathroom and raped a female student in Loudoun County. School officials transferred him to another high school. Oops he does it again. When asked by the School Board, Superintendent Scott Ziegler lied and said no such assault had occurred. Teachers had reported the disturbing behavior of this student. You know those billboards on the highway that say, “When you see something, SAY something?” Well, they did. A teaching assistant at the first high school put this on a written record. No one bothered to follow up.

After Assault #1, Principal of the first high school calls Principal of the second high school to fill them in on the sexual assault charge. Principal #2 asked no questions and told no one at the school anything. After new problems at the second school, reported by students and teachers as inappropriate touching, the Principal went with a verbal warning.

Ultimately, for what transpired on his watch and for how he mishandled it, the Superintendent was terminated in December.

Superintendent Scott Ziegler fired after parents complain to Loudoun County School Board

Safe Schools Information Resource (SSIR)

Over in the City of Alexandria, they just finished a chaotic 4 year run of a Superintendent who wasn’t the most loved, shall we say. In addition to families feeling shut out of school decisions, there was also the incident with a student being killed (not on school grounds) and the Superintendent emailing the School Board to tell them to refrain from speaking with the media.

Superintendent tells School Board to not talk to media about fatal stabbing of student

Maryland

Let’s head to Maryland now. In Montgomery County, in the end of 2021 there were two stabbings at two different high schools and then a January shooting at a 3rd high school. MCPS didn’t follow the procedure, unveiled in 2020 to report within 24 hours to the Maryland Center for School Safety and then file a report with the Governor within 60 days. Did this happen? Nope. They didn’t know the law changed in 2020.

The school system also removed the security officers from the school and they were supposed to replace them with more Social Workers, but the attorney for the family of the boy who was shot says that didn’t happen.

These are our schools, people. It’s not just a DC Problem but dangerous and disastrous events seem to be more common than ever before. Guns and other weapons are easy to get. School administration isn’t good at following procedures. I don’t know how we fix it other than staying involved and supporting the teachers and your local schools as best as you can.

MCPS explains why it failed to properly report school shooting and stabbings

Underrated Neighborhoods in DC Metro

I was hoping to be able to do a video about the top 5 or the top 10 underrated places to live in DC but sadly, this area is very densely populated and finding real gems is super difficult. I decided to take a breather, and then it came down to this. If I, Melissa Terzis, DC Real Estate Mama, was going to buy an investment property in the DC Metro Area, where would I buy?

1. Twinbrook

There is so much to love here. Twinbrook is in east Rockville just near the Twinbrook metro and bisected by Veirs Mill. Historically this has been a middle class neighborhood with many “starter homes” built in the 1940’s to 1950’s. But before you think – ooh mid century modern, this wasn’t the cool open concept mid-century. It’s more of the 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 1500 square foot ranch or split level home. Still cute, but if they get torn down and rebuilt into a McMansion, no one is screaming, “That was a gorgeous charmer of a house you tore down!”

Regardless, the houses here are $100,000 less expensive for the same house in other parts of Rockville.

Twinbrook is a few blocks from the red line metro stop. It’s across Rockville Pike from Pike and Rose as well as a ton of other shops and restaurants on Rockville Pike. You can hop into Rock Creek and go for a run on the trails within a couple minutes.

Twinbrook spans across both sides of Veirs Mill, and that makes the part on the east side of not as metro accessible. Before you think “Great, half this neighborhood she’s telling us about isn’t as desirable,” I’ve got a solution. Note that the northern part of the triangle between Rockville Pike, Veirs Mill and Twinbrook Parkway is another neighborhood called Rockcrest. That’s also part of this hidden gem we’re discussing.

Most of Twinbrook west of Veirs Mill is currently zoned for Twinbrook Elementary, Julius West Middle and Richard Montgomery High School, which is an IB school.

The future is even brighter for Twinbrook. By 2024, the neighborhood will be a few blocks from a brand new Wegmans, under construction now.

2. Barcroft

Clarification: Not Lake Barcroft which is just to the west and its own CDP (Census Designated Place,) this is the Barcroft area of South Arlington. Unlike Twinbrook, there are a lot of different house types here. You will find everything from condos, attached / townhomes in the $500,000’s and ranch style homes that need renovation priced in the $600,000’s. Then from the 700,000’s to the teardown / new construction over $1.5M, you have your choice, and there is a lot happening here.

Something to really take note of with Barcroft is the quick 10-15 minute commute time over to Amazon’s National Landing, and to Reagan National Airport. Barcroft’s northern border is Route 50, which is known for not only that it separates North Arlington from South Arlington, but there are tons of stores along 50.

On the southern border of Barcroft, you have Columbia Pike which is one of the revitalization corridors in Arlington. There are lots of great restaurants and conveniences along Columbia Pike, and on the other side of Columbia Pike, there’s the Barcroft recreation center which is a pretty big rec center for Arlington Parks & Recreation. Lots of awesome classes and sports leagues are hosted here.

For schools, you’ll be zoned to Barcroft Elementary, Kenmore Middle School and Wakefield High.

Other awesome things about Barcroft – the W & OD Trail and Four Mile Run trail goes right alongside your neighborhood. Just on the other side of the stream (called Four Mile Run) is the Glencarlyn Dog Park and Playground. And Harris Teeter is walking distance – just a few blocks away, located on the south side of Barcroft.

3. Rock Creek Palisades

Back up to Maryland for this one – Rock Creek Palisades and Rock Creek Woods are right next to each other, have similar names, but are somewhat different. Rock Creek Woods is a cluster of 76 homes designed by Mid-Century Modern Architect, Charles Goodman. Rock Creek Woods is just north of Rock Creek Palisades, and bounded on the east by Connecticut Avenue and the west by Rock Creek Park and is north of Connecticut Avenue where it splits with University Blvd.

Rock Creek Woods is, in a nutshell, difficult to get into. The homes sell at a premium over list price, and are highly sought after, which is why it’s worth mentioning. These houses also have a Silver Spring mailing address.

But the real gem in my opinion is the little sister which is Rock Creek Palisades.

Rock Creek Palisades is less glamorous than its big brother to the north, but the price differential is astonishing. Where the Mid-Century Modern houses in Rock Creek Woods go close to the $1M mark, you can easily get into Rock Creek Palisades for $500,000 – $700,000. In many cases, the homes also retain a mid-century style, though they are not part of the Goodman community just to the north.

Relatively affordable, adorable, walkable, this is a great location! You can easily access Rock Creek Park and the trails within a couple blocks, and downtown Kensington is a few blocks to the south.

Currently, this neighborhood is zoned for Rock View Elementary, Newport Mill Middle and Einstein High School. Einstein is part of the Down County Consortium though, and students have the ability to apply in to one of a cluster of schools. There’s also a new high school coming that will service parts of Kensington and west, and this area will possibly be zoned for the new high school.

Conclusion:

I was going for a combination of location, affordability and access to recreation and restaurants. I also pay attention to neighborhoods where the prices are out of line and much lower than surrounding neighborhoods because as we know, a rising tide raises all ships. Eventually, prices will rise as homes are improved, renovated and the neighborhood improves as well. If you have any questions about these gems or have a different list of what makes a neighborhood a gem for you, let me know!

Montgomery County MD Schools

Montgomery County MD Schools historically were considered among the best in the country. The schools fell out of favor when they adopted Common Core in 2010. They switched to a new curriculum right before Covid. How are they doing and how do families feel about sending their kids to Montgomery County Schools these days? Let’s find out!

Montgomery County MD Schools – Background Information

Montgomery County’s 209 schools offer both local schools as well as regional or countywide programs. There are language immersion programs for French, Spanish and Chinese. There are Centers for Enriched Studies which is like Talented and Gifted for 4th and 5th grade. There are magnet middle schools which offer digital design, performing arts and aerospace technology. At the high school level there are more career focused programs, science, arts, and the International Baccalaureate or IB programs. There are also a couple high school Consortia’s which allow students to apply for the school that’s right for them within a specific geographic area.

The DCC or Down County Consortium was created in the Silver Spring area of the county which is highly dense with fluid boundaries that, in the future, may be continually readjusted had each area been assigned one school. North in the county, it’s not as population dense and the high schools are more spread out. They do allow out-of-area students to apply to some programs – Gaithersburg, Watkins Mill IB or Magruder which has an aviation program.

The graduation rate for the Montgomery County Maryland’s Public Schools is almost 92%.

Montgomery County MD Schools – Academics

In 2010, the State of Maryland adopted the Common Core for education, also referred to as “2.0.” In 2018, Johns Hopkins audited the curriculum for Montgomery County Schools and it wasn’t good. Summing it up, they found that English and Math curriculums were not satisfactory. Teachers expressed concerns, citing 2.0 as difficult to teach with the technology and felt that they needed to supplement with other lessons.

Fewer than 1/3 of the students understood their math and fewer than 1/4th understood English Language Arts. Teachers said it contained too much busywork, not enough time to practice skills and did nothing to help those in special education. The teachers tried to supplement Common Core with other material. Parents lost a lot of trust in Montgomery County Public Schools.

This was not a good look.

Montgomery County re-bid the curriculum and in 2019, 2.0 was replaced in Elementary by Benchmark (ELA) and Eureka (Math), and in Middle School by StudySync (ELA) and LearnZillion Illustrative Math. The new math curricula have turned out better than the ELA.

It feels very a la carte style. It makes use of online apps / technology, plus workbooks. But then there was Covid, and the timing could not have been worse to train teachers on new systems and a new curriculum.

This lack of textbooks, and using tech, screens, apps, handouts – it’s causing some angst. The school system feels very much in flux to some parents. Even something as basic as literature – students would read 8-10 books a year. Now, some classes are only reading 2-3. There’s been a big difference in the breadth of literature and content students are exposed to with the decline in expectations – even for AP classes.

“Adding in mandatory curriculums, Benchmark ELA and Eureka math (and the awful Curriculum 2.0), and taking away the flexibility for teachers to modify the curriculum to best engage students OR allow for remediation of foundational skills is a recipe for disaster. I am disappointed in MCPS as both a teacher and a parent. Kids are subjected to endless testing ($$$) and we are required to collect and document hundreds of data points – for what purpose? We are unable to use that information to modify the curriculum. Data should be used to drive further instruction, and as teachers, our hands are tied.”

What’s the problem? Sounds like a lot of the usual – Administration that’s out of touch, changing a curriculum twice inside of 10 years and an Administration not supportive of the teachers.

So what do they do well in Montgomery County Schools? The immersion programs already mentioned, and the magnet and IB programs. There is high demand for these programs. The addition of career training and the ability to graduate high school with an Associates Degree from Montgomery County College is a great opportunity – should you want to cut those 4 years of college short.

Across the board, the elementary schools are held in high regard, but truth be told – that’s the case in most places. Elementary is easier to manage across the board than middle schools which fare the worst in any district or high schools which are scrutinized for their college readiness and rigorousness of academics.

Montgomery County MD Schools – Extracurriculars

There’s all the athletic and non-athletic after school options in middle and high school that you would expect. If your kiddo has special interests, it may affect your decision to send them to one school over another, definitely check the school profile and extra curriculars to make sure you know the options.

Montgomery County MD Schools – School Administration

Montgomery County Schools are run in the classic manner. There’s a school board and a Superintendent.

There were close to 800 open jobs at the beginning of Summer 2022. As we head into the last few weeks of summer, they are down to 250 open jobs. Regardless, is it just the Great Resignation or have teachers had enough of Montgomery County shenanigans?

What shenanigans say you? Aside from the curriculum disaster mentioned already, it’s the usual. Teachers cite administration that doesn’t back them up and county policies continuously change.  Lack of consistent, strong leadership is always a problem for school districts. Other local districts have the same issues – Covid and teacher burnout is rampant, but that is not exclusive to Montgomery County, Maryland.

Montgomery County MD Schools – No Child Left Behind

In an effort to ensure that all students have the same access to education, Montgomery County has made this a main goal for the county. From their website: “While many of our students achieve at the highest levels, not all have had the opportunities, support and resources needed to meet their full potential. MCPS is committed to addressing disparities in student outcomes by closing gaps in opportunity and achievement for all students, in all classrooms, in all of our schools.”

This is common in DC as well as well as plenty of other school districts – so what I’m about to say shouldn’t be a surprise. Parents will agree with equality in education. But there are parents, sometimes those very same parents, who will malign a school district because they feel their child isn’t being challenged to his or her ability. Without enough teachers, it’s hard to satisfy both concepts of challenging all students appropriately with coursework but ensuring that those struggling or with special needs also get the education they deserve.

Some parents end up supplementing their child’s education with other resources, pulling them to go to private school or homeschooling.

Regardless, sometimes leaving no child behind also means some won’t be as far ahead as they, or their parents, would like.

Special Education positions are a disproportionate number of jobs that are vacant. This has resulted in students not receiving the Special Education services they need.

Conclusion

The Montgomery County MD Public School System was a shining star for many years in Maryland. Many schools did, and some still do make the “best of” lists. MCPS is still filling in gaps in the curriculum and still paying for a lack of engagement with students during online learning. If you don’t know this, many kids did not sail through the Covid years easily. Add a sub par curriculum that changed just before Covid and Montgomery County is trying to recover from this hangover.

Here’s one last thing to consider. Many people choose Maryland or Virginia because of the state colleges. Virginia’s options typically are much more desired than Maryland’s.  On the Maryland side of the Potomac, you have University of Maryland, University Maryland Baltimore County which is an honors school, as well as Towson University.

Montgomery County MD Schools still have a way to go. I will keep you up to date on changes and new information as it becomes available. If you want to discuss your real estate needs in Montgomery County, I have helped tons of clients purchase and sell in the county and will be happy to help!

DC Public Schools

Public school in DC has come a long way. Many will argue that this is a tale of two cities, though, with “west of the park” and “east of the park” being a dividing line. But that has changed as well as a lot of other things about public school in DC, so let’s dive in because there’s a lot of good stuff to cover.

One disclaimer. You know those parents who are all up in the teacher’s faces and complaining about curriculums and such? That’s not me. I’m a hands-off parent. I’m busy selling houses for my clients and running a corgi rescue and I don’t have time to question every decision made by the school. Only when something affects my children or our family does the school hear from me. If you’re more hands on then just know I’m giving you an overview here of my impressions.

DC Public Schools – About the Lottery

Many people have heard about this confusing DC Lottery system for public and charter education in DC. You are guaranteed a seat for your in-boundary school for grades K – 12. Where the lottery comes into play is if you want one of the following:

1. A Pre-K seat
2. A different school than your in-boundary for any grade level
3. A charter school

Free Pre-K In boundary is definitely a perk, but I would never recommend buying your home based on hopes of getting a Pre-K spot in that school. It’s not easy to get a Pre-K spot, but gold if you do get one.

DC also has charter schools. Why would someone want a charter school if they have a decent in boundary school? Several reasons. Some charters have different teaching styles or Spanish or Chinese  language immersion, and that can be very appealing to families in a city that’s very international like DC.

I have a separate video on the DC Lottery Process which I’ll link, so you can dive into that as well if that applies to you.

DC Public Schools – Academics

As far as academics go, how involved you are as a parent will determine what you think of DC. If you’re a hands-on parent who values public education, this will work for you. You will have to help your kids through. If you’re of the variety who has too much to do then explaining to your 2nd grader how to subtract 4 from 62 by breaking 62 into groupings of 50 and 12, then subtracting 4 from 12, which is 8, and adding it to the 50, then you, like me will cry.

The elementary schools overall fare much better on reputation than middle and high schools. You will still find many families who will not stay through middle and high school. In our own school, several families are pulling their kids out to go to private schools or they plan to move out of DC.

DC Public Schools – Extracurriculars

My impression of DCPS extracurriculars is that they suffer tremendously. These are city schools. Many are overcrowded and struggle to find space for regular in-school specials as they are called – like art and music. There are some extracurriculars but it’s all school-dependent. Some are run through the aftercare programs, some people find leagues or other things outside of school. Suffice it to say, unless you have a child in a popular sport that translates to college scholarships, like football, you will probably find extracurriculars lacking.

DC Public Schools – Administration

The school system is overseen by a Chancellor. There have been many years of scandal through the decades and it feels like everything is tracking well right now under Chancellor Ferebee (although I did send him a nasty-gram when he announced in April or May, that they were adding a Monday to the end of the school year.) No, Chancellor Ferebee. Your photo is very cute, you seem very nice and communicative, your career history is impressive, but you are not taking a day away from Mama’s Summer with her Girls.

In 2007, the Mayor’s office assumed responsibility for administering the schools under OSSE, the Office of the State Superintendent of Education. The DC Board of Education has little impact in DC, but they do exist!

There are currently 8 public high schools in DC which your child would have a right to attend based on boundary. There are plans to build a 9th High School in the Palisades area, which is being referred to as MacArthur High School. There are 6 specialty high schools which are application based but also public. There are 14 middle schools and 65 elementary schools. There are also 15 education campuses which would span grades throughout several school types – elementary, middle, high school.

All of this aside, your school’s Principal has to be strong, and they have to run the school like its their own. That means, they need to push back when things aren’t right. Someone high ranking at an elementary school told me, “We do what’s right for us no matter what DCPS says” and I love this.

DC Public Schools – No Child Left Behind

DC Schools historically have suffered. Over the 17 years I’ve lived in DC, some schools have been closed down completely. But others changed course and became highly ranked with superior testing scores. But here’s what you need to know – and this is a very hard truth to fully comprehend. the socio-economic disparity in the city is huge. There are two very distinct extremes with the families of DC school kids plus everyone along the continuum. DCPS has to make decisions that may not make sense unless you realize we’re all in this together and you’re not in a bubble. What does this mean?

We have a 9-week summer. And it’s seemingly getting shorter all the time. Why is this? Because there are kids who won’t eat unless they are in school. This means there are many vacations during the year. Because of that 9-week summer and because of the families on the survey who say that the “February” or “April” break is crucial for their family to get away. And before you think I’m making this up, DCPS sent out a survey a couple years back asking for opinions on the school calendar. And the results were like on a google drive somewhere that was public and you could read what everyone wrote. So just know that there will be families skiing in Vail in February and families struggling to get food on the table that same week. And DCPS has to balance all of that.

I find the short summer to be a royal onion in my ointment. And I find all the days off during the year to be so disruptive. You have to be okay with this because this affects everyone’s lives in the family, not just the kids.

During Covid when everyone was home schooling, there were neighborhoods where the kids were running around playing all day because their parents were critical employees who needed to report for work. Or their parents were unable to manage their schooling needs. This was evident when the classes were on zoom and it was really sad to see.

Some schools have had teachers change up to 4 times during the year for kindergarten. And if you think “how bad could kindergarteners be to make 4 teachers leave,” it can start before kindergarten. My daughter was in a community center Pre-K which put all ages into one class. There was a 5-year-old boy who almost broke her arm, and a 4 year old girl who would yell obscenities and scream that she was going to get her gun and call her lawyer. They called child services on that family, and we withdrew the next day and went to a private pre-school.

When it comes to grading and testing, teachers are bonused. A Principal of a high school I won’t name had specifically instructed all teachers to make sure no one got bad grades prior to graduation. That Principal went on to say that if anyone lost a college acceptance or a scholarship because of their grades in 12th grade, that teacher would be held responsible.

Something else to understand about DC – no child left behind applies to foreign students too. All in-boundary students are guaranteed a seat in the local school. My kid’s elementary school is in the same boundary as the Russian Embassy. So about 25% of the school is comprised of Russian students. Foreign Diplomats have just as much right to the Pre-K spots as any DC kid. When Russia invaded Ukraine, the Embassy instructed families to withdraw their children. Just like that, 1/3 of the school population disappeared.

Now, as we head into a new school year, if those children don’t come back, then those seats get filled with other students from other neighborhoods. The administration strongly pushes schools to take kids from the waitlists, and rumor-proven-fact says that 1 minority child is worth 2 white children to DCPS, and teachers are bonused for out of boundary (read: minority) children scoring well. If that isn’t maddening, sad and unfair, like a Ginzu knive, but wait, there’s more.

Let’s say the Russian families come back, we’ll have a school that’s 25% over capacity. This is a problem. Like many schools, DC struggles with class sizes and keeping things manageable for teachers. My daughter had 30 kids in her 2nd grade class. Her teacher was in his early 20’s and admittedly could not handle the class. If you could have seen the classroom, you would have yelled this is a damn fire hazard. And it was. Because space was at a premium, the kids had to keep their coats and backpacks out in the hall.

And then kid’s lunches and coats were stolen. These are the things that I find maddening, that cannot be controlled.

But, we’re still here. And the truth is, that through elementary school, I’ve been so blown away by my kid’s teachers that I’m sad to see every year come to an end. Next year I will have a middle schooler and I’m biting my nails hard for this. The middle school has turned around in the past 5-7 years under the guidance of a beloved Principal who has now left to work at a school closer to his family. There’s a new high school coming as well which will alleviate the overcrowding at the former Wilson High, now known as Jackson-Reed High School.

College

DC has no state schools. However, in lieu of that, they currently have the TAG Program. TAG stands for Tuition Assistance Grant. This program is fantastic, but it’s always in jeopardy so just double check before you count on this. TAG offers DC kids $10,000 per year toward any out of state tuition at a state college or university. Sometimes the program has run out of funding. And it’s often under fire, but as of right now, it still exists.

Conclusion

As I said, we are still here. Some of my kid’s friends have begun the flight to private schools or are making plans to go to the suburbs for middle school. And we talked about this but, if I found it bad enough here, I would leave. I like to make fun, but I wouldn’t trade the privilege of raising my kids in a city for a chance at “better” schools.

American University Park

AU Park, or American University Park is in “upper nw.” AU Park is mostly residential but there is one commercial strip off Massachusetts Avenue, plus easy access to Tenleytown.

It’s on the west side of Wisconsin, extends up to Western Ave. The neighborhood was named for American University, and AU sits right at the boundaries of AU Park.

Red line metro is in Tenleytown, but it’s called the Tenleytown/AU Park Metro.

History

AU Park was developed in the 1920’s by WC and AN Miller, now a residential developer and real estate brokerage.

Fun fact, then-president Edward Miller, signed the covenants into law for AU Park that banned rent or sale to “NEGRO PEOPLE OR ANY PERSON OR PERSON OF THE SEMITIC RACE, BLOOD, … TO INCLUDE ARMENIANS, JEWS, HEBREWS, PERSIANS, OR SYRIANS.”

The neighborhood has around 3000 homes and almost all are single family detached and include a variety of house types.

If you’re looking for a “neighborhood” with fenced yards and activity in the street with kids playing and people walking and running, it’s here.

Did you know?

Another fun fact. When Richard Nixon was Senator in the 1950’s he owned 4801 Tilden Street.

Real Estate

There are no condos here in AU Park aside from Cityline Condos over the Tenleytown Metro. Everything here is a single family home.

Single family houses can start in $800,000’s but they are going to need work. Prices generally go well into $1M’s to $3M.

Food

You have easy access to the strip on Wisconsin that’s on the border of Tenleytown, where you will find Guapos, Surfside, Nando’s Peri-Peri, Masala Art – Indian Food, Panera and Chik Fil a.

Then off Massachusetts Avenue, there is a retail strip as well. You will find Wagshal’s Deli, Millies, De Carlos, Pizzeria Paradiso & Le Pain Quotidien. The closest grocery store is Whole Foods in Tenleytown.

Fun

This part of the city is more residential. AU Park abuts Tenleytown, some of the shopping includes the Tenleytown options – Whole Foods, Target, Container Store. Or go to Crate & Barrel or Wagshals market on Mass Ave.

The big DPR (DC Department of Parks and Recreation) Park is Turtle Park 45th and Van Ness. Here you will find Friendship Recreation Center which is a new state of the art 4,500 square foot recreation facility. There’s a community room to hold up to 125 people, lobby/gallery to display local art, dedicated kids/craft room for the local coop, exterior updated tot lot and upper playground, a new basketball court, and a new splash pad.

Kids

Sullivan’s Toys is in Tenleytown, and the Tenleytown Library hosts story-time and crafts at different times during week.

Other kid-centric activities will be associated with the schools, you have Janney Elementary, Mann Elementary, Deal Middle and Wilson High School that service the neighborhood.

Pediatricians aren’t far away either – Georgetown Pediatrics in 4200 Wisconsin.

Dogs

Unfortunately there are no DC Dog parks in AU Park, but there are a couple nearby in Cathedral Heights and Friendship Heights. The streets here are great for dog walks and many yards are fenced or can be.

I hope this gave you a great overview. Let me know if you have questions!