Greenbelt/Laurel & the school system (Oakland: home, transfer, neighborhood)
Washington, DC suburbs in MarylandCalvert County, Charles County, Montgomery County, and Prince George's County
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In general, northern PG is an interesting area in general. Two areas that appeared interestiing to me, for different reasons, within PG County, were the towns of Greenbelt and Laurel.
IF PG schools are places that most people prefer to avoid sending their kids...than what are some options for either Greenbelt or Laurel?
Are there decently-priced private schools? Are there public schools that are a bit more acceptable that serve either Greenbelt or Laurel?
What options/choices are out there for people who are considering northern PG and who have a kid or kids?
Are there decently-priced private schools? Are there public schools that are a bit more acceptable that serve either Greenbelt or Laurel?
The Catholic schools are about the only reasonably priced private option. For example, St. Mary of the Mills in Laurel is K-8, and charges $5800/ year for Catholics and $7900/ year for non-Catholics. St. Vincent Pallotti is the nearby high school, which charges about $13,000 per year.
The Eleanor Roosevelt HS in Greenbelt is supposed to be the best HS in Prince George. There are also a few magnet schools at the elementary level in PG.
Then, you could always locate in the Howard or Anne Arundel parts of Laurel.
In general, northern PG is an interesting area in general. Two areas that appeared interestiing to me, for different reasons, within PG County, were the towns of Greenbelt and Laurel.
IF PG schools are places that most people prefer to avoid sending their kids...than what are some options for either Greenbelt or Laurel?
Are there decently-priced private schools? Are there public schools that are a bit more acceptable that serve either Greenbelt or Laurel?
What options/choices are out there for people who are considering northern PG and who have a kid or kids?
I grew up in the PG County part of Laurel in the 1980s-1990s. I was in the PG County Public School System For the I'll tell you my experience, but keep in mind things have changed quite a bit since I grew up. For elementary school (K-3rd) I started off at Oaklands Elementary. I had fantastic teachers who would offer additional help when needed and would contact my parents directly if I had any problems. From 4th to 6th grade, I transferred back to my neighborhood school, Montpelier Elementary (better afterschool options than Oaklands and a better Talented and Gifted Program).
For middle school, I went to Dwight D. Eisenhower. It was a pretty good experience for me. At that point the school served 7th and 8th graders. There was only a small group of six graders that came from Laurel Elementary School (Laurel only had K-5). The only hiccup that I ran into was that they didn't have a lot of options for advanced students at the school. So in 8th grade, me and 7 other students had to be bused to Laurel High School to take Geometry classes and then bused back to Eisenhower. They did the same for students taking advanced foreign language courses.
For high school, my first choice was to get into the Science and Technology program at Eleanoor Roosevelt High School in Greenbelt. This was, at that point, considered to be the best and most challenging high school program in PG county. I took the test and got a message saying that I was #19 on the waiting list. Everybody said that the school normally took in at least 50 people from the list. That year they only took in 13. So I ended up as #6 on the waiting list as the summer ended. So I ended up going to Laurel High School.
My experience at Laurel High School was positive. I was in the University High School program and took a number of AP Classes my junior and senior year. Laurel also offered the IB program (International Baccalaureate) for advanced students as well. While I was at Laurel High School, there were some issues (the occassional fight, drugs, a gun brought to school, a couple of bomb threats), but I never felt uncomfortable. The main thing I noticed about Laurel High was its inability to retain administration and faculty. We had 3 principles and various vice-principals in the 4 years that I was there. It seems that every semester or so, we would lose another couple teachers or administrators to Howard County, Montgomery County and Anne Arundel County.
I would have to say that my experience with PG County Schools in Laurel was positive overall, I went on to get my Bachelor's and Masters Degree, as did a large number of friends that I graduated with. But keep in mind my experience was from 1985 until 1998, I'm quite sure things have changed substansially since then...
My daughter goes to Roosevelt in Greenbelt. We chose Greenbelt for that reason. She is not in the Science & Tech program but is in advanced honors courses. She really likes it (well she's a teen..so understand that not everything is always good lol!). My neighbors have elementary kids who go to the Greenbelt Elementary School and they seem to like it. The middle school I hear grumbling about but I can say I think they have a new administrator so that could change.
We love Greenbelt (we are in the GHI area) and Roosevelt. The classes are challenging. My daughter does say that the kids are not as respectful of authority here as they were back home for us (San Diego) but some of that is high school and teens in general. She just says that a couple of her teachers have a hard time controlling some of the kids who talk all the time, play IPOD's, and generally are a bit disruptive. It's not violence or criminal stuff....just more nuisance. To me it's probably partly classroom management. One of her teachers is young and graduated from Roosevelt himself not very long ago and is very funny, very in touch with the kids, and VERY good at controlling them and using humor to change behavior and diffuse. He's not a big guy either so his influence on some of the much taller bigger kids is all by personality and authority (not size).
My daughter does say that the kids are not as respectful of authority here as they were back home for us (San Diego) but some of that is high school and teens in general. She just says that a couple of her teachers have a hard time controlling some of the kids who talk all the time, play IPOD's, and generally are a bit disruptive. It's not violence or criminal stuff....just more nuisance. To me it's probably partly classroom management. One of her teachers is young and graduated from Roosevelt himself not very long ago and is very funny, very in touch with the kids, and VERY good at controlling them and using humor to change behavior and diffuse. He's not a big guy either so his influence on some of the much taller bigger kids is all by personality and authority (not size).
And that's a major part of the problem in schools. You have kids in class who just don't want to learn and they try to disrupt the class and get the teacher off topic. Saw it in my high school in DC back in the 90s. By the time the teacher can get the class back on topic, they had 10 minutes until the bell.
I still say that parents should be held accountable for kids under 18. If your child constantly disrupts the class, the kid gets removed and you get fined. Employ the three strikes rule. The kid disrupts the class again, they get sent home. The parents then have to appeal to a board and pay another fine to get their kid back in school. There would be a period where the kid would have to see a counselor or therapist to help get to the bottom of their behavior. The parental fines would help offset those costs. It solves two things. The first, kids who like to disrupt class now have to answer to a parent who is getting hit financially. And the disruption is removed. Two, it creates revenue for the school system.
For those who are 18 and considered adults. They just get put out of the school until they are ready to learn. They are adults and need to grow up. They want to learn, then act like it. No child left behind was just a way to placate these kids who don't want to learn. Graduating kids who are on a 6th grade reading level. Why have them in school at all? People get thrown out of movies, sports games, restaurants, libraries, etc, for being disruptive. I'm not sure why the teacher and other students have to put up with it.
That's why I say private schools will become more and more popular for those that can afford it.
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