Schools in Olney: Sherwood, Bellmont and Rosa Parks (Silver Spring, Germantown: home, neighborhood)

[PennySzymanski]

Hello, My husband and I are considering moving to Olney. We like the overall look and feel of Olney. But we were wondering about the schools: the elementary, middle and high schools. Does anyone have any opinions (good or bad) regarding the schools here. thanks!

[Lindiac]

We have the same question... hope someone replies soon. When are you moving?

[WilliamsH]

Originally Posted by Lindiac

We have the same question... hope someone replies soon. When are you moving?

The Olney schools are all fine. Depends on where you are coming from but, in general, the public schools in Montgomery County are excellent, among the best in the nation. If you want the cream of the crop education-wise send your kids to either Richard Montgomery HS in Rockville or Montgomery Blair HS in Silver Spring. If you want to impress people with how affluent a neighborhood you live in, find a home where your kids will attend Whitman HS in Bethesda or Churchill HS on the edge of Potomac.

The Olney area is more to the right politically than most of the county if that matters to you.

[lek7583]

Olney has good public schools. Brooke Grove Elementary used to be Blue Ribbon a few years back. Sherwood High was ranked in the 500 greatest high schools in US News and World Report. So the schools in the area have been recognized for excellence. My advice would be to visit MCPS website and get the stats and how they compare to other parts of the county. If you aren't happy with public there are tons of good private schools in Olney like St. Johns Episcopal, St. Peters Catholic, Good Counsel High, and Sandy Spring Friends. Also I think the Washington Christian Academy have a campus in Olney too.

[tonyc]

Originally Posted by lek7583

Olney has good public schools. Brooke Grove Elementary used to be Blue Ribbon a few years back. Sherwood High was ranked in the 500 greatest high schools in US News and World Report. So the schools in the area have been recognized for excellence. My advice would be to visit MCPS website and get the stats and how they compare to other parts of the county. If you aren't happy with public there are tons of good private schools in Olney like St. Johns Episcopal, St. Peters Catholic, Good Counsel High, and Sandy Spring Friends. Also I think the Washington Christian Academy have a campus in Olney too.

Yes they do have a campus. One of my sons classmates will be attending WCA in the fall. Heard good reviews, but somewhat pricey at $15k for elementary. My other friends kids few years back graduated from Good Counsel and were pleased witht the school.

[tercel95]

I went to Rosa Parks and Sherwood... Rosa parks is an excellent middle school... The facilities were nice and the staff were great... Sherwood is not a terrible school but it is easy for a student to get lost there... There have been issues with drugs and violence in the past but there are also a lot of academic opportunities there...

[lek7583]

$15k for elementary--whoa thats crazy. I heard Barrie School off of Layhill is around 20k which is lunacy and more for High School. I went to Brooke Grove, Farquhar and Sherwood and I did alright. I guess people decide on school based on what is right for them but cost certainly is a factor if you don't make a whole lot.

[Sugarbear24]

We have lived in Olney for 7 years. We are moving due to the military, but we have loved our time here. We lived in Germantown for 1 year and didn't enjoy that area as much. Both of my daughter go to Belmont, although my oldest daughter also went to Greenwood for 1 year. It is hard to find an area that has a great elementary, middle and high school all within the same boundaries. You can DM me if you have any questions about the area.

[drydem]

Originally Posted by WilliamsH

The Olney schools are all fine. Depends on where you are coming from but, in general, the public schools in Montgomery County are excellent, among the best in the nation. If you want the cream of the crop education-wise send your kids to either Richard Montgomery HS in Rockville or Montgomery Blair HS in Silver Spring. If you want to impress people with how affluent a neighborhood you live in, find a home where your kids will attend Whitman HS in Bethesda or Churchill HS on the edge of Potomac.

The Olney area is more to the right politically than most of the county if that matters to you.

Richard Montgomery and Blair HS - generates Science Fair Finalist and the like - academic competition would be very high. Bethesda Chevy Chase HS are mainly from affluent society but its very crowded. Olney also has private HS options as well - Christian Acadamy(Protestant), Friends (Quaker) and Holy Cross(Catholic). Sherwood is one of the smaller HS so there are less options than a larger HS like Richard Montgomery. This is all predicated on how old your children are. What would be best for them would depend on their talents, needs, and inclinations. You and your children might want to visit the schools and see what fits your child's needs best.

[sbrnbrts]

I went to Farquhar Middle school and Sherwood High school. Farquhar was alright, but it was in the middle of nowhere. I think I might be exaggerating, since its behind the private school, Good Counsel. Like someone said, there has been issues about violence during football games. I don't really hear about drug problems, maybe I just didn't party that much. There are security always around, but i guess theyre too friendly to scare anyone off. As for education, AP courses are very much available. But I suppose some courses and languages aren't available compared to Bethesda or Richard Montgomery. You know, like Chinese or Latin, People are very friendly though. It's sort of a small school, so everyone knows each other.