Good School Districts???

nynews

Hey Ladies. so when we first moved back to Maryland the plan, or so I thought, was to rent for a while but DH has got house hunting fever. He really wants to buy. We're still trying to figure out where we want to buy but now that we have a little girl want to take into consideration the good school districts.

But to be honest, I don't really even know what that means! So I'm wondering if you ladies have any resources you guys use to help rate local schools. I didn't grow up in the area so not very familiar with the schools. I did a very pathetic google search and came up with a few lists but would love ya'll feedback too.

We've been thinking of Ellicott City, Columbia. We want to stay relatively close to Hanover since that's where my parents live. And for some reason not feeling Hanover too much as a place to settle.

If there's a certain neighborhood you guys think we should check out please share. 

Thanks!  

SarahKate31

Ellicott City would put you in Howard County which is an excellent school system! Montgomery County also has a great school system.

Here's a ranking:

https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/maryland/districts

nynews

thanks SarahKate and love your siggy by the way.

madladybride

Howard County and Montgomery County both have good school districts. I live in Baltimore County and the district as a whole varies widely. Some schools are good (Catonsville High School, Catonsville Middle School) and others (Woodlawn High School, Johnnycake Elementary) are not.

You can also look at the Maryland School Report card at https://www.mdreportcard.org/ Which tells you how individual schools do in terms of assessments, demographics, teacher preparedness, etc.

mrs. remy

I really don't think you can go wrong with columbia/EC. I would definitely buy there if it was an option for us. I am in Anne Arundel County now, which is also nice, but its kind of like Madlady said....some good schools, some not so good.

mars37810

I believe on the hoard county school systems website you can find descriptions of the schools, the demographics, test scores, etc. There is also a section where you can put in the address and it will give you the schools that you would attend. Howard county is a good school district overall but the quality of the schools do vary. The district we fall into puts us at one of the better elementary schools but the middle school and high school aren't so great.