Folks,
I will be moving to Washington Co in July from the Easternshore. I am very interested in your opinions as to which elementry/middle and high schools are considered to be the best academically and why. I have a soon to be 1st grader and pre-k'er. Thanks for any input.

Other than avoiding anything having to do with the City of Hagerstown, I don't think you can really go wrong anywhere.

One way to judge academic performance is to look at the recent Maryland School Assessment results. I'm not sure exactly where, but they should be posted somewhere on the internet. If not, the Washington County Public Schools would probably be willing to send you a copy. Washington County as a whole did very well (and the schools outside of Hagerstown did exceptionally well).

I'm partial to Boonsboro. Since moving to the area, my daughters performance - academic, behavioral, and social - has undergone a very very dramatic improvement! I couldn't be happier with WCPS, and particularly the Boonsboro area schools.

Thanks, BMIC. Your answer was informative and partially led into another question I will posing in another forum, i.e., what areas of Washington Co have the best quality of life, especially for a family with young children. Also, considering that housing is so much more expensive in your area than in Wicomico Co, where is the most reasonable market that is family friendly?!

Chartim,

The best areas of Washington county are Maugansville (just north west of Hagerstown), Boonesboro-Antietam area (south east of Hagerstown), Smithsburg (east of Hagerstown), and pretty much any place West of I-81 in Washington Co is safe, clean, and beautiful!! Just as long as you stay outside the Hagerstown city limits you should be fine.

You could always move across the river to Berkeley Co. West Virginia. I personally think Berkeley County has a better educational system than any school system in Maryland. The drive to Hagerstown from Berkeley County is as close as 8 minutes and as far away as 30mins depending where you live in the county. Housing is more affordable in West Virginia as well. As a matter of fact, Dan Ryan is building very nice family homes in the 150-200 range right over the Potomac in Falling waters.

I think the taxes in West Virginia are lower too than in Maryland, plus Martinsburg has commuter rail to DC/Baltimore and Amtrak service if you need to get into the city. Although I guess I'm a little biased living in Berkeley Co myself.

Also, if you have high school age kids they can go to any West Virginia state college/university for free on the Promise Scholarship if they have good grades and score well on the ACT.

Pardon me.. I live inside the city of Hagerstown with my two school-aged children. I moved from Northern Virginia 3 years ago and had concerns about the quality of the school-system here.

Both of my kids are in merit classes and are adequately challenged. I have found the teachers and staff at Bester Elementary and E. Russell Hicks to be enthusiastic, dedicated and capable.

To be sure, there are certain neighborhoods within the city limits that a young family would want to avoid, but don't discount the entire city! There are lovely homes and neighborhoods here too. We live near City Park, which is a beautiful, safe place to relax and play. We enjoy the events and exhibits at the museum and enjoy the outdoor concerts at the bandshell in the summer. We like walking to the Suns games in the spring and to the downtown events.

Don't let the "perception" of downtown scare you away!

For school test info, visit [URL=www.mdreportcard.org]

I would tend to agree with everyone concerning areas of affordability with good schools. North End is getting obscene (good for my equity, though). I have friends who moved to Greencastle, PA and love the schools. She is an educator and works for Chambersburg schools, so she may be a bit biased! Good luck and welcome, Chartim!

I thank you good folks for your valuable insights. Since I won't be transferring to my new office in Hagerstown until July 1, I have some time to gather information. I am quite partial to small city living and I have visited the City Park and thought it quite cool. I was unaware of all the other city parks. How reliable is the city bus transit and do folks take advantage of this service?
Again, thats for all your responses. My family-at least the adults-are looking forward to living in Washington County.

It gets plenty of criticism, but I think it depends on the route. There's been talk of shutting down some of the longer routes.

Webmaster - my apologies. My condemnation of everything City reflects my bias against both urban and suburban living. Glad you pointed out that there are both good and bad areas of the city. Obviously not everyone shares my opinion, and I realize it's a bit "out there" when it comes to urban areas.

Thanks, Momsapilot, for link you provided. Lots of good information and plenty to digest!

Welcome to the crossroads of the Country. We get a nice blend of people here because of access to I-81 and I-70. We are in a valley between two mountains and the rolling hills are a delight. Camp David is nearby, so you know we're protected (I hope) from terrorists....hummmm I guess that assumption could go either way. No, I truely believe we are safe here. We are still a small enough hub though, that we have arrogance and scratch mine and I'll will scratch yours mentality in our city and county leaders, but this will change soon I'm sure with all the new blood moving to the area. Anyway, welcome.....welcome.....welcome.