Diversity in New Market/Urbana/Frederick (Gaithersburg: houses, private school, college)

[shammy678]

Hi! We are looking at homes in New Market, Urbana and Frederick. Most of the homes we like zone to Urbana High School, Linganore High School, and Oakdale High School. We currently live in Gaithersburg but are moving so we can get a nicer home with better public schools.

My kids are mixed race (asian and caucasian). Most of the schools in New Market and Urbana for instance are highly rated. But I notice they are not very diverse (compared to where we are now). My kids are social and athletic so I feel confident that they will be fine no matter where they go. But I am really nervous about putting them in a situation where they might get teased or picked on because they're not white. That might be extreme but along those lines, I worry that they'll stand out and feel a bit isolated as they see that few kids look like them. Can anyone share any insight into how minorities fare in these predominantly white schools?

Thanks for your input!

[MidValleyDad]

Urbana is probably the most diverse of the three but I don't think you will have a problem in any of them

[shammy678]

Thanks so much for weighing in!

[LesLucid]

Frederick County, and the city, has a nice interesting mix. There are rural farmers, business people (small and large), college kids (Hood, FCC, Mount St. Mary’s) and educators, scientists and laboratory workers (NCI, NIAID, USAMRIID, Biotech companies), military (Ft. Derrick).

[Indiana Tony]

Originally Posted by shammy678

Hi! We are looking at homes in New Market, Urbana and Frederick. Most of the homes we like zone to Urbana High School, Linganore High School, and Oakdale High School. We currently live in Gaithersburg but are moving so we can get a nicer home with better public schools.

My kids are mixed race (asian and caucasian). Most of the schools in New Market and Urbana for instance are highly rated. But I notice they are not very diverse (compared to where we are now). My kids are social and athletic so I feel confident that they will be fine no matter where they go. But I am really nervous about putting them in a situation where they might get teased or picked on because they're not white. That might be extreme but along those lines, I worry that they'll stand out and feel a bit isolated as they see that few kids look like them. Can anyone share any insight into how minorities fare in these predominantly white schools?

Thanks for your input!

African-American or Hispanic kids might give them a hard time, but white people don't care that a kid is mixed white/Asian.

[shammy678]

Thank you! It's an eclectic mix!

[newherenow]

Hi there, I am from northern va and used to a highly international crowd. We just moved to the city of Frederick literally days ago. I am first generation mixed race, Arab and White and my husband is white and we have a young daughter.

I find it strange in Frederick thus far as there seems to be isolated areas of black and white.. everyone seems very friendly thus far although I find some a lot of people to be sketchy...

We think we'll probably just send our kid to private school as it is inexpensive compared to where we are from, literally half the price...

Anyway just wanted to say welcome! and thank goodness other multicultural / global are people are moving here

[newherenow]

Originally Posted by Indiana Tony

African-American or Hispanic kids might give them a hard time, but white people don't care that a kid is mixed white/Asian.

Why is that? Just curious....

[KelpJuice]

Originally Posted by Indiana Tony

African-American or Hispanic kids might give them a hard time, but white people don't care that a kid is mixed white/Asian.

That is literally a racist statement in and of itself.

To answer to OP's concerns, Urbana is by far the most diverse of the three and has the most Asians. I can't guarantee that your kids won't run into any racial incidents, but it'll probably be much less common than in Oakdale or Linganore.

[DocDior]

I'm also looking to move to Urbana as an African American mother of two. I'm reluctant to move to Urbana because of the culture in this town. While the houses are great and affordable by my standards (having lived in NY) people are still have not changed their mindsets. I worry about sending my son who is (Gifted) to a school where he will not feel welcomed. While his school is predominantly white in NY the people are awesome. I was hoping and expecting the same thing in Urbana. Sadly the reviews show differently.

Read more: https://www.city-data.com/forum/frede...frederick.html