If private school were an option?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We're just finishing out K in Mcps in a "top ranked" school. We applied to and committed to a private for next year for 1st.

Dd needed smaller classes, more enrichment, and like many pps stated, a push to "do her best" that private will offer.

I wasn't impressed by anything in Mcps - teachers, admin, facilities, peer group, curriculum. I could go on.

Yes, it is sad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Depends what you need. For the sciences, the publics are better than most privates. For special needs and kids who need a smaller classroom environment, private school would likely be more nurturing than MCPS. But beware of the restrictions many private schools have...needing to have As to take AP classes which knocks out perfectly decent B+ kids and restrictions on where and how many colleges a kid can apply to. I wouldn't pay a ton of money to have a school restrict my kids' choices.

Private better for sciences.

Nope. Not even close.

[Anonymous]

Yes, in fact we will have a later an more modest retirement because we're paying for private. DS has some SN and the IEP implementation in MCPS is only on paper, the school makes mockery of the process. We bought in Whitman cluster before we had DS and thought we'd be all set, but no, not even close. Very disappointing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Depends what you need. For the sciences, the publics are better than most privates. For special needs and kids who need a smaller classroom environment, private school would likely be more nurturing than MCPS. But beware of the restrictions many private schools have...needing to have As to take AP classes which knocks out perfectly decent B+ kids and restrictions on where and how many colleges a kid can apply to. I wouldn't pay a ton of money to have a school restrict my kids' choices.

I don’t agree the privates are better for kids with SN. MCPs used to have has a lot of resources and does great work with kids with special needs. Of course some kids can’t be served. But privates don’t have to follow IEPs.

As to private school, I did not opt for it for my kids because of all of the opportunities that MCPS offers. If I had an exceptional kids who really needed more than MCPS could offer, I would have considered it.

There, fixed it for you. Anyone familiar with MCPS can tell you the quality of special education has gone down, resources are more stretched now than 10-15 years ago, classes are larger, it's more difficult to get into some of the programs like Aspergers', there are many unfilled para vacancies in multiple schools and the district spends millions litigating with families over denial of FAPE. Privates don't have to follow IEPs, but they have individual learner profiles, smaller classes, more individualized instruction, some have specialized staff for instruction (like OG for dyslexia) and in general are more nurturing for kids. People paying 40-50K per year for their SN kids are not idiots who are foregoing a better and cost-free education. After all, they are smart enough to figure out how to come up with that kind of money...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Depends what you need. For the sciences, the publics are better than most privates. For special needs and kids who need a smaller classroom environment, private school would likely be more nurturing than MCPS. But beware of the restrictions many private schools have...needing to have As to take AP classes which knocks out perfectly decent B+ kids and restrictions on where and how many colleges a kid can apply to. I wouldn't pay a ton of money to have a school restrict my kids' choices.

I don’t agree the privates are better for kids with SN. MCPs used to have has a lot of resources and does great work with kids with special needs. Of course some kids can’t be served. But privates don’t have to follow IEPs.

As to private school, I did not opt for it for my kids because of all of the opportunities that MCPS offers. If I had an exceptional kids who really needed more than MCPS could offer, I would have considered it.

There, fixed it for you. Anyone familiar with MCPS can tell you the quality of special education has gone down, resources are more stretched now than 10-15 years ago, classes are larger, it's more difficult to get into some of the programs like Aspergers', there are many unfilled para vacancies in multiple schools and the district spends millions litigating with families over denial of FAPE. Privates don't have to follow IEPs, but they have individual learner profiles, smaller classes, more individualized instruction, some have specialized staff for instruction (like OG for dyslexia) and in general are more nurturing for kids. People paying 40-50K per year for their SN kids are not idiots who are foregoing a better and cost-free education. After all, they are smart enough to figure out how to come up with that kind of money...

It hasn’t changed. It was bad way back when to. It’s not a priority and that’s why so many Kids are struggling.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're just finishing out K in Mcps in a "top ranked" school. We applied to and committed to a private for next year for 1st.

Dd needed smaller classes, more enrichment, and like many pps stated, a push to "do her best" that private will offer.

I wasn't impressed by anything in Mcps - teachers, admin, facilities, peer group, curriculum. I could go on.

Omg it’s kindergarten

Agree. Kids don’t learn much vastly different K-3 in public or private because you have to ensure the base level foundation for all kids. People are often surprised to discover this later on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're just finishing out K in Mcps in a "top ranked" school. We applied to and committed to a private for next year for 1st.

Dd needed smaller classes, more enrichment, and like many pps stated, a push to "do her best" that private will offer.

I wasn't impressed by anything in Mcps - teachers, admin, facilities, peer group, curriculum. I could go on.

Omg it’s kindergarten

Agree. Kids don’t learn much vastly different K-3 in public or private because you have to ensure the base level foundation for all kids. People are often surprised to discover this later on.

MCPS magnet high schools are really good, but you have to hold your nose and deal with the mediocrity, lack of enrichment or challenging work, etc. until then.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're just finishing out K in Mcps in a "top ranked" school. We applied to and committed to a private for next year for 1st.

Dd needed smaller classes, more enrichment, and like many pps stated, a push to "do her best" that private will offer.

I wasn't impressed by anything in Mcps - teachers, admin, facilities, peer group, curriculum. I could go on.

Omg it’s kindergarten

Agree. Kids don’t learn much vastly different K-3 in public or private because you have to ensure the base level foundation for all kids. People are often surprised to discover this later on.

MCPS magnet high schools are really good, but you have to hold your nose and deal with the mediocrity, lack of enrichment or challenging work, etc. until then.

My MCPS kid was in magnet all but 2 years from K-12. You just need to know your options.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Depends what you need. For the sciences, the publics are better than most privates. For special needs and kids who need a smaller classroom environment, private school would likely be more nurturing than MCPS. But beware of the restrictions many private schools have...needing to have As to take AP classes which knocks out perfectly decent B+ kids and restrictions on where and how many colleges a kid can apply to. I wouldn't pay a ton of money to have a school restrict my kids' choices.

Private better for sciences.

Nope. Not even close.

The number of math Olympians, AMC12, Regeneron, or even NMSF, is deficient at private compared to MCPS's top programs.

[Anonymous]

We're not in MCPS but another big DMV public district. Put our youngest in private and can't believe the difference. I feel such regret that my older kids didn't have the same experience.

Youngest:
Loves school, looks forward to going
Learned to read much earlier
Is cared for (falls on the playground? is upset? someone notices and cares / helps)
Teachers are enthusiastic
Other parents are happy and engaged
Kids are disciplined if they misbehave (this is my biggest thing, I think)

[Anonymous]

Only if I were rich enough not to feel it, and only if my child were accepted to one of a handful of top private schools in the DMV.

That is, I think GDS or SFS are probably better than the education my child is getting in an MCPS magnet, but not by enough to sacrifice college tuition or retirement.

Most other privates, though? No, I think my kids are better served in MCPS.

[Anonymous]

Kindergarten at our MCPS school is definitely convincing me that private would be desirable. We may apply next year (for the following year), but it would be a stretch for us financially.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Only if I were rich enough not to feel it, and only if my child were accepted to one of a handful of top private schools in the DMV.

That is, I think GDS or SFS are probably better than the education my child is getting in an MCPS magnet, but not by enough to sacrifice college tuition or retirement.

Most other privates, though? No, I think my kids are better served in MCPS.

The achievements of students in programs like Blair's SMCS are so much higher than privates like GDS or Sidwell that I can't see the value.

[Anonymous]

I love the community aspect of public, but I’d choose private for middle and high school if we could afford it.

[Anonymous]

Do private schools teach kids how to write well? That is my biggest gripe with MCPS.