Seems like MCPS is a mess

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kids are in MCPS. In the Whitman cluster. One in middle and one in elementary. I read this board and it does not reflect my experience at all. "MCPS" may be a mess but my local schools have been great. I think it's big county and experiences vary but I have been pleased. I've looked at privates and have decided so far to stick with the Whitman cluster. Like many PPs, I think this board skews to disgruntled/haters. Talk to people in the places you are thinking of buying to get a real sense of the experience at specific MCPS schools, not the county in general.

Whitman, Walter Johnson, Wootton and Churchill are the most premium clusters within our system. You're going to hear and see fewer complaints given your part of those clusters.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids are in MCPS. In the Whitman cluster. One in middle and one in elementary. I read this board and it does not reflect my experience at all. "MCPS" may be a mess but my local schools have been great. I think it's big county and experiences vary but I have been pleased. I've looked at privates and have decided so far to stick with the Whitman cluster. Like many PPs, I think this board skews to disgruntled/haters. Talk to people in the places you are thinking of buying to get a real sense of the experience at specific MCPS schools, not the county in general.

Whitman, Walter Johnson, Wootton and Churchill are the most premium clusters within our system. You're going to hear and see fewer complaints given your part of those clusters.

You are probably right, but just as a data point I'm in Blair cluster and very happy with my kids' educations. They are in MS and HS, and learning more than the basics. Yes, it has absolutely meant staying involved in things like course selection, but the education is there if your kid wants to access it. My kids will finish HS having completed higher level math and science, taken more AP tests, and just generally received a better education than I did for sure.

[Anonymous]

My kids are in Arlington. Arlington has a lot of the same problems that MCPS has, but I do see horror stories from MCPS that I haven't seen here. At my kids' schools, kids get in trouble for tardies, have to be in class during class time, get suspended for fighting or other serious behavior issues, etc. My kids are really intelligent but a lot of their classes are still stretching them academically. For instance, my daughter already knows a ton of history but for her ninth grade history class had to write a paper that was extremely dense and full of citations, both primary and secondary. My son, who is a total math nerd, hasn't learned a lot in math but the writing assignments in his English class have been a great challenge for him. Of course it is extremely school- and even teacher-specific so there are probably schools in MCPS that are a lot better than many schools in NOVA. Plus, there are no guarantees of your child getting a good education in public school anywhere (I wish our kids were in private). I do still think you could do a lot worse than Arlington (as long it's not Oakridge).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids are in MCPS. In the Whitman cluster. One in middle and one in elementary. I read this board and it does not reflect my experience at all. "MCPS" may be a mess but my local schools have been great. I think it's big county and experiences vary but I have been pleased. I've looked at privates and have decided so far to stick with the Whitman cluster. Like many PPs, I think this board skews to disgruntled/haters. Talk to people in the places you are thinking of buying to get a real sense of the experience at specific MCPS schools, not the county in general.

Whitman, Walter Johnson, Wootton and Churchill are the most premium clusters within our system. You're going to hear and see fewer complaints given your part of those clusters.

You are probably right, but just as a data point I'm in Blair cluster and very happy with my kids' educations. They are in MS and HS, and learning more than the basics. Yes, it has absolutely meant staying involved in things like course selection, but the education is there if your kid wants to access it. My kids will finish HS having completed higher level math and science, taken more AP tests, and just generally received a better education than I did for sure.

Blair is the closest thing to a W outside of the Ws. It gets more attention and resources from MCPS compared to its DCC siblings, Kennedy, Einstein, Northwood and Wheaton.

Again: The thing in MCPS is that when it's good, it's pretty good. But the volume of bad has gotten really bad, and some of that bad is starting to seep in at some W's, i.e. kid at Walter Johnson caught with a gun.

These are facts. And to discount those facts is to do yourself a disfavor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids are in MCPS. In the Whitman cluster. One in middle and one in elementary. I read this board and it does not reflect my experience at all. "MCPS" may be a mess but my local schools have been great. I think it's big county and experiences vary but I have been pleased. I've looked at privates and have decided so far to stick with the Whitman cluster. Like many PPs, I think this board skews to disgruntled/haters. Talk to people in the places you are thinking of buying to get a real sense of the experience at specific MCPS schools, not the county in general.

Whitman, Walter Johnson, Wootton and Churchill are the most premium clusters within our system. You're going to hear and see fewer complaints given your part of those clusters.

You are probably right, but just as a data point I'm in Blair cluster and very happy with my kids' educations. They are in MS and HS, and learning more than the basics. Yes, it has absolutely meant staying involved in things like course selection, but the education is there if your kid wants to access it. My kids will finish HS having completed higher level math and science, taken more AP tests, and just generally received a better education than I did for sure.

Blair is the closest thing to a W outside of the Ws. It gets more attention and resources from MCPS compared to its DCC siblings, Kennedy, Einstein, Northwood and Wheaton.

Again: The thing in MCPS is that when it's good, it's pretty good. But the volume of bad has gotten really bad, and some of that bad is starting to seep in at some W's, i.e. kid at Walter Johnson caught with a gun.

These are facts. And to discount those facts is to do yourself a disfavor.

I'm the PP, and I think we're talking about a variety of things here. My comment was in direct response to the person who said her 11th grader hadn't learned more than the basics. Academically, I think the "good" is still very good.

In terms of safety, I don't disagree with you, but I also don't think the problem is MCPS. We are living in a terrifying era, where there are 1.2 guns for every person in America. That scares me, but it doesn't scare me MORE in Silver Spring than it does when I visit my family back home in Idaho. In fact, it probably scares me less.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Howard county or Anne arundel

Or Frederick if you're willing to drive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids are in MCPS. In the Whitman cluster. One in middle and one in elementary. I read this board and it does not reflect my experience at all. "MCPS" may be a mess but my local schools have been great. I think it's big county and experiences vary but I have been pleased. I've looked at privates and have decided so far to stick with the Whitman cluster. Like many PPs, I think this board skews to disgruntled/haters. Talk to people in the places you are thinking of buying to get a real sense of the experience at specific MCPS schools, not the county in general.

Whitman, Walter Johnson, Wootton and Churchill are the most premium clusters within our system. You're going to hear and see fewer complaints given your part of those clusters.

DP. On the contrary, there seem to be MORE complaints - at least on DCUM.

[Anonymous]

I am in this same cluster. It’s a mess. Maybe different grades… are my kids happy, yes. Is it the education I expected, no. Am I happy, definitely not. Writing education is non existent, principals hide things unless you point blank ask them. The focus is closing the gap by cutting off the top.

Anonymous wrote:My kids are in MCPS. In the Whitman cluster. One in middle and one in elementary. I read this board and it does not reflect my experience at all. "MCPS" may be a mess but my local schools have been great. I think it's big county and experiences vary but I have been pleased. I've looked at privates and have decided so far to stick with the Whitman cluster. Like many PPs, I think this board skews to disgruntled/haters. Talk to people in the places you are thinking of buying to get a real sense of the experience at specific MCPS schools, not the county in general.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids are in MCPS. In the Whitman cluster. One in middle and one in elementary. I read this board and it does not reflect my experience at all. "MCPS" may be a mess but my local schools have been great. I think it's big county and experiences vary but I have been pleased. I've looked at privates and have decided so far to stick with the Whitman cluster. Like many PPs, I think this board skews to disgruntled/haters. Talk to people in the places you are thinking of buying to get a real sense of the experience at specific MCPS schools, not the county in general.

Whitman, Walter Johnson, Wootton and Churchill are the most premium clusters within our system. You're going to hear and see fewer complaints given your part of those clusters.

Then why are the college outcomes so inferior to RM or Blair?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All the schools are a disaster since Covid. Can’t put a finger on the exact reason but closing everything for a year did a number on our kids. Yes some kids are fine, my kid is fine, we homeschooled. A lot of kids are not fine though and it’s showing up.

Stop blaming COVID which happened 4 years ago. The problems were there BEFORE the pandemic, COVID just exacerbated them. It’s parenting. Plain and simple. No one wants to hear that though bc they automatically take offense. No one said you personally. In general, it’s poor parenting. It’s a generation that was raised on IPads and parents who refuse to discipline their children.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All the schools are a disaster since Covid. Can’t put a finger on the exact reason but closing everything for a year did a number on our kids. Yes some kids are fine, my kid is fine, we homeschooled. A lot of kids are not fine though and it’s showing up.

Stop blaming COVID which happened 4 years ago. The problems were there BEFORE the pandemic, COVID just exacerbated them. It’s parenting. Plain and simple. No one wants to hear that though bc they automatically take offense. No one said you personally. In general, it’s poor parenting. It’s a generation that was raised on IPads and parents who refuse to discipline their children.

So, what are your policy solutions for "poor parenting"? BAD PARENTS SHOULD BE BETTER PARENTS (LIKE ME)!!! is not a policy solution.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Moving to the area soon and had been thinking MoCo for the schools but this forum paints a bleak picture. Would any of you prefer a VA district to MCPS?

Don't go by DCUM. You will be better off talking to real people.

Half the people who post here are right-wing agitators who don't even live in the area. They're whole game is to play up negative stories and create fear and doubt. My kids are in MCPS and doing great. As long as you are an involved parent your children can do well, but if you expect the county to raise them for you probably not.

What are you talking about? What is your evidence that "right-wing agitators" post here, and honestly, what would be the point? Are you the one who posts about how your children in a W cluster are receiving a better education than you did 30 years ago? The fact that some kids are "doing fine" in a mediocre school system is a pretty low bar.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Moving to the area soon and had been thinking MoCo for the schools but this forum paints a bleak picture. Would any of you prefer a VA district to MCPS?

Is it private schools decision deadline today? Same topic has been discussed MANY times. Try searching.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Moving to the area soon and had been thinking MoCo for the schools but this forum paints a bleak picture. Would any of you prefer a VA district to MCPS?

Don't go by DCUM. You will be better off talking to real people.

Half the people who post here are right-wing agitators who don't even live in the area. They're whole game is to play up negative stories and create fear and doubt. My kids are in MCPS and doing great. As long as you are an involved parent your children can do well, but if you expect the county to raise them for you probably not.

Totally NAILED IT! This is the most accurate & honest thing I've seen posted here in ages.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All the schools are a disaster since Covid. Can’t put a finger on the exact reason but closing everything for a year did a number on our kids. Yes some kids are fine, my kid is fine, we homeschooled. A lot of kids are not fine though and it’s showing up.

Stop blaming COVID which happened 4 years ago. The problems were there BEFORE the pandemic, COVID just exacerbated them. It’s parenting. Plain and simple. No one wants to hear that though bc they automatically take offense. No one said you personally. In general, it’s poor parenting. It’s a generation that was raised on IPads and parents who refuse to discipline their children.

So, what are your policy solutions for "poor parenting"? BAD PARENTS SHOULD BE BETTER PARENTS (LIKE ME)!!! is not a policy solution.

The policy decision for poor parenting is that schools are trying to make up for it. They are trying to train and coach kids on behavior and skills that should have been learned in preschool and at home. All while trying to expand access to preschool education and inform the public on what kids need in order to be prepared.

Folks come here talking about what they learned and when done 20/30/40/50 years ago as if the world is still the same. We still want school days the same length, long summers, and 1-1 teaching. But the news flash that folks won’t seem to accept is that standards have changed and so has the expectations of kids. So we either completely reinvent our system or we try to cram it all in the same way while the number of kids to teach has explode and the number of people doing the teaching is decreasing.

At some point as communities and as a nation we have to say we value some intangible things like education, health, happiness more than corporate profits and then invest the necessary amount of time and dollars to make that statement true.