recent experiences at takoma park elementary

[Anonymous]

PBES splits the grade in two so that lunch and recess are smaller. TPES doesn’t do that, so when the grade is 230 vs 160, it’s just a lot more hectic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PBES splits the grade in two so that lunch and recess are smaller. TPES doesn’t do that, so when the grade is 230 vs 160, it’s just a lot more hectic.

All but one of the grades at TPES were below 200 last year, according to the at a glance.
Nevertheless, I have to disagree with the PP's assessment. It was so well run that my kids hardly noticed.
Just imagine lunch at Blair with 3000+ kids. These judgements are relative.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PBES splits the grade in two so that lunch and recess are smaller. TPES doesn’t do that, so when the grade is 230 vs 160, it’s just a lot more hectic.

All but one of the grades at TPES were below 200 last year, according to the at a glance.
Nevertheless, I have to disagree with the PP's assessment. It was so well run that my kids hardly noticed.
Just imagine lunch at Blair with 3000+ kids. These judgements are relative.

My kids complained about lunch at PBES being split since they could not see friends in another pod. They preferred the TPES method.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My understanding is there are 9 classes of 25+ kids per class. I’m trying to wrap my head around how things function as a school that big! Is it easy for kids to make friends? Does the staff know the kids names? Are lunch/recess overwhelming? It might work great(?), but I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around it all!

Like clockwork!

The size of the school is no big deal. In fact, I feel it's more of a benefit.

It’s no big deal that kids get shuffled into new classes where they only know 1-2 kids every year? That the lunchroom is chaotic since there are so many kids? That there are only a few adults supervising a large number of students at recess? I’m willing to believe that there are benefits to a larger school for older grades when there could be more specialized course offerings, for example. Here I am not seeing a benefit. I would love to hear more.

You do realize it's pretty much the same at every single school. Like if you have fewer classes per grade, you would probably just create great bands to do lunch and recess together. So you would still have about the same number of kids at lunch and recess at the same time

Except these ‘bands’ change every year. PP, there are some very big downsides to being in large elementary schools and not really an upside. My kids had 240 in their grade at TPES and Piney Branch. If I’d had a chance to send them to a smaller school I would have. Ironically we moved here for the schools but I didn’t realize just how big they were. My kid suffered for it as they didn’t start in K and were used to a very close school community. I doubt the principal ever knew who either of mine were, for example.

There are about 600 kids at Takoma elementary and 600 kids at piney Branch. I realize it might be different from where you are from, but in this area that's pretty much the norm. I don't think there's a lot of elementary schools that have fewer than 400 kids unless it's a very special program

I can tell you where I am, it’s Takoma park, and it’s not the norm in Montgomery county. That’s 1200 kids in a K-5 elementary school. That’s huge and much bigger than most other schools. I guess you don’t realize that each school houses only three grades (K-2 and 3-5).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My understanding is there are 9 classes of 25+ kids per class. I’m trying to wrap my head around how things function as a school that big! Is it easy for kids to make friends? Does the staff know the kids names? Are lunch/recess overwhelming? It might work great(?), but I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around it all!

Like clockwork!

The size of the school is no big deal. In fact, I feel it's more of a benefit.

It’s no big deal that kids get shuffled into new classes where they only know 1-2 kids every year? That the lunchroom is chaotic since there are so many kids? That there are only a few adults supervising a large number of students at recess? I’m willing to believe that there are benefits to a larger school for older grades when there could be more specialized course offerings, for example. Here I am not seeing a benefit. I would love to hear more.

You do realize it's pretty much the same at every single school. Like if you have fewer classes per grade, you would probably just create great bands to do lunch and recess together. So you would still have about the same number of kids at lunch and recess at the same time

Except these ‘bands’ change every year. PP, there are some very big downsides to being in large elementary schools and not really an upside. My kids had 240 in their grade at TPES and Piney Branch. If I’d had a chance to send them to a smaller school I would have. Ironically we moved here for the schools but I didn’t realize just how big they were. My kid suffered for it as they didn’t start in K and were used to a very close school community. I doubt the principal ever knew who either of mine were, for example.

There are about 600 kids at Takoma elementary and 600 kids at piney Branch. I realize it might be different from where you are from, but in this area that's pretty much the norm. I don't think there's a lot of elementary schools that have fewer than 400 kids unless it's a very special program

I can tell you where I am, it’s Takoma park, and it’s not the norm in Montgomery county. That’s 1200 kids in a K-5 elementary school. That’s huge and much bigger than most other schools. I guess you don’t realize that each school houses only three grades (K-2 and 3-5).

No, that's 1200 kids in two elementary schools, or 600 per school, which is about average for MCPS.

[Anonymous]

The current k class is over 230. Lunch and recess are far from well run. There have been issues with students leaving campus because there is so little supervision.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PBES splits the grade in two so that lunch and recess are smaller. TPES doesn’t do that, so when the grade is 230 vs 160, it’s just a lot more hectic.

All but one of the grades at TPES were below 200 last year, according to the at a glance.
Nevertheless, I have to disagree with the PP's assessment. It was so well run that my kids hardly noticed.
Just imagine lunch at Blair with 3000+ kids. These judgements are relative.

[Anonymous]

Sure, this is true but it’s also a strange argument. The PP is correct that the grades are bigger (much bigger) at TPES than at the vast majority of other area elementary schools.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My understanding is there are 9 classes of 25+ kids per class. I’m trying to wrap my head around how things function as a school that big! Is it easy for kids to make friends? Does the staff know the kids names? Are lunch/recess overwhelming? It might work great(?), but I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around it all!

Like clockwork!

The size of the school is no big deal. In fact, I feel it's more of a benefit.

It’s no big deal that kids get shuffled into new classes where they only know 1-2 kids every year? That the lunchroom is chaotic since there are so many kids? That there are only a few adults supervising a large number of students at recess? I’m willing to believe that there are benefits to a larger school for older grades when there could be more specialized course offerings, for example. Here I am not seeing a benefit. I would love to hear more.

You do realize it's pretty much the same at every single school. Like if you have fewer classes per grade, you would probably just create great bands to do lunch and recess together. So you would still have about the same number of kids at lunch and recess at the same time

Except these ‘bands’ change every year. PP, there are some very big downsides to being in large elementary schools and not really an upside. My kids had 240 in their grade at TPES and Piney Branch. If I’d had a chance to send them to a smaller school I would have. Ironically we moved here for the schools but I didn’t realize just how big they were. My kid suffered for it as they didn’t start in K and were used to a very close school community. I doubt the principal ever knew who either of mine were, for example.

There are about 600 kids at Takoma elementary and 600 kids at piney Branch. I realize it might be different from where you are from, but in this area that's pretty much the norm. I don't think there's a lot of elementary schools that have fewer than 400 kids unless it's a very special program

I can tell you where I am, it’s Takoma park, and it’s not the norm in Montgomery county. That’s 1200 kids in a K-5 elementary school. That’s huge and much bigger than most other schools. I guess you don’t realize that each school houses only three grades (K-2 and 3-5).

No, that's 1200 kids in two elementary schools, or 600 per school, which is about average for MCPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My understanding is there are 9 classes of 25+ kids per class. I’m trying to wrap my head around how things function as a school that big! Is it easy for kids to make friends? Does the staff know the kids names? Are lunch/recess overwhelming? It might work great(?), but I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around it all!

Like clockwork!

The size of the school is no big deal. In fact, I feel it's more of a benefit.

It’s no big deal that kids get shuffled into new classes where they only know 1-2 kids every year? That the lunchroom is chaotic since there are so many kids? That there are only a few adults supervising a large number of students at recess? I’m willing to believe that there are benefits to a larger school for older grades when there could be more specialized course offerings, for example. Here I am not seeing a benefit. I would love to hear more.

You do realize it's pretty much the same at every single school. Like if you have fewer classes per grade, you would probably just create great bands to do lunch and recess together. So you would still have about the same number of kids at lunch and recess at the same time

Except these ‘bands’ change every year. PP, there are some very big downsides to being in large elementary schools and not really an upside. My kids had 240 in their grade at TPES and Piney Branch. If I’d had a chance to send them to a smaller school I would have. Ironically we moved here for the schools but I didn’t realize just how big they were. My kid suffered for it as they didn’t start in K and were used to a very close school community. I doubt the principal ever knew who either of mine were, for example.

There are about 600 kids at Takoma elementary and 600 kids at piney Branch. I realize it might be different from where you are from, but in this area that's pretty much the norm. I don't think there's a lot of elementary schools that have fewer than 400 kids unless it's a very special program

I can tell you where I am, it’s Takoma park, and it’s not the norm in Montgomery county. That’s 1200 kids in a K-5 elementary school. That’s huge and much bigger than most other schools. I guess you don’t realize that each school houses only three grades (K-2 and 3-5).

No, that's 1200 kids in two elementary schools, or 600 per school, which is about average for MCPS.

Are you listening to yourself? The key part of how many kids per grade. It’s the number of kids in your grade and the number of classes that determines how easy it is to make connections, get a sense of community etc. Also, it’s essentially constable to one elementary school. Did you miss the part where they are K-2 and 3-5?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My understanding is there are 9 classes of 25+ kids per class. I’m trying to wrap my head around how things function as a school that big! Is it easy for kids to make friends? Does the staff know the kids names? Are lunch/recess overwhelming? It might work great(?), but I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around it all!

Like clockwork!

The size of the school is no big deal. In fact, I feel it's more of a benefit.

It’s no big deal that kids get shuffled into new classes where they only know 1-2 kids every year? That the lunchroom is chaotic since there are so many kids? That there are only a few adults supervising a large number of students at recess? I’m willing to believe that there are benefits to a larger school for older grades when there could be more specialized course offerings, for example. Here I am not seeing a benefit. I would love to hear more.

You do realize it's pretty much the same at every single school. Like if you have fewer classes per grade, you would probably just create great bands to do lunch and recess together. So you would still have about the same number of kids at lunch and recess at the same time

Except these ‘bands’ change every year. PP, there are some very big downsides to being in large elementary schools and not really an upside. My kids had 240 in their grade at TPES and Piney Branch. If I’d had a chance to send them to a smaller school I would have. Ironically we moved here for the schools but I didn’t realize just how big they were. My kid suffered for it as they didn’t start in K and were used to a very close school community. I doubt the principal ever knew who either of mine were, for example.

There are about 600 kids at Takoma elementary and 600 kids at piney Branch. I realize it might be different from where you are from, but in this area that's pretty much the norm. I don't think there's a lot of elementary schools that have fewer than 400 kids unless it's a very special program

I can tell you where I am, it’s Takoma park, and it’s not the norm in Montgomery county. That’s 1200 kids in a K-5 elementary school. That’s huge and much bigger than most other schools. I guess you don’t realize that each school houses only three grades (K-2 and 3-5).

No, that's 1200 kids in two elementary schools, or 600 per school, which is about average for MCPS.

Are you listening to yourself? The key part of how many kids per grade. It’s the number of kids in your grade and the number of classes that determines how easy it is to make connections, get a sense of community etc. Also, it’s essentially constable to one elementary school. Did you miss the part where they are K-2 and 3-5?

If MCPS wanted to, they could rearrange things so that TPES and PBES each had K-5 students. But then there would need to be a boundary study, and the boundaries would end up looking ridiculous because of how close together the buildings are.

[Anonymous]

I’ve often heard it touted as a pro that the schools are divided into k-2 and 3-5. What are the pros of this model?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My understanding is there are 9 classes of 25+ kids per class. I’m trying to wrap my head around how things function as a school that big! Is it easy for kids to make friends? Does the staff know the kids names? Are lunch/recess overwhelming? It might work great(?), but I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around it all!

Like clockwork!

The size of the school is no big deal. In fact, I feel it's more of a benefit.

It’s no big deal that kids get shuffled into new classes where they only know 1-2 kids every year? That the lunchroom is chaotic since there are so many kids? That there are only a few adults supervising a large number of students at recess? I’m willing to believe that there are benefits to a larger school for older grades when there could be more specialized course offerings, for example. Here I am not seeing a benefit. I would love to hear more.

You do realize it's pretty much the same at every single school. Like if you have fewer classes per grade, you would probably just create great bands to do lunch and recess together. So you would still have about the same number of kids at lunch and recess at the same time

Except these ‘bands’ change every year. PP, there are some very big downsides to being in large elementary schools and not really an upside. My kids had 240 in their grade at TPES and Piney Branch. If I’d had a chance to send them to a smaller school I would have. Ironically we moved here for the schools but I didn’t realize just how big they were. My kid suffered for it as they didn’t start in K and were used to a very close school community. I doubt the principal ever knew who either of mine were, for example.

There are about 600 kids at Takoma elementary and 600 kids at piney Branch. I realize it might be different from where you are from, but in this area that's pretty much the norm. I don't think there's a lot of elementary schools that have fewer than 400 kids unless it's a very special program

I can tell you where I am, it’s Takoma park, and it’s not the norm in Montgomery county. That’s 1200 kids in a K-5 elementary school. That’s huge and much bigger than most other schools. I guess you don’t realize that each school houses only three grades (K-2 and 3-5).

No, that's 1200 kids in two elementary schools, or 600 per school, which is about average for MCPS.

Are you listening to yourself? The key part of how many kids per grade. It’s the number of kids in your grade and the number of classes that determines how easy it is to make connections, get a sense of community etc. Also, it’s essentially constable to one elementary school. Did you miss the part where they are K-2 and 3-5?

You seem a little unhinged. Maybe take a deep breath and consider going back on the meds.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PBES splits the grade in two so that lunch and recess are smaller. TPES doesn’t do that, so when the grade is 230 vs 160, it’s just a lot more hectic.

All but one of the grades at TPES were below 200 last year, according to the at a glance.

Nevertheless, I have to disagree with the PP's assessment. It was so well run that my kids hardly noticed.
Just imagine lunch at Blair with 3000+ kids. These judgments are relative.

I sent three kids through these schools and felt they were well-run and organized.

The scale was more of a benefit than a liability since this allowed for many extras like math acceleration or additional STEM units.

Like the PP, my kids also preferred the TPES model since they could visit with friends during lunch and recess.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My understanding is there are 9 classes of 25+ kids per class. I’m trying to wrap my head around how things function as a school that big! Is it easy for kids to make friends? Does the staff know the kids names? Are lunch/recess overwhelming? It might work great(?), but I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around it all!

Like clockwork!

The size of the school is no big deal. In fact, I feel it's more of a benefit.

It’s no big deal that kids get shuffled into new classes where they only know 1-2 kids every year? That the lunchroom is chaotic since there are so many kids? That there are only a few adults supervising a large number of students at recess? I’m willing to believe that there are benefits to a larger school for older grades when there could be more specialized course offerings, for example. Here I am not seeing a benefit. I would love to hear more.

You do realize it's pretty much the same at every single school. Like if you have fewer classes per grade, you would probably just create great bands to do lunch and recess together. So you would still have about the same number of kids at lunch and recess at the same time

Except these ‘bands’ change every year. PP, there are some very big downsides to being in large elementary schools and not really an upside. My kids had 240 in their grade at TPES and Piney Branch. If I’d had a chance to send them to a smaller school I would have. Ironically we moved here for the schools but I didn’t realize just how big they were. My kid suffered for it as they didn’t start in K and were used to a very close school community. I doubt the principal ever knew who either of mine were, for example.

There are about 600 kids at Takoma elementary and 600 kids at piney Branch. I realize it might be different from where you are from, but in this area that's pretty much the norm. I don't think there's a lot of elementary schools that have fewer than 400 kids unless it's a very special program

I can tell you where I am, it’s Takoma park, and it’s not the norm in Montgomery county. That’s 1200 kids in a K-5 elementary school. That’s huge and much bigger than most other schools. I guess you don’t realize that each school houses only three grades (K-2 and 3-5).

No, that's 1200 kids in two elementary schools, or 600 per school, which is about average for MCPS.

Are you listening to yourself? The key part of how many kids per grade. It’s the number of kids in your grade and the number of classes that determines how easy it is to make connections, get a sense of community etc. Also, it’s essentially constable to one elementary school. Did you miss the part where they are K-2 and 3-5?

You seem a little unhinged. Maybe take a deep breath and consider going back on the meds.

There’s some projection going on here. Is this your usual MO, to question some one’s mental health when they point out you are wrong? I’m sorry that you are so ridiculous. I truly hope you aren’t doing that the people you care about like this. It’s very damaging.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PBES splits the grade in two so that lunch and recess are smaller. TPES doesn’t do that, so when the grade is 230 vs 160, it’s just a lot more hectic.

All but one of the grades at TPES were below 200 last year, according to the at a glance.

Nevertheless, I have to disagree with the PP's assessment. It was so well run that my kids hardly noticed.
Just imagine lunch at Blair with 3000+ kids. These judgments are relative.

I sent three kids through these schools and felt they were well-run and organized.

The scale was more of a benefit than a liability since this allowed for many extras like math acceleration or additional STEM units.

Like the PP, my kids also preferred the TPES model since they could visit with friends during lunch and recess.

It’s just a shame that it becomes so difficult to develop a school wide sense of community this way. A PP asked about the benefits of sitting the sculls and I struggle to come up with any. Anyone? One big downside is that having younger children In the school can help temper the behavior of the older kids, and the absence of little ones at PBES shows in the behavior of the older ones.

[Anonymous]

Ugh, auto correct - splitting the schools