Are you relieved to be done with MCPS?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid would have stayed if too many kids had not been budding sociopaths. Prison culture basically. Locked building too.

Some really great parents + hope to stay in touch with those, but also many blah ones who represent the banality of evil and i don't want my kid around them or their offspring right now.

Most teachers were really great.

Buildings aren’t locked, they should be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This county is so full of whiners, it’s insane. We are always moving due to military positions and I’ve never seen a more pathetic school community. No one thinks or talks about their school district,this much,anywhere else. This is a special breed of humans in the worst way possible. Glad to be done in a few months and back to where sane people exist.

Having worked in a couple of local school systems and trading notes with others that have as well, I think the consensus is that you tend to hear more from families in the counties with a wealthier population. You hardly hear from families in counties that have more of a working class population.

You might call it entitlement in some ways. But I also see it as families being more invested in their kids' education. Just look at the population in Montgomery County. A good number are/were Federal workers who worked in NIH or HHS, so are researchers, have doctorates, etc. So their standards for education are higher. I can say in multiple school systems some of the biggest time sinks are some of these Federal workers who apparently are researchers and have nothing better to do but create websites and newsletters with their analysis on why the local school system(not just MCPS and not just one person) is horrible and we have to talk with them on how they came about their numbers and analysis.

I don't like the way MCPS and Montgomery County is going. But I don't think it's a horrible school system and students should still do okay with it as long as families don't settle for the status quo. So it is perfectly okay to complain or advocate for their students.

The bolded is where I am. It's not a bad school system, it's better than the ones I grew up in for sure. It's also got a lot of problems. Some of those problems are problems with most school systems in 2026 (too much edtech for one example), some are specific to MCPS (bad leadership at the top), but there are problems. As a parent, I speak out about the problems I see.

And yeah, I'm well educated. I have expectations of the public school system to be more than "fine." I don't have hugely high expectations (I don't care much about access to the very top math classes), but I do have expectations. I get suspicious though, when someone treats expectations of more than mediocre as a problem.

Most families don’t see the school system as terrible. And having lived others place I know with absolutely certainly that it’s better than most.

Does it have its issues? Certainly. Should there be improvements in places and parents voices heard about that? Again certainly. But MCPS could do with a lot less interference from parents/community. The need to talk to everybody and everything requires so much time. And everyone is doing so much to avoid winding up in the news or sued. It’s definitely a whiny place.

This is a tell that you work for MCPS.

Because in no way does MCPS even deter itself from doing what it wants to do despite massive parent/community pushback and feedback.

And the fact that you believe parents/community should take whatever scraps MCPS gives it and not push back is undemocratic and antiethical to the idea of what public education is supposed to be. There's a reason why the school board positions are elected.

Nope don’t work for the school system. But have been around long enough and am independent enough to form my own thoughts and opinions. I know it’s difficult for some on DCUM to realize that all us parents aren’t a monolith and don’t necessarily agree with you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We were done with MCPS 4 years ago. I understand why parents are giving a poor report card to MCPS and I wholeheartedly agree with them. However, MCPS was substandard even when it was doing well 25 years ago. Its just that it has become worse now.

I am comparing it entirely to the third world education system that educated me in my country of origin. In terms of facilities and resources, MCPS was pretty great from my immigrant view point. But in terms of education, curriculum, assessment, rigor, discipline, length of school year etc, MCPS was shockingly bad.

We were willing to spend money on private schools but the quality of education (especially in STEM) and the quality of teachers was far inferior to MCPS. Of course, private schools may get you network and connections etc...I don't know if that would have mattered to brown skinned immigrant children.

The real problem in MCPS is its administration and policies. And that creates a toxicity that permeates to the day to day environment in all schools.

We put all of our time, effort and resources - to not only educate our kids at home after they came back from school for their academic and intellectual advancement...BUT...to also mitigate the negative impact of what the MCPS administration and policies were doing to the education of our children.

My children had a lovely time in MCPS. Their teachers and classmates were awesome. But, we did our own supplementing to engineer a great experience, environment and outcome for them. It did not happen automagically. We loved being in MCPS, but I was also actively snow-plowing the academic path for my kids, so they did not get negatively impacted by MCPS.

This person has posted for years about the supposed weakness of private school education in DC, but has absolutely no clue. Stick to what you know, PP.

I have seen private school kids drop out of challenging majors once they reach college. Of course, they reach college by paying essay writers and making up fake accomplishments or being "hooked". Most of these private schools don't even offer APs. LOL.

But, who cares? Your kids are crashing and burning in life. You can drink the Kool-Aid if it makes life more bearable for you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This county is so full of whiners, it’s insane. We are always moving due to military positions and I’ve never seen a more pathetic school community. No one thinks or talks about their school district,this much,anywhere else. This is a special breed of humans in the worst way possible. Glad to be done in a few months and back to where sane people exist.

Having worked in a couple of local school systems and trading notes with others that have as well, I think the consensus is that you tend to hear more from families in the counties with a wealthier population. You hardly hear from families in counties that have more of a working class population.

You might call it entitlement in some ways. But I also see it as families being more invested in their kids' education. Just look at the population in Montgomery County. A good number are/were Federal workers who worked in NIH or HHS, so are researchers, have doctorates, etc. So their standards for education are higher. I can say in multiple school systems some of the biggest time sinks are some of these Federal workers who apparently are researchers and have nothing better to do but create websites and newsletters with their analysis on why the local school system(not just MCPS and not just one person) is horrible and we have to talk with them on how they came about their numbers and analysis.

I don't like the way MCPS and Montgomery County is going. But I don't think it's a horrible school system and students should still do okay with it as long as families don't settle for the status quo. So it is perfectly okay to complain or advocate for their students.

The bolded is where I am. It's not a bad school system, it's better than the ones I grew up in for sure. It's also got a lot of problems. Some of those problems are problems with most school systems in 2026 (too much edtech for one example), some are specific to MCPS (bad leadership at the top), but there are problems. As a parent, I speak out about the problems I see.

And yeah, I'm well educated. I have expectations of the public school system to be more than "fine." I don't have hugely high expectations (I don't care much about access to the very top math classes), but I do have expectations. I get suspicious though, when someone treats expectations of more than mediocre as a problem.

Most families don’t see the school system as terrible. And having lived others place I know with absolutely certainly that it’s better than most.

Does it have its issues? Certainly. Should there be improvements in places and parents voices heard about that? Again certainly. But MCPS could do with a lot less interference from parents/community. The need to talk to everybody and everything requires so much time. And everyone is doing so much to avoid winding up in the news or sued. It’s definitely a whiny place.

This is a tell that you work for MCPS.

Because in no way does MCPS even deter itself from doing what it wants to do despite massive parent/community pushback and feedback.

And the fact that you believe parents/community should take whatever scraps MCPS gives it and not push back is undemocratic and antiethical to the idea of what public education is supposed to be. There's a reason why the school board positions are elected.

Nope don’t work for the school system. But have been around long enough and am independent enough to form my own thoughts and opinions. I know it’s difficult for some on DCUM to realize that all us parents aren’t a monolith and don’t necessarily agree with you.

Yeah, because a parent who's satisfied with MCPS would really be motivated to seek out a forum to anonymously fight with and defend the good name of MCPS for no reason and with no connection to the system and for no tangible benefit on their end.

Parents who come on here to complain about MCPS usually do so because the system has been unresponsive and this is their only outlet to find community and solidarity.

A parent who is happy with MCPS has no need to turn to DCUM as an outlet.

Your cover story is not believable. And MCPS has a track record of double dipping: If you're an MCPS parent, you might work for the system or have a spouse or family member who does and so you're here fighting to defend their honor or job security. But there's SOME kind of tie someone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you are moving, switching to private, have a graduating student etc...?

We are moving. It's downhill with Taylor at the helm.

I think he's better than Monifa McKnight!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And fwiw back in the 80s and 90s parent volunteers were everywhere. Teachers had a lot of help.

Kids also from what I've seen can be on their best behavior when they know parents are around.

So you’re agreeing that the parents are the problem?

Specifically women who work outside the home and aren't available to provide free labor

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you are moving, switching to private, have a graduating student etc...?

We are moving. It's downhill with Taylor at the helm.

I think he's better than Monifa McKnight!

They are both bad. Monifa McKnight was toxic and dysfunctional. Thomas Taylor is dismantling excellence in our schools and spending a lot of money to contract a regional program model that may or mat not work out.

[Anonymous]

Yes, MCPS is determined to take away any enrichment for advanced kids.

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1324771.page

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This county is so full of whiners, it’s insane. We are always moving due to military positions and I’ve never seen a more pathetic school community. No one thinks or talks about their school district,this much,anywhere else. This is a special breed of humans in the worst way possible. Glad to be done in a few months and back to where sane people exist.

Having worked in a couple of local school systems and trading notes with others that have as well, I think the consensus is that you tend to hear more from families in the counties with a wealthier population. You hardly hear from families in counties that have more of a working class population.

You might call it entitlement in some ways. But I also see it as families being more invested in their kids' education. Just look at the population in Montgomery County. A good number are/were Federal workers who worked in NIH or HHS, so are researchers, have doctorates, etc. So their standards for education are higher. I can say in multiple school systems some of the biggest time sinks are some of these Federal workers who apparently are researchers and have nothing better to do but create websites and newsletters with their analysis on why the local school system(not just MCPS and not just one person) is horrible and we have to talk with them on how they came about their numbers and analysis.

I don't like the way MCPS and Montgomery County is going. But I don't think it's a horrible school system and students should still do okay with it as long as families don't settle for the status quo. So it is perfectly okay to complain or advocate for their students.

The bolded is where I am. It's not a bad school system, it's better than the ones I grew up in for sure. It's also got a lot of problems. Some of those problems are problems with most school systems in 2026 (too much edtech for one example), some are specific to MCPS (bad leadership at the top), but there are problems. As a parent, I speak out about the problems I see.

And yeah, I'm well educated. I have expectations of the public school system to be more than "fine." I don't have hugely high expectations (I don't care much about access to the very top math classes), but I do have expectations. I get suspicious though, when someone treats expectations of more than mediocre as a problem.

Most families don’t see the school system as terrible. And having lived others place I know with absolutely certainly that it’s better than most.

Does it have its issues? Certainly. Should there be improvements in places and parents voices heard about that? Again certainly. But MCPS could do with a lot less interference from parents/community. The need to talk to everybody and everything requires so much time. And everyone is doing so much to avoid winding up in the news or sued. It’s definitely a whiny place.

This is a tell that you work for MCPS.

Because in no way does MCPS even deter itself from doing what it wants to do despite massive parent/community pushback and feedback.

And the fact that you believe parents/community should take whatever scraps MCPS gives it and not push back is undemocratic and antiethical to the idea of what public education is supposed to be. There's a reason why the school board positions are elected.

Nope don’t work for the school system. But have been around long enough and am independent enough to form my own thoughts and opinions. I know it’s difficult for some on DCUM to realize that all us parents aren’t a monolith and don’t necessarily agree with you.

Yeah, because a parent who's satisfied with MCPS would really be motivated to seek out a forum to anonymously fight with and defend the good name of MCPS for no reason and with no connection to the system and for no tangible benefit on their end.

Parents who come on here to complain about MCPS usually do so because the system has been unresponsive and this is their only outlet to find community and solidarity.

A parent who is happy with MCPS has no need to turn to DCUM as an outlet.

Your cover story is not believable. And MCPS has a track record of double dipping: If you're an MCPS parent, you might work for the system or have a spouse or family member who does and so you're here fighting to defend their honor or job security. But there's SOME kind of tie someone.

Do you see dead people too?
-DP

[Anonymous]

The problem is not parents interfering. It is how MCPS reacts to parents. Parents by themselves cannot force MCPS to put their kids in compacted math when they shouldn't be, but MCPS caves to their demands and now they are getting rid of compacted math instead of setting up a rigorous process for deciding which kids need compacted math. And so it goes.

[Anonymous]

If University of Maryland takes in MCPS admin who were fired for being part of abuse coverups will they give kush jobs to teachers who were fired for not frauding the data and not covering up violence. I have my doubts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If University of Maryland takes in MCPS admin who were fired for being part of abuse coverups will they give kush jobs to teachers who were fired for not frauding the data and not covering up violence. I have my doubts.

Monifa had state political connections.

[Anonymous]

Yep, wish youngest was graduating

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The problem is not parents interfering. It is how MCPS reacts to parents. Parents by themselves cannot force MCPS to put their kids in compacted math when they shouldn't be, but MCPS caves to their demands and now they are getting rid of compacted math instead of setting up a rigorous process for deciding which kids need compacted math. And so it goes.

Yep they fill up a class with 40 students but at least 20 should be placed on the on-track math class.Math experience ruined for the 20 that should be in compact math or a higher math level.

[Anonymous]

H3ll yea.