Black parent -- does school ranking matter?

[Anonymous]

I don't think it's a function of race. It's a function of how involved the parents are, and the value they place on education. I'm AA and my kids are doing very well academically in FCPS public schools. I am very involved with their academics, and don't expect the school to do everything. My kids went into K reading, as many kids in this area do. I think as long as you don't assume that because you are in a "great school" you can just assume they will get a great education and the school will do it all, your kids will do as well a their classmates. I think if you value education and are an active participant in your children's education, they will also do extremely well at a lower performing school, they would just be exposed to a different environment, and may not have as many peers with the same academic goals. Bottom line, outcome depends on how much the parents value education, are active participants and don't assume the school is solely responsible, rather than on race. Your post is basically asking whether your kids are screwed no matter what school they go to and the answer is it, in large part, depends on you and your commitment to their academic achievement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you for the helpful responses. Seriously. I didn't really think about private school seriously but I may have to consider this option (and choose a cheaper place) if there isn't some sort of way to address the disparity.

Also -- pp do you know what MoCo school that was? I will add it to my house hunting list.

"Why would a private school have a different outcome than an upper ses public?

"

We moved our AA sons to private. The oldest was in MCPS magnet program, but there was only one other black boy in his entire magnet class of 100 students. He was unhappy socially. Our other son is a very athletic, active child and the public school kept having him miss recess or stay after school for things like throwing an eraser or pushing his buddy while in line. The school was very rules oriented. It seemed like they spent a lot of energy controlling kids rather than teaching. The private they are in has a much larger cohort of black high achieving kids. They have much more freedom to move around, interact with others, and express themselves. They have only 8-12 kids in class and their teachers know them well. They like their learning styles and my kids' self images and motivation has improved. The English, math, history and foreign language classes are superior and the emphasis is not on standardized testing, but instead on mastering fundamental concepts and broadening the curriculum. Lastly the private school has a Black Student Club where race is openly discussed and the kids feel they can say things about the school and society and feel supported. I actually used to be a huge supporter of public schools and still believe we should work to cut down class size and improve them, and help teachers do better, but MCPS seems to emphasizing testing over education.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you for the helpful responses. Seriously. I didn't really think about private school seriously but I may have to consider this option (and choose a cheaper place) if there isn't some sort of way to address the disparity.

Also -- pp do you know what MoCo school that was? I will add it to my house hunting list.

PP here. Barnsely was one I looked at. But, the scores aren't as good for MS. HS is just ok.

But I agree with PPs about looking at more than just test scores. I think for minorities, it is important to have kids who are like minded and your race in school. A lot of people who were the only one, or just a handful, of their race in school will tell you how uncomfortable it can be.

I would also look at Richard Montgomery or Quince Orchard HS cluster. The MSs and ESs can be spotty, so do check them out thoroughly, but as a HS, they have decent stats for Blacks and % represented.

FWIW - I live in the RM cluster and there are plenty of professional black families (a few who are lawyers) in my neighborhood.

You can go onto the MCPS website, to get the stats: http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/sharedaccountability/glance/

What percentage are you talking about in terms of minorities being just 'a handful'? 1%, 10%?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I guess my question is whether it is worth investing in a home in a district like Langley or whatever versus living some place less expensive and investing those resources to supplement our children's educational experience since the outcomes are uniformly unacceptable for our student population, regardless of location. I know we can't rely on our schools to do everything, but I guess my question is whether it's better to just assume the worst and take things over at home/supplemental experiences/activities approach.

Excuse my ignorance, but why does it matter that you are black? It seems to me this is the same question that runs through the minds of all parents. What is different?

+1.

OP, are you kids light black or dark black? And, are their ears pointy or not?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I guess my question is whether it is worth investing in a home in a district like Langley or whatever versus living some place less expensive and investing those resources to supplement our children's educational experience since the outcomes are uniformly unacceptable for our student population, regardless of location. I know we can't rely on our schools to do everything, but I guess my question is whether it's better to just assume the worst and take things over at home/supplemental experiences/activities approach.

Excuse my ignorance, but why does it matter that you are black? It seems to me this is the same question that runs through the minds of all parents. What is different?

+1.

OP, are you kids light black or dark black? And, are their ears pointy or not?

Of course it makes a difference. Kids notice when they are the only one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I guess my question is whether it is worth investing in a home in a district like Langley or whatever versus living some place less expensive and investing those resources to supplement our children's educational experience since the outcomes are uniformly unacceptable for our student population, regardless of location. I know we can't rely on our schools to do everything, but I guess my question is whether it's better to just assume the worst and take things over at home/supplemental experiences/activities approach.

Excuse my ignorance, but why does it matter that you are black? It seems to me this is the same question that runs through the minds of all parents. What is different?

I don't know if you've heard, but there's thing called institutionalized racism.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would suggest the SES analysis as well. If your kids are in a school where the black kids are upper middle class, their scores are going to be a lot higher than schools where the white/asian kids are upper middle class and most of the black kids are in a lower class bracket. My kids go to an FCPS school where (1) the FARMS rate is around 10% and it is not correlated to minority kids, and (2) the black kids actually did BETTER than the white kids in many of the tests this past spring. I wonder if the school has made a concerted effort to focus on bringing black kids' test scores up and in the process didn't notice some of the other kids barely getting by.

I wouldn't give up on public schools. IMO, test scores are even more important for a black family that expects their kids to leap over the achievement gap compared to the value of scores for the average white family. Many FCPS schools are assertively looking for bright minority students to participate in Young Scholars and AAP. What happens at home and the expectations you have for your children will be more important than any thing else.

This is what we did. We looked at an area where there was enough diversity in FCPS but the black and Hispanic students were not struggling and were not all uniformly lower SES. So far we are happy and every parent that we have met of color Asian, Hispanic or black said the exact same thing to us unpromoted - that they chose the area for the fact that there was diversity but all the parents of color seemed dedicated to their children's education.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I guess my question is whether it is worth investing in a home in a district like Langley or whatever versus living some place less expensive and investing those resources to supplement our children's educational experience since the outcomes are uniformly unacceptable for our student population, regardless of location. I know we can't rely on our schools to do everything, but I guess my question is whether it's better to just assume the worst and take things over at home/supplemental experiences/activities approach.

Excuse my ignorance, but why does it matter that you are black? It seems to me this is the same question that runs through the minds of all parents. What is different?

+1.

OP, are you kids light black or dark black? And, are their ears pointy or not?

Of course it makes a difference. Kids notice when they are the only one.

Kids also notice if all the other kids that look like you are not doing well or are not focused on college. That type of attitude is the type of attitude that those of use who have achieved through education do. It want our children to have to contend with. The notion that to speak properly is to be 'white' and the pressure on minority students of lower SES to conform to lowered expectations are the type of environments that I would want to avoid for my child. It sucks but to some degree it's true.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't think it's a function of race. It's a function of how involved the parents are, and the value they place on education. I'm AA and my kids are doing very well academically in FCPS public schools. I am very involved with their academics, and don't expect the school to do everything. My kids went into K reading, as many kids in this area do. I think as long as you don't assume that because you are in a "great school" you can just assume they will get a great education and the school will do it all, your kids will do as well a their classmates. I think if you value education and are an active participant in your children's education, they will also do extremely well at a lower performing school, they would just be exposed to a different environment, and may not have as many peers with the same academic goals. Bottom line, outcome depends on how much the parents value education, are active participants and don't assume the school is solely responsible, rather than on race. Your post is basically asking whether your kids are screwed no matter what school they go to and the answer is it, in large part, depends on you and your commitment to their academic achievement.

Yes, but what if the peer group that surrounds them do not have that same type of positive environment at home?