Option H is permanent and the old Wootton HS campus will be closed for good?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Several posters commented that it’s been predetermined, that it was always going to happen regardless etc…

So MCPS is asking for people to do the surveys, to come to the town halls for community meetings and engagement, to put comments in about specific solutions they would like to see-for what? To be performative?

If they have always been and are still 100% with this it honestly would have been better for them to not do the surveys at all/not have all the conversation going on about it and to just basically be like-this is what’s going to happen. Because now if they go through with this they are doing so without the community support AFTER they asked for their input. It creates a distrust and honestly makes it seem like they just wasted everybody’s time and effort when they had no intention of listening or making changes.

A very very small minority in the Wootton community support moving to Crown. The petition (which I know doesn’t matter but i’m just mentioning for a numbers standpoint) has over 4k signatures.

I know there have been a couple comments from Wootton parents saying they support it but again, based on everything we are seeing and hearing in the cluster-it’s overwhelmingly against it.

So I really hope they listen. Because I just don’t think it’s any organization’s best interest to push something through like this after so much opposition. [/quote]

Keyword - Hope

You all know what happened to Cabin Branch - and your situation is not as bad as that - those folks a million dollars for a new build since it was zoned to Clarksburg. Their opposition meant nothing and now they go to Seneca Valley which is the 2nd worst school upcounty (the first one is Watkins Mill).

There's a thread here about that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Several posters commented that it’s been predetermined, that it was always going to happen regardless etc…

So MCPS is asking for people to do the surveys, to come to the town halls for community meetings and engagement, to put comments in about specific solutions they would like to see-for what? To be performative?

If they have always been and are still 100% with this it honestly would have been better for them to not do the surveys at all/not have all the conversation going on about it and to just basically be like-this is what’s going to happen. Because now if they go through with this they are doing so without the community support AFTER they asked for their input. It creates a distrust and honestly makes it seem like they just wasted everybody’s time and effort when they had no intention of listening or making changes.

A very very small minority in the Wootton community support moving to Crown. The petition (which I know doesn’t matter but i’m just mentioning for a numbers standpoint) has over 4k signatures.

I know there have been a couple comments from Wootton parents saying they support it but again, based on everything we are seeing and hearing in the cluster-it’s overwhelmingly against it.

So I really hope they listen. Because I just don’t think it’s any organization’s best interest to push something through like this after so much opposition. [/quote]

Keyword - Hope

You all know what happened to Cabin Branch - and your situation is not as bad as that - those folks a million dollars for a new build since it was zoned to Clarksburg. Their opposition meant nothing and now they go to Seneca Valley which is the 2nd worst school upcounty (the first one is Watkins Mill).

There's a thread here about that.

Didn't some of them switch back?

There's some community that people posted about that have been going back and forth, or maybe just in the current proposals?

And that's the other issue that Wootton families are foreseeing. MCPS isn't basing things on accurate forecasts or predictions. And are proposing to uproot students/families and only to do it again a couple of years down the line. And again, the issue was that Wootton was a stable school, that other than needing renovations, never should have been brought into the Crown conversation.

Not only could the overcrowding at Gaithersburg schools have been resolved by shifting boundaries for those school without a new school. They could have filled Crown with just the overcrowded schools.

But the Wootton area was brought into the conversation from Day 1. Even before it was determined there is declining enrollment and not enough justification for an additional high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Several posters commented that it’s been predetermined, that it was always going to happen regardless etc…

So MCPS is asking for people to do the surveys, to come to the town halls for community meetings and engagement, to put comments in about specific solutions they would like to see-for what? To be performative?

If they have always been and are still 100% with this it honestly would have been better for them to not do the surveys at all/not have all the conversation going on about it and to just basically be like-this is what’s going to happen. Because now if they go through with this they are doing so without the community support AFTER they asked for their input. It creates a distrust and honestly makes it seem like they just wasted everybody’s time and effort when they had no intention of listening or making changes.

A very very small minority in the Wootton community support moving to Crown. The petition (which I know doesn’t matter but i’m just mentioning for a numbers standpoint) has over 4k signatures.

I know there have been a couple comments from Wootton parents saying they support it but again, based on everything we are seeing and hearing in the cluster-it’s overwhelmingly against it.

So I really hope they listen. Because I just don’t think it’s any organization’s best interest to push something through like this after so much opposition. [/quote]

Keyword - Hope

You all know what happened to Cabin Branch - and your situation is not as bad as that - those folks a million dollars for a new build since it was zoned to Clarksburg. Their opposition meant nothing and now they go to Seneca Valley which is the 2nd worst school upcounty (the first one is Watkins Mill).

There's a thread here about that.

It’s fundamentally different between rezoning a neighborhood and closing/relocating a school

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Several posters commented that it’s been predetermined, that it was always going to happen regardless etc…

So MCPS is asking for people to do the surveys, to come to the town halls for community meetings and engagement, to put comments in about specific solutions they would like to see-for what? To be performative?

If they have always been and are still 100% with this it honestly would have been better for them to not do the surveys at all/not have all the conversation going on about it and to just basically be like-this is what’s going to happen. Because now if they go through with this they are doing so without the community support AFTER they asked for their input. It creates a distrust and honestly makes it seem like they just wasted everybody’s time and effort when they had no intention of listening or making changes.

A very very small minority in the Wootton community support moving to Crown. The petition (which I know doesn’t matter but i’m just mentioning for a numbers standpoint) has over 4k signatures.

I know there have been a couple comments from Wootton parents saying they support it but again, based on everything we are seeing and hearing in the cluster-it’s overwhelmingly against it.

So I really hope they listen. Because I just don’t think it’s any organization’s best interest to push something through like this after so much opposition. [/quote]

Keyword - Hope

You all know what happened to Cabin Branch - and your situation is not as bad as that - those folks a million dollars for a new build since it was zoned to Clarksburg. Their opposition meant nothing and now they go to Seneca Valley which is the 2nd worst school upcounty (the first one is Watkins Mill).

There's a thread here about that.

It’s fundamentally different between rezoning a neighborhood and closing/relocating a school

Agree-this is an entirely different situation and not comparable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wootton is the affordable W school

Which is why it's the easier target and the one always beat up on.

As previous poster mentioned, once can choose to settle for a little bit less for the money in choosing Wootton vs some other areas.

And the same can be said for choosing Wootton over some of the other richer areas.

But this whole process shows what areas are more protected and in hindsight it is apparent, where some of the schools there don't have to deal with some of the nonsense that some of the Wootton cluster schools did. Those Wayside parents sure didn't want to get zoned to Wootton.

So it may very well be worth it to move to an even older/smaller home in these richer areas but also have more protection against these kinds of things.

No one is targeting or beating up on Wootton. Wootton is just being unrealistic about the boundary situation and crying about it.

First it was unfair that Dufief has to leave the cluster
Second was it is unfair that the school is falling apart
Third is that it is unfair that Wootton needs to move to a new building
Fourth is that it is unfair that Gaithersburg students will be at the new building with Wootton.

Wootton boundaries are right along where the area with Crown. There will be changes to Wootton. You all need to be realistic about the situation.

Changes like:
being moved to a new building miles from the original
a new name
new student cohort
new teachers
new admin
new programs
leveling the old Wootton

Apart from those things it'll be EXACTLY THE SAME.

The bolded has no basis in fact.
If Wootton were moved to a holding school for a year while the current building was leveled and a new building in its place, would you have an issue? No. So that is not a thing.
There may be an additional student cohort, not splitting up the current one.

So yes, there will be changes- many students very much inconvenienced by traveling to a new location. That is real. Yes, there will be a new name, but I can't see the meaningful argument for why that matters much. And...tell me why additional students is a bad thing?

Of course there will be teacher and admin turnover. That's what happens when a school closes and another opens. As for students, they're proposing to add a couple extra ES and they'll probably remove an ES or two which changes the cohort. Change is bad when things are working well and Wooton is one of the state's best high schools. Just admit that you hate the W schools and want to see them eliminated.

That's not why there would be turnover. There is turnover yearly at every school. Usually, teachers want closer to home, better admin, teaching their actual classes they were train for, etc.

Your kids will be ok if they add another ES. Its a good learning lesson for them to be in the real world with actual low income and not just rich pretending they are low income.

I'm glad we agree that when a school closes and a new one opens there are reasons new teachers might to want to teach there or existing teachers might find it too far and this will cause more turnover than usual. And you outed yourself as an anti-W school, pro-busser with "Its a good learning lesson for them to be in the real world with actual low income."

Yeah I'm not a fan of them and is a reason why we purposely avoided some of the richer areas... Yes we're one of the ones that could've afforded to live somewhere more expensive but didn't want our kids in that environment.

But some people honestly can live in a segregated world and that's their world. And it's fine. It's just different worlds and classes.

But some of these "anti-W school" people think that their point of view or world is the right way and how everyone should do and see things.

It goes back to the debate about county wide magnet programs. Some of these students are coming out and benefiting society and leading change. Whereas a lot of posters on here are saying that enrichment isn't needed for these types of students and the focus should be for the greater population who are struggling.

It's the same point of view when it comes to wanting to tear down W schools or forcing mixed demographics or integration. If they do that, can they guarantee the same level of academic rigor and standards that some of these families were looking for in choosing an area to live in and send their kids to?

The W schools have advanced classes for these students. Its the kids in the other schools that are lacking in course offerings that need the magnets to achieve to the same level.

This is kind of the mentality out there, where people want things for free.

Maybe five or ten years ago on this forum people would post, "It's all one school district. It's all the same curriculum" And that was a very naive way of thinking. And people that knew, knew which schools to look for and why some areas were more desirable and expensive than others. In the Wootton school district there are rentals available, both homes and townhomes. And they have the apartments over by the Traville Shopping Center. And there were some homes with multiple families living there. The specific cases I'm thinking of are African immigrants. So yeah believe it or not there are URM minorities in the Wootton school district.

So people were willing to sacrifice to give their kids a chance for a better education.

Fast forward to now, people are realizing there really is an inequality between schools. Such as in the different levels of rigor in the same class in different schools, leading to limited advanced offerings at some schools because supposedly there weren't enough students interested and qualified for it.

And instead of looking at the root of the problem and trying to improve it to make more students qualified for the classes, they're saying it's not fair so we should make it equal for everyone. So those people who decided to take the "grasshopper" route by buying a really nice house on a nice plot of land say that no one should take the really advanced classes or be in the advanced programs because not everyone qualifies for it. Or trying to mix the W students in with some other populations so there would be enough students for the advanced classes. But some of these students come from different elementary schools with the same different levels of preparation. So what happens if some of them can't perform or keep up with the material? Well MCPS doesn't fail anyone, so they'll slow down the curriculum for everyone in the class and school.

If people say they purposely avoid Wootton because they didn't want their kids in a pressure cooker environment, well don't complain that Wootton and other W schools have more advanced classes than other schools. Because that pressure cooker environment is what pushed kids to be able to take those courses and eligible for the countywide programs.

No one is asking for anything for free. We all all paying taxes to support the schools and all our kids should get equal opportunities. There are enough kids to take the advanced classes but there ae also more average kids than advanced and the prinicipals choose to use their allocations on the average kids vs. doing a mix good for all.

If you look at this document, the max MPDU rental rate for a one bedroom in high rise with someone with a max annual salary of $80500 is $1680/month:
https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/DHCA/Resources/Files/housing/affordable/publications/mpdu/calculate_rental_rates.pdf

This rental in Rio island assigned to Wootton is $1628/month:
https://www.redfin.com/MD/Gaithersburg/eaves-Washingtonian-Center/apartment/22011115

This townhome is for sale for $675000:
https://www.redfin.com/MD/Rockville/554-Monet-Dr-20850/home/10518574

This recently listed home now under contract listed for $785000:
https://www.redfin.com/MD/Rockville/2892-Balmoral-Dr-20850/home/10510799

And these apartments not in Rio island are about $2500/month:
https://www.redfin.com/MD/Rockville/Avalon-at-Traville/apartment/22011398

The homes in Wootton aren't necessarily inaccessible. But a lot of the pricing is because you're paying for the schools.

For example instead of paying $785000 for a 1830 square foot 60 year old single family home listed above, you chose to buy this new build home for $800k recently under contract:
https://www.redfin.com/MD/Montgomery-Village/9759-Stewartown-Rd-20886/unit-P45/home/196137281

You're paying more in property taxes. But you also chose to go for the newer and bigger home and most likely didn't take schools as much into account.

Or if you want something closer, this home in the Lakelands:
https://www.redfin.com/MD/Gaithersburg/528-Market-Mews-E-20878/home/11183064

Not much bigger. But newer and gets the amenities of being in a preplanned development if you like that kind of thing.

Living in the Wootton school district isn't out of reach. But you can definitely get more for the money if you live elsewhere. But people choose to pay the money to live in the Wootton school district because of the reputation of its schools. So they may settle for the smaller or older home. And even if you're paying the same amount in property taxes, you probably have a lot more house for the money or some features that you really like that would've cost a lot more if it was in an area zoned for a W school.

Wootton is a school, MCPS is the school district. Wootton has had some serious issues in the past five years. I wouldn't pay that much to send my child there, especially after the rape.

And this is the type of poster that doesn't contribute.

You know school system employee staff refer to school zones as districts right? In multiple school systems in the area?

It's posters like the above that demand things to be called a certain way instead of focusing on the actual matters.

They're probably the ones that used to spout the "It's all one district and one curriculum belief'

It's okay they'll just go on and pick up whatever new popular words or trends are later.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Several posters commented that it’s been predetermined, that it was always going to happen regardless etc…

So MCPS is asking for people to do the surveys, to come to the town halls for community meetings and engagement, to put comments in about specific solutions they would like to see-for what? To be performative?

If they have always been and are still 100% with this it honestly would have been better for them to not do the surveys at all/not have all the conversation going on about it and to just basically be like-this is what’s going to happen. Because now if they go through with this they are doing so without the community support AFTER they asked for their input. It creates a distrust and honestly makes it seem like they just wasted everybody’s time and effort when they had no intention of listening or making changes.

A very very small minority in the Wootton community support moving to Crown. The petition (which I know doesn’t matter but i’m just mentioning for a numbers standpoint) has over 4k signatures.

I know there have been a couple comments from Wootton parents saying they support it but again, based on everything we are seeing and hearing in the cluster-it’s overwhelmingly against it.

So I really hope they listen. Because I just don’t think it’s any organization’s best interest to push something through like this after so much opposition. [/quote]

Keyword - Hope

You all know what happened to Cabin Branch - and your situation is not as bad as that - those folks a million dollars for a new build since it was zoned to Clarksburg. Their opposition meant nothing and now they go to Seneca Valley which is the 2nd worst school upcounty (the first one is Watkins Mill).

There's a thread here about that.

They built the school before they did the studies. The studies were just a way to "sugar coat it".

https://wtop.com/montgomery-county/2026/01/wooton-high-school-community-packs-mcps-board-meeting-on-closure-proposal/

[Anonymous]

No they don't listen and won't listen in the future. Look at the regional program roll-out. How many threads and posts you've seen here expressing concerns or oppositions? Even if only 50% of them actually wrote emails or filled the survey (i.e., the tiny little orange button saying "having a question?"), they should have received thousands of negative feedbacks. Look at the MCCPTA and MCEA opposition on this. Look at the study team's shout on the opinion article....

Now look at their proposed operating budget and the fact that Mr. O's "promotion" to join the CO? They have decided long time ago and don't every care a penny what you think.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No they don't listen and won't listen in the future. Look at the regional program roll-out. How many threads and posts you've seen here expressing concerns or oppositions? Even if only 50% of them actually wrote emails or filled the survey (i.e., the tiny little orange button saying "having a question?"), they should have received thousands of negative feedbacks. Look at the MCCPTA and MCEA opposition on this. Look at the study team's shout on the opinion article....

Now look at their proposed operating budget and the fact that Mr. O's "promotion" to join the CO? They have decided long time ago and don't every care a penny what you think.

That's fine if they decide to do that.

But they also risk making a less desirable place to live.

That's why maybe just fifteen or twenty years ago, MCPS was head to head with Fairfax County. Fairfax is now at number five in the list of wealthiest counties in the US and Montgomery County is down at twenty now:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_highest-income_counties_in_the_United_States

Same county size, used to be similar populations. But one is able to maintain and improve, while the other declines.

It's been stated before, the middle class of all races are determining there's more for the money and better quality in surrounding areas outside of Montgomery County. Wilde Lake Middle School in Howard County serves it's Black population better than Ridgeview, which have similar size and population, in Montgomery:
https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/50/1305522.page

Urbana is serving all of it's student groups better than Montgomery County does.

So no, the flight is not just one or two specific families someone might know. It's a lot and we've been seeing it over the last ten years.

Montgomery County still has some pockets that do well. But now they're talking about eliminating those too.

Let's see how that works with attracting and retaining residents in the next ten or fifteen years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No they don't listen and won't listen in the future. Look at the regional program roll-out. How many threads and posts you've seen here expressing concerns or oppositions? Even if only 50% of them actually wrote emails or filled the survey (i.e., the tiny little orange button saying "having a question?"), they should have received thousands of negative feedbacks. Look at the MCCPTA and MCEA opposition on this. Look at the study team's shout on the opinion article....

Now look at their proposed operating budget and the fact that Mr. O's "promotion" to join the CO? They have decided long time ago and don't every care a penny what you think.

At a certain point it’s just straight corruption. We pay taxes into the system, they are supposed to serve the community. They need to be publicly called out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No they don't listen and won't listen in the future. Look at the regional program roll-out. How many threads and posts you've seen here expressing concerns or oppositions? Even if only 50% of them actually wrote emails or filled the survey (i.e., the tiny little orange button saying "having a question?"), they should have received thousands of negative feedbacks. Look at the MCCPTA and MCEA opposition on this. Look at the study team's shout on the opinion article....

Now look at their proposed operating budget and the fact that Mr. O's "promotion" to join the CO? They have decided long time ago and don't every care a penny what you think.

That's fine if they decide to do that.

But they also risk making a less desirable place to live.

That's why maybe just fifteen or twenty years ago, MCPS was head to head with Fairfax County. Fairfax is now at number five in the list of wealthiest counties in the US and Montgomery County is down at twenty now:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_highest-income_counties_in_the_United_States

Same county size, used to be similar populations. But one is able to maintain and improve, while the other declines.

It's been stated before, the middle class of all races are determining there's more for the money and better quality in surrounding areas outside of Montgomery County. Wilde Lake Middle School in Howard County serves it's Black population better than Ridgeview, which have similar size and population, in Montgomery:
https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/50/1305522.page

Urbana is serving all of it's student groups better than Montgomery County does.

So no, the flight is not just one or two specific families someone might know. It's a lot and we've been seeing it over the last ten years.

Montgomery County still has some pockets that do well. But now they're talking about eliminating those too.

Let's see how that works with attracting and retaining residents in the next ten or fifteen years.

I live in Churchill, and I plan to move to NoVA after my elder one done with MCPS. I've seen enough and disappointed enough. Several of my elder DCs' friends went to NoVA in the past few years and they seemed happy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No they don't listen and won't listen in the future. Look at the regional program roll-out. How many threads and posts you've seen here expressing concerns or oppositions? Even if only 50% of them actually wrote emails or filled the survey (i.e., the tiny little orange button saying "having a question?"), they should have received thousands of negative feedbacks. Look at the MCCPTA and MCEA opposition on this. Look at the study team's shout on the opinion article....

Now look at their proposed operating budget and the fact that Mr. O's "promotion" to join the CO? They have decided long time ago and don't every care a penny what you think.

That's fine if they decide to do that.

But they also risk making a less desirable place to live.

That's why maybe just fifteen or twenty years ago, MCPS was head to head with Fairfax County. Fairfax is now at number five in the list of wealthiest counties in the US and Montgomery County is down at twenty now:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_highest-income_counties_in_the_United_States

Same county size, used to be similar populations. But one is able to maintain and improve, while the other declines.

It's been stated before, the middle class of all races are determining there's more for the money and better quality in surrounding areas outside of Montgomery County. Wilde Lake Middle School in Howard County serves it's Black population better than Ridgeview, which have similar size and population, in Montgomery:
https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/50/1305522.page

Urbana is serving all of it's student groups better than Montgomery County does.

So no, the flight is not just one or two specific families someone might know. It's a lot and we've been seeing it over the last ten years.

Montgomery County still has some pockets that do well. But now they're talking about eliminating those too.

Let's see how that works with attracting and retaining residents in the next ten or fifteen years.

I live in Churchill, and I plan to move to NoVA after my elder one done with MCPS. I've seen enough and disappointed enough. Several of my elder DCs' friends went to NoVA in the past few years and they seemed happy.

I don't think I really participated in the Fairfax vs Montgomery County debates in the past. But people used to post how people who grew up in Montgomery County usually don't go over to Virginia. But in fact we know whole a whole group of friends who graduated from Churchill and moved together into the same neighborhood in Fairfax. Some of these members were investors who seeked to revitalize the Wheaton area, to model the revitalization of Arlington and Alexandria went through several years prior, but met too much opposition from the residents there. So decided that Virginia/Fairfax was the better area. In hindsight, maybe they weren't wrong.

And it's exactly those types of residents who insist on bringing down Montgomery County and MCPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No they don't listen and won't listen in the future. Look at the regional program roll-out. How many threads and posts you've seen here expressing concerns or oppositions? Even if only 50% of them actually wrote emails or filled the survey (i.e., the tiny little orange button saying "having a question?"), they should have received thousands of negative feedbacks. Look at the MCCPTA and MCEA opposition on this. Look at the study team's shout on the opinion article....

Now look at their proposed operating budget and the fact that Mr. O's "promotion" to join the CO? They have decided long time ago and don't every care a penny what you think.

That's fine if they decide to do that.

But they also risk making a less desirable place to live.

That's why maybe just fifteen or twenty years ago, MCPS was head to head with Fairfax County. Fairfax is now at number five in the list of wealthiest counties in the US and Montgomery County is down at twenty now:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_highest-income_counties_in_the_United_States

Same county size, used to be similar populations. But one is able to maintain and improve, while the other declines.

It's been stated before, the middle class of all races are determining there's more for the money and better quality in surrounding areas outside of Montgomery County. Wilde Lake Middle School in Howard County serves it's Black population better than Ridgeview, which have similar size and population, in Montgomery:
https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/50/1305522.page

Urbana is serving all of it's student groups better than Montgomery County does.

So no, the flight is not just one or two specific families someone might know. It's a lot and we've been seeing it over the last ten years.

Montgomery County still has some pockets that do well. But now they're talking about eliminating those too.

Let's see how that works with attracting and retaining residents in the next ten or fifteen years.

I live in Churchill, and I plan to move to NoVA after my elder one done with MCPS. I've seen enough and disappointed enough. Several of my elder DCs' friends went to NoVA in the past few years and they seemed happy.

I don't think I really participated in the Fairfax vs Montgomery County debates in the past. But people used to post how people who grew up in Montgomery County usually don't go over to Virginia. But in fact we know whole a whole group of friends who graduated from Churchill and moved together into the same neighborhood in Fairfax. Some of these members were investors who seeked to revitalize the Wheaton area, to model the revitalization of Arlington and Alexandria went through several years prior, but met too much opposition from the residents there. So decided that Virginia/Fairfax was the better area. In hindsight, maybe they weren't wrong.

And it's exactly those types of residents who insist on bringing down Montgomery County and MCPS.

The only reason I live in moco not Fairfax is because of the commute to work is a nightmare from VA to MD. But at some point I’ll move there if more work at home flexibility can be secured or when I retire.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wootton is the affordable W school

Which is why it's the easier target and the one always beat up on.

As previous poster mentioned, once can choose to settle for a little bit less for the money in choosing Wootton vs some other areas.

And the same can be said for choosing Wootton over some of the other richer areas.

But this whole process shows what areas are more protected and in hindsight it is apparent, where some of the schools there don't have to deal with some of the nonsense that some of the Wootton cluster schools did. Those Wayside parents sure didn't want to get zoned to Wootton.

So it may very well be worth it to move to an even older/smaller home in these richer areas but also have more protection against these kinds of things.

No one is targeting or beating up on Wootton. Wootton is just being unrealistic about the boundary situation and crying about it.

First it was unfair that Dufief has to leave the cluster
Second was it is unfair that the school is falling apart
Third is that it is unfair that Wootton needs to move to a new building
Fourth is that it is unfair that Gaithersburg students will be at the new building with Wootton.

Wootton boundaries are right along where the area with Crown. There will be changes to Wootton. You all need to be realistic about the situation.

Changes like:
being moved to a new building miles from the original
a new name
new student cohort
new teachers
new admin
new programs
leveling the old Wootton

Apart from those things it'll be EXACTLY THE SAME.

The bolded has no basis in fact.
If Wootton were moved to a holding school for a year while the current building was leveled and a new building in its place, would you have an issue? No. So that is not a thing.
There may be an additional student cohort, not splitting up the current one.

So yes, there will be changes- many students very much inconvenienced by traveling to a new location. That is real. Yes, there will be a new name, but I can't see the meaningful argument for why that matters much. And...tell me why additional students is a bad thing?

Of course there will be teacher and admin turnover. That's what happens when a school closes and another opens. As for students, they're proposing to add a couple extra ES and they'll probably remove an ES or two which changes the cohort. Change is bad when things are working well and Wooton is one of the state's best high schools. Just admit that you hate the W schools and want to see them eliminated.

That's not why there would be turnover. There is turnover yearly at every school. Usually, teachers want closer to home, better admin, teaching their actual classes they were train for, etc.

Your kids will be ok if they add another ES. Its a good learning lesson for them to be in the real world with actual low income and not just rich pretending they are low income.

I'm glad we agree that when a school closes and a new one opens there are reasons new teachers might to want to teach there or existing teachers might find it too far and this will cause more turnover than usual. And you outed yourself as an anti-W school, pro-busser with "Its a good learning lesson for them to be in the real world with actual low income."

Yeah I'm not a fan of them and is a reason why we purposely avoided some of the richer areas... Yes we're one of the ones that could've afforded to live somewhere more expensive but didn't want our kids in that environment.

But some people honestly can live in a segregated world and that's their world. And it's fine. It's just different worlds and classes.

But some of these "anti-W school" people think that their point of view or world is the right way and how everyone should do and see things.

It goes back to the debate about county wide magnet programs. Some of these students are coming out and benefiting society and leading change. Whereas a lot of posters on here are saying that enrichment isn't needed for these types of students and the focus should be for the greater population who are struggling.

It's the same point of view when it comes to wanting to tear down W schools or forcing mixed demographics or integration. If they do that, can they guarantee the same level of academic rigor and standards that some of these families were looking for in choosing an area to live in and send their kids to?

The W schools have advanced classes for these students. Its the kids in the other schools that are lacking in course offerings that need the magnets to achieve to the same level.

This is kind of the mentality out there, where people want things for free.

Maybe five or ten years ago on this forum people would post, "It's all one school district. It's all the same curriculum" And that was a very naive way of thinking. And people that knew, knew which schools to look for and why some areas were more desirable and expensive than others. In the Wootton school district there are rentals available, both homes and townhomes. And they have the apartments over by the Traville Shopping Center. And there were some homes with multiple families living there. The specific cases I'm thinking of are African immigrants. So yeah believe it or not there are URM minorities in the Wootton school district.

So people were willing to sacrifice to give their kids a chance for a better education.

Fast forward to now, people are realizing there really is an inequality between schools. Such as in the different levels of rigor in the same class in different schools, leading to limited advanced offerings at some schools because supposedly there weren't enough students interested and qualified for it.

And instead of looking at the root of the problem and trying to improve it to make more students qualified for the classes, they're saying it's not fair so we should make it equal for everyone. So those people who decided to take the "grasshopper" route by buying a really nice house on a nice plot of land say that no one should take the really advanced classes or be in the advanced programs because not everyone qualifies for it. Or trying to mix the W students in with some other populations so there would be enough students for the advanced classes. But some of these students come from different elementary schools with the same different levels of preparation. So what happens if some of them can't perform or keep up with the material? Well MCPS doesn't fail anyone, so they'll slow down the curriculum for everyone in the class and school.

If people say they purposely avoid Wootton because they didn't want their kids in a pressure cooker environment, well don't complain that Wootton and other W schools have more advanced classes than other schools. Because that pressure cooker environment is what pushed kids to be able to take those courses and eligible for the countywide programs.

No one is asking for anything for free. We all all paying taxes to support the schools and all our kids should get equal opportunities. There are enough kids to take the advanced classes but there ae also more average kids than advanced and the prinicipals choose to use their allocations on the average kids vs. doing a mix good for all.

If you look at this document, the max MPDU rental rate for a one bedroom in high rise with someone with a max annual salary of $80500 is $1680/month:
https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/DHCA/Resources/Files/housing/affordable/publications/mpdu/calculate_rental_rates.pdf

This rental in Rio island assigned to Wootton is $1628/month:
https://www.redfin.com/MD/Gaithersburg/eaves-Washingtonian-Center/apartment/22011115

This townhome is for sale for $675000:
https://www.redfin.com/MD/Rockville/554-Monet-Dr-20850/home/10518574

This recently listed home now under contract listed for $785000:
https://www.redfin.com/MD/Rockville/2892-Balmoral-Dr-20850/home/10510799

And these apartments not in Rio island are about $2500/month:
https://www.redfin.com/MD/Rockville/Avalon-at-Traville/apartment/22011398

The homes in Wootton aren't necessarily inaccessible. But a lot of the pricing is because you're paying for the schools.

For example instead of paying $785000 for a 1830 square foot 60 year old single family home listed above, you chose to buy this new build home for $800k recently under contract:
https://www.redfin.com/MD/Montgomery-Village/9759-Stewartown-Rd-20886/unit-P45/home/196137281

You're paying more in property taxes. But you also chose to go for the newer and bigger home and most likely didn't take schools as much into account.

Or if you want something closer, this home in the Lakelands:
https://www.redfin.com/MD/Gaithersburg/528-Market-Mews-E-20878/home/11183064

Not much bigger. But newer and gets the amenities of being in a preplanned development if you like that kind of thing.

Living in the Wootton school district isn't out of reach. But you can definitely get more for the money if you live elsewhere. But people choose to pay the money to live in the Wootton school district because of the reputation of its schools. So they may settle for the smaller or older home. And even if you're paying the same amount in property taxes, you probably have a lot more house for the money or some features that you really like that would've cost a lot more if it was in an area zoned for a W school.

Wootton is a school, MCPS is the school district. Wootton has had some serious issues in the past five years. I wouldn't pay that much to send my child there, especially after the rape.

And this is the type of poster that doesn't contribute.

You know school system employee staff refer to school zones as districts right? In multiple school systems in the area?

It's posters like the above that demand things to be called a certain way instead of focusing on the actual matters.

They're probably the ones that used to spout the "It's all one district and one curriculum belief'

It's okay they'll just go on and pick up whatever new popular words or trends are later.

Actually those things do matter especially when it was preventable. What do you have to offer? We’ve asked many times for suggestions and you have not suggested anything. There is no money in the budget and you refuse crown. You’d rather tantrum and bully vs offer real solutions or wait your turn.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No they don't listen and won't listen in the future. Look at the regional program roll-out. How many threads and posts you've seen here expressing concerns or oppositions? Even if only 50% of them actually wrote emails or filled the survey (i.e., the tiny little orange button saying "having a question?"), they should have received thousands of negative feedbacks. Look at the MCCPTA and MCEA opposition on this. Look at the study team's shout on the opinion article....

Now look at their proposed operating budget and the fact that Mr. O's "promotion" to join the CO? They have decided long time ago and don't every care a penny what you think.

That's fine if they decide to do that.

But they also risk making a less desirable place to live.

That's why maybe just fifteen or twenty years ago, MCPS was head to head with Fairfax County. Fairfax is now at number five in the list of wealthiest counties in the US and Montgomery County is down at twenty now:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_highest-income_counties_in_the_United_States

Same county size, used to be similar populations. But one is able to maintain and improve, while the other declines.

It's been stated before, the middle class of all races are determining there's more for the money and better quality in surrounding areas outside of Montgomery County. Wilde Lake Middle School in Howard County serves it's Black population better than Ridgeview, which have similar size and population, in Montgomery:
https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/50/1305522.page

Urbana is serving all of it's student groups better than Montgomery County does.

So no, the flight is not just one or two specific families someone might know. It's a lot and we've been seeing it over the last ten years.

Montgomery County still has some pockets that do well. But now they're talking about eliminating those too.

Let's see how that works with attracting and retaining residents in the next ten or fifteen years.

I live in Churchill, and I plan to move to NoVA after my elder one done with MCPS. I've seen enough and disappointed enough. Several of my elder DCs' friends went to NoVA in the past few years and they seemed happy.

I don't think I really participated in the Fairfax vs Montgomery County debates in the past. But people used to post how people who grew up in Montgomery County usually don't go over to Virginia. But in fact we know whole a whole group of friends who graduated from Churchill and moved together into the same neighborhood in Fairfax. Some of these members were investors who seeked to revitalize the Wheaton area, to model the revitalization of Arlington and Alexandria went through several years prior, but met too much opposition from the residents there. So decided that Virginia/Fairfax was the better area. In hindsight, maybe they weren't wrong.

And it's exactly those types of residents who insist on bringing down Montgomery County and MCPS.

The only reason I live in moco not Fairfax is because of the commute to work is a nightmare from VA to MD. But at some point I’ll move there if more work at home flexibility can be secured or when I retire.

You're probably one of the few that I know of that works in Montgomery County.

The few that I know tend to be federal workers or contractors, who are getting decimated by the current administration. And/or researchers or statisticians, where if they don't work for the fed, they work for one of the Biotech firms in the area.

Some of them are from out of the area and country and when asking them why they chose the specific school area they did, they said it was because of the school ratings. Well MCPS seems intent on eliminating one of it's top ranked schools. Where even though it might be an entire move now, there are still possibilities for changes and modifications. If not now, then later down the road if school capacity requires it.

Practically everyone else I know does the hour or so commute into DC or Virginia. Some of the people that commuted to Virginia came back close to midnight when there was that thundersnow several years back.

I sure hope Montgomery County and MCPS makes Montgomery County a worthwhile place to move to and also to deal with those types of commutes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No they don't listen and won't listen in the future. Look at the regional program roll-out. How many threads and posts you've seen here expressing concerns or oppositions? Even if only 50% of them actually wrote emails or filled the survey (i.e., the tiny little orange button saying "having a question?"), they should have received thousands of negative feedbacks. Look at the MCCPTA and MCEA opposition on this. Look at the study team's shout on the opinion article....

Now look at their proposed operating budget and the fact that Mr. O's "promotion" to join the CO? They have decided long time ago and don't every care a penny what you think.

That's fine if they decide to do that.

But they also risk making a less desirable place to live.

That's why maybe just fifteen or twenty years ago, MCPS was head to head with Fairfax County. Fairfax is now at number five in the list of wealthiest counties in the US and Montgomery County is down at twenty now:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_highest-income_counties_in_the_United_States

Same county size, used to be similar populations. But one is able to maintain and improve, while the other declines.

It's been stated before, the middle class of all races are determining there's more for the money and better quality in surrounding areas outside of Montgomery County. Wilde Lake Middle School in Howard County serves it's Black population better than Ridgeview, which have similar size and population, in Montgomery:
https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/50/1305522.page

Urbana is serving all of it's student groups better than Montgomery County does.

So no, the flight is not just one or two specific families someone might know. It's a lot and we've been seeing it over the last ten years.

Montgomery County still has some pockets that do well. But now they're talking about eliminating those too.

Let's see how that works with attracting and retaining residents in the next ten or fifteen years.

I live in Churchill, and I plan to move to NoVA after my elder one done with MCPS. I've seen enough and disappointed enough. Several of my elder DCs' friends went to NoVA in the past few years and they seemed happy.

I don't think I really participated in the Fairfax vs Montgomery County debates in the past. But people used to post how people who grew up in Montgomery County usually don't go over to Virginia. But in fact we know whole a whole group of friends who graduated from Churchill and moved together into the same neighborhood in Fairfax. Some of these members were investors who seeked to revitalize the Wheaton area, to model the revitalization of Arlington and Alexandria went through several years prior, but met too much opposition from the residents there. So decided that Virginia/Fairfax was the better area. In hindsight, maybe they weren't wrong.

And it's exactly those types of residents who insist on bringing down Montgomery County and MCPS.

They aren’t bringing the county and MCPS down. They were not happy and moved. Nothing wrong with that. The commute to VA is easily 60-120 minutes plus lots of tolls each way.