recent experiences at takoma park elementary

[Anonymous]

curious for folks who had recent k-2 kids at takoma park elementary. how big are the classes? how much time is spent on screens? are kids doing worksheets all day? the classrooms feel well-managed? do your kids like school? in general would appreciate any pros/cons you can mention about your child's experience. thank you!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:curious for folks who had recent k-2 kids at takoma park elementary. how big are the classes? how much time is spent on screens? are kids doing worksheets all day? the classrooms feel well-managed? do your kids like school? in general would appreciate any pros/cons you can mention about your child's experience. thank you!

Same as almost any MCPS school. I don't think it's a focus school anymore so class sizes are normal. Screens are a function of the curriculum.

[Anonymous]

Class sizes are 25-26. That’s considered “normal,” but for a kindergarten or first grade class, it’s a lot for any teacher to manage. The curriculum for literacy and math is solid. Specials teachers seem to rely on videos a lot and some classes have had some challenging behavioral issues. You likely will be able to visit yourself in the spring and see what you think.

[Anonymous]

How many kindergarten classes are there? My understanding is the classes aren’t allowed to have aides. Is there a lot of parent involvement in the classroom?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How many kindergarten classes are there? My understanding is the classes aren’t allowed to have aides. Is there a lot of parent involvement in the classroom?

What do you mean they aren’t allowed to have aides? MCPS won’t allow it? That makes no sense. Like any MCPS, there will be paras split across the classes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Class sizes are 25-26. That’s considered “normal,” but for a kindergarten or first grade class, it’s a lot for any teacher to manage. The curriculum for literacy and math is solid. Specials teachers seem to rely on videos a lot and some classes have had some challenging behavioral issues. You likely will be able to visit yourself in the spring and see what you think.

When my oldest was there 5-6 years ago, it was still a focus school so sizes were close to 20. That's back when they also had the only elementary magnet in MCPS. I think a lot has changed with the push for equity so more advanced kids get less these days.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How many kindergarten classes are there? My understanding is the classes aren’t allowed to have aides. Is there a lot of parent involvement in the classroom?

What do you mean they aren’t allowed to have aides? MCPS won’t allow it? That makes no sense. Like any MCPS, there will be paras split across the classes.

I assume PP meant the parents aren’t allowed to fund aides for their kids’ classroom, which is apparently a practice in some DC schools

[Anonymous]

Yes, thank you, this is exactly what I meant. I wasn’t aware that TPES utilized paras who are split amongst the classes. Can you give more detail about how they are used? How many classes are the split amongst?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How many kindergarten classes are there? My understanding is the classes aren’t allowed to have aides. Is there a lot of parent involvement in the classroom?

What do you mean they aren’t allowed to have aides? MCPS won’t allow it? That makes no sense. Like any MCPS, there will be paras split across the classes.

I assume PP meant the parents aren’t allowed to fund aides for their kids’ classroom, which is apparently a practice in some DC schools

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How many kindergarten classes are there? My understanding is the classes aren’t allowed to have aides. Is there a lot of parent involvement in the classroom?

What do you mean they aren’t allowed to have aides? MCPS won’t allow it? That makes no sense. Like any MCPS, there will be paras split across the classes.

I assume PP meant the parents aren’t allowed to fund aides for their kids’ classroom, which is apparently a practice in some DC schools

This is correct. The equity brigade didn't like how much learning was happening in some schools so they passed some policies to put a stop to it. They would rather you buy a Porsche you don't need than spend money on your kid's school because equity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, thank you, this is exactly what I meant. I wasn’t aware that TPES utilized paras who are split amongst the classes. Can you give more detail about how they are used? How many classes are the split amongst?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How many kindergarten classes are there? My understanding is the classes aren’t allowed to have aides. Is there a lot of parent involvement in the classroom?

What do you mean they aren’t allowed to have aides? MCPS won’t allow it? That makes no sense. Like any MCPS, there will be paras split across the classes.

I assume PP meant the parents aren’t allowed to fund aides for their kids’ classroom, which is apparently a practice in some DC schools

It's like any MCPS - for ES there are a certain number of paras that push in throughout the day. There is not a dedicated para, but typically they are there for ELA and/or math. And of course SPED and ELL teachers also come in and out throughout the day.

25-26 seems very high. At our school (a normal, non-FARMs, non-focus school), we have 20-22 and 7 classes per grade.

[Anonymous]

I’m curious how things are specifically at Takoma park elementary. The class sizes sound big and I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around how a kindergarten with 26 kids and 1 teacher functions…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How many kindergarten classes are there? My understanding is the classes aren’t allowed to have aides. Is there a lot of parent involvement in the classroom?

What do you mean they aren’t allowed to have aides? MCPS won’t allow it? That makes no sense. Like any MCPS, there will be paras split across the classes.

I assume PP meant the parents aren’t allowed to fund aides for their kids’ classroom, which is apparently a practice in some DC schools

This is correct. The equity brigade didn't like how much learning was happening in some schools so they passed some policies to put a stop to it. They would rather you buy a Porsche you don't need than spend money on your kid's school because equity.

No. This has always been the policy in MCPS. It isn't about equity, specifically.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m curious how things are specifically at Takoma park elementary. The class sizes sound big and I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around how a kindergarten with 26 kids and 1 teacher functions…

Class size is a function of FARMS rate. This is standard throughout MCPS.

When my youngest was at TPES. Their K had around 18 kids, but the 2nd had more like 25.

When my oldest was there, 2nd had maybe 20 because it was still a focus school. This is no longer true so class sizes are the default size for regular MCPS ES.

[Anonymous]

Is 26 kids in kindergarten the “default/regular” size in MCPS? Anecdotally, I’ve mentioned this to friends with kids at a few different MCPS elementary schools and they were all aghast at that number.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is 26 kids in kindergarten the “default/regular” size in MCPS? Anecdotally, I’ve mentioned this to friends with kids at a few different MCPS elementary schools and they were all aghast at that number.

The guideline for kindergarten is 24.

"Classroom teacher positions for Grades K–5 are allocated based on enrollment projections to Kindergarten using a class size guideline of 24, to Grades 1–2 using a class size guideline of 25, to Grade 3 using a class size guideline of 26, and to Grades 4-5 using a class size guideline of 28. Additional classroom teacher positions are provided to focus and Title I schools to Grades K–2 using a class size guideline of 18, to Grade 3 using a class size guideline of 24, and to Grades 4-5 using a class size guideline of 26."

https://www2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/siteassets/district/departments/budget/fy2024/fy2024_summarybudget_final.pdf