MCPS elementary these days...

[Anonymous]

As much as we have loved MCPS, we are thinking to send our 3rd kiddo to private (catholic) but still struggling with "letting go" of the public school idea (neighbors being classmates etc). However, I am not expert on MCPS but seems like MCPS is on the decline.. crowded classrooms (ours is an ES in Bethesda), micro managing of teachers, not enough staff/resources to handle students with behavioral issues or different learning needs etc... Am I wrong? Our two oldest kiddos are a few years older than the last one... and seems that MCPS was in a much better place back when they started attending around 2013...til now. Would love to hear perspectives on this. If money was not an issue, would you go private vs MCPS? Thanks

[Anonymous]

I think that a lot of what you are describing is overblown. Talk to your own neighbors - what is their experience with your home ES? Is the administration good? Is the building sufficient for the number of kids? A good principal in a large-enough building can make the numbers work.

Also, just a note that I've heard from classroom teachers that peak "behaviors" are in this year's first and second graders, and that kindergarten teachers are reporting MUCH better socialized kids. I'm failing to do the math, but I think the kids most impacted by covid in terms of missing key "how to be a human" skills were the ones who would have been in pre-K at the time.

[Anonymous]

I’m an MCPS teacher and if money was no object, I would absolutely choose private.

[Anonymous]

According to DCUM, MCPS is in decline.

I haven’t seen it in reality, but DCUM is gonna DCUM.

Also agree that this years kinder kids are much better behaved than in past years. Preschool is important, it turns out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m an MCPS teacher and if money was no object, I would absolutely choose private.

Just any private school? Whichever private school, doesn't matter, as long as it's not MCPS?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m an MCPS teacher and if money was no object, I would absolutely choose private.

+1

[Anonymous]

OP are you talking independent Catholic? If not, I really don't think a Catholic school is better than MCPS, certainly in terms of rigor of work/curriculum.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m an MCPS teacher and if money was no object, I would absolutely choose private.

OP here. Can you share a few reasons? Thanks

[Anonymous]

I think what private matters. We used our local Catholic school during Covid and it was fine but it wasnt stronger than MCPS overall - stronger in some places and weaker in others.

Are you talking like big 3 or just any private, OP?

[Anonymous]

If money was no object and there was a very diverse non-elitist private school that taught the way I think kids should be taught, then it would be private school without a thought.

I don’t know of any private school like that in this dmv region. I would probably hire top-notch tutors.

I am very happy with my DC’s mcps school but that’s because it’s a magnet with a great diverse, self-selected cohort.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If money was no object and there was a very diverse non-elitist private school that taught the way I think kids should be taught, then it would be private school without a thought.

I don’t know of any private school like that in this dmv region. I would probably hire top-notch tutors.

I am very happy with my DC’s mcps school but that’s because it’s a magnet with a great diverse, self-selected cohort.

Which MCPS ES has a student population that is all self-selected?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If money was no object and there was a very diverse non-elitist private school that taught the way I think kids should be taught, then it would be private school without a thought.

I don’t know of any private school like that in this dmv region. I would probably hire top-notch tutors.

I am very happy with my DC’s mcps school but that’s because it’s a magnet with a great diverse, self-selected cohort.

Which MCPS ES has a student population that is all self-selected?

CES and immersion

[Anonymous]

My two children are 5 years apart, attended Bethesda Elementary School, and the oldest had the most crowded classrooms. I well remember his disastrous first grade with 31 kids! The youngest attended after the addition and had to deal with more students total, but had smaller class sizes.

I think it's luck of the draw, OP. Now my kids are in their freshman year of college and middle school. I know there's crime and violence at BCC and the usual middle school shenanigans. It's always been that way, but there are spikes of trouble every now and then, at various schools, so if your kid is unlucky and gets a bad year, it's easy to worry that schools are going downhill.

You might consider the following to aid in your decision:

1. Privates may enforce more discipline, and weed out kids with problematic behaviors, so classrooms are quieter and possibly smaller.

2. MCPS has the CES, magnets, and advanced tracks in middle and high school, therefore more ability to accelerate precocious students, that only the very top privates can match.

3. If your child needs an IEP/504, services and accommodations, privates are not required to offer anything, but publics are, and they do. Sometimes very well indeed (one of my kids had an IEP).

4. Money. It deserves its own discussion. What does "if money is not an issue" really mean? A private school parent will always assess their child's experience relative to how much they're spending. A refrain you'll hear a lot is: I'm happy, but not 30-60K happier than I was before! Invested in the stock market, that money would have provided much reassurance for college tuition, or your kids' downpayment on a home, or your retirement, or eldercare costs... is private a better choice than other priorities in your life? Nowadays colleges are very selective, and college costs have on average risen faster than inflation. State universities cost 30-40K a year total, but only if your kid gets in. Kids need very good grades now to get to UVA and UMD. Private universities are in the 70-100K a year. Merit aid is given to top students. If "money is not an issue", financial aid is likely off the table - that's how you get donut hole families who are middle class but can only pay for in-state college.

Maybe you can afford one K-12 private, 3 college costs, and have millions for retirement. But most people, even on this board, do not. I have a net worth of 15M and my two kids are/will be MCPS products. They can pick the college they want (65K a year for the oldest, he got merit aid at a 85K a year university).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If money was no object and there was a very diverse non-elitist private school that taught the way I think kids should be taught, then it would be private school without a thought.

I don’t know of any private school like that in this dmv region. I would probably hire top-notch tutors.

I am very happy with my DC’s mcps school but that’s because it’s a magnet with a great diverse, self-selected cohort.

Which MCPS ES has a student population that is all self-selected?

CES and immersion

Every student in the elementary school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My two children are 5 years apart, attended Bethesda Elementary School, and the oldest had the most crowded classrooms. I well remember his disastrous first grade with 31 kids! The youngest attended after the addition and had to deal with more students total, but had smaller class sizes.

I think it's luck of the draw, OP. Now my kids are in their freshman year of college and middle school. I know there's crime and violence at BCC and the usual middle school shenanigans. It's always been that way, but there are spikes of trouble every now and then, at various schools, so if your kid is unlucky and gets a bad year, it's easy to worry that schools are going downhill.

You might consider the following to aid in your decision:

1. Privates may enforce more discipline, and weed out kids with problematic behaviors, so classrooms are quieter and possibly smaller.

2. MCPS has the CES, magnets, and advanced tracks in middle and high school, therefore more ability to accelerate precocious students, that only the very top privates can match.

3. If your child needs an IEP/504, services and accommodations, privates are not required to offer anything, but publics are, and they do. Sometimes very well indeed (one of my kids had an IEP).

4. Money. It deserves its own discussion. What does "if money is not an issue" really mean? A private school parent will always assess their child's experience relative to how much they're spending. A refrain you'll hear a lot is: I'm happy, but not 30-60K happier than I was before! Invested in the stock market, that money would have provided much reassurance for college tuition, or your kids' downpayment on a home, or your retirement, or eldercare costs... is private a better choice than other priorities in your life? Nowadays colleges are very selective, and college costs have on average risen faster than inflation. State universities cost 30-40K a year total, but only if your kid gets in. Kids need very good grades now to get to UVA and UMD. Private universities are in the 70-100K a year. Merit aid is given to top students. If "money is not an issue", financial aid is likely off the table - that's how you get donut hole families who are middle class but can only pay for in-state college.

Maybe you can afford one K-12 private, 3 college costs, and have millions for retirement. But most people, even on this board, do not. I have a net worth of 15M and my two kids are/will be MCPS products. They can pick the college they want (65K a year for the oldest, he got merit aid at a 85K a year university).

Money is a factor in your assessment, which isn’t the question OP was asking. I think money no longer is an issue when net worth is in the $100m zone—then you can spend freely for everything including eldercare.