MCPS teachers please tell me..

[Anonymous]

Recently moved to this county and considering local public school for our youngest child. Are the MCPS issues I hear about truly being "overblown" as I read on a post on here? Or is it truly that MCPS is declining and teachers are struggling to keep up? I have read that teachers get little lesson planning time, are micro-managed, supplies are scarce (for ex copying paper at schools), lack of support to kids with behavioral issues which impacts other students' learning? Anything that you would like to share, please do so!

[Anonymous]

I’d say overblown, as someone who works with students. Yes, there are some issues, here and there, but nothing that you don’t come across in other districts, as my non-mcps colleagues tell me.

[Anonymous]

Two kids in MCPS and no experience with any of the issues you raise. They are getting a good education.

[Anonymous]

My spouse has been a sub for MSs and HSs for about a year. Was fearing bad behavioral issues, but has never experienced anything more than having to tell kids to be quiet repeatedly. (The frequency of having to shush kids clearly varies across schools, and the rank-order of schools roughly corresponds with what you would expect given comments on this forum.) But has never seen bad behavior beyond the mundane.

[Anonymous]

It’s like that everywhere to be honest. We had it much better pre pandemic in MCPS though. I feel more programs and funding are being slashed now. So now we are on the same level I would say as many schools. It really depends on the admin in the school though. They can make or break the morale very easily.

[Anonymous]

It depends on the school and program. Doesn’t hurt to see what it’s like and go from there. One of my kids is in a fantastic magnet program and I give that program a 100. My other is not and I would rate that school an F. Teachers who don’t care, disruptive kids allowed to hijack class daily, ineffective principal. We had to pull that kid out.

[Anonymous]

It is all mostly true but it doesn’t mean good teaching and learning is not also happening.
And the issues you mention are unfortunately happening most places. Public education is being destroyed by the right and the left in different ways

[Anonymous]

I have been an MCPS teacher for 25 years and still have two kids in the system (now in high school). I don't feel that the issues people are posting about are overblown at all. MCPS has been declining steadily over the past ten years or so, broadly due to lowered expectations for students that relate to the curriculum, the grading and attendance policies, and consequences for issues ranging from tardiness to smoking illegal substances in bathrooms. Teachers have no authority when it comes to these policies and morale is low among most because we are witnessing MCPS fall apart. I just heard today that there are 19 principal openings in the county currently - that's unheard of for this time of year and should be raising alarm bells for families. Most parents truly are not aware of how far we've fallen because they don't spend 8+ hours per day inside our schools. There would be general outrage among taxpayers if they witnessed what's really happening. If my kids weren't so close to graduating, we'd move to Howard County or put them in private school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Recently moved to this county and considering local public school for our youngest child. Are the MCPS issues I hear about truly being "overblown" as I read on a post on here? Or is it truly that MCPS is declining and teachers are struggling to keep up? I have read that teachers get little lesson planning time, are micro-managed, supplies are scarce (for ex copying paper at schools), lack of support to kids with behavioral issues which impacts other students' learning? Anything that you would like to share, please do so!

Yes, it’s true sadly. My two youngest are graduating in June. I’m ten years from retirement and can’t wait to shake the dust of MCPS from my feet. Teachers have been gaslit so hard this year with the lie that things are getting better. They are actually getting worse.

[Anonymous]

I’m a 20 year teacher. Yes, there has been an overall decline in MCPS, but it tracks pretty closely with the roll out of the smartphone in 2012 and really isn’t unique to MCPS. I have three kids, all GT and in various magnet programs, and I can see a difference between my oldest and youngest that has nothing to do with MCPS.

But specifically to your case - best advice is to ask your neighbors their recent experiences at your school. The majority of schools are just fine (even if on paper they have lower test scores). But the actual experience depends on the principal, teaching teams, and how they manage challenges in their building.

[Anonymous]

Things I see on a daily basis teaching high school:

- 100+ students lined up out the door every morning and after open lunch, waiting for late passes that mean absolutely nothing because no one tracks them and there are no consequences for tardiness.

- Dozens and dozens of students just roaming the halls, sitting in stairwells, or coming and going from local eating establishments while classes are going on, with no consequences.

- Groups of students vaping or smoking pot in the bathrooms and only being told by security to return to class when they are found.

- Students basically gaming the grading system, doing the bare minimum to get by. Because students earn 50% now, even for assignments they don't complete, they know they only need to do a couple of assignments per quarter to pass the course. Even the high fliers know that earning a 79.5% one quarter and an 89.5% another quarter results in an A on the high school transcript under our policy. Semester exams are a thing of the past, so students are not held accountable for retaining what they've learned, with the exception of AP courses. Cheating is rampant because, often we are told that we must give students another chance to complete the assignment rather than assigning a zero. This grading policy also results in almost everyone being "eligible" so losing the ability to play a sport or do another activity of interest is no longer a motivator.

I could go on and on....

You might be asking yourself, why aren't teachers penalizing students for being late, or talking back, or spending most of a class period in the bathrooms? The reason is because there is absolutely nothing we can do. If we assign lunch detention and kids don't show up, there is no follow through or support from administration. If we stop them in the halls while they are roaming during class, we just get eyerolls or worse. Kids who get in "real trouble" are sent to restorative justice circles instead of being suspended as they would have been years ago.

I encourage other teachers to add on to this list. I work in high school, so I know very little about the specifics of what's happening at the elementary level.

[Anonymous]

It’s much much worse than anything you’ve heard through the grapevine.

[Anonymous]

All school districts have issues. MCPS issues get blown out of portion because the district is so large and the type of parents that live here.

So much has changed in eduction and in the district makeup in the last 20-30 years. MCPS use to be known as private school for free and folks still want it to be that.

Good teaching and learning happens here on a daily basis and families that want a good education get one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Things I see on a daily basis teaching high school:

- 100+ students lined up out the door every morning and after open lunch, waiting for late passes that mean absolutely nothing because no one tracks them and there are no consequences for tardiness.

- Dozens and dozens of students just roaming the halls, sitting in stairwells, or coming and going from local eating establishments while classes are going on, with no consequences.

- Groups of students vaping or smoking pot in the bathrooms and only being told by security to return to class when they are found.

- Students basically gaming the grading system, doing the bare minimum to get by. Because students earn 50% now, even for assignments they don't complete, they know they only need to do a couple of assignments per quarter to pass the course. Even the high fliers know that earning a 79.5% one quarter and an 89.5% another quarter results in an A on the high school transcript under our policy. Semester exams are a thing of the past, so students are not held accountable for retaining what they've learned, with the exception of AP courses. Cheating is rampant because, often we are told that we must give students another chance to complete the assignment rather than assigning a zero. This grading policy also results in almost everyone being "eligible" so losing the ability to play a sport or do another activity of interest is no longer a motivator.

I could go on and on....

You might be asking yourself, why aren't teachers penalizing students for being late, or talking back, or spending most of a class period in the bathrooms? The reason is because there is absolutely nothing we can do. If we assign lunch detention and kids don't show up, there is no follow through or support from administration. If we stop them in the halls while they are roaming during class, we just get eyerolls or worse. Kids who get in "real trouble" are sent to restorative justice circles instead of being suspended as they would have been years ago.

I encourage other teachers to add on to this list. I work in high school, so I know very little about the specifics of what's happening at the elementary level.

I wish I knew which high school you are referring to because it sounds exactly like the high school where I teach.

[Anonymous]

I also teach high school and, from what I hear from colleagues at other schools, it's pretty much the same across the board. That's equity in MCPS.