Seems like MCPS is a mess

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Moving to the area soon and had been thinking MoCo for the schools but this forum paints a bleak picture. Would any of you prefer a VA district to MCPS?

Don't go by DCUM. You will be better off talking to real people.

Half the people who post here are right-wing agitators who don't even live in the area. They're whole game is to play up negative stories and create fear and doubt. My kids are in MCPS and doing great. As long as you are an involved parent your children can do well, but if you expect the county to raise them for you probably not.

+100 these stories are exaggerations... MCPS is doing great

They intentionally confuse decline with changing demographics to mislead people. My kids are getting a much better education than I did 20+ years ago at a W. These opportunities exist for anyone who is interested.

But do they exist for anyone who is interested, anywhere they might be? The same level of opportunities? Is the system set up so that it wouldn't matter from an educational perspective if a family lived in Burtonsville, Takoma Park, Potomac, Barnesville or Gaithersburg?

Experience tells us this is where MCPS isn't doing great.

MCPS cannot make parents at all these schools value education. People who value education can and do go where the good schools are, often at great personal cost, and that is part of what fosters the environment which creates great schools.

The PP said the opportunities exist for anyone who is interested. Presumably, they meant anyone of any means, without having to move within the county to a location their family might not be able to afford (or the family would not consider a move despite the student's interest).

But your post suggests otherwise, and this local difference in curricular implementation, classes offered, etc., again, is one of the areas where MCPS is not doing great.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Moving to the area soon and had been thinking MoCo for the schools but this forum paints a bleak picture. Would any of you prefer a VA district to MCPS?

Don't go by DCUM. You will be better off talking to real people.

Half the people who post here are right-wing agitators who don't even live in the area. They're whole game is to play up negative stories and create fear and doubt. My kids are in MCPS and doing great. As long as you are an involved parent your children can do well, but if you expect the county to raise them for you probably not.

+100 these stories are exaggerations... MCPS is doing great

They intentionally confuse decline with changing demographics to mislead people. My kids are getting a much better education than I did 20+ years ago at a W. These opportunities exist for anyone who is interested.

But do they exist for anyone who is interested, anywhere they might be? The same level of opportunities? Is the system set up so that it wouldn't matter from an educational perspective if a family lived in Burtonsville, Takoma Park, Potomac, Barnesville or Gaithersburg?

Experience tells us this is where MCPS isn't doing great.

Yes, the most sought after programs like IBs or STEM magnets are available countywide!

This is great! And these IBs -- they have the same breadth of courses and levels of implementations a available each year no matter where you go, right, so that you wouldn't be missing anything routinely available to someone at RM or BCC if you went to Springbrook? Course catalogs from each school would show this, yes?

Wait, no? (Thread on this a little while back.) Oh, darn then...

That type of local difference and the failure to provide enough magnet-level programming to meet interest/capability/need (another sore spot) result in...

...wait for it...

...inequity!

[Anonymous]

Many of these far right-agitators that post here have a vested interest in sewing this decline of civilization narrative. It's the same old MAGA rhetoric... They intentionally ignore the changes that lead to lower test averages. If you were to look test scores for a credible test (not MCAP) 20 years ago and now by demographic group you'd see things are the same or beter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Moving to the area soon and had been thinking MoCo for the schools but this forum paints a bleak picture. Would any of you prefer a VA district to MCPS?

Don't go by DCUM. You will be better off talking to real people.

Half the people who post here are right-wing agitators who don't even live in the area. They're whole game is to play up negative stories and create fear and doubt. My kids are in MCPS and doing great. As long as you are an involved parent your children can do well, but if you expect the county to raise them for you probably not.

This.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Many of these far right-agitators that post here have a vested interest in sewing this decline of civilization narrative. It's the same old MAGA rhetoric... They intentionally ignore the changes that lead to lower test averages. If you were to look test scores for a credible test (not MCAP) 20 years ago and now by demographic group you'd see things are the same or beter.

I am not MAGA. I’m an MCPS graduate and current parent and MoCo native. My complaints are real and valid.


Dismiss them at your own peril. I’m not going away.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Moving to the area soon and had been thinking MoCo for the schools but this forum paints a bleak picture. Would any of you prefer a VA district to MCPS?

Don't go by DCUM. You will be better off talking to real people.

Half the people who post here are right-wing agitators who don't even live in the area. They're whole game is to play up negative stories and create fear and doubt. My kids are in MCPS and doing great. As long as you are an involved parent your children can do well, but if you expect the county to raise them for you probably not.

+100 these stories are exaggerations... MCPS is doing great

They intentionally confuse decline with changing demographics to mislead people. My kids are getting a much better education than I did 20+ years ago at a W. These opportunities exist for anyone who is interested.

But do they exist for anyone who is interested, anywhere they might be? The same level of opportunities? Is the system set up so that it wouldn't matter from an educational perspective if a family lived in Burtonsville, Takoma Park, Potomac, Barnesville or Gaithersburg?

Experience tells us this is where MCPS isn't doing great.

Yes, the most sought after programs like IBs or STEM magnets are available countywide!

This is great! And these IBs -- they have the same breadth of courses and levels of implementations a available each year no matter where you go, right, so that you wouldn't be missing anything routinely available to someone at RM or BCC if you went to Springbrook? Course catalogs from each school would show this, yes?

Wait, no? (Thread on this a little while back.) Oh, darn then...

That type of local difference and the failure to provide enough magnet-level programming to meet interest/capability/need (another sore spot) result in...

...wait for it...

...inequity!

I agree with this. We’re not going to know what students would signup to take unless we offer a bigger breadth of the MCPS catalogue for students to select from and then make some decisions. There’s not even meaningful surveys to see what new courses students and families would like to see. Yes some CTE or magnet courses can’t be offered everywhere, but there are many others and even some CTE/Magnet courses that can be offered in other locations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many of these far right-agitators that post here have a vested interest in sewing this decline of civilization narrative. It's the same old MAGA rhetoric... They intentionally ignore the changes that lead to lower test averages. If you were to look test scores for a credible test (not MCAP) 20 years ago and now by demographic group you'd see things are the same or beter.

I am not MAGA. I’m an MCPS graduate and current parent and MoCo native. My complaints are real and valid.


Dismiss them at your own peril. I’m not going away.

I'm new to this thread and haven't read every post. Are you saying that your children's education in MCPS is worse than when you were an MCPS student?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many of these far right-agitators that post here have a vested interest in sewing this decline of civilization narrative. It's the same old MAGA rhetoric... They intentionally ignore the changes that lead to lower test averages. If you were to look test scores for a credible test (not MCAP) 20 years ago and now by demographic group you'd see things are the same or beter.

I am not MAGA. I’m an MCPS graduate and current parent and MoCo native. My complaints are real and valid.


Dismiss them at your own peril. I’m not going away.

Your "the sky is falling" complaints are not real and not valid.
You're an agitator and a troll.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Moving to the area soon and had been thinking MoCo for the schools but this forum paints a bleak picture. Would any of you prefer a VA district to MCPS?

Don't go by DCUM. You will be better off talking to real people.

Half the people who post here are right-wing agitators who don't even live in the area. They're whole game is to play up negative stories and create fear and doubt. My kids are in MCPS and doing great. As long as you are an involved parent your children can do well, but if you expect the county to raise them for you probably not.

Whoa. I just read this comment. It’s ridiculous.

My kids went to private school in DC before we moved to MoCo for the public schools. I’ve watched their MoCo school go downhill every year since then. Most of the teachers are great. I am in awe of them to be able to perform in such a rapidly deteriorating system. However when you get a bad teacher, there’s nothing you can do. It’s a shame because some of these teachers have been working there for 20 years, with lousy attitudes, ruining kids’ love of STEM or foreign languages.

The classes are overcrowded. The hallways are intimidating. The kids are treated like criminals by staff. There is a hostility in the schools that is apparent in the way everyone treats each other.

The kids are not alright. Well, mine are, but they weren’t in MoCo for long, and their values and best friendships were formed before then.

My kids’ principal was thrown to the ground in a fistfight recently, with other kids chortling and taping it. Several kids carjacked one or more cars during the school day and supposedly are back at school now. A kid cracked a chair over another kid’s head. Kids got into a violent fight after a football game and several were arrested. There was a gun seen in the school that was never actually found.

The list goes on and on. There is no accountability from MoCo administration even though the reading and math proficiencies are dismal. They cite privacy laws whenever teachers or parents ask safety questions.

My kids got through because they joined great sports teams and took all AP classes. But this is not a place I would ever recommend. I’m glad it’s behind us. I would not choose to put my kids there if I did it all again. I feel like it’s just a matter of time before something really violent happens.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many of these far right-agitators that post here have a vested interest in sewing this decline of civilization narrative. It's the same old MAGA rhetoric... They intentionally ignore the changes that lead to lower test averages. If you were to look test scores for a credible test (not MCAP) 20 years ago and now by demographic group you'd see things are the same or beter.

I am not MAGA. I’m an MCPS graduate and current parent and MoCo native. My complaints are real and valid.


Dismiss them at your own peril. I’m not going away.

Your "the sky is falling" complaints are not real and not valid.
You're an agitator and a troll.

I’m confused. Why in the WORLD would you assume this person is MAGA? People like you who are apologists for MoCo are exactly what is preventing necessary introspection here. Without honestly acknowledging the problems - let’s start with math proficiency, nothing can be improved.

Do you think these proficiency numbers are okay? Take BCC, once a star in MoCo. Why can’t so many kids reach basic proficiency? Why was the principal just thrown across the school lobby? Why are kids scared to use the bathrooms? Why are the carjackers back in school - why can’t we get a straight answer on that? The list goes on and on.

Name calling is shameful. Focus on the problems. You are (I assume) an adult.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids are in MCPS. In the Whitman cluster. One in middle and one in elementary. I read this board and it does not reflect my experience at all. "MCPS" may be a mess but my local schools have been great. I think it's big county and experiences vary but I have been pleased. I've looked at privates and have decided so far to stick with the Whitman cluster. Like many PPs, I think this board skews to disgruntled/haters. Talk to people in the places you are thinking of buying to get a real sense of the experience at specific MCPS schools, not the county in general.

The thing is... you are a parent. You are not in the schools and frankly, don't have a way to measure the type of work that kids (including yours) are doing, and how that compares to previous years. I am an AP teacher, and I can absolutely attest that the standards are being lowered across the board. Just because your child receives As, and passes AP exams (for example, the AP Lit exam has been so watered down that the pass rate is now above 70%) does not mean that the education they are receiving compares well to previous generations. Yes, I will say it again, this is a mediocre system.

LOL.
If the standards are lowered across the board, the AP passing rate wouldn't be above 70%, which is amongst the highest in the nation. Nationally, it is about 52% passing rate.
You have no idea of what you're talking about, troll. You're not fooling anyone except the oblivious ones, right-winger.

This.
I cannot believe a so-called AP teacher is pushing that false narrative.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many of these far right-agitators that post here have a vested interest in sewing this decline of civilization narrative. It's the same old MAGA rhetoric... They intentionally ignore the changes that lead to lower test averages. If you were to look test scores for a credible test (not MCAP) 20 years ago and now by demographic group you'd see things are the same or beter.

I am not MAGA. I’m an MCPS graduate and current parent and MoCo native. My complaints are real and valid.


Dismiss them at your own peril. I’m not going away.

Your "the sky is falling" complaints are not real and not valid.
You're an agitator and a troll.

I’m confused. Why in the WORLD would you assume this person is MAGA? People like you who are apologists for MoCo are exactly what is preventing necessary introspection here. Without honestly acknowledging the problems - let’s start with math proficiency, nothing can be improved.

Do you think these proficiency numbers are okay? Take BCC, once a star in MoCo. Why can’t so many kids reach basic proficiency? Why was the principal just thrown across the school lobby? Why are kids scared to use the bathrooms? Why are the carjackers back in school - why can’t we get a straight answer on that? The list goes on and on.

Name calling is shameful. Focus on the problems. You are (I assume) an adult.

I'm the PP you're responding to. Where in my post did I call that person "MAGA"? But it does fit.
What proficiency numbers are you talking about?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Moving to the area soon and had been thinking MoCo for the schools but this forum paints a bleak picture. Would any of you prefer a VA district to MCPS?

Don't go by DCUM. You will be better off talking to real people.

Half the people who post here are right-wing agitators who don't even live in the area. They're whole game is to play up negative stories and create fear and doubt. My kids are in MCPS and doing great. As long as you are an involved parent your children can do well, but if you expect the county to raise them for you probably not.

Whoa. I just read this comment. It’s ridiculous.

My kids went to private school in DC before we moved to MoCo for the public schools. I’ve watched their MoCo school go downhill every year since then. Most of the teachers are great. I am in awe of them to be able to perform in such a rapidly deteriorating system. However when you get a bad teacher, there’s nothing you can do. It’s a shame because some of these teachers have been working there for 20 years, with lousy attitudes, ruining kids’ love of STEM or foreign languages.

The classes are overcrowded. The hallways are intimidating. The kids are treated like criminals by staff. There is a hostility in the schools that is apparent in the way everyone treats each other.

The kids are not alright. Well, mine are, but they weren’t in MoCo for long, and their values and best friendships were formed before then.

My kids’ principal was thrown to the ground in a fistfight recently, with other kids chortling and taping it. Several kids carjacked one or more cars during the school day and supposedly are back at school now. A kid cracked a chair over another kid’s head. Kids got into a violent fight after a football game and several were arrested. There was a gun seen in the school that was never actually found.

The list goes on and on. There is no accountability from MoCo administration even though the reading and math proficiencies are dismal. They cite privacy laws whenever teachers or parents ask safety questions.

My kids got through because they joined great sports teams and took all AP classes. But this is not a place I would ever recommend. I’m glad it’s behind us. I would not choose to put my kids there if I did it all again. I feel like it’s just a matter of time before something really violent happens.

Cool story bro 😎

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many of these far right-agitators that post here have a vested interest in sewing this decline of civilization narrative. It's the same old MAGA rhetoric... They intentionally ignore the changes that lead to lower test averages. If you were to look test scores for a credible test (not MCAP) 20 years ago and now by demographic group you'd see things are the same or beter.

I am not MAGA. I’m an MCPS graduate and current parent and MoCo native. My complaints are real and valid.


Dismiss them at your own peril. I’m not going away.

The people who always protest the loudest "I'm a liberal democrat" are without question Cato posters that don't even live here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many of these far right-agitators that post here have a vested interest in sewing this decline of civilization narrative. It's the same old MAGA rhetoric... They intentionally ignore the changes that lead to lower test averages. If you were to look test scores for a credible test (not MCAP) 20 years ago and now by demographic group you'd see things are the same or beter.

I am not MAGA. I’m an MCPS graduate and current parent and MoCo native. My complaints are real and valid.


Dismiss them at your own peril. I’m not going away.

Your "the sky is falling" complaints are not real and not valid.
You're an agitator and a troll.

I’m confused. Why in the WORLD would you assume this person is MAGA? People like you who are apologists for MoCo are exactly what is preventing necessary introspection here. Without honestly acknowledging the problems - let’s start with math proficiency, nothing can be improved.

Do you think these proficiency numbers are okay? Take BCC, once a star in MoCo. Why can’t so many kids reach basic proficiency? Why was the principal just thrown across the school lobby? Why are kids scared to use the bathrooms? Why are the carjackers back in school - why can’t we get a straight answer on that? The list goes on and on.

Name calling is shameful. Focus on the problems. You are (I assume) an adult.

If they're espousing MAGA talking points, they're MAGA.