Can "bad" schools get better?
![[Post New]](/jforum/templates/default/images/icon_minipost_new.gif){kind=icon}
Anonymous
|
My kid is doing very well in what is probably the worst high school in the county.
The school has a lot of fights and "bad" kids from poor, broken homes. Plenty of under-achievers...BUT... No one has ever bothered her - she has found her niche and has some really good friends who have similar values as she does. Seriously - the last thing on those kids' radar is the smart girl - there are many other things that can pull you into the wrong crowd or put you at risk, but good grades isn't one of them. We were dreading when it was time for her to go to high school but didn't want to spend the money on private unless we had to. We montiored her like a hawk to make sure she didn't go down the wrong path or end up with a sketchy group of friends. That was never an issue and outside of some of the fascinating (and scary) stories she tells us sometimes, she is in her own bubble, meeting challenges and qualifying for a lot of opportunities she probably wouldn't have in the better schools. Yes, I wished more of the kids wanted to succeed - currently, she is competing against a small group of achievers, but the high farms and poor grades of the other kids have not impacted her, as far as I can tell. The experience has opened our eyes to how shitty some people have it but also to how there are a lot of people out there who have given up and are at the point where they just don't care. It's sad. |
Anonymous
|
great post, totally agree.
also demonstrates the reality of SES "diversity" in practice. |
Anonymous
Don't be dense |
Anonymous
My kid also goes to a bad school and we also were dreading it. The few times we drop her off makes me so nervous - so many loud, obnoxious kids running around, but she assures me that everyone leaves the smart kids alone (so PP - I agree with you on that point). The school is primarily AA with many kids bussed in from a low income development. The few times I volunteered, I really had to wonder why these kids are being taught in a public school. Why is the county trying so hard to diversify across SES lines? It doesn't work. The teachers my daughter has are generally very good. But they are teaching maybe 3 kids out of a classroom of 24. Most of the kids are completely disengaged. What this means is that most teachers ignore the bad kids and focus on the ones that are interested in learning. My daughter is getting a really good education but it would probably be better if she could hear the opinions of the rest of her class and not just the same 3 kids. Interestingly enough, though, some of the better performing kids live in the low income apartments and you can tell that their parents value education and want a better life for their child. So if these people "get it" why don't the others? Lots of fights and suspensions but like the PP, none of this has impacted my daughter or her friends. I just wish she didn't have to see all of this. On a good note, she has won many obsure awards, alot of them cash, by virtue of attending an under performing school. And according to her counselor, the fact that she is attending this school can be asset when applying to colleges. We'll see... We are in Montgomery County and I really wish they would bus the unachievers somewhere else - there own school perhaps? |
Anonymous
Not the PP but I think they meant many SES and hispanics do not even finish school so you have to think about the amount of kids in a school and if they even graduate. 20+% of Hispanics drop out of high school. |
Anonymous
Not all kids are the smart nerdy kids that keep to themselves. Many are influenced by who they attend school with, which is why people try and avoid those schools. The popular kids are thugs. They also don't offer as many AP classes because there aren't enough kids to take them. Less student clubs, PTA and positive community involvement at those schools too. So I am glad it works for you but it would not work for us. |
Anonymous
I wonder if my child goes to the same school as the PP? I'll have to say that i NEVER thought I would fear for my child attending a school in MCPS. But I do. She is a follower so she would have gotten into trouble anywhere, but at this school, it is scary. I can't gether out of there, i can't afford private school and the BOE just does not care that a book-smart kid's furture is going down the drain because kids who have no interest in getting an education are allowed to attend public school. Our tax dollars are babysitting these thugs. its disgusting. In my home country - these kids would not be going to public school - they would be going to a remedial school at the parent's expense. I can't move - I am in what is considered one of the richest and better educated counites in the country and my child is dealing with incredible amounts of perr pressure to sleep around, listen to awful music, party and worry about getting a "man" vs getting good grades. She has so much promise in elementary school and now it's gone. I have written so many letters, made phone calls but the money I pay for taxes must not be worth as much as the money the folks in Potomac pay. I can't afford to live in potomac so myu family is being penalized and destroyed. I really hate this area and we are trapped. |
Anonymous
Sorry PP. I don't like this area either and we are trapped here too, by my husband's employment. It is not the place I wanted to raise my kids but I am trying to make the best of it. Hope you can too. |
Anonymous
Wheaton has a 76% graduation record. OUCH! |
Anonymous
Wow - what school does your daughter attend? It is almost unbelievable reading the last few posts that children attend schools with thugs. Does that really exist in MCPS? Forgive me, my kid goes to Sherwood - the Mayberry of montgomery County. What does a school system do when a school gets this out of control? |
Anonymous
That sounds pretty good-given who goes to that school! |
Anonymous
| There are some schools that are downright scary, as are the kids who attend them. Springbrook, Paint Branch, Gaithersburg, Wheaton, Watkins Mill, Kennedy, Northwood to name a few. If you look around the "less desireable" neighborhoods there are tons of thugs, druggies, drug dealers, welfare moms, illegal immigrants and low lives who do not give a shit about education. This county is in trouble if there are only a handful of good schools (6 or 8 out of 26), and only the wealthy can afford to live ion those neighborhoods. It is a devisive school system between the haves and have nots-leaving the true middle class with no good options. |
Anonymous
|
I know of a kid who went to Kennedy who was in and out of jail in her short life too many times to count-she even managed to make the news-not in a good way mind you.
I know of a kid who went to Paint Branch who almost killed someone working the cash register in a retail store in a robbery gone bad. I know of a kid who went to Gaithersburg-a good kid, shy and introverted, He was bulied so badly there that after he graduated, he refused to leave the house and is basically a recluse. I know of a kid at Watkins Mill who had several abortions and is on all kinds of drugs. She is also a budding career criminal. Sure there are good kids at all the above schools-and bad ones at the W schools. But there are more good parents at the W schools and that is what makes the world of difference. W parents (and the parents at the better schools) are typically more educated, successful and usually more involved with their kids. That is what will ensure school safety and success. |
Anonymous
|
Anonymous
| what school is this? |