The REAL issue with the proposals to shift boundaries & how MCPS can fix it

[Anonymous]

I am personally looking forward to the rise of relatively inexpensive, independent schools with a strong academic focus, likely with a strong second language component, targeting diaspora communities from various countries. Some people will stay in MCPS and choose new private.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Exactly - MCPS can draw the line wherever it wants, including somewhere that's intended to reduce the segregation that people who have big bucks are willing to pay big bucks for.

You can demagogue all you want, but people pay the big bucks for performance not segregation. It may feel good to stick it to some of those rich people, but it doesn't solve anything.

"Performance" (as it's defined here) and segregation are collinear variables. You can't separate them.

I define performance as test scores and admissions to top colleges. So you are saying this a co-linear variable? That you can't separate high test scores and college admissions from whiteness? This is quite frankly the most racist thing I've heard today, but I guess there's still a few hours left...

[Anonymous]

According to US Census, Silver Spring has only 11% poverty. Median income is somewhere around $72,000. Why are many all the kids in the public schools? Why such a high concentration of poverty in the public schools?

This is weird. Even Blair is 50% FARMS. All the other DCC schools seem to be at least half FARMS too. It could be that the census is counting households and lots of retirees are being counted? Still 11% seems very low considering the level of poverty within the schools.

[Anonymous]

It’s a mismatch. But 11% is accurate. Median home value somewhere around $475000. There is wealth there. I think a lot more kids are at privates, Catholics, and homeschooled than anyone realizes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

According to US Census, Silver Spring has only 11% poverty. Median income is somewhere around $72,000. Why are many all the kids in the public schools? Why such a high concentration of poverty in the public schools?

This is weird. Even Blair is 50% FARMS. All the other DCC schools seem to be at least half FARMS too. It could be that the census is counting households and lots of retirees are being counted? Still 11% seems very low considering the level of poverty within the schools.

Are you shocked that people with means won't send their kids to bad schools? Take Kemp Mill ES, GS-4. Median income per the census of the vast majority of the property zoned for that school is $124k. Farms rate at the school is 70%. When the schools suck, anyone who can leave will leave, by whatever means possible. Redrawing boundaries will change this exactly zero percent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

According to US Census, Silver Spring has only 11% poverty. Median income is somewhere around $72,000. Why are many all the kids in the public schools? Why such a high concentration of poverty in the public schools?

This is weird. Even Blair is 50% FARMS. All the other DCC schools seem to be at least half FARMS too. It could be that the census is counting households and lots of retirees are being counted? Still 11% seems very low considering the level of poverty within the schools.

Blair is 37% FARM

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

According to US Census, Silver Spring has only 11% poverty. Median income is somewhere around $72,000. Why are many all the kids in the public schools? Why such a high concentration of poverty in the public schools?

This is weird. Even Blair is 50% FARMS. All the other DCC schools seem to be at least half FARMS too. It could be that the census is counting households and lots of retirees are being counted? Still 11% seems very low considering the level of poverty within the schools.

Are you shocked that people with means won't send their kids to bad schools? Take Kemp Mill ES, GS-4. Median income per the census of the vast majority of the property zoned for that school is $124k. Farms rate at the school is 70%. When the schools suck, anyone who can leave will leave, by whatever means possible. Redrawing boundaries will change this exactly zero percent.

It’s absurd that a neighborhood with median income of $124K has an ES with a 70% FARMS rate. Makes no sense. Does the county even try to draw the kids back from private schools?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Why should parents who worked hard so their UMC kids could attend Churchill have to listen to Tadikonda tell them where their kids should go to school. She's in the IB magnet at Richard Montgomery, and not exactly mixing it up every day with kids from Springbrook or Paint Branch.

Because she's a member of the Board of Education.

If you don't like it, you go and run for a seat on the Board of Education.

Because it’s her college app fodder. Get some more press and tweets going! More victim culture!

Let's just say she'll never experience the consequences of the policies for which she is advocating. She'll move from one bubble to the next, collecting accolades for being woke while other students suffer the consequences of her resume-building.

Just like politicians!!

[Anonymous]

Really, there has to be a better solution than all the middle class families fleeing the public schools.

[Anonymous]

I don’t think the point of these redistricting schemes is to achieve some illusory demographic balance within MCPS. I think the point is to appeal to lower and middle-class voters, especially minorities, by denying a certain quality of public services to wealthier residents. It’s not an effective response to claim the effort will fail, because in fact the entire exercise is about burning down the house.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Really, there has to be a better solution than all the middle class families fleeing the public schools.

Yes that solution is called Northern Virginia

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We need multiple smaller public school districts.

To focus on specific needs of specific communities. Some parents invest a ton of time and resources building up their communities and immediate schools via volunteering, coaching, PTA, time, managing clubs, etc. And work full time and /or parent several kids!

No way s/he can do that for 220 disparate schools. Rosy sing teachers and principals in a heavily centralized huge county public school system (top 10 largest in country), can’t do that effectively either.

Time for UC, DCC and SW district schools. Sure socialize half the property tax revenues but then start emplowering the damn schools and teachers again. C2.0 got us further and further from that.
Stop pitting ESOL demands versus g&T programs. That’s asinine! And guess what? Esol is at <40% proficiency still! And the great students are bored or leaving!
Stop making 5,6,7,8 year olds sit around teaching themselves math and reading or “type writing” in efforts to win PaRCcC common core money. Start teaching! All subjects! And differentiate! If a kid is reading 3 grade levels behind, so not pass him or her! Repeat the grade.

Who wouldn’t vote for this? Makes a ton of sense for all segments.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

According to US Census, Silver Spring has only 11% poverty. Median income is somewhere around $72,000. Why are many all the kids in the public schools? Why such a high concentration of poverty in the public schools?

This is weird. Even Blair is 50% FARMS. All the other DCC schools seem to be at least half FARMS too. It could be that the census is counting households and lots of retirees are being counted? Still 11% seems very low considering the level of poverty within the schools.

Are you shocked that people with means won't send their kids to bad schools? Take Kemp Mill ES, GS-4. Median income per the census of the vast majority of the property zoned for that school is $124k. Farms rate at the school is 70%. When the schools suck, anyone who can leave will leave, by whatever means possible. Redrawing boundaries will change this exactly zero percent.

It’s absurd that a neighborhood with median income of $124K has an ES with a 70% FARMS rate. Makes no sense. Does the county even try to draw the kids back from private schools?

No, MCPS' solution is to shift boundaries to increase "diversity" which does nothing other than drive up enrollment at private schools. Highly educated UMC families who value education more than anything else will send their kids to public schools only if the schools are high quality. MCPS thinks that by some redistricting miracle, these schools will get better. The schools will only get better when they systematic issues affecting their populations are addressed (i.e. poverty, not "diversity"). Until that time you can play havoc with the real estate market all you want, but the schools won't attract your high SES crowd until they are fixed. Nobody wants to sacrifice their kids' education on a social experiment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Everyone knows this; however these boundaries have not changed for decades in some instances. Its not unreasonable for parents to rely upon them when choosing a school for their child. Nor it is unreasonable for them to fight when someone tries to take that choice away, especially if it means losing hundreds of thousands of dollars in the process.

The argument here is that, if you paid hundreds of thousands of dollars (!) extra so that your house would be zoned for School A vs. School B in MCPS, your house must continue to be zoned for School A, because otherwise you might lose money when you sell your house.

Property value is a function of (Age of home, Lot size, Distance to transportation and amenities, Public school catchment area, Taxes, Crime)

If MoCo or MCPS are known for pulling the rug out from under you (I.e. Changing school boundaries, increasing taxes constantly, etc.) people simply wont trust the county and won’t buy nor live here. It’s that simple. Even simpler than simple since DC and VA and other MD counties are so very close in proximity.

[Anonymous]

I just think the county would be better served by finding out why they can’t keep more middle class kids in the DCC schools. I think they already have the demographics they want right there in the neighborhoods. They just need them to go to the schools. Maybe give them a tax credit or something to make it more appealing? Automatic entrance to UMD? Idk ... there must be a way.