Why does MCPS crow about its greatness so much? And why do MCPS teachers and parents crow too?

[Anonymous]

I grew up in a Massachusetts town (yes, a town - not a county) with one of the best school systems in the country. We all knew it was a great school system, but it wasn't talked about that much because, well, it just *was*. If people were thinking about moving, or if there was a town meeting with school issues on the agenda (can you imagine, a town meeting where you have an actual VOICE?), then the quality of the school system (and other school systems' quality) was discussed, but outside of that, it wasn't really a topic of discussion.

Here in Montgomery County, on the other hand, people yap about MCPS and its many merits constantly. I'm always hearing about how we are A-#1, the best in the country, yadda yadda yadda.

Why is this such a *thing* to talk about here? Is it because relative to e.g. PG County or other Southern states, MCPS is indeed very good? I agree that it is a good system, but the "best"? It's not better than the systems my nieces and nephews are in, in New England (i.e. the ones that don't crow about themselves all the time). It is probably comparable.

What is up with this? Before moving here, I'd never seen anything like it.

[Anonymous]

building on what OP said, I've always found it interesting that in the states with the highest statewide scores on the SAT, ACT, as well as having sky-high %s of kids passing their SOLs, PLUS having huge graduation rates ... those states never seem to dominate the news. Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Minnesota and, I think, Wisconsin.

Sure, small population states. But the state population is much higher than any County X. Well maybe not North Dakota, but the others.

[Anonymous]

The county has to keep up the charade so that people will be willing to pay ridiculous prices to get into a "good school district".

The people who move here and pay ridiculous prices to live in the BEST part of the county feel the need to defend their decision.

The teachers are just trying to play along with MCPS politics. Most MCPS teachers, in private, will have a very different story to tell you.

[Anonymous]

county or town, who cares? is that your way of saying you are better because you have a town? There are plenty of towns within counties around here

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The county has to keep up the charade so that people will be willing to pay ridiculous prices to get into a "good school district".

The people who move here and pay ridiculous prices to live in the BEST part of the county feel the need to defend their decision.

The teachers are just trying to play along with MCPS politics. Most MCPS teachers, in private, will have a very different story to tell you.

But isn't that true of any "good" school district anywhere in the country?

[Anonymous]

I'm curious, OP, did the town you grow up in have significant socioeconomic disparity? That's what MoCo does pretty well -- we have some of the wealthiest people in the nation living here, but we also have a significant percentage of very poor people, many of whom are immigrants and who don't speak English. Have such diversity makes it very difficult for a large public school system to target the vary different needs of different kids. MoCo isn't perfect, but it's done a really good job as far as this disparity is concerned. And yes I know it's not equal between red and green zone schools, but there's been significant progress. Schools systems like Howard County are a bit better for sure, but they have a much more homogenous population (with respect to income/education). It's much easier for them to educate their kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm curious, OP, did the town you grow up in have significant socioeconomic disparity? That's what MoCo does pretty well -- we have some of the wealthiest people in the nation living here, but we also have a significant percentage of very poor people, many of whom are immigrants and who don't speak English. Have such diversity makes it very difficult for a large public school system to target the vary different needs of different kids. MoCo isn't perfect, but it's done a really good job as far as this disparity is concerned. And yes I know it's not equal between red and green zone schools, but there's been significant progress. Schools systems like Howard County are a bit better for sure, but they have a much more homogenous population (with respect to income/education). It's much easier for them to educate their kids.

*very

Sorry.

P.S. I'm not thrilled with MoCo schools myself and am choosing a small private school for my kids. But I think MoCo has done what it needs to do pretty well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm curious, OP, did the town you grow up in have significant socioeconomic disparity? That's what MoCo does pretty well -- we have some of the wealthiest people in the nation living here, but we also have a significant percentage of very poor people, many of whom are immigrants and who don't speak English. Have such diversity makes it very difficult for a large public school system to target the vary different needs of different kids. MoCo isn't perfect, but it's done a really good job as far as this disparity is concerned. And yes I know it's not equal between red and green zone schools, but there's been significant progress. Schools systems like Howard County are a bit better for sure, but they have a much more homogenous population (with respect to income/education). It's much easier for them to educate their kids.

OP here. No, the town was socioeconomically homogeneous. I see your point, but I think that is a separate issue from the one I raised about MCPS's relentless self-promotion as the "best," which is independent of/separate from it being tasked with educating a diverse population. In other words, it doesn't crow about its accomplishments given the challenges it faces; it brags about how great it is, period.

Even MIL, when told we were considering moving because we are not crazy about MCPS, looked *shocked* and droned on about how MPCS is "A-Number-One, the Best of the Best" (her words; she drank the Kool-Aid gustily I'm guessing).

I don't doubt that MCPS is a good school system relative to many in the country. But the "best"? I do doubt that.

[Anonymous]

Really? I am completely freaked out about starting MCPS next year and decided to suck up and pay for private kindergarten this year just to avoid it. I am in one of the clusters with the highest rankings but that is exactly the problem I hear from parents..too much testing and not enough learning.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Really? I am completely freaked out about starting MCPS next year and decided to suck up and pay for private kindergarten this year just to avoid it. I am in one of the clusters with the highest rankings but that is exactly the problem I hear from parents..too much testing and not enough learning.

Not sure what you are asking. What do you mean/what are you responding to when you say, "Really?"?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I grew up in a Massachusetts town (yes, a town - not a county) with one of the best school systems in the country. We all knew it was a great school system, but it wasn't talked about that much because, well, it just *was*. If people were thinking about moving, or if there was a town meeting with school issues on the agenda (can you imagine, a town meeting where you have an actual VOICE?), then the quality of the school system (and other school systems' quality) was discussed, but outside of that, it wasn't really a topic of discussion.

Here in Montgomery County, on the other hand, people yap about MCPS and its many merits constantly. I'm always hearing about how we are A-#1, the best in the country, yadda yadda yadda.

Why is this such a *thing* to talk about here? Is it because relative to e.g. PG County or other Southern states, MCPS is indeed very good? I agree that it is a good system, but the "best"? It's not better than the systems my nieces and nephews are in, in New England (i.e. the ones that don't crow about themselves all the time). It is probably comparable.

What is up with this? Before moving here, I'd never seen anything like it.

Your entire post is a brag about how modest your Massachusetts town is compared with MoCo. Do you see the irony?

[Anonymous]

High-ranking schools can also miss making AYP. . .

Anonymous wrote:Really? I am completely freaked out about starting MCPS next year and decided to suck up and pay for private kindergarten this year just to avoid it. I am in one of the clusters with the highest rankings but that is exactly the problem I hear from parents..too much testing and not enough learning.

[Anonymous]

I think it's a way of reassuring oneself that the choices parents have made for their children are indeed good ones. An anology of sorts: If someone is truly comfortable with whatever "it" is, whether it's how much money they have, their appearance etc, they don't need to flaunt it in front of others.

[Anonymous]

MoCo does do an amazingly great job with the sheer volume of different issues it faces. Far better than PG, Charles and other counties. So it crows because it can.

I'm from MA too and comparing a town (which even the largest is miniscule compared to MoCo) is like comparing apples to oranges. Even the bureaucracy at the county level changes everything.

[Anonymous]

Sounds like you need to move BACK to your little Massachusetts "town". I doubt anyone will miss you.

Anonymous wrote:I grew up in a Massachusetts town (yes, a town - not a county) with one of the best school systems in the country. We all knew it was a great school system, but it wasn't talked about that much because, well, it just *was*. If people were thinking about moving, or if there was a town meeting with school issues on the agenda (can you imagine, a town meeting where you have an actual VOICE?), then the quality of the school system (and other school systems' quality) was discussed, but outside of that, it wasn't really a topic of discussion.

Here in Montgomery County, on the other hand, people yap about MCPS and its many merits constantly. I'm always hearing about how we are A-#1, the best in the country, yadda yadda yadda.

Why is this such a *thing* to talk about here? Is it because relative to e.g. PG County or other Southern states, MCPS is indeed very good? I agree that it is a good system, but the "best"? It's not better than the systems my nieces and nephews are in, in New England (i.e. the ones that don't crow about themselves all the time). It is probably comparable.

What is up with this? Before moving here, I'd never seen anything like it.