Is anyone happy with MCPS?

[Anonymous]

I am an avid reader of this forum as I try to figure out where to send our kids to school for kindergarten.

But reading these threads are really starting to seriously worry me.

Our neighborhood is about 50/50 public private. Nearly all the public parents are happy with their kids’ ES and HS experiences (mixed on MS), and all the private parents are happy with their kids’ schools, too.

Are the public school parents in my neighborhood just settling, or is this forum wildly anti-public school and not reflective of how most people feel about MCPS?

[Anonymous]

This forum is not at all reflective of how most parents feel.

It’s an anonymous forum on the internet— occasionally you get helpful nuggets but you have to take it all with a mountain of salt. There’s plenty of just nonsense posted.

[Anonymous]

I am. I’m happy with MCPS. That’s not to say there are not issues or that I am occasionally annoyed or baffled by decisions but that’s because I’m involved and care. Overall, I am happy.

[Anonymous]

I've been happy with how they've done with my NT child, but special education is a clusterf*ck that is accelerating in its downward slide.

[Anonymous]

People who are happy don't post as much online.

I have found my child's MCPS teachers to be really amazing. Two with decades of experience and it shows in how they interact with my ASD kid.

I find the communications and bureaucracy to be frustrating. It is mostly central office but also within the school. I feel overwhelmed with all the different means of communication. I do not think they have put in sufficient resources for kids who are struggling and I have been stunned that so many parents in my neighborhood (which is not cheap but isn't Bethesda or Rockville prices either) hire tutors. I think MCPS relies a lot on high income parents to supplement/hire tutors and then just blames poverty and culture for the abysmal test results in low income communities.

[Anonymous]

Good luck to you.
The less you know, the happier you’ll be.
You’ll be fine.

[Anonymous]

I am happy with MCPS. My kid is a freshman in college and doing well. He said MCPS prepared him for college

My other kid is a junior and looking at colleges. She is taking rigorous course load and likes most of her teacher.

Most teachers are smart, kind and caring. Most are very capable of teaching and are good teachers.

As with anything in life, there are some bad apples. There is always one that is a really terrible teacher and just waiting to retire and get their pension.

In general, I am happy and would do it again.

There is definitely no value for us in going the private route. We are happy with our choice and happy with the quality of education.

[Anonymous]

Honestly I am very happy with a lot of what goes on inside the actual school buildings. My kids have had great teachers and good experiences. I have a long list of issues with the decisions that have come out of central office over the years. There’s this culture of toxicity and obfuscation there. So on a day to day basis, I’m happy with the caring people who are directly educating and interacting with my kids. But I’m endlessly irritated by the priorities and poor choices of the district.

[Anonymous]

My kids are doing fine in MCPS, but I do have to supplement for both of them -- both for academic enrichment and executive function supports. I just don't think you can expect a public school system to provide it all for your kid. (That's probably true of private schools, too.) I do think there are a lot of problems with MCPS, particularly with central office, but thankfully for my kids, they don't have much impact on their day-to-day experience. We've had overall good teachers and have been happy with our schools. They are not perfect, but then, I don't think private schools would be either.

[Anonymous]

Our )much younger than the others) third kid is about to graduate from a/an MCPS school. I’m mystified by most of the negative comments here. We’ve had a great experience, and our older two were very well prepared for T20 schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am an avid reader of this forum as I try to figure out where to send our kids to school for kindergarten.

But reading these threads are really starting to seriously worry me.

Our neighborhood is about 50/50 public private. Nearly all the public parents are happy with their kids’ ES and HS experiences (mixed on MS), and all the private parents are happy with their kids’ schools, too.

Are the public school parents in my neighborhood just settling, or is this forum wildly anti-public school and not reflective of how most people feel about MCPS?

Just stop already these threads are absurd.

MCPS has 160,000 diverse students.

Most families are happy!

DCUM is a bubble, Next Door is MAGA/Quanon/Moms4liberty garbage.

Privates sure if you want to pay have at it. The rest of us are financially smarter. Publics get your kid into great colleges and with a great education.

I can not tell you how many times my college age kids called and said thank you for moving us to MCPS from North Carolina class is so easy......

College acceptances from MCPS are better than almost all the DMV privates especially the religious oriented ones.

Go on and pull your kids do your thing we don't want you anyway if you keep complaining.

[Anonymous]

It really comes down to the teachers. And it’s impossible to guess who will be there year to year. We have great teachers, ok teachers and they need to find a new profession teachers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People who are happy don't post as much online.

I have found my child's MCPS teachers to be really amazing. Two with decades of experience and it shows in how they interact with my ASD kid.

I find the communications and bureaucracy to be frustrating. It is mostly central office but also within the school. I feel overwhelmed with all the different means of communication. I do not think they have put in sufficient resources for kids who are struggling and I have been stunned that so many parents in my neighborhood (which is not cheap but isn't Bethesda or Rockville prices either) hire tutors. I think MCPS relies a lot on high income parents to supplement/hire tutors and then just blames poverty and culture for the abysmal test results in low income communities.

Every community in the US does that with public schools. MCPS is not the only one .......blames.....

We have lived in a lot of red states in so called "great" schools nope MCPS by far better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am an avid reader of this forum as I try to figure out where to send our kids to school for kindergarten.

But reading these threads are really starting to seriously worry me.

Our neighborhood is about 50/50 public private. Nearly all the public parents are happy with their kids’ ES and HS experiences (mixed on MS), and all the private parents are happy with their kids’ schools, too.

Are the public school parents in my neighborhood just settling, or is this forum wildly anti-public school and not reflective of how most people feel about MCPS?

Just stop already these threads are absurd.

MCPS has 160,000 diverse students.

Most families are happy!

DCUM is a bubble, Next Door is MAGA/Quanon/Moms4liberty garbage.

Privates sure if you want to pay have at it. The rest of us are financially smarter. Publics get your kid into great colleges and with a great education.

I can not tell you how many times my college age kids called and said thank you for moving us to MCPS from North Carolina class is so easy......

College acceptances from MCPS are better than almost all the DMV privates especially the religious oriented ones.

Go on and pull your kids do your thing we don't want you anyway if you keep complaining.

I wouldn’t say most. With most it depends on if your children’s needs are being met.

[Anonymous]

Yes, I can say I am happy with MCPS, having had a 20 year old go through the system with an IEP and significant services and accommodations, and a gifted high schooler who has been allowed to jump start her math and science track. I do not expect schools to be perfect. I am the product of a selective international private myself, and my son briefly spent time in a private elementary. Privates aren't perfect either and if you want the same level of advanced courses, you're looking at a "top" private, which isn't going to be $60K better. At least in public school, you get to invest your money for years before college bites great chunks into it

Now in order to benefit from the "good" public schools, we did buy into a wealthy neighborhood. But I consider that an investment too, because when my kids graduate, we still have the house and its appreciated value, due in large part to the local schools' reputation. My neighborhood is also a 50/50 private/public place, a shift that happened during the pandemic - previously mostly everyone was in the local public. Parents will complain about little things in their schools, but none of the ones I know, post-pandemic, have shifted their kids from one to the other.