"Focus" School and class size

[Anonymous]

Hi,

I was looking for information on the MCPS web site about "focus schools" but couldn't find any. I understand from conversations with others and bits of posts on DCUM that a "focus" school is one with a high FARMS rate (but too low to be a Title I school) and that the K-2 class sizes are smaller than regular size. Is that right? How small are the classes? Where can I find more information about it?

TIA!!!

[Anonymous]

If you enter the term "focus schools" on the MCPS web site, numerous documents come up that include background, data, etc.

[Anonymous]

In k-2 Title I class size limit is 15. focus school class size limit is 17. But, they have some leeway to add up to 2 kids per classroom before they are required to open a new classroom in that grade. So, to answer your question, focus schoolsg enerally have 17 to 19 kids per class in k-2.

[Anonymous]

Thanks, PP. To 9:36, I have entered "focus schools" on MCPS web site, and I get stuff about Green Focus schools (recyclying, etc) or math focus schools, or blips that refer to "focus schools" but do not explain (that I can see) what qualifies a school for being a focus school and what that means for class sizes. I am sure it's there somewhere, but I just haven't' been able to find it.

[Anonymous]

We're at a Focus school (supposedly) but it hasn't limited class sizes to 19 this year. I thought there was some talk that the budget cuts meant some of that initiative wouldn't be supported, but don't know what the final outcome was.

[Anonymous]

PP here. Where do focus school funds come from, the county or the state? Anybody know?

[Anonymous]

Here is the first document that comes up on a search for "focus schools": http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/planning/PDF/CIP12_03_Chapter_2.pdf

A discussion of Focus and Non-focus Elementary Schools begins on p. 2-6.

As I recall the county council funded the focus schools through a reduced-class-size initiative not quite ten years ago. As a result of the # of classes that were added K-2, many school buildings become overcrowded which s why the discussion above is in the CIP document.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks to 13:35 for the link -- interesting article --learned a lot about MCPS growth! Astonishing. And saw the focus map.

PP, I don't know where the funds come from. As for class size, our Title I school (Montgomery Knolls) had an average kindergarten size last year of 17.6, and the average for 1-2 was 15.7. That already seems bigger than what is supposed to be average for Title I, so I have wondered what will happen if it loses its Title I status (58.6% FARMS, one of the lowest of the Title I schools, from what I have seen). Thanks for the info.

[Anonymous]

Is a "focus" school the same as a "red zone" school?

[Anonymous]

They are the same although I understand the green zone, red zone designations are not used much any more. Instead we have Focus vs. non-focus schools and that label applies only to elementary schools. Sixty schools are considered focus schools, of which 23 are also Title I. Since there are 131 elementary schools in MCPS at the moment (at least one other is under construction), that means that nearly half of elems in this county are predominantly low income.