Kentlands school cluster

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The former principal was a gem. He ran the school with a watchful eye at all times, from the bus stops before school to dropping in on classrooms regularly to steering problem students out of the school quickly, and same for problem teachers.
The current principal is lazy and out of her depth. She doesn't even make appearances at school events where you would expect to see her because she opts to go to her own children's events instead. The bus stops, yes there are busses, are a mess either students standing in the street intersections before school with no one checking up on them. Student behavior is an issue, which was never the case with the old principal.
The saving grace is there are some legacy teachers that are doing their best and yes the local CES program makes up for some of the riff raff, if your student is lucky enough to be in it.

While the enrollment has gone down in part due to private, the fact is the enrollment in that school swelled when parents who bought in the lakelands as it was being build have kids that are now aging out to middle and high school.

The school is worse than it once was but it's certain not a bad school.

Yes, but don’t undercount the issue of kids going to private school. Just on my block alone, there are three kids who are going to K next year (my daughter included). 2 out of 3 of those kids are going to private school, and the mother of the third child told me she and her husband are considering private school, but are planning to give RCES a chance before deciding for sure.

There have ALWAYS been a good deal of Kentlands kids who attend private. I wouldn't chalk it all up to the new principal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our oldest will be entering K this fall and we’re hoping to move before then do we don’t have to during the school year. We really love the Kentlands community and how spirited and close knit and walkable it is. However am I correct in assuming because Rachel Carson and Lakelands are so close, bussing is not provided to anyone K-6? If so, how big of a drag is that? Obviously a walk during a beautiful day is great, but I’d imagine there probably enormous amount of traffic on rainy/snowy/cold days? Any other thoughts about the community or school cluster would be helpful!

It is a very Stepford-like, very white community. It is the epitome of a bubble. But if that is what impresses you, along with their overcrowded and mediocre elementary school, by all means, go for it.

Umm … our really good friends who live on our block are half-Iranian, half-Colombian. We have people we know in this neighborhood who are Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Georgian, etc.

But sure. Continue to talk about a neighborhood you clearly don’t know anything about.

[Anonymous]

Also, the principal is Black - this might have something to do with all of these poster claiming she is "lazy" and "doesn't work as hard" as her predecessor. Sounds like the previous principal went above and beyond to accommodate the privileged demanding parents and this principal is not. 🤷🏽‍♀️

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Also, the principal is Black - this might have something to do with all of these poster claiming she is "lazy" and "doesn't work as hard" as her predecessor. Sounds like the previous principal went above and beyond to accommodate the privileged demanding parents and this principal is not. 🤷🏽‍♀️

This is 100% not true. PPs have given very concrete examples of problems with the school that have absolutely nothing to do with her race. Stop making it about that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Also, the principal is Black - this might have something to do with all of these poster claiming she is "lazy" and "doesn't work as hard" as her predecessor. Sounds like the previous principal went above and beyond to accommodate the privileged demanding parents and this principal is not. 🤷🏽‍♀️

This is 100% wrong. The old principal was the exact opposite - he took absolutely zero sh*t from parents. Never gave in, and earned alot of respect for it. He never, ever gave into entitled parents (which drove the entitled parents nuts).

The new principal is lazy, a great description. Behavior is a major issue at the school, and she hides in her office from any challenges or confrontations. There are a handful of outstanding teachers who ignore her noise and do what’s best for the kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also, the principal is Black - this might have something to do with all of these poster claiming she is "lazy" and "doesn't work as hard" as her predecessor. Sounds like the previous principal went above and beyond to accommodate the privileged demanding parents and this principal is not. 🤷🏽‍♀️

This is 100% wrong. The old principal was the exact opposite - he took absolutely zero sh*t from parents. Never gave in, and earned alot of respect for it. He never, ever gave into entitled parents (which drove the entitled parents nuts).

The new principal is lazy, a great description. Behavior is a major issue at the school, and she hides in her office from any challenges or confrontations. There are a handful of outstanding teachers who ignore her noise and do what’s best for the kids.

Right. People who don’t have any real knowledge of the Kentlands/Lakelands community want to paint it as 1) super entitled, and 2) all-white. Whatever. They can push whatever they want to push, for their own reasons. Those of us who live in the neighborhood know that this couldn’t be farther from the truth.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our oldest will be entering K this fall and we’re hoping to move before then do we don’t have to during the school year. We really love the Kentlands community and how spirited and close knit and walkable it is. However am I correct in assuming because Rachel Carson and Lakelands are so close, bussing is not provided to anyone K-6? If so, how big of a drag is that? Obviously a walk during a beautiful day is great, but I’d imagine there probably enormous amount of traffic on rainy/snowy/cold days? Any other thoughts about the community or school cluster would be helpful!

It is a very Stepford-like, very white community. It is the epitome of a bubble. But if that is what impresses you, along with their overcrowded and mediocre elementary school, by all means, go for it.

Umm … our really good friends who live on our block are half-Iranian, half-Colombian. We have people we know in this neighborhood who are Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Georgian, etc.

But sure. Continue to talk about a neighborhood you clearly don’t know anything about.

Or it was because he won a Blue Ribbon award of Excellence from the state and she's meh.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Also, the principal is Black - this might have something to do with all of these poster claiming she is "lazy" and "doesn't work as hard" as her predecessor. Sounds like the previous principal went above and beyond to accommodate the privileged demanding parents and this principal is not. 🤷🏽‍♀️

Or it was because he won a Blue Ribbon award of Excellence from the state and she's meh.

One of the many small things he did that I noticed as a parent was he had the gym teacher walk through each lunch period and make sure every child had a meal. If they did not, he addressed it with privacy and delicacy so there were no hungry students in the school.

I'm sorry that some love turn every encounter into a racial debate. This has nothing to do with it. This has to do with one individual who was excellent at his job vs someone who just shows up and does the minimum.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also, the principal is Black - this might have something to do with all of these poster claiming she is "lazy" and "doesn't work as hard" as her predecessor. Sounds like the previous principal went above and beyond to accommodate the privileged demanding parents and this principal is not. 🤷🏽‍♀️

Or it was because he won a Blue Ribbon award of Excellence from the state and she's meh.

One of the many small things he did that I noticed as a parent was he had the gym teacher walk through each lunch period and make sure every child had a meal. If they did not, he addressed it with privacy and delicacy so there were no hungry students in the school.

I'm sorry that some love turn every encounter into a racial debate. This has nothing to do with it. This has to do with one individual who was excellent at his job vs someone who just shows up and does the minimum.

He really was an extraordinary principal. Didn’t MCPS move him to a school that really needed an exceptionally strong principal?

[Anonymous]

Here is but one example:

When we all went back to school this fall, most schools had their back to school night over zoom. Now remember, we all did zoom for the year and 3 months before this. We all learned that you had to put a password on the zoom call so it wasn't "zoom bombed" by internet trolls who put pornography, racial remarks, curses and other inappropriate things on the call.
Well she did not remember. She had a completely open back to school zoom that was zoom bombed in front of hundreds of parents. Oh simple mistake, you might say. We've all had these little fails. I'm sure she fixed it for the make-up back to school zoom.
Nope. She did it again the next time.

Just a small example of the sort of garbage that never would have happened under the previous administration once, let alone twice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The former principal was a gem. He ran the school with a watchful eye at all times, from the bus stops before school to dropping in on classrooms regularly to steering problem students out of the school quickly, and same for problem teachers.
The current principal is lazy and out of her depth. She doesn't even make appearances at school events where you would expect to see her because she opts to go to her own children's events instead. The bus stops, yes there are busses, are a mess either students standing in the street intersections before school with no one checking up on them. Student behavior is an issue, which was never the case with the old principal.
The saving grace is there are some legacy teachers that are doing their best and yes the local CES program makes up for some of the riff raff, if your student is lucky enough to be in it.

While the enrollment has gone down in part due to private, the fact is the enrollment in that school swelled when parents who bought in the lakelands as it was being build have kids that are now aging out to middle and high school.

The school is worse than it once was but it's certain not a bad school.

Yes, but don’t undercount the issue of kids going to private school. Just on my block alone, there are three kids who are going to K next year (my daughter included). 2 out of 3 of those kids are going to private school, and the mother of the third child told me she and her husband are considering private school, but are planning to give RCES a chance before deciding for sure.

There have ALWAYS been a good deal of Kentlands kids who attend private. I wouldn't chalk it all up to the new principal.

This is true. I see bumper stickers for various private schools all over Kentlands. It’s not surprising, since the demographics of the neighborhood are essentially the same as North Potomac/Darnestown.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also, the principal is Black - this might have something to do with all of these poster claiming she is "lazy" and "doesn't work as hard" as her predecessor. Sounds like the previous principal went above and beyond to accommodate the privileged demanding parents and this principal is not. 🤷🏽‍♀️

Or it was because he won a Blue Ribbon award of Excellence from the state and she's meh.

One of the many small things he did that I noticed as a parent was he had the gym teacher walk through each lunch period and make sure every child had a meal. If they did not, he addressed it with privacy and delicacy so there were no hungry students in the school.

I'm sorry that some love turn every encounter into a racial debate. This has nothing to do with it. This has to do with one individual who was excellent at his job vs someone who just shows up and does the minimum.

Not an RC parent, but wow, this is impressive, and kind.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also, the principal is Black - this might have something to do with all of these poster claiming she is "lazy" and "doesn't work as hard" as her predecessor. Sounds like the previous principal went above and beyond to accommodate the privileged demanding parents and this principal is not. 🤷🏽‍♀️

Or it was because he won a Blue Ribbon award of Excellence from the state and she's meh.

One of the many small things he did that I noticed as a parent was he had the gym teacher walk through each lunch period and make sure every child had a meal. If they did not, he addressed it with privacy and delicacy so there were no hungry students in the school.

I'm sorry that some love turn every encounter into a racial debate. This has nothing to do with it. This has to do with one individual who was excellent at his job vs someone who just shows up and does the minimum.

Yeah, g*d forbid we actually judge someone on their ability.

The school is a train wreck. Bullying is out of control. Communication is completely lacking. That zoom story? Totally true and the 2nd time was head scratching and completely embarrassing.

And yes, kids in the hood have always gone to privates and older families are aging out. But new young families continue to move in yet enrollment is still plummeting. The numbers presented at the PTA meeting recently were eye opening.

[Anonymous]

Principal Chep, the previous RCES principal, has the distinction of not only RCES being named a Blue Ribbon school under his tenure, but also Darnestown ES, which he headed up before RCES.

It’s hard to follow up such a great leader, but it seems like MCPS thought RCES could function as a great school, regardless of who was in charge. Clearly they were wrong.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also, the principal is Black - this might have something to do with all of these poster claiming she is "lazy" and "doesn't work as hard" as her predecessor. Sounds like the previous principal went above and beyond to accommodate the privileged demanding parents and this principal is not. 🤷🏽‍♀️

Or it was because he won a Blue Ribbon award of Excellence from the state and she's meh.

One of the many small things he did that I noticed as a parent was he had the gym teacher walk through each lunch period and make sure every child had a meal. If they did not, he addressed it with privacy and delicacy so there were no hungry students in the school.

I'm sorry that some love turn every encounter into a racial debate. This has nothing to do with it. This has to do with one individual who was excellent at his job vs someone who just shows up and does the minimum.

Yeah, g*d forbid we actually judge someone on their ability.

The school is a train wreck. Bullying is out of control. Communication is completely lacking. That zoom story? Totally true and the 2nd time was head scratching and completely embarrassing.

And yes, kids in the hood have always gone to privates and older families are aging out. But new young families continue to move in yet enrollment is still plummeting. The numbers presented at the PTA meeting recently were eye opening.

Do you mind sharing some of them?

Like I said above, we moved to Kentlands recently (2015) and know several families who either already made the decision to send their kids to private school or are strongly considering it. One family I know had an older child at RCES in the past 3 years and were really dismayed by the poor education there. They ended up pulling that kid out and sent him to private. I’ve had a lot of conversations with parents in the neighborhood about how we moved to MoCo for the schools, only to be really disappointed. The trajectory is simply not good, when it comes to the future of RCES. It’s really sad.