Montgomery county schools or Frederick county schools

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Mcps doesn’t even give kids textbooks anymore I would expect any kid going through mcps to learn much unless you are a super involved parent and essentially teaching your kid yourself

That's not specific to MCPS. Read the VA FCPS forum. This is a national issue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How is the diversity in Urbana? It sounds nice up there. We’re very dissatisfied with MCPS. The schooling is so low bar, it’s almost like it’s a DIY education. The only thing MCPS has going on is its HS programs and diversity.

I’m very surprised to hear it’s difficult to get into umdcp?

American Indian/Alaskan Native: 0.4%
Asian: 19.0%
Black/African American: 10.2%
Hispanic/Latino: 12.8%
Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander: 0.1%
White: 50.7%
2+ Races: 6.8%

It's a great cluster. Very few problems from what I've heard, and our experience has not been in the "FredNeck" stereotype that you often hear about on this board. And we do most of our shopping/dining/entertainment in Frederick City and our experience has been the same. Nothing really negative to say until you go up north past the city towards the PA border.

Then you'll start to see the occasional confederate flag, etc.

But south of that is a great little community

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Which school system is better? would you move from MCPS to FCPS just for school?

If your children are young, go to FCPS. Over the next ten years, the state of MCPS is likely to decline further. Smaller school districts are able to adapt much more smoothly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Mcps doesn’t even give kids textbooks anymore I would expect any kid going through mcps to learn much unless you are a super involved parent and essentially teaching your kid yourself

Yes, exactly, and I’m tired of it. I thought the purpose of school was to learn, but what my kid has learned mostly is to space out most of the day because the pace is so incredibly slow. My GT-identified 3rd grader was still being taught spelling and phonics (she is not learning disabled), and 3rd grade classwork looks like that of my first grader’s.

Anyways thanks for these posts. We’re seriously considering a move and this thread gives me a lot to think about.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How is the diversity in Urbana? It sounds nice up there. We’re very dissatisfied with MCPS. The schooling is so low bar, it’s almost like it’s a DIY education. The only thing MCPS has going on is its HS programs and diversity.

I’m very surprised to hear it’s difficult to get into umdcp?

Why are you surprised?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Which school system is better? would you move from MCPS to FCPS just for school?

FCPS for middle school. Once you get to HS though, MCPS has more and much better options and offerings. I will only consider 2 High Schools in FCPS and that's Urbana and Oakdale.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How is the diversity in Urbana? It sounds nice up there. We’re very dissatisfied with MCPS. The schooling is so low bar, it’s almost like it’s a DIY education. The only thing MCPS has going on is its HS programs and diversity.

I’m very surprised to hear it’s difficult to get into umdcp?

American Indian/Alaskan Native: 0.4%
Asian: 19.0%
Black/African American: 10.2%
Hispanic/Latino: 12.8%
Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander: 0.1%
White: 50.7%
2+ Races: 6.8%

It's a great cluster. Very few problems from what I've heard, and our experience has not been in the "FredNeck" stereotype that you often hear about on this board. And we do most of our shopping/dining/entertainment in Frederick City and our experience has been the same. Nothing really negative to say until you go up north past the city towards the PA border.

Then you'll start to see the occasional confederate flag, etc.

But south of that is a great little community

I've heard Urbana is basically MoCo lite as so many from MoCo move to Urbana.

But, I would not choose any FCPS school other than Urbana over MCPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How is the diversity in Urbana? It sounds nice up there. We’re very dissatisfied with MCPS. The schooling is so low bar, it’s almost like it’s a DIY education. The only thing MCPS has going on is its HS programs and diversity.

I’m very surprised to hear it’s difficult to get into umdcp?

American Indian/Alaskan Native: 0.4%
Asian: 19.0%
Black/African American: 10.2%
Hispanic/Latino: 12.8%
Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander: 0.1%
White: 50.7%
2+ Races: 6.8%

It's a great cluster. Very few problems from what I've heard, and our experience has not been in the "FredNeck" stereotype that you often hear about on this board. And we do most of our shopping/dining/entertainment in Frederick City and our experience has been the same. Nothing really negative to say until you go up north past the city towards the PA border.

Then you'll start to see the occasional confederate flag, etc.

But south of that is a great little community

I've heard Urbana is basically MoCo lite as so many from MoCo move to Urbana.

But, I would not choose any FCPS school other than Urbana over MCPS.

That's probably a fair comparison. Oakdale is also pretty good.

and we have some friends that live near Baker Park and are happy with Frederick High, but don't know anything about the actual real data about FHS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How is the diversity in Urbana? It sounds nice up there. We’re very dissatisfied with MCPS. The schooling is so low bar, it’s almost like it’s a DIY education. The only thing MCPS has going on is its HS programs and diversity.

I’m very surprised to hear it’s difficult to get into umdcp?

Because there is a de facto cap on MCPS.
They make sure to let everyone know that it is not the "university of Montgomery County" but the "university of the Whole state of Maryland"

[Anonymous]

I am an MCPS Teacher who lives right on the border of FCPS. I do not like the schools right across the street from me that feed into Green Valley/Windsor Knolls, but am considering moving to Urbana schools for my youngest as I no longer like our feeder pattern after ES in Clarksburg (Rocky Hill/ CHS) but I am waiting until my eldest graduates as he is in Poolesville for the magnet program. Urbana would be the way we go but we want to live in a rural area that feeds to these schools.

[Anonymous]

There are certainly some FCPS schools that outperform some MCPS schools but I think MCPS is generally better than FCPS based on experiences of friends and relatives in FCPS. It’s incorrect that there are less disruptive kids. I know a violent teen in an FCPS school who has been passed from grade to grade. As an elementary school student he assaulted teachers and students and destroyed classrooms. As he got older the SROs have became involved and he’s been removed in handcuffs but he always returns. He was never once expelled and any disciplinary action has been a slap on the wrist. This child is far more violent than any classmate my kids have encountered in all their years in MCPS K-12. My point being that it there are no school systems that don’t have disruptive kids. Also, in HS, FCPS has kids take 4 courses each semester which means they don’t necessarily take math or English the entire year. For some kids that gap can be a disaster. Other kids like just focusing on 4 subjects. My kids have had IEPs/504s and I have lots of criticism for MCPS on that front but my nephew with dyslexia and ADHD was passed along in FCPS and was completely unprepared for even communty college. As far as fights, my friend with kids in 2 different FCPS HSs reports frequent fights. Our MCPS HS has rarely had a fight in the 8 years my kids have attended. Issues are not limited to one county or another. Compare individual schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mcps doesn’t even give kids textbooks anymore I would expect any kid going through mcps to learn much unless you are a super involved parent and essentially teaching your kid yourself

Yes, exactly, and I’m tired of it. I thought the purpose of school was to learn, but what my kid has learned mostly is to space out most of the day because the pace is so incredibly slow. My GT-identified 3rd grader was still being taught spelling and phonics (she is not learning disabled), and 3rd grade classwork looks like that of my first grader’s.

Anyways thanks for these posts. We’re seriously considering a move and this thread gives me a lot to think about.

My college kids do not have textbooks. One is at an ivy. Engineering majors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are certainly some FCPS schools that outperform some MCPS schools but I think MCPS is generally better than FCPS based on experiences of friends and relatives in FCPS. It’s incorrect that there are less disruptive kids. I know a violent teen in an FCPS school who has been passed from grade to grade. As an elementary school student he assaulted teachers and students and destroyed classrooms. As he got older the SROs have became involved and he’s been removed in handcuffs but he always returns. He was never once expelled and any disciplinary action has been a slap on the wrist. This child is far more violent than any classmate my kids have encountered in all their years in MCPS K-12. My point being that it there are no school systems that don’t have disruptive kids. Also, in HS, FCPS has kids take 4 courses each semester which means they don’t necessarily take math or English the entire year. For some kids that gap can be a disaster. Other kids like just focusing on 4 subjects. My kids have had IEPs/504s and I have lots of criticism for MCPS on that front but my nephew with dyslexia and ADHD was passed along in FCPS and was completely unprepared for even communty college. As far as fights, my friend with kids in 2 different FCPS HSs reports frequent fights. Our MCPS HS has rarely had a fight in the 8 years my kids have attended. Issues are not limited to one county or another. Compare individual schools.

Beat me to the punch here. I’d say if it were 10, even 5 years ago, MCPS obviously wins. But from this point forward, the gap is closing, and I wouldn’t be surprised if FCPS overtakes, especially with a superintendent who understands how MoCo families/staff operate. This will help her bring the programs and policies needed to make that jump. I will say Frederick looks quite tantalizing, but it’s by school. And that 4 class a semester system is very good college prep.

[Anonymous]

I'm an MCPS teacher and many of my coworkers live in Frederick and are very happy there (in Urbana and Monrovia). I'm contemplating the move too.
To answer an above poster, the pay is much higher at MCPS. I only know of 1 person who changed from MCPS to FCPS and she took a 15k paycut - which in turn effects her pension as well. MCPS is a bigger system with more funds which is why they can pay their teachers more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Mcps doesn’t even give kids textbooks anymore I would expect any kid going through mcps to learn much unless you are a super involved parent and essentially teaching your kid yourself

They used to complain that mcps didn't use hand-written manuscripts too. You need to let it go.