MoCo Language Immersion Lottery - what are the odds and when do you find out?

[Anonymous]

I would really like to know what neighborhood in MoCo has $800K houses and substandard schools. Honestly, I can't think of one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would really like to know what neighborhood in MoCo has $800K houses and substandard schools. Honestly, I can't think of one.

Not PP here, but I can think of some neighborhoods around Gaithersburg/Montgomery Village with expensive houses and sub-standard elementary schools. Maybe not $800k, but certainly close.

[Anonymous]

We actually paid about $350K for our house but it would sell for about $800K now.

There are lots of $800K+ houses in Silver Spring 20910, which are zoned for Woodlin ES, Sligo Middle, and Einstein.

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/1311-Woodside-Pkwy_Silver-Spring_MD_20910_M61139-72238

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/1910-Grace-Church-Rd_Silver-Spring_MD_20910_M65183-67724

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/2509-Forest-Glen-Rd_Silver-Spring_MD_20910_M62810-32126

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/1000-Noyes-Dr_Silver-Spring_MD_20910_M61363-69070

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Also, RCF is not all it's cracked up to be. I say this as a parent with kids in this school for the past 6 years.

The school facility stinks, and that really makes a difference in the quality of school life. I know they will build a new school in the not so distant future, but still ...

The principal has some weaknesses, the school is chaotic and there are problems with the administration feeling top down and authoritative rather than warm and welcoming. There are significant bad feelings between immersion parents and neighborhood parents, and the admin hasn't been very effective in addressing this.

There's high turnover on the part of the immersino teachers and it's really hard to repalce them so there's always a lot of uncertaintly from year to year.

That is so true.

[Anonymous]

RCF and SCES sound like one and the same -- except turnover has not been quite as high at SCES until this year. Why is the county sticking with these programs again?

[Anonymous]

In PG they stuck with immersion because the data shows that students perform at higher levels across subgroups. MoCo came up with the same findings when they studied immersion students 5+ years ago. But in MoCo immersion enrollment has been getting less diverse so if it is serving mainly higher ses students its harder to make a case for its value It would be a shame if it were relegated to being a "boutique" program when it has the potential of being so much more.

As for SCES, yes the principal is awful. But staffing has been extremely stable - this year two of the "original" teachers retired. Is that what you mean by turnover?

[Anonymous]

I think the answer is to get better school administration, rather than ditch the program at RCF. Bad principals can happen anywhere -- it doesn't mean the program itself is a bad idea. And immersion turnover being more challenging is just a fact of life -- it's a much smaller subset of qualified teachers that you can draw from, so it's quite a big deal to recruit replacement teachers.

It looks like the current principal may be on his way to an MCPS central office job fairly soon, which is a shame for MCPS students but a good thing for RCF.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:RCF and SCES sound like one and the same -- except turnover has not been quite as high at SCES until this year. Why is the county sticking with these programs again?

Because the program and teachers are great. Yes, the principal is a pain, but chances are low you'd have to deal with her on a frequent basis. We dealt with her maybe twice. And now my kid is fluent in french. A low cost to pay!

We did get invited to retirement parties for teachers who had been there for ages. That doesn't sound like a "bad" kind of turnover.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think the answer is to get better school administration, rather than ditch the program at RCF. Bad principals can happen anywhere -- it doesn't mean the program itself is a bad idea. And immersion turnover being more challenging is just a fact of life -- it's a much smaller subset of qualified teachers that you can draw from, so it's quite a big deal to recruit replacement teachers.

It looks like the current principal may be on his way to an MCPS central office job fairly soon, which is a shame for MCPS students but a good thing for RCF.

They should house immersion programs at one location and not create schools within schools. It creates a lot more work for the administration and makes staff allocation difficult. It can also cause confusion for some kids who don't understand why they can't be in the special program. Interesting to hear that the current principal is heading for promotion.

[Anonymous]

PP here. To clarify: I don't know that he's heading for a promotion. It's just a gut feeling I have based on things I've heard about how he's viewed at MCPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would really like to know what neighborhood in MoCo has $800K houses and substandard schools. Honestly, I can't think of one.

This house sold recently for $1.4M. It is zoned for Woodlin ES, Sligo MS, and Einstein HS.

http://www.redfin.com/MD/Silver-Spring/1108-Woodside-Pkwy-20910/home/11079679

[Anonymous]

I think Woodside is an anomaly, in that the housing prices don't reflect schools the way they do elsewhere in MoCo -- gorgeous big old homes, generally large lots, close to metro and DTSS ... but like buying in NW D.C., you buy into a school cluster that may or may not be ideal for you.

With that said, the ES for Woodside is Woodlin which gets rave reviews.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think Woodside is an anomaly, in that the housing prices don't reflect schools the way they do elsewhere in MoCo -- gorgeous big old homes, generally large lots, close to metro and DTSS ... but like buying in NW D.C., you buy into a school cluster that may or may not be ideal for you.

With that said, the ES for Woodside is Woodlin which gets rave reviews.

Yes, I know - I live in Woodside and that house is close to ours.

Just responding to 14:00, who said she cannot think of a single neighborhood in MoCo that fits the PP's description of $800K plus homes and iffy schools. Woodside Park, Woodside Forest, North Woodside, and Seven Oaks (the latter to a lesser degree vis-a-vis middle and high schools) all fit that description.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think Woodside is an anomaly, in that the housing prices don't reflect schools the way they do elsewhere in MoCo -- gorgeous big old homes, generally large lots, close to metro and DTSS ... but like buying in NW D.C., you buy into a school cluster that may or may not be ideal for you.

With that said, the ES for Woodside is Woodlin which gets rave reviews.

Yes, I know - I live in Woodside and that house is close to ours.

Just responding to 14:00, who said she cannot think of a single neighborhood in MoCo that fits the PP's description of $800K plus homes and iffy schools. Woodside Park, Woodside Forest, North Woodside, and Seven Oaks (the latter to a lesser degree vis-a-vis middle and high schools) all fit that description.

Burnt Mills Hills also fits that description.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A8353-2004Mar19.html

http://silverspringism.com/local/Maryland/Silver%20Spring/Burnt%20Mills%20Hills

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the answer is to get better school administration, rather than ditch the program at RCF. Bad principals can happen anywhere -- it doesn't mean the program itself is a bad idea. And immersion turnover being more challenging is just a fact of life -- it's a much smaller subset of qualified teachers that you can draw from, so it's quite a big deal to recruit replacement teachers.

It looks like the current principal may be on his way to an MCPS central office job fairly soon, which is a shame for MCPS students but a good thing for RCF.

They should house immersion programs at one location and not create schools within schools. It creates a lot more work for the administration and makes staff allocation difficult. It can also cause confusion for some kids who don't understand why they can't be in the special program. Interesting to hear that the current principal is heading for promotion.

This will never happen, nor should it happen. The whole point of magnet schools is to attract affluent students to low-income schools.

Please explain how you think an immersion program creates a lot more work for the administration and makes staff allocation difficult. (I don't even know what you mean by the latter comment.)

Do you have personal experience with this?