What are the thoughts on Maury Elementary??
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Anonymous
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[quote=Anonymous]I'm IB for Maury but take my kids to a DCPS in NW. I looked at the link and went straight to the test scores. Maury just can't meet the requirements for a SN kid or one with strong math skills. Its math program never impressed me, even though I tour the school every spring. I'd rather make the drive.[/quote]
Good for you. Having and exercising options is what school choice is about. But I do want to add in my over half a decade at Maury I've met few people inside or outside the school that prefer Everyday Math, which is to my knowledge applied at all DCPS, including those up in the NW, and which, moreover, does not mesh well with the new Common Core Standards. Not saying it wasn't work for Maury to transition to Singapore Math, one grade-level at a time, training teachers and all. But at this point, the math at Maury is solid, and even the testing grades (which remember report on grades 3-5 only) have benefited a great deal from the transition. That among the if not the highest DC-CAS math test scores were achieved at Maury (notwithstanding great variation because it's just not a homogeneous school), is testimony to that. Not saying I couldn't find a thing wrong with Maury, but math's not it. |
Anonymous
21:31 here, Great Schools also offers test scores. They can be found under the test scores tab. Maury's can be found at http://www.greatschools.org/washington-dc/washington/28-Maury-Elementary-School/?tab=test-scores. Also Greatschools' ratings take into account score growth as well as test scores. According to Great Schools Haynes has a total score of 65.6% and Stokes has a test score of 63.2% and both have been flat so they seem to belong in the 7/10 category, while Two Rivers has a test score of 73.8% ad has improved significantly so it seems to belong in the 9/10 category. As for Inspired Teaching, test scores are available, (link here: http://www.greatschools.org/washington-dc/washington/839-Inspired-Teaching-Demonstration-PCS/?tab=test-scores), contrary to what PP said, and are abysmal (23% math and 46% reading), but they are a new school so Great Schools probably counts them as having improved from nothing. LAMB's test scores are 77.6% and they improve significantly from grade to grade so 10/10 seems deserved. Mann's scores are not stated as a whole, but are between the high 70's and low 90's and they have declined in test scores lately, so I can see why they would get only an 8/10. All the JKLM's scores that were 10/10 seem well deserved. However, Lafayette and Murch got only a 9/10, contrary to what PP said. They have flatlined though, and sometimes slightly declined, compared to Janney and Key rising. This explains their score. There are only two Kipp's with 10/10 and five kipp's are listed. For the two Kipp's they are growing and have test scores of 89.6% and 87.6%, explaining their rating. Given all of this, I am not entirely sure what is wrong with Great Schools. Great Schools seems perfectly fine to me, and you have not pointed out any errors not easily explained. |
Anonymous
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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I'm IB for Maury but take my kids to a DCPS in NW. I looked at the link and went straight to the test scores. Maury just can't meet the requirements for a SN kid or one with strong math skills. Its math program never impressed me, even though I tour the school every spring. I'd rather make the drive.[/quote]
Good for you. Having and exercising options is what school choice is about. But I do want to add in my over half a decade at Maury I've met few people inside or outside the school that prefer Everyday Math, which is to my knowledge applied at all DCPS, including those up in the NW, and which, moreover, does not mesh well with the new Common Core Standards. Not saying it wasn't work for Maury to transition to Singapore Math, one grade-level at a time, training teachers and all. But at this point, the math at Maury is solid, and even the testing grades (which remember report on grades 3-5 only) have benefited a great deal from the transition. That among the if not the highest DC-CAS math test scores were achieved at Maury (notwithstanding great variation because it's just not a homogeneous school), is testimony to that. Not saying I couldn't find a thing wrong with Maury, but math's not it.[/quote] 21:31 here (again), Singapore Math sounds like a great idea, and I applaud Maury's PTA for it, but test scores have not came out yet for 2013, and math scores are 45% proficient and advanced as of 2012, which is just average for DC (aka abysmal), and not by any means "among the if not highest DC-CAS math scores." Math seems like a relative strength for Maury, (although they actually declined by 2% between 2011 and 2012), but it is not on the level of the good NW schools' scores (which are >80%). However, this Singapore Math program sounds like a great idea :D! |
Anonymous
| Um no. Everyday Math is NOT in our NW school. We actually were IB for Maury and moved out. Fine school. Not very creative with curriculum or implementation of dictated curriculum (not autonomous so not much choice). Our biggest issue was that our kids were aging out of Maury. We left in 4th and now have a younger sib in 4th in JKLMM school. World of difference. Again, nice little school. Not very academic, a bit anemic in teaching and not well led by administrators. Great community and parents though. |
Anonymous
Very curious about "not well led by administrators." Care to elaborate? |
Anonymous
Troll? I feel like I know quite well who's "left in 4th" for an upper NW school or anywhere really - yes, keeping track of people is actually possible at Maury - but really can't think of anyone fitting that bill. I too wonder what the quote could possibly mean, since Maury has just about the most able front desk and administrative staff that one could hope for. Maybe some experience from years ago. Or maybe someone who means a different school and/or really knows nothing about Maury (Maury actually does have autonomy as part of the DC3 Collaborative, for instance, which very few DCPS do). Not to mention that the statement is so carefully phrased that it doesn't even mean the person claiming all of these things truly ever set foot in the school. As always, DCUM, while really quite interesting on general policy matters, does not add up to anything meaningful when it comes to asking for feedback on specific schools. At best, you get some half-baked and half-verified stories from way back. At its worst, you'll be flat-out misled. If you scroll around a bit, besides distinct Word Salad lady, you'll find a poster the site manager pointed to based on the IP address not long ago, whose claims of having been at this school, at that school, with and without children, of just about any age and grade-level, are hilarious. |
Anonymous
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Ha! That is my post you quoted and I completely stand by my original post. Yes, it was a few years ago but not that many. Just because you don't agree with my opinion doesn't mean I am wrong or a troll. Just a neighbor (and longtime MOTH) who thinks differently than you do. Relax ok? Don't make me take back my statement about nice community and parents! Or perhaps they were nicer a few years ago? When we were all in the trenches together?
Are they really still using Everyday Math? If they do it wouldn't surprise me. The school runs nicely but there isn't leadership-- two vastly differently things in my book. I will admit (as I stated above) that our MAIN reason for leaving was the lack of ms option. It wasn't until we were in a different school that I realized how just fine Maury was. Nothing inspiring. Don't know if that makes sense but that is how I feel. |
Anonymous
| Must have been many moons then indeed or you'd know that Maury is using a different math curriculum. That you'd find leadership 'uninspiring', unless you're really weird, would date your experience to maybe the interim principal's time, or maybe the previous principal, no later than 2008 for sure. Then why not just say so, if you truly care to make a meaningful contribution? |
Anonymous
| New poster here, but Maury booster you are coming off testy and defensive. People can disagree with you and even post dated information. You can simply restate your opinion and current information without coming off like you are the be-all and know-all of Maury. Maury will survive if someone regards it as "just fine". Breathe |
Anonymous
Dear Booster: we are a Maury family. I sort of agree with the other poster. The school is totally fine and my kids are happy. Teachers have been hit and miss. I think a huge strength is in the specials teachers actually. What makes it great is the community/parental involvement. There have been hiccups with the leadership after 2008 (2010, remember that?) but I don't think the children have been impacted. Kids are very happy there which is great but I personally wish a few changes in staff could be made. Won't happen though. |
Anonymous
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OK, 19:25, but if the community involvement is so strong, and the school is doing so well, why are so many high-SES/white kids still leaving in the upper grades?
We're only heading into preschool at Maury, but we're a bit concerned about the exodus, so I thought I'd revive this thread by seeking answers. It looks to me like Brent is stemming the tide, partly because the administration has been responsive to parent concerns about lack of challenge in the upper grades (e.g. rumor has it, by allowing looping up for math in the upper grades from this fall). But what's going on in the upper grades at Maury? Why are so many of the affluent Lincoln Park neighborhood families still peeling off along the way? I won't be surprised if most of the white kids are no longer there in 3rd again this fall. Is that what others expect? What explains the departure of so many high-SES families despite the buzz on Maury? Is the school on track to catch up to Brent or not? |
Anonymous
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Two words: Eliot-Hine. Many (not all, but a lot) of the high-SES kids who leave in later grades aren't going to another DCPS. They're moving to the MD/VA suburbs before middle school. There are a lot of Maury parents who are really involved at Eliot, but it's still a problem.
Next year Maury will have all new teachers in 4th and 5th. An awesome 3rd teacher is moving to 4th, a beloved former Maury teacher is coming back to teach 4th and a new 5th grade teacher is coming from Brent. |
Anonymous
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Right, yes, the middle school feeder problem again. But Brent, which also feeds into E-H of course, seems to be getting more better-off kids into the upper grades just the same. Perhaps more Brent families have the money for private middle school, leaving them disclined to move to the burbs? Or IB Brent kids are trying Latin and BASIS in greater numbers than IB Maury families (because Brent began to turn several years earlier than Maury) and liking these charters?
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Anonymous
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I'm a parent with children in Maury's upper grades. There are a couple of things that both questions and answers aren't getting entirely right. My comments in no particular order:
- I'm generally not into "Brent this but Maury that" but since the poster reviving this thread brings it up here my comment on that: Brent is the one peeling off in 5th grade (2 classrooms sized down to one), Maury is not. About half of Maury's 5th grade are transferring to Eliot-Hine and half to Stuart-Hobson. - The differences in demographics (race as well as income) you're seeing between grade levels are primarily a reflection of neighborhood gentrification over time, not a reflection of attrition. To the extent there is attrition at Maury (no bigger than many DCPS and charters), it's a combination of different things: parents ultimately vying for (immersion) charters, parents whose second children didn't get into Brent and who're waiting for their Kindergarten spot "by right" there, and growing families who want a bigger house with a yard in the suburbs. I also know a family or two who transferred to Watkins to get in line for Stuart-Hobson MS. But there are actually more families who're inbounds for the Cluster but go to Maury because they prefer it over Watkins. - Looking at Maury's OOB percentage, you'll need to take into account that the Maury boundaries are minuscule compared to other ES boundaries. So, absent a tidal wave of school age children (right about now happening for ages 6 and under), Maury has a large share of OOB children, always has and always will. Currently, many are from other parts of Capitol Hill (Payne, Watkins/Cluster, Tyler, Ludlow-Taylor, and Brent for the reasons I mentioned). And some are families slated for Miner but whose parents attended Maury in an era when the boundaries were different. In the upper grades, I venture to claim that there are also a significant number of children whose grandparents live within the school boundaries, either in multi-generation households or kids residing with these relatives during the week. - Race doesn't easily correlate with income in Maury's upper grades because Maury historically had a reputation as something of a parochial school that happened to be public and thus attracted middle class African-American families from other parts of the city. With the parochial touches disappearing, some of those families switched to private schools. - Maury was severely under-enrolled in the early 2000 and almost slated to close. During that time, it also went through several cycles of re-branding, shifting resources, school mergers, new principals, with DCPS off and on granting extra teachers, specials, a Spanish exposure program, magnet status, on/off, on/off etc. I'd say, it took growing enrollment numbers, DCPS resources decentralization, and a principal with a vision to put it back on a growth path towards a new identity as a highly diverse school that strives to provide "a personalized inquiry-based learning environment that educates the whole child" (http://mauryelementary.com/culture/philosophy). Not fully fleshed out until recent years, but that depiction is largely what we've experienced at Maury. |
Anonymous
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[quote=Anonymous]- Maury was severely under-enrolled in the early 2000 and almost slated to close. During that time, it also went through several cycles of re-branding, shifting resources, school mergers, new principals, with DCPS off and on granting extra teachers, specials, a Spanish exposure program, magnet status, on/off, on/off etc. I'd say, it took growing enrollment numbers, DCPS resources decentralization, and a principal with a vision to put it back on a growth path towards a new identity as a highly diverse school that strives to provide "a personalized inquiry-based learning environment that educates the whole child" (http://mauryelementary.com/culture/philosophy). Not fully fleshed out until recent years, but that depiction is largely what we've experienced at Maury.[/quote]
This kind of chaotic semi-mismanagement is why I continue to choose schools other than Maury. The school needs to stick to one vision. |