Tell me a about your low ranked MCPS school that you love

[Anonymous]

Goshen Elementary. This is a hidden gem. Fabulous PTA and great teachers.

Its the school that is very well suited to all kinds of students but especially highly gifted kids who want to get into HGC.
A big feeder school to HGC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Jackson Road Elementary. My child was originally supposed to go to school in Rockville, but I got divorced and moved and couldn't afford to live there. I was skeptical about sending her to Jackson Road because I've heard bad things about the school and the principal, but she's a really sweet lady and has been very helpful. My child is getting a great education and she's had great teachers the past two years. I don't regret my decision at all.

My friend teaches there! She doesn't love the principal, but stays because the rest of the staff is great, and she loves the families.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What's the criteria for low ranked?

Great schools rating less than 8

Ooh goody, does that mean that at 47 I can say I am in my early 40s?
We love our Great Schools 7 school, but i won't bother with the details, as it is too lowly for your tastes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have enjoyed Somerset ES.

Terrific, but that's not low-ranked.

[Anonymous]

There is no way J West MS is a 9 if College Gardens ES and RM HS are 8s.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Jackson Road Elementary. My child was originally supposed to go to school in Rockville, but I got divorced and moved and couldn't afford to live there. I was skeptical about sending her to Jackson Road because I've heard bad things about the school and the principal, but she's a really sweet lady and has been very helpful. My child is getting a great education and she's had great teachers the past two years. I don't regret my decision at all.

My friend teaches there! She doesn't love the principal, but stays because the rest of the staff is great, and she loves the families.

Most people don't like the principal, I think she's great.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is no way J West MS is a 9 if College Gardens ES and RM HS are 8s.

Why not? The rankings are based on that particular school's test scores compared to other schools of the same grade in that school district, not the cluster test scores. MS is usually the weakest in a lot of clusters. Maybe JW MSers test scores are relatively high compared to other MS in the county.

Or, yes, GS ratings are worthless.

[Anonymous]

Glenallan
Great principal, dc has had wonderful teachers each year and the specials teachers I like virtually all as well.
Brand new, "green" building - 3rd year.
Focus school and PTA is always strapped for volunteers but lots of enrichment and fun stuff that is organized despite that - some by pta and some by the school itself.

You would faint at the score though, OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Jackson Road Elementary. My child was originally supposed to go to school in Rockville, but I got divorced and moved and couldn't afford to live there. I was skeptical about sending her to Jackson Road because I've heard bad things about the school and the principal, but she's a really sweet lady and has been very helpful. My child is getting a great education and she's had great teachers the past two years. I don't regret my decision at all.

My friend teaches there! She doesn't love the principal, but stays because the rest of the staff is great, and she loves the families.

My friend teachers there too!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Glenallan
Great principal, dc has had wonderful teachers each year and the specials teachers I like virtually all as well.
Brand new, "green" building - 3rd year.
Focus school and PTA is always strapped for volunteers but lots of enrichment and fun stuff that is organized despite that - some by pta and some by the school itself.

You would faint at the score though, OP.

I used to teach at Glenallan. It was great back then!

[Anonymous]

OP here. I am a teacher and work at a school that is rated a 6. I am not at all impressed with the education the students are getting (outside of my classroom of course).

But I know that rating doesn't tell the whole story which is why I asked. I would feel comfortable sending my child to a 9 or a 10 as I am sure most of you would too. The schools under that really are a crapshoot. Could be great or not which is why I asked.

[Anonymous]

OP, are you for real? You know GS ratings are almost entirely based on standardized test scores. I've never heard a teacher who thinks test scores are the be all and end all of a school's quality.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is no way J West MS is a 9 if College Gardens ES and RM HS are 8s.

I don't understand it when people say this. What do they think happened? That the GS alogorithm was faulty only when rating JW? That someone from JW has insider connections at GS and got them to fudge the numbers? Obviously, according to the same criteria (however legitimate) that was used to rank every other school, JW scored a 9. That's that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, are you for real? You know GS ratings are almost entirely based on standardized test scores. I've never heard a teacher who thinks test scores are the be all and end all of a school's quality.

+1 One of my kids attended a GS 5 that is not only generally well regarded, but which we loved. The school happens to have a relatively high number of English Language Learners, which pulls down test scores but which didn't affect my child's education in the least.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is no way J West MS is a 9 if College Gardens ES and RM HS are 8s.

I don't understand it when people say this. What do they think happened? That the GS alogorithm was faulty only when rating JW? That someone from JW has insider connections at GS and got them to fudge the numbers? Obviously, according to the same criteria (however legitimate) that was used to rank every other school, JW scored a 9. That's that.

They think, "I know that Julius West is lousy, therefore the Greatschools score must be wrong for some reason." It's not a fact-based thought.