fairness of allowing change of school assignment to overcrowded MCPS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was recently at a neighborhood party for new kindergartners in our MCPS elementary school. I met a mother who said that she didn't actually live in our neighborhood but actually lives in the next neighborhood over (very close) and is assigned to a different elementary school. She said that her child was going to school at our school b/c they had been granted a change of school assignment. I find the whole thing perplexing b/c we have one of the largest, most overcrowded elementary schools in all of Mont. County. Why would they allow someone to transfer in for no apparent good reason as far as I could tell. The school the child is assigned to is not overcrowded but it does not have quite as good a reputation.

It seems unfair to me to burden our school further and I wonder what goes into making these decisions.

She doesn't owe you an explanation. She went through the proper channels and was granted a waiver. Your nosiness isn't part of the process. By way of example, she also doesn't need to consult you about her dietary decisions, birth control choices, and religious beliefs. Just because you have an opinion doesn't mean you're entitled to inflict it on other people, you know.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is still not school age, but I can tell you this. We live only a few blocks from an excellent school, and montgomery county has arbitrarily selected to bus kids on our street and a few of the surrounding streets out of the neighborhood to an underperforming school in a poor neighborhood in the name of diversity. And that may not be fair either, right? If it were your child, you would try to make sure that the county's agenda didn't interfere with your child's ability to get a decent education, wouldn't you? I suspect the woman you encountered faced such a dilemma, and if the consequence involves overcrowding at the higher achieving school, maybe it will start to affect enough parents that attention gets paid to the fact that the schools need improving and that we all own the problem, not just the kids who live on the other side of the street who had the misfortune of being assigned to the underperforming school. Just a thought.

OP here- I agree that this isn't fair. I also think that it isn't fair that some parts of the county have better schools than other parts of the county. And, as I said before, it isn't fair that some schools are as overcrowded as ours. I guess I am just trying to understand why kids are allowed to transfer in and further overcrowd the school.

OP, how many kids are in your child's class? Is this up county or down county? I thought red zone schools were supposed to have reduced class sizes. I would suggest that if you are concerned with overcrowding that you contact the county and ask the question. Don't expect an answer though. I've called and asked straight forward questions and they were seemingly incapable of answering. I don't think Weast & Co. believe they need to answer these types of questions. On the other hand, I don't think it's fair to let your justified concern over the issue of overcrowding lead to singling out this child as the lightning rod for your feelings about it. I suspect that the other mom would be one of the involved parents who makes the school a better place.

[Anonymous]

I guess I am just trying to understand why kids are allowed to transfer in and further overcrowd the school.

There could be many reasons:

child care in your school's zoned area

special services offered by your school needed by her child that their base school does not offer

an issue at the current school that the school offered to remediate by a transfer

And while the school itself may be overcrowded, the classroom/program that her child is in may not necessarily be over capacity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid is still not school age, but I can tell you this. We live only a few blocks from an excellent school, and montgomery county has arbitrarily selected to bus kids on our street and a few of the surrounding streets out of the neighborhood to an underperforming school in a poor neighborhood in the name of diversity. And that may not be fair either, right? If it were your child, you would try to make sure that the county's agenda didn't interfere with your child's ability to get a decent education, wouldn't you? I suspect the woman you encountered faced such a dilemma, and if the consequence involves overcrowding at the higher achieving school, maybe it will start to affect enough parents that attention gets paid to the fact that the schools need improving and that we all own the problem, not just the kids who live on the other side of the street who had the misfortune of being assigned to the underperforming school. Just a thought.

So are you in Chevy Chase where kids are bused to Rosemary Hills? Sounds like comments I've heard from my neighbors. RHES is not in a poor neighborhood but that's how some of our neighbors talk about it. So hilarious.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I guess I am just trying to understand why kids are allowed to transfer in and further overcrowd the school.

There could be many reasons:

child care in your school's zoned area

special services offered by your school needed by her child that their base school does not offer

an issue at the current school that the school offered to remediate by a transfer

And while the school itself may be overcrowded, the classroom/program that her child is in may not necessarily be over capacity.

Thank you for this explanation. This is all I was asking.

Again, just to be clear, I DID NOT SAY ANYTHING to this woman, nor to anyone else. Nor do I plan to. (Other than asking my DH if he understood). I cannot understand the mean answers. I am not questioning that this was illegitimate- she obviously went through the proper channels. I just wanted to understand what the proper channels entailed. And, it seems from these answers, that if I were to get a waiver b/c my school is overcrowded the meanies would say I was justified.

Glad that the people I meet in real life are nicer than the people on DCUM.

[Anonymous]

I am one such meanie and I would absolutely say you were justified.

Anonymice are not, as a rule, nice.

[Anonymous]

OP, I'm still curious to know how many kids are in your kid's classroom, and what is the average class size? You said it's overcrowded, but what does that mean? You haven't yet shared the teacher/student ratio with us.

[Anonymous]

Google is your friend. Here are the grounds on which a transfer can be granted in MCPS.

Requests for a change in school assignment will be granted for the following:

Documented, unique hardship
Exemptions:
Sibling: Older sibling attends requested school (except in consortia schools)

Continuation: Middle school students on an approved change of school assignment may continue to that school's feeder pattern high school, except when affected by boundary change or consortium choice guidelines. Elementary school students transitioning to middle school are not exempt amd must document a unique hardship.

To continue in the feeder pattern from middle school to high school, a new Change of School Assignment form must be submitted to the home school.


Exempt Programs: Student selected for an exempt program (see listing of these programs in the Change of School Assignment Information Booklet - English; Folleto de información sobre el cambio de escuela asignada - Spanish)

Family Relocation: When a family moves within Montgomery County, preference to remain in the original school will be considered to complete the current school year only.

Please note that by accepting a change of schools, the parent or guardian accepts responsibility to provide transportation, except when a student participates in an exempt countywide program.

http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/info/transfers/

The booklet linked to at that site goes on to explain a little more about "documented, unique hardship."

By definition, hardship depends on the family’s individual and personal situation. Problems that are common to large numbers of families, such as issues involving provision of day care, do not constitute a hardship, absent additional compelling factors. Documentation that can be independently verified must accompany all hardship requests.

Note there there's nothing in there about "overcrowding." It's hard to see how that could be a "unique hardship" since it's common to all families in the overcrowded school.

[Anonymous]

OP here. I don't really want to move my kid b/c of overcrowding. I was just reacting to the idea that the family was just doing what was best. My guess is that it was a day care issue (though it seems that isn't really a grounds for transfer).

The school has about 800 students and was built for 450.

[Anonymous]

OP Why don't you call the Board of Ed or an elected official or someone who in their official capacity can explain under what circumstances the county allows these school transfers. Just because the woman didn't divulge the reason doesn't mean she doesn't have a good one. I don't think you are going to find anything concrete here. Though I can see why you posted!

[Anonymous]

For God's sake!!! OP asked a simple question. I'm not sure why all the bitchiness. I guess it should be expected. Just as that mother was doing what is right for her kid, OP has every reason and right to ask the questions she is asking. It is her business.

And for the posters of this ilk:
"Just because you have an opinion doesn't mean you're entitled to inflict it on other people, you know."
Give me a break! Your inflicting your opinion just as much as OP was. And, frankly, OPs opinion means a bit more than yours here b/c her kid is one that actually attends a severely over-crowded school. I can't believe that some of you don't understand why OP would have questions give that scenario.

[Anonymous]

I was granted a transfer for DS this year. We listed 2 schools as possible choices. We were given our school #2 because school #1 was overcrowded, so capacity is an issue they consider if you meet all of the other requirements.

[Anonymous]

The school has about 800 students and was built for 450.

Are you referring to College Gardens ES? There are now approx 740 students with a max allowable of 695. And yes, there are children there who are not in the school district. Some how there seems to be a way they are able to get into a district other than their own. If you are not at CGES I am very interested to know what other MCPS exceeds their limit.

[Anonymous]

I'm not OP, but if you look through Schools at a Glance for 2008-2009 on the MCPS website, it seems that a lot of schools exceed capacity. Although I haven't been able to find any elem school that is as overcrowded as OP says her school is. Our ES is listed as over capacity, but the teacher/student ratio is good there (we're red zone people.) Aw c'mon OP, give us a hint. At least tell us what cluster you're in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, I'm still curious to know how many kids are in your kid's classroom, and what is the average class size? You said it's overcrowded, but what does that mean? You haven't yet shared the teacher/student ratio with us.

It could mean that the school has trailers aka "learning cottages". So class size could be normal.