I’m thinking Seneca Valley |
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These schools have large Hispanic student populations. In 2023, the chronic absenteeism rate for Hispanic students in MCPS is 37.4%. https://reportcard.msde.maryland.gov/Graphs/#/Demographics/ChronicAbsenteeism/3/99/1/6/15/XXXX/2023 Bussing people who are chronically absent makes little difference to their education. |
Here's a story I heard. I don't know if it's true or not? Wootton was built to, at the time, separate the Asian community from other schools, hence the massively gerrymandered boundaries? I also heard that's why Wootton's renovation gets pushed back again, and again, and again? At first I didn't believe it, but when I read this, I couldn't help remembering the story I heard? 2021: https://woottoncommonsense.com/11948/opinion/montgomery-county-forgets-about-wootton-no-plans-for-renovation-in-sight/ 2023: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1yg-sU632OgaktZ8Z236CUxNotlrFFGy1/view "the project has been delayed by eight years to August 2029 while others have jumped ahead" https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/COUNCIL/Resources/Files/agenda/col/2024/20240206/testimony/Testimony93-MoniqueAshton-MCPS.pdf I don't think the County Council will be happy until a Wootton student dies? |
Seneca Valley High: 2023 Hispanic chronic absenteeism rate 51.0%: https://reportcard.msde.maryland.gov/Graphs/#/Demographics/ChronicAbsenteeism/3/99/1/6/15/0104/2023 Gaithersburg High: 2023 Hispanic chronic absenteeism rate 55.0%: https://reportcard.msde.maryland.gov/Graphs/#/Demographics/ChronicAbsenteeism/3/99/1/6/15/0551/2023 Watkins Mills High: 2023 Hispanic chronic absenteeism rate 58.9%: https://reportcard.msde.maryland.gov/Graphs/#/Demographics/ChronicAbsenteeism/3/99/1/6/15/0545/2023 When you move chronically absent students to a school farther away, will they suddenly show up for school? |
No one would be happier to be wrong... |
This is false. Asians moved there because it was priced better than Potomac, but the school was strong academically. It's renovations get pushed back because other schools have bigger problems like overcrowding, but once schools like Crown and Woodward come online I can't imagine there would be any further excuses. |
No they won't, but the concern extends beyond them. In some ways, they're going to do what they want to do. It's really more about the ripple effect throughout the entire school. When a huge portion of the student body is plagued by chronic absenteeism the impact to the school is profound. For example, using Watkins Mills numbers- 1,715 students, 616 are chronically absent. Imagine what that does to the school. Teachers now have to dedicate significant time to help the absent students catch up, which disrupts classroom dynamics and affects the experience of the kids who consistently go to school and do want to learn. There's a high number of students who are disengaged and a high number of disciplinary issues. There's probably limited clubs and programs compared to the other schools that don't have this problem because the demand is low. There's probably very little to no school spirit. Very low parental engagement. A sense of apathy among a large number of students and staff. Higher than normal teacher turnover rates. What you end up with is a negative school culture that is not an ideal environment for learning. This is what MCPS cares about and why demographics is a big factor in boundary studies. |
You move these kids to other schools so each school having 10-15% chronically absent is still causing issues, and more schools will have low moral. Possibly more Hispanic students will be absent due to the distance. The people who care about education will not accept their kids being bussed to poor performing schools so they will leave or go to private schools. Then none of the schools will be ideal environment for learning. It’s a lose lose situation. Seriously this is a problem that busing cannot solve. |
I hear about zoning for a few years. When will all these talks or rumors or guess of this rezoning finalize and happen in real life? This year is 2024, are we talking about 5 years after or later? My kid is still in elementary school, I would lobe the rezoning happen before they are in high school the first year? |
In fact, Hispanic organizations have surveyed Hispanic students in MCPS and found that many immigrant Hispanic students don't go to school because they were poorly educated in their home countries and could not keep up with their grade-level work. You cannot solve this problem by bussing. |
Again, the issue isn't so much the kids who don't want to go to school. I agree we can't fix that. The significant issue is the ripple effect that having a large number of chronically absent kids have on a school and the resulting environment that it causes. It negatively impacts the other students, the staff, and the overall culture of the school. |
The rezoning decisions will be made in 2026, and start happening in real life in 2027. |
agree that the current Stone Mill --> Cabin John MS --> Wootton is weird enough!
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This is why it's critical we ensure the board candidates strongly support diversity-first zoning. |