Montgomery County vs. Frederick County

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:MCPS is much worse than when this thread started in 2019. It’s kind of scary if you think about it.

Wasn't it still Curriculum 2.0 in 2019? Curriculum now seems much better, at least in ES/MS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:MCPS is much worse than when this thread started in 2019. It’s kind of scary if you think about it.

Stop with the hate. MCPS has its issues but it is still one of the best school systems in the country.

Kids are graduating and going to college or trade schools. They are getting jobs.

[Anonymous]

Sure, some are doing this. Many more are not than compared to those who graduated in say 2005. If I knew now, what I knew when I moved to Montgomery county for the schools, we wouldn't have moved here

[Anonymous]

I live in Urbana and moved up here from Montgomery County like a majority of my neighbors. We are much happier with the schools here than we were back in Montgomery. I used to teach for MCPS and it's been going downhill for years. Teachers are working very hard but the demographics have changed a lot. I know it's unpopular to say this, but when you have a fairly large group of students who are economically disadvantaged or learning English, that's going to take quite a bit of teacher time away from the other students. You have to slow down your pacing a bit and there are less students who can piggy back complex ideas off of one another.

I'm not saying all of Frederick is like this but am only speaking about our experience in the Urbana schools. I agree with other posters that I wouldn't want to live north of here as many pockets in Frederick have the same issues as MCPS in terms of poverty and needs. I'm a person of color so I don't spend much time north of downtown Frederick as there are certainly MAGA in northern Frederick.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many many years ago as a 23 year old, I went to visit Frederick and I literally had a man in the middle of the street say to me, "Go back to Japan," while his friends laughed. Given the lack of diversity in FCPS schools, I'm not at a place where I'm comfortable sending my kids there.

well, too bad you appear to live in the past, as you missed one of the BEST gay pride events in the city this past weekend

Nothing stays the same, but if you're going to base your experiences on your 23 yo self, then you don't want to hear this argument.

gay people can actually be racist, too, but I agree that most of the urban areas of Frederick are not racist.

We moved here from CA, and picked MCPS because it has more and better programs than HCPS or FCPS. I work remotely, so it didn't matter what county we chose.

But, within MCPS, obviously, there is a wide range of schools. It is true that once the school has beyond ~25% FARMs rate, the quality goes down because the admin/teachers have to spend more time and energy on the lower performers who tend to be from low income families.

And I say this as someone who came from a low income immigrant family whose siblings were in ESL.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Lots of people are moving into Frederick County right now.

The people moving to Frederick from MOCO are ruining the town and are not welcome by anyone I know who has lived here any length of time. It's starting to get just as crowded and the highways through the city are gridlocked starting as early as noon. Sprawling Ryan Homes (NV, etc) communities of sub-standard new housing are replacing farm lands along with all the usual chain restaurants and crappy grocery stores (we do NOT need another Weis) that accompany these ugly, scorched-earth developments.

They are all HOA communities where people agree to the terms of the HOA then complain endlessly on their Facebook groups about the HOA enforcing their ridiculous rules while not acting as their private security team when the teens play ding-dong-ditch or their neighbors don't pick up after their dog. They are famous for posting their ring camera videos or taking pics of drivers who offended them and they feel entitled to peace and quiet on the 4th of July and New Years when the fireworks start. They actually give their pets Xanax to get through it. They also demand to know what is going on every time their is a low flying, or landing helicopter, or a police presence anywhere. Seriously, if you live in MOCO and are thinking of getting out, please do not come to Frederick. We already don't like you and will like you even less after you move here. If you move here anyway, try to integrate and not make Frederick like MOCO.

[Anonymous]

Next will be Hagerstown and soon enough Cumberland. What after that? Wv? Pittsburgh?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Next will be Hagerstown and soon enough Cumberland. What after that? Wv? Pittsburgh?

Back in the early 2000s when home prices were skyrocketing people were indeed moving out that way and PA and commuting to DC.

Then in Virginia people were moving to Fredericksburg and would ride the VRE up.

This was around the time that the new home developments in Urbana were being built and some people were saying how it was given how the utilities in Urbana would constantly go out because they weren't originally built for that type of infrastructure. Even longtime residents in Clarksburg would complain how Ridge Road/27 wasn't built or designed for that type of traffic back then.

The housing market eventually crashed and I think some of those families moved back. Then during the pandemic you'd hear about some families moving further out again. Of the specific cases we knew, some families left the entire area.

But I wouldn't be surprised if the sprawl makes it out to those areas, just may take longer then one would've originally thought especially what they were saying in the early 2000s where it sounded like a given.

[Anonymous]

Montgomery has a much bigger achievement gap than its neighbors (Frederick and Howard). The top schools in Montgomery are better than the top schools in Frederick and Howard. But the bottom schools in MCPS are lower than the bottom schools in FCPS and HCPSS.

MCPS has also been mismanaged pretty significantly in recent years. But people in general are just not happy, particularly since COVID, with any school system. No schools are as good as they were pre-COVID for a lot of reasons. But at least FredCo and HoCo are clinging to some semblance of rules and consequences that make sense, while MCPS has shot itself in the foot with its "no rules and no discipline" policies.

[Anonymous]

The taxes in Frederick are sky-high. Urbana is outside Frederick's city limits, but property taxes are a lot higher in Frederick than even the highest taxes paid in some municipalities in MC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How would you compare Montgomery County Public Schools to Frederick County Public Schools?

MCPS used to miles ahead of FCPS and I still think it's better, but the differences are much smaller now. Small enough to be a major factor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MCPS is bigger.

By a lot. 206 schools in MCPS vs. 67 in FCPS.

Property taxes in Frederick are considerably higher - 20% higher, or more. Not sure why.

I couldn't figure that out either. Seems out of whack.

[Anonymous]

MCPS parents would hate it because FCPS joined the 21st century and dared to spend money on a virtual academy that is still operational.