How to help MCPS' lowest performing students?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone know if they break down data based on how long a kid has been on MCPS?

My guess is that the kids that enter McPS before 1st grade actually do okay by the time they get a middle school. My guess is the lowest performing students are those that enter the system much later. Some of them might just need more years in the McPS system to catch up. Others may just be too far behind — like the 15 year olds that come from countries where they had no real education—I can’t imagine how hard it would be for those kids to catch up.

Lots of fallacies here about the strength of MCPS. It has fallen hard.

[Anonymous]

New to this thread, but I have two high school kids who’ve been with MCPS since kindergarten, and here are my thoughts in no specific order:
1. Restore discipline and set high behavior expectations. Students who are violent or consistently disruptive shouldn’t remain in the classroom. Repeat offenders should only be allowed back in person after demonstrating they can handle it—virtual learning should be the only alternative for them; NOT moving them to another school. Ever since RJ was introduced, bad behavior seems to have increased. That doesn’t feel like a coincidence. We keep blaming COVID, but that’s a cop-out.
2. Bring back phonics. If this hasn't happened yet, it’s time to get back to the basics and ensure every child is taught how to read early on.
3. Reinstate tracking. Students who are falling behind need specialized instruction and tutoring outside of mainstream classes to help them catch up. If not all, most students who are falling behind will appreciate this.
4. Reintroduce free tutoring. These were effective in the past and should make a return.
5. Require full books, not just excerpts, in English classes. Every grade should include the reading of complete books—not just fragments.
6. Fix chronic absenteeism. Engage with community partners to help spread the word to families about the importance of attendance. After a certain number of unexcused absences, parents should be held accountable. If the absences aren’t legitimate, law enforcement should be involved, and parents should be charged with neglect.
7. Celebrate/Highlight student achievements and excellence. Bring back valedictorians and honors recognition. At our middle school, the principal stopped honor roll parties to avoid making other students feel bad. That’s not fair to the kids who’ve worked hard and sends the message that doing well in school isn't valued.

[Anonymous]

11:56 yes to all.
The lowest performers need more - more time, more tutors, more books, more practice without them feeling like they are a failure because they are not there, yet, like their peers. Each classroom should have an assistant teacher to help those students or the lead teacher takes the lower students and assistant teacher works with the rest of the class. How do you get an Assistant teacher in each room, MCPS??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:11:56 yes to all.
The lowest performers need more - more time, more tutors, more books, more practice without them feeling like they are a failure because they are not there, yet, like their peers. Each classroom should have an assistant teacher to help those students or the lead teacher takes the lower students and assistant teacher works with the rest of the class. How do you get an Assistant teacher in each room, MCPS??

Advocate for this investment during the upcoming budget hearings, advocate to the BOE, work with your PTA/cluster to advocate to Admin and CO for having assistant teachers in lower ES classrooms. Similarly for all upper ES and MS math and English classes. My kid’s MS math class has 35 kids.

This is exactly what I think is needed in K-2, as reducing all class sizes is not going to happen. Additionally personnel to be tutor in Math, ELA, and English. These tutors can be full or full part-time paras or a specific tutor position that helps out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone know if they break down data based on how long a kid has been on MCPS?

My guess is that the kids that enter McPS before 1st grade actually do okay by the time they get a middle school. My guess is the lowest performing students are those that enter the system much later. Some of them might just need more years in the McPS system to catch up. Others may just be too far behind — like the 15 year olds that come from countries where they had no real education—I can’t imagine how hard it would be for those kids to catch up.

Lots of fallacies here about the strength of MCPS. It has fallen hard.

Not really. It's more of an indictment of parents these days. They prioritize things like Pilates classes over their children because it's just not convenient.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:New to this thread, but I have two high school kids who’ve been with MCPS since kindergarten, and here are my thoughts in no specific order:
1. Restore discipline and set high behavior expectations. Students who are violent or consistently disruptive shouldn’t remain in the classroom. Repeat offenders should only be allowed back in person after demonstrating they can handle it—virtual learning should be the only alternative for them; NOT moving them to another school. Ever since RJ was introduced, bad behavior seems to have increased. That doesn’t feel like a coincidence. We keep blaming COVID, but that’s a cop-out.
2. Bring back phonics. If this hasn't happened yet, it’s time to get back to the basics and ensure every child is taught how to read early on.
3. Reinstate tracking. Students who are falling behind need specialized instruction and tutoring outside of mainstream classes to help them catch up. If not all, most students who are falling behind will appreciate this.
4. Reintroduce free tutoring. These were effective in the past and should make a return.
5. Require full books, not just excerpts, in English classes. Every grade should include the reading of complete books—not just fragments.
6. Fix chronic absenteeism. Engage with community partners to help spread the word to families about the importance of attendance. After a certain number of unexcused absences, parents should be held accountable. If the absences aren’t legitimate, law enforcement should be involved, and parents should be charged with neglect.
7. Celebrate/Highlight student achievements and excellence. Bring back valedictorians and honors recognition. At our middle school, the principal stopped honor roll parties to avoid making other students feel bad. That’s not fair to the kids who’ve worked hard and sends the message that doing well in school isn't valued.

We don't have these issues at our school. It's like you people are from an alternate reality. My kids got a vastly superior education today from MCPS than I did at a W back in the 80s.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:11:56 yes to all.
The lowest performers need more - more time, more tutors, more books, more practice without them feeling like they are a failure because they are not there, yet, like their peers. Each classroom should have an assistant teacher to help those students or the lead teacher takes the lower students and assistant teacher works with the rest of the class. How do you get an Assistant teacher in each room, MCPS??

Advocate for this investment during the upcoming budget hearings, advocate to the BOE, work with your PTA/cluster to advocate to Admin and CO for having assistant teachers in lower ES classrooms. Similarly for all upper ES and MS math and English classes. My kid’s MS math class has 35 kids.

This is exactly what I think is needed in K-2, as reducing all class sizes is not going to happen. Additionally personnel to be tutor in Math, ELA, and English. These tutors can be full or full part-time paras or a specific tutor position that helps out.

As a tutor I charge $75 per hour. I am not tutoring for Para pay. As a Para, I help out in the classroom, do some paperwork. Pay is minimal, so is my output.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Make seperate schools for illegal immigrants.

Make separate schools for kids who do not speak English,

Integrate them in the mainstream schools when they catch up.

Are there even enough teachers to teach ELL students?

Nope. We have immigrants coming here illegally from all over the world. It's not just Spanish speakers. It's impossible to hire enough teachers to fill the need. Also, hiring even more ELL teachers means less money for other staff. We don't have an unlimited budget. So, we throw the kids into regular classes and expect teachers to pick up the slack.

The casual racism and anti-immigrant hate is just something else on DCUM. People don't even respond to it anymore.

Do any of you people reading this understand that what the PP wrote is:

A. Greatly exaggerated. No, there aren't hordes of non-English speaking students in MCPS, and

B. Hateful? This is public school. You educate the resident kids, regardless of who they are or where they come from. That is the public education compact, and it's a GOOD thing for our long-term future, for which we need educated and socially-integrated immigrants.

If you don't like it, feel free to move or to educate your kids elsewhere. You have choices.

I'm a parent volunteer in my kids' public schools. I've seen the recent immigrants learning English. They're grateful, quick to learn and they've got tons of grit. They don't take away resources from other kids, since the state gives extra money specifically to bring these kids up to speed. These are not snowflake kids. They will grow up to contribute to the economy of the United States and prop up your Social Security benefits.

Don't let your hate shoot you in the foot.

You are delusional. Of course resources have been shifted because of large numbers of immigrants to MCPS. Earlier in the decade, we had approximately 1500 new immigrant kids arriving EVERY year. That is a new school's worth. You can find the demographic numbers to see the shift. And where do you think those "state" tax dollars come from? MoCo. In addition, ELL kids ultimately slow down the teaching of native born students. Those classes just cannot make the same progress.

Trying to shut down people by calling them racist? Yes, it is OK for people to say that it is frustrating to spend our tax dollars educating illegal immigrants or the American-born children of illegal immigrants, when we have kids who experience generational poverty who need those resources. Your economic arguments are just as fallacious, but that belongs in a different thread. I always love the "if you don't like it, move" argument. Ummm... you are saying that law abiding, tax paying citizens of Maryland should move to make way for illegal economic migrants. That will definitely end well.

These people PAY taxes too. And, those illegals are the ones who care for your kids, clean your house and do your yard among other things. So, its ok they do all your dirty work but not have their kids educated along side yours?

No, they do not pay anywhere near the amount of taxes that they require, so the point isn’t to stop educating their kids, it is to stop allowing more illegal migrants into the country. I clean my own house and cared for my own kids. I do hire a landscaping company, but would much prefer to hire a teenager to mow.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone know if they break down data based on how long a kid has been on MCPS?

My guess is that the kids that enter McPS before 1st grade actually do okay by the time they get a middle school. My guess is the lowest performing students are those that enter the system much later. Some of them might just need more years in the McPS system to catch up. Others may just be too far behind — like the 15 year olds that come from countries where they had no real education—I can’t imagine how hard it would be for those kids to catch up.

Lots of fallacies here about the strength of MCPS. It has fallen hard.

The break down data based on where they are in the English Language Development program. There are six levels signal English fluency. Students need to attain a 4.5 level to exit the ELD program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:New to this thread, but I have two high school kids who’ve been with MCPS since kindergarten, and here are my thoughts in no specific order:
1. Restore discipline and set high behavior expectations. Students who are violent or consistently disruptive shouldn’t remain in the classroom. Repeat offenders should only be allowed back in person after demonstrating they can handle it—virtual learning should be the only alternative for them; NOT moving them to another school. Ever since RJ was introduced, bad behavior seems to have increased. That doesn’t feel like a coincidence. We keep blaming COVID, but that’s a cop-out.
2. Bring back phonics. If this hasn't happened yet, it’s time to get back to the basics and ensure every child is taught how to read early on.
3. Reinstate tracking. Students who are falling behind need specialized instruction and tutoring outside of mainstream classes to help them catch up. If not all, most students who are falling behind will appreciate this.
4. Reintroduce free tutoring. These were effective in the past and should make a return.
5. Require full books, not just excerpts, in English classes. Every grade should include the reading of complete books—not just fragments.
6. Fix chronic absenteeism. Engage with community partners to help spread the word to families about the importance of attendance. After a certain number of unexcused absences, parents should be held accountable. If the absences aren’t legitimate, law enforcement should be involved, and parents should be charged with neglect.
7. Celebrate/Highlight student achievements and excellence. Bring back valedictorians and honors recognition. At our middle school, the principal stopped honor roll parties to avoid making other students feel bad. That’s not fair to the kids who’ve worked hard and sends the message that doing well in school isn't valued.

I have two high schoolers also and have been in MCPS since they were in K.

Agree with all of this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Go private so taxpayers don't spend money on your kids who can afford private.

This is exactly what is happening. Families who can afford it are leaving for private.

You might think this is a great thing, but it actually isn’t.

I am a (legal) immigrant from a country where only poor families utilize the public education system. Middle class and wealthy families all send their kids to private school.

This actually destroys the public school system. The great thing about the US used to be its wonderful, accessible public school system.

When you lose support from middle and upper class families, it lowers the quality of the public education system as a whole.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:11:56 yes to all.
The lowest performers need more - more time, more tutors, more books, more practice without them feeling like they are a failure because they are not there, yet, like their peers. Each classroom should have an assistant teacher to help those students or the lead teacher takes the lower students and assistant teacher works with the rest of the class. How do you get an Assistant teacher in each room, MCPS??

Advocate for this investment during the upcoming budget hearings, advocate to the BOE, work with your PTA/cluster to advocate to Admin and CO for having assistant teachers in lower ES classrooms. Similarly for all upper ES and MS math and English classes. My kid’s MS math class has 35 kids.

This is exactly what I think is needed in K-2, as reducing all class sizes is not going to happen. Additionally personnel to be tutor in Math, ELA, and English. These tutors can be full or full part-time paras or a specific tutor position that helps out.

As a tutor I charge $75 per hour. I am not tutoring for Para pay. As a Para, I help out in the classroom, do some paperwork. Pay is minimal, so is my output.

Tutor would be helping out in the classroom. And just because you wouldn’t do this as a Para doesn’t mean others wouldn’t.

[Anonymous]

Can 11:56 please run for the school board? Why are there no candidates advocating for these things?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:New to this thread, but I have two high school kids who’ve been with MCPS since kindergarten, and here are my thoughts in no specific order:
1. Restore discipline and set high behavior expectations. Students who are violent or consistently disruptive shouldn’t remain in the classroom. Repeat offenders should only be allowed back in person after demonstrating they can handle it—virtual learning should be the only alternative for them; NOT moving them to another school. Ever since RJ was introduced, bad behavior seems to have increased. That doesn’t feel like a coincidence. We keep blaming COVID, but that’s a cop-out.
2. Bring back phonics. If this hasn't happened yet, it’s time to get back to the basics and ensure every child is taught how to read early on.
3. Reinstate tracking. Students who are falling behind need specialized instruction and tutoring outside of mainstream classes to help them catch up. If not all, most students who are falling behind will appreciate this.
4. Reintroduce free tutoring. These were effective in the past and should make a return.
5. Require full books, not just excerpts, in English classes. Every grade should include the reading of complete books—not just fragments.
6. Fix chronic absenteeism. Engage with community partners to help spread the word to families about the importance of attendance. After a certain number of unexcused absences, parents should be held accountable. If the absences aren’t legitimate, law enforcement should be involved, and parents should be charged with neglect.
7. Celebrate/Highlight student achievements and excellence. Bring back valedictorians and honors recognition. At our middle school, the principal stopped honor roll parties to avoid making other students feel bad. That’s not fair to the kids who’ve worked hard and sends the message that doing well in school isn't valued.

What are you talking about? The kids in K-2 have been getting phonics instruction for at least the last 3 years

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:New to this thread, but I have two high school kids who’ve been with MCPS since kindergarten, and here are my thoughts in no specific order:
1. Restore discipline and set high behavior expectations. Students who are violent or consistently disruptive shouldn’t remain in the classroom. Repeat offenders should only be allowed back in person after demonstrating they can handle it—virtual learning should be the only alternative for them; NOT moving them to another school. Ever since RJ was introduced, bad behavior seems to have increased. That doesn’t feel like a coincidence. We keep blaming COVID, but that’s a cop-out.
2. Bring back phonics. If this hasn't happened yet, it’s time to get back to the basics and ensure every child is taught how to read early on.
3. Reinstate tracking. Students who are falling behind need specialized instruction and tutoring outside of mainstream classes to help them catch up. If not all, most students who are falling behind will appreciate this.
4. Reintroduce free tutoring. These were effective in the past and should make a return.
5. Require full books, not just excerpts, in English classes. Every grade should include the reading of complete books—not just fragments.
6. Fix chronic absenteeism. Engage with community partners to help spread the word to families about the importance of attendance. After a certain number of unexcused absences, parents should be held accountable. If the absences aren’t legitimate, law enforcement should be involved, and parents should be charged with neglect.
7. Celebrate/Highlight student achievements and excellence. Bring back valedictorians and honors recognition. At our middle school, the principal stopped honor roll parties to avoid making other students feel bad. That’s not fair to the kids who’ve worked hard and sends the message that doing well in school isn't valued.

Everybody loves tracking until their kid gets into the lowest level class and then suddenly it's bad.