interesting discussion regarding abysmal decline of MoCo schools
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Anonymous
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Yes, class sizes in areas that don't mandate low class sizes, lack of any agency for many teachers, and YES, pay. Babysitting wages with super high COL.
Decades ago the wages might not have mattered as much. Many folx went into teaching who would be CEOs etc. etc. now, mostly women. Now, you have to be masochistic, without other options, independently wealthy, or young with no family, to live on the salary in Moco. |
Anonymous
I think it is both. Changing demographics, increased identification of special needs, and unfunded federal mandates that trickled down to individual school budgets created a trifecta of pain for MCPS that has led to decreased enrichment opportunities (tighter sports budgets, fewer field trips, fewer learning materials--like for science labs just to note a few). |
Anonymous
| The enrichment opportunities spotlighted today seem somewhat performative and somewhat meaningless. It's something ppl seem to really latch on to, though, trying to identify and get every little thing, without realizing it's kind of a big scam. Teachers could provide all this without calling it "enrichment" if they had agency, were paid well, etc. |
Anonymous
I went to MCPS, we rarely had field trips and other things. And, if anything more kids need to be identified, not less as SN and given support. |
Anonymous
Nope. We read the Hopkins audit and talked with families with kids just a few years older than ours. 90% of them were deeply critical of MCPS. |
Anonymous
Interesting that there is no MCPS administration responsibility. Just all extrinsic factors. Someone else’s fault. |
Anonymous
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"I went to MCPS, we rarely had field trips and other things. And, if anything more kids need to be identified, not less as SN and given support. "
100%, same here. Though there were a ton of field trips in 4th grade learning about Maryland history. And, my favorite, the metro! Totally the teacher empowered to be creative. She would be a CEO today. |
Anonymous
What are they NOT deeply critical of, though? |
Anonymous
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"Nope. We read the Hopkins audit and talked with families with kids just a few years older than ours. 90% of them were deeply critical of MCPS."
What is the Hopkins audit? |
Anonymous
They evaluated Curriculum 2.0 in 2018: https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/uploadedFiles/departments/instructionalprograms/homepage/ExecutiveSummaryMCPS.pdf |
Anonymous
Thank you for posting this - I feel like Cassandra when I post about MCPS. We moved for the schools and left because of the schools. This report is truth. Smith was a nightmare but I’m glad he spent 500,000 for political cover to dump a curriculum so worthless and profit-driven. Seriously, the only thing he did of value - besides retiring. |
Anonymous
You’ve lived in Moco too long. Your schools are suboptimal and it has nothing to do with politics in VA. They have schools with children who rank at the top of NAEP. Maryland is struggling to catch up to Florida (in your argument with a similarly minded governor to Youngkin). Don’t let your leaders off the hook Union man because they are in your party, and say they agree with you… |
Anonymous
You forgot to also say "woke". 
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Anonymous
dp.. yes, it is part of the "woke" culture, and it's stupid. It's not helping those students. Misguided progressive liberals. |
Anonymous
So you think a poorer, browner system will produce like a richer white one if only they had a better curriculum? Show us one anywhere in the world. |