Montgomery County Parents: Please check student/teacher ratio of your elementary school

[Anonymous]

My ad hoc study turns out an astonishing result.

Some elementary schools: S/T ~14.5
Bells Mill ES 560 students 38.5 teachers
Seven Locks ES: 321 students 22.6 teachers

Some elementary schools: S/T ~ 11
Watkins Mill ES 574 students 52.3 teachers
Wheaton Woods ES: 480 students 47.8 teachers

The S/T difference is ~30%.

So, please check whether S/T ~11 schools group students by abilities before rushing to S/T ~14.5 schools. It could be more cost effective.

[Anonymous]

chevy chase es 504 students 31.9 teachers S/T 15.8'

reference here:
http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/regulatoryaccountability/glance/

Anonymous wrote:My ad hoc study turns out an astonishing result.

Some elementary schools: S/T ~14.5
Bells Mill ES 560 students 38.5 teachers
Seven Locks ES: 321 students 22.6 teachers

Some elementary schools: S/T ~ 11
Watkins Mill ES 574 students 52.3 teachers
Wheaton Woods ES: 480 students 47.8 teachers

The S/T difference is ~30%.

So, please check whether S/T ~11 schools group students by abilities before rushing to S/T ~14.5 schools. It could be more cost effective.

[Anonymous]

Not astonishing; Title 1 schools generally have a much lower student to teacher ratio. It might not be "right" but it's been common in MoCo for awhile.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not astonishing; Title 1 schools generally have a much lower student to teacher ratio. It might not be "right" but it's been common in MoCo for awhile.

Yeah, because those kids living in poverty should just work harder than those kids whose parents make a lot of money and not get additional resources to level the playing field. And you probably also think it's not "right" that handicapped parking spaces are so close to the building. Those folks in wheelchairs should just have to park far away like the rest of us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not astonishing; Title 1 schools generally have a much lower student to teacher ratio. It might not be "right" but it's been common in MoCo for awhile.

Yeah, because those kids living in poverty should just work harder than those kids whose parents make a lot of money and not get additional resources to level the playing field. And you probably also think it's not "right" that handicapped parking spaces are so close to the building. Those folks in wheelchairs should just have to park far away like the rest of us.

You have this exactly backwards.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not astonishing; Title 1 schools generally have a much lower student to teacher ratio. It might not be "right" but it's been common in MoCo for awhile.

Yeah, because those kids living in poverty should just work harder than those kids whose parents make a lot of money and not get additional resources to level the playing field. And you probably also think it's not "right" that handicapped parking spaces are so close to the building. Those folks in wheelchairs should just have to park far away like the rest of us.

Well, my daughter was bullied and abused and it was (IMO) directly related to the inability of the school to deal with classes of 30 kids with one teacher. It got to the point that we had to pull her and go to private. Tell me again about all the advantages she had?

If a low student/teacher ratio is the right way to go then do it; don't parcel it out unfairly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not astonishing; Title 1 schools generally have a much lower student to teacher ratio. It might not be "right" but it's been common in MoCo for awhile.

Yeah, because those kids living in poverty should just work harder than those kids whose parents make a lot of money and not get additional resources to level the playing field. And you probably also think it's not "right" that handicapped parking spaces are so close to the building. Those folks in wheelchairs should just have to park far away like the rest of us.

Well, my daughter was bullied and abused and it was (IMO) directly related to the inability of the school to deal with classes of 30 kids with one teacher. It got to the point that we had to pull her and go to private. Tell me again about all the advantages she had?

If a low student/teacher ratio is the right way to go then do it; don't parcel it out unfairly.

They want it done Mitt Romney style over in Potomac.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not astonishing; Title 1 schools generally have a much lower student to teacher ratio. It might not be "right" but it's been common in MoCo for awhile.

Yeah, because those kids living in poverty should just work harder than those kids whose parents make a lot of money and not get additional resources to level the playing field. And you probably also think it's not "right" that handicapped parking spaces are so close to the building. Those folks in wheelchairs should just have to park far away like the rest of us.

Well, my daughter was bullied and abused and it was (IMO) directly related to the inability of the school to deal with classes of 30 kids with one teacher. It got to the point that we had to pull her and go to private. Tell me again about all the advantages she had?

If a low student/teacher ratio is the right way to go then do it; don't parcel it out unfairly.

hey you could've moved to a title I area to get some advantage right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not astonishing; Title 1 schools generally have a much lower student to teacher ratio. It might not be "right" but it's been common in MoCo for awhile.

Yeah, because those kids living in poverty should just work harder than those kids whose parents make a lot of money and not get additional resources to level the playing field. And you probably also think it's not "right" that handicapped parking spaces are so close to the building. Those folks in wheelchairs should just have to park far away like the rest of us.

Well, my daughter was bullied and abused and it was (IMO) directly related to the inability of the school to deal with classes of 30 kids with one teacher. It got to the point that we had to pull her and go to private. Tell me again about all the advantages she had?

If a low student/teacher ratio is the right way to go then do it; don't parcel it out unfairly.

Ummmm...a big advantage being that she had parents who were able to stand up for her to the school and had the resources to put her in private?

[Anonymous]

According to the BOE and Josh Starr having highly paid teachers is more important than low student:teacher ratios. The highest paid teachers in the area got a 7% raise over 2 years this summer, so there was not enough money to hire more teachers.

As a community, this is what we voted to do.

If you want to have even just one alternative voice on the board, then vote against the apple ballot.

[Anonymous]

The student to teacher ratios for specials such as art, gym & music; the schools double up classes for specials.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:According to the BOE and Josh Starr having highly paid teachers is more important than low student:teacher ratios. The highest paid teachers in the area got a 7% raise over 2 years this summer, so there was not enough money to hire more teachers.

As a community, this is what we voted to do.

If you want to have even just one alternative voice on the board, then vote against the apple ballot.

If you want to make a point get your facts straight Janis.

Teachers were given a step increase this past July. Teachers will get another step increase this coming May. The highest paid teachers have maxed out on steps so they received ONE 2% raise last July. Those who were on step 17 last fiscal year will receive the largest increase as they moved up to step 18 last July and then to step 19 this May. Their total increase will be 6% once both step increases take effect. This increase is of course after two consecutive years without a step increase, and after 4 consecutive years (and counting) of no cost of living adjustment to the entire salary scale.

Now go back to your MCPS bashing on your blog.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:According to the BOE and Josh Starr having highly paid teachers is more important than low student:teacher ratios. The highest paid teachers in the area got a 7% raise over 2 years this summer, so there was not enough money to hire more teachers.

As a community, this is what we voted to do.

If you want to have even just one alternative voice on the board, then vote against the apple ballot.

If you want to make a point get your facts straight Janis.

Teachers were given a step increase this past July. Teachers will get another step increase this coming May. The highest paid teachers have maxed out on steps so they received ONE 2% raise last July. Those who were on step 17 last fiscal year will receive the largest increase as they moved up to step 18 last July and then to step 19 this May. Their total increase will be 6% once both step increases take effect. This increase is of course after two consecutive years without a step increase, and after 4 consecutive years (and counting) of no cost of living adjustment to the entire salary scale.

Now go back to your MCPS bashing on your blog.

Ha! Funny. I am not Janis. Whatever. Giving teachers a raise was a priority over lower class sizes. Not much to argue. Some people agree with that priority, others don't . As I say, this is what was collectively voted. I think my point to the original poster is that if you don't like these large class sizes, then vote for a new school board.

[Anonymous]

fyi

watkin mills es is not a title 1 school. weaton woods es is.

[Anonymous]

I'm not sure what the point of the thread was, but yes, the ratios vary considerably based on whether the school is Title I or Focused Academic Support, which is a measure of how many low-income families attend. The county makes an effort to have lower class sizes in areas where students come from lower-income homes, in an effort to address the fact that some of those students may start out in kindergarten already behind the higher-income kids. It's no secret that this is the strategy.