MCPS is no longer a desirable school district

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wonder how many of you know the size of your kids’ classes, before the announcement of increases. Last year our Pyle 6th grader had 34 in English. And just as many in history. DC explained that they never discussed the books, too many discipline problems, a lot of worksheets and filling out mad libs style essays. That’s not an education. A lot of ostriches here.

it helps if you sign up for the more challenging classes

For MS English, challenging classes don't exist. Same for MS science.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At Pyle there is only Honors English and special ed English. They claimed they had the higher history class, but they didn’t. Transcripts said one thing, class was mixed. The principal didn’t care, all
In the name of equity.

Not disputing but noting that is one school of 213. And of course there are others. The challenge is that folks generalize the entire district as being bad which is not correct, and it does real damage.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At Pyle there is only Honors English and special ed English. They claimed they had the higher history class, but they didn’t. Transcripts said one thing, class was mixed. The principal didn’t care, all
In the name of equity.

Not disputing but noting that is one school of 213. And of course there are others. The challenge is that folks generalize the entire district as being bad which is not correct, and it does real damage.

Conversely, folks generalize the district as being "good," when that doesn't match the lived experience for many in the district. Maybe we should all agree that MCPS is mixed at best. With some schools being good and some being bad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wonder how many of you know the size of your kids’ classes, before the announcement of increases. Last year our Pyle 6th grader had 34 in English. And just as many in history. DC explained that they never discussed the books, too many discipline problems, a lot of worksheets and filling out mad libs style essays. That’s not an education. A lot of ostriches here.

it helps if you sign up for the more challenging classes

For MS English, challenging classes don't exist. Same for MS science.

Unless you are in the magnet then it's AWESOME!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At Pyle there is only Honors English and special ed English. They claimed they had the higher history class, but they didn’t. Transcripts said one thing, class was mixed. The principal didn’t care, all
In the name of equity.

Not disputing but noting that is one school of 213. And of course there are others. The challenge is that folks generalize the entire district as being bad which is not correct, and it does real damage.

Conversely, folks generalize the district as being "good," when that doesn't match the lived experience for many in the district. Maybe we should all agree that MCPS is mixed at best. With some schools being good and some being bad.

Not really accurate either. The truth is people get out of it what they put into it. Plenty of MCPS kids get into top schools every year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At Pyle there is only Honors English and special ed English. They claimed they had the higher history class, but they didn’t. Transcripts said one thing, class was mixed. The principal didn’t care, all
In the name of equity.

Not disputing but noting that is one school of 213. And of course there are others. The challenge is that folks generalize the entire district as being bad which is not correct, and it does real damage.

Conversely, folks generalize the district as being "good," when that doesn't match the lived experience for many in the district. Maybe we should all agree that MCPS is mixed at best. With some schools being good and some being bad.

Not really accurate either. The truth is people get out of it what they put into it. Plenty of MCPS kids get into top schools every year.

On what basis are you claiming this? People's lived experiences are real. Not made up. But you're saying they're illegitimate. Why?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At Pyle there is only Honors English and special ed English. They claimed they had the higher history class, but they didn’t. Transcripts said one thing, class was mixed. The principal didn’t care, all
In the name of equity.

Not disputing but noting that is one school of 213. And of course there are others. The challenge is that folks generalize the entire district as being bad which is not correct, and it does real damage.

Conversely, folks generalize the district as being "good," when that doesn't match the lived experience for many in the district. Maybe we should all agree that MCPS is mixed at best. With some schools being good and some being bad.

Not really accurate either. The truth is people get out of it what they put into it. Plenty of MCPS kids get into top schools every year.

Kids get to top schools from most decent districts. Also homeschooled kids get into top schools. It doesn’t mean anything. MCPS used to be the reason people moved to MC and now it is OK at most. It is not horrible, but definitely not great as it used to be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At Pyle there is only Honors English and special ed English. They claimed they had the higher history class, but they didn’t. Transcripts said one thing, class was mixed. The principal didn’t care, all
In the name of equity.

Not disputing but noting that is one school of 213. And of course there are others. The challenge is that folks generalize the entire district as being bad which is not correct, and it does real damage.

Conversely, folks generalize the district as being "good," when that doesn't match the lived experience for many in the district. Maybe we should all agree that MCPS is mixed at best. With some schools being good and some being bad.

I agree it’s probably more this. In comparison to many other districts MCPS is good and offers a lot of opportunities. Individual experience and ability to access opportunity is mixed and thus the key area for improvement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At Pyle there is only Honors English and special ed English. They claimed they had the higher history class, but they didn’t. Transcripts said one thing, class was mixed. The principal didn’t care, all
In the name of equity.

Not disputing but noting that is one school of 213. And of course there are others. The challenge is that folks generalize the entire district as being bad which is not correct, and it does real damage.

Conversely, folks generalize the district as being "good," when that doesn't match the lived experience for many in the district. Maybe we should all agree that MCPS is mixed at best. With some schools being good and some being bad.

Not really accurate either. The truth is people get out of it what they put into it. Plenty of MCPS kids get into top schools every year.

On what basis are you claiming this? People's lived experiences are real. Not made up. But you're saying they're illegitimate. Why?

NP. On the basis that you will find kids in EVERY school who are having a good experience and kids who are not. The reasons why a kid may have a good experience over another is varied. At my kid's Germantown high school, lots of kids are doing well but a good portion are not simply because these kids don't care and don't have parents with high expectations of them. Doesn't mean the school is bad. The teachers are great and helpful; and the school provides plenty of opportunities for students. I would say even more so than neighboring schools. Kids who take advantage of those opportunities do well and do end up at good colleges/universities but those who don't care, who don't show up for school, don't. There's only so much that MCPS can do. Do you expect them to knock at a student's door and drag them out of bed to go to school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At Pyle there is only Honors English and special ed English. They claimed they had the higher history class, but they didn’t. Transcripts said one thing, class was mixed. The principal didn’t care, all
In the name of equity.

Not disputing but noting that is one school of 213. And of course there are others. The challenge is that folks generalize the entire district as being bad which is not correct, and it does real damage.

Conversely, folks generalize the district as being "good," when that doesn't match the lived experience for many in the district. Maybe we should all agree that MCPS is mixed at best. With some schools being good and some being bad.

Not really accurate either. The truth is people get out of it what they put into it. Plenty of MCPS kids get into top schools every year.

On what basis are you claiming this? People's lived experiences are real. Not made up. But you're saying they're illegitimate. Why?

NP. On the basis that you will find kids in EVERY school who are having a good experience and kids who are not. The reasons why a kid may have a good experience over another is varied. At my kid's Germantown high school, lots of kids are doing well but a good portion are not simply because these kids don't care and don't have parents with high expectations of them. Doesn't mean the school is bad. The teachers are great and helpful; and the school provides plenty of opportunities for students. I would say even more so than neighboring schools. Kids who take advantage of those opportunities do well and do end up at good colleges/universities but those who don't care, who don't show up for school, don't. There's only so much that MCPS can do. Do you expect them to knock at a student's door and drag them out of bed to go to school?

You are conflating so many things here I don't even know where to begin but let's address two things:

1. A school where a good portion of kids fail or skip without consequence is probably not a good school. Schools have an obligation to pursue kids who are chronically absent. Now the punitive way is to use the might of the law against them by charging parents and kids who are truant. MCPS has decided to not be aggressive or punitive in this manner so they don't. But let's be clear, that's an active choice on the part of the county and school district. Instead, MCPS has funded Pupil Personnel Workers (PPW) and Parent Community Coordinators (PCC) whose jobs it is to make sure kids show up to school and do well. So yes, it actually is MCPS's fault if they don't, because they have decided to fund positions to make sure they do.

2. You dismissed people's claims that MCPS schools are mixed, with some being good and some being bad, by making an unsubstantiated claim that all of the teachers in your kids' high school are "great." So you're throwing out your opinion to trump someone else's. Why is yours more credible than the one that you assert to be false?

[Anonymous]

Umm getting into a top school isn’t the end goal for everyone. Our neighbor got into Brown from Whitman, then was on academic probation for 2 semesters. Go through the motions for grades isn’t the same for everyone. My kid has all A, but the amount of time I have to work with them in writing is astounding. They don’t write at all in school. The math curriculum is top notch, assuming you can handle a large class.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At Pyle there is only Honors English and special ed English. They claimed they had the higher history class, but they didn’t. Transcripts said one thing, class was mixed. The principal didn’t care, all
In the name of equity.

Not disputing but noting that is one school of 213. And of course there are others. The challenge is that folks generalize the entire district as being bad which is not correct, and it does real damage.

Conversely, folks generalize the district as being "good," when that doesn't match the lived experience for many in the district. Maybe we should all agree that MCPS is mixed at best. With some schools being good and some being bad.

Not really accurate either. The truth is people get out of it what they put into it. Plenty of MCPS kids get into top schools every year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At Pyle there is only Honors English and special ed English. They claimed they had the higher history class, but they didn’t. Transcripts said one thing, class was mixed. The principal didn’t care, all
In the name of equity.

Not disputing but noting that is one school of 213. And of course there are others. The challenge is that folks generalize the entire district as being bad which is not correct, and it does real damage.

Conversely, folks generalize the district as being "good," when that doesn't match the lived experience for many in the district. Maybe we should all agree that MCPS is mixed at best. With some schools being good and some being bad.

Not really accurate either. The truth is people get out of it what they put into it. Plenty of MCPS kids get into top schools every year.

My oldest just got into a top school from a MCPs magnet so I agree with you. But the PP was making a point about the middle school curriculum. The middle school English curriculum is universally bad except maybe at eastern. That’s a pretty critical stage for learning reading and writing skills so it’s really unfortunate that there are three years that are just so substandard. I think the English curriculum is really weak across the board, even the magnets, because the teachers just don’t have time to give feedback. My graduate rarely got feedback and when she did it wasn’t very substantive. I went to public HS 9’ the 80s in a really lousy school district and I remember substantive comments on essays, and frequent essay assignments. I wish I could remember how many kids were in those classes and how many free periods the teachers had.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At Pyle there is only Honors English and special ed English. They claimed they had the higher history class, but they didn’t. Transcripts said one thing, class was mixed. The principal didn’t care, all
In the name of equity.

Not disputing but noting that is one school of 213. And of course there are others. The challenge is that folks generalize the entire district as being bad which is not correct, and it does real damage.

Conversely, folks generalize the district as being "good," when that doesn't match the lived experience for many in the district. Maybe we should all agree that MCPS is mixed at best. With some schools being good and some being bad.

Not really accurate either. The truth is people get out of it what they put into it. Plenty of MCPS kids get into top schools every year.

On what basis are you claiming this? People's lived experiences are real. Not made up. But you're saying they're illegitimate. Why?

NP. On the basis that you will find kids in EVERY school who are having a good experience and kids who are not. The reasons why a kid may have a good experience over another is varied. At my kid's Germantown high school, lots of kids are doing well but a good portion are not simply because these kids don't care and don't have parents with high expectations of them. Doesn't mean the school is bad. The teachers are great and helpful; and the school provides plenty of opportunities for students. I would say even more so than neighboring schools. Kids who take advantage of those opportunities do well and do end up at good colleges/universities but those who don't care, who don't show up for school, don't. There's only so much that MCPS can do. Do you expect them to knock at a student's door and drag them out of bed to go to school?

You are conflating so many things here I don't even know where to begin but let's address two things:

1. A school where a good portion of kids fail or skip without consequence is probably not a good school. Schools have an obligation to pursue kids who are chronically absent. Now the punitive way is to use the might of the law against them by charging parents and kids who are truant. MCPS has decided to not be aggressive or punitive in this manner so they don't. But let's be clear, that's an active choice on the part of the county and school district. Instead, MCPS has funded Pupil Personnel Workers (PPW) and Parent Community Coordinators (PCC) whose jobs it is to make sure kids show up to school and do well. So yes, it actually is MCPS's fault if they don't, because they have decided to fund positions to make sure they do.

2. You dismissed people's claims that MCPS schools are mixed, with some being good and some being bad, by making an unsubstantiated claim that all of the teachers in your kids' high school are "great." So you're throwing out your opinion to trump someone else's. Why is yours more credible than the one that you assert to be false?

Oh boy, your response is full of assumptions. I mentioned that the reasons kids have different experiences, whether good or bad, will vary. I used only MY school as an example to illustrate this, highlighting that many students don't show up because their families don't prioritize education. Despite having great teachers (yes, I know not every teacher is great), this is a significant factor in their educational outcomes.
Also, I know that MCPS actively pursues kids who are chronically absent, but I doubt it leads to any significant positive impact. If you threaten someone who doesn't care about school to attend, at best, they show up and coast along. Again, what do you expect MCPS to do in this situation? Are you dismissing that parental involvement is a significant contributor to successful educational outcomes and that it's completely up to the school to ensure that all 2000+ students show up, pay attention, do their homework, and study?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At Pyle there is only Honors English and special ed English. They claimed they had the higher history class, but they didn’t. Transcripts said one thing, class was mixed. The principal didn’t care, all
In the name of equity.

Not disputing but noting that is one school of 213. And of course there are others. The challenge is that folks generalize the entire district as being bad which is not correct, and it does real damage.

Conversely, folks generalize the district as being "good," when that doesn't match the lived experience for many in the district. Maybe we should all agree that MCPS is mixed at best. With some schools being good and some being bad.

Not really accurate either. The truth is people get out of it what they put into it. Plenty of MCPS kids get into top schools every year.

On what basis are you claiming this? People's lived experiences are real. Not made up. But you're saying they're illegitimate. Why?

NP. On the basis that you will find kids in EVERY school who are having a good experience and kids who are not. The reasons why a kid may have a good experience over another is varied. At my kid's Germantown high school, lots of kids are doing well but a good portion are not simply because these kids don't care and don't have parents with high expectations of them. Doesn't mean the school is bad. The teachers are great and helpful; and the school provides plenty of opportunities for students. I would say even more so than neighboring schools. Kids who take advantage of those opportunities do well and do end up at good colleges/universities but those who don't care, who don't show up for school, don't. There's only so much that MCPS can do. Do you expect them to knock at a student's door and drag them out of bed to go to school?

You are conflating so many things here I don't even know where to begin but let's address two things:

1. A school where a good portion of kids fail or skip without consequence is probably not a good school. Schools have an obligation to pursue kids who are chronically absent. Now the punitive way is to use the might of the law against them by charging parents and kids who are truant. MCPS has decided to not be aggressive or punitive in this manner so they don't. But let's be clear, that's an active choice on the part of the county and school district. Instead, MCPS has funded Pupil Personnel Workers (PPW) and Parent Community Coordinators (PCC) whose jobs it is to make sure kids show up to school and do well. So yes, it actually is MCPS's fault if they don't, because they have decided to fund positions to make sure they do.

2. You dismissed people's claims that MCPS schools are mixed, with some being good and some being bad, by making an unsubstantiated claim that all of the teachers in your kids' high school are "great." So you're throwing out your opinion to trump someone else's. Why is yours more credible than the one that you assert to be false?

The bolded statement is problematic. If a school provides good curriculum, quality teachers dedicated to educating students, and provides opportunities, the measure of whether it’s a good or not should not be that 1/3 of its population is deciding not to show up to take advantage of what is being offered. And if it is then that school should be able to determine what type of education would be best suited to its population. Invariable it’s going to be a mixed of things which is what makes this really difficult.

The further challenge comes in because a contingent of people will assume that college outcome is the measure of success. When in fact for the school above it may not be the only or most important metric. College and white collar work is ONE metric of success for schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At Pyle there is only Honors English and special ed English. They claimed they had the higher history class, but they didn’t. Transcripts said one thing, class was mixed. The principal didn’t care, all
In the name of equity.

Not disputing but noting that is one school of 213. And of course there are others. The challenge is that folks generalize the entire district as being bad which is not correct, and it does real damage.

Conversely, folks generalize the district as being "good," when that doesn't match the lived experience for many in the district. Maybe we should all agree that MCPS is mixed at best. With some schools being good and some being bad.

Not really accurate either. The truth is people get out of it what they put into it. Plenty of MCPS kids get into top schools every year.

My oldest just got into a top school from a MCPs magnet so I agree with you. But the PP was making a point about the middle school curriculum. The middle school English curriculum is universally bad except maybe at eastern. That’s a pretty critical stage for learning reading and writing skills so it’s really unfortunate that there are three years that are just so substandard. I think the English curriculum is really weak across the board, even the magnets, because the teachers just don’t have time to give feedback. My graduate rarely got feedback and when she did it wasn’t very substantive. I went to public HS 9’ the 80s in a really lousy school district and I remember substantive comments on essays, and frequent essay assignments. I wish I could remember how many kids were in those classes and how many free periods the teachers had.

My kids went through the MS magnets which were excellent.