Fox 5 Is MCPS Still a Premier School District

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I guess someone sent the link to this thread to the MCPS admin group chat, cause those are the only people who can stomach justifying the unjustifiable in MCPS. And they love to tout the “it’s a national problem” talking point to absolve themselves and MCPS of any accountability. Pathetic.

LOL.
I am just a black MCPS parent who had/has several kids in the system, who is not expecting perfection and doesn't drink the DCUM kool-aid.

Same. MCPS leadership didn’t lead me to believe anything. And I didn’t move here thinking there would be no fights, no drugs, no problems ever, and no work on my part as a parent outside of school. I don’t live in this world where bad things could never happen where I live. DCUM thought processes and worries are often funny to me, because it often seems very naive or like fiction as opposed to reality. Yes things in MCPS could be better but it’s clear some folks don’t understand how bad it could be and isn’t.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I guess someone sent the link to this thread to the MCPS admin group chat, cause those are the only people who can stomach justifying the unjustifiable in MCPS. And they love to tout the “it’s a national problem” talking point to absolve themselves and MCPS of any accountability. Pathetic.

LOL.
I am just a black MCPS parent who had/has several kids in the system, who is not expecting perfection and doesn't drink the DCUM kool-aid.

Same. MCPS leadership didn’t lead me to believe anything. And I didn’t move here thinking there would be no fights, no drugs, no problems ever, and no work on my part as a parent outside of school. I don’t live in this world where bad things could never happen where I live. DCUM thought processes and worries are often funny to me, because it often seems very naive or like fiction as opposed to reality. Yes things in MCPS could be better but it’s clear some folks don’t understand how bad it could be and isn’t.

Yep.
DCUM is out of touch with reality, with the real world.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Parent your kid. Vote sensibly. The ELLs will get a better education in MCPS and benefit our society. Remember they along with others bring the "diversity" that everyone claims they want for their kid to be exposed to, but have their kid turn their heads when a "diverse" person approaches them or sees them. Ya those people. The upper and upper middles will do fine regardless.

Claiming everyone wants diversity as if people are buying homes here to expose their family to diversity is such a crock. People buy for the academic excellence first and foremost. Unfortunately, that's gone in the toilet. And no- it's not true that if you're wealthy you'll be fine. Your child may test higher on standardized tests but spending 12 years in a school system that doesn't correct grammar leads to poor outcomes for every child. I suspect those who make the "if you're rich you'll be fine" claims aren't actually reading their students work.

Everyone may not care about diversity but many people do, especially minorities. Yes they want academic excellence but they also want to be sure there kids will be in school where they won’t be a token and where they will see themselves reflected in the curriculum and staff.

Black and brown parents do care about diversity, but they care MORE about academic excellence and safety and security.

That's why you'll often see black and brown parents MOVE their kids to more well-to-do, majority-white schools within MCPS, even though they're less diverse.

And often they fine, that while the academics are better their kids are often LESS safe and secure in said majority-white schools. Hence all the dust ups about racism, bullying and bias in schools generally but especially the majority schools. Because even after being in the better academic environment they still have to fight to have their child recognized as capable, still have to fight for equal opportunities, and have to work overtime at home and outside of school to be sure their kid is comfortable with their being. Which is why those black and brown parents will take a school that’s 8/10 or 7/10 and diverse instead of 9/10 but a majority white school.

The people in 3/10 schools often can’t afford to move to majority white school and really are fighting to have their community given what’s needed so they can raise the bar. And frankly what’s likely needed most needs to happen outside of the school day. After school programs that do tutoring and homework. Community programs that teach families English. Erin study programs for Junior/Senior HS students. Community policing.

This is not as universally true for black and brown parents as you're stating. Yes, I agree with you, there are SOME parents who will make that calculated tradeoff in academic performance/safety and diversity to the 7 or 8/10 as you put it. But there are ALSO black and brown parents who actively seek the 9/10 majority-white schools no matter what. Some of this might be rooted in white-supermacist programming that anything white is better, but that is the reality: Some black and brown parents want their kids in a W school no matter what just like some of the most fervent W school parents here on DCUM.

Black and brown parents aren't a monolith. Diversity is not the highest priority for all of them when making decisions about their schools. Is it a priority for some? Sure. To what degree? Your mileage may vary.

What's really jarring for most black and brown parents is thaty they chose to live in MCPS to not have to worry about academic quality and safety and security at all. Now, we're being woken up to the reality that our schools have similar concerns with regard to safety and academics as we do to our neighboring school districts that we have historically seen as our inferiors: PG County Public Schools and DC Public Schools.

We may have concerns and problems here, but given the choice between PG, DC, and MoCo I bet most people will still pick MoCo.

Sure. But that doesn't change the fact that most of us who moved to MoCo did so because we thought we'd never have to deal with the kinds of problems that we historically associated with PGCPS and DCPS.

Obviously this was a bit of hubris on our parts, but we were also led to believe as much by county and MCPS leadership.

fully.
DP. What problems are you talking about? MCPS is one of the best places for educating black kids. Black kids in MCPS do better than almost anywhere.
DCUM is not real.

Showing up in our middle and high schools regularly:
- Drugs
- Guns
- Other Weapons

On the academic front:
- Abysmally low proficiency in math and ELA
- Lower pass rates for AP/IB exams

On the behavior front:
- Fights and assaults
- Curse words and disrespect on full display

I have no idea what you think success looks like for us, but this isn't what most black and brown parents thought they were buying when they signed up for MCPS.

You are just repeating right wingers and private schools parents talking points. I doubt you live here much less having kids in MCPS.
MCPS AP passing rate is over 70% and IB is over 80%. Black kids in MCPS do better in AP than almost anywhere else.
20 MCPS H.S. made the AP honor roll.
All the other things you mentioned happen at every school district in the nation.

Cognitive dissonance. We understand.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Parent your kid. Vote sensibly. The ELLs will get a better education in MCPS and benefit our society. Remember they along with others bring the "diversity" that everyone claims they want for their kid to be exposed to, but have their kid turn their heads when a "diverse" person approaches them or sees them. Ya those people. The upper and upper middles will do fine regardless.

Claiming everyone wants diversity as if people are buying homes here to expose their family to diversity is such a crock. People buy for the academic excellence first and foremost. Unfortunately, that's gone in the toilet. And no- it's not true that if you're wealthy you'll be fine. Your child may test higher on standardized tests but spending 12 years in a school system that doesn't correct grammar leads to poor outcomes for every child. I suspect those who make the "if you're rich you'll be fine" claims aren't actually reading their students work.

Everyone may not care about diversity but many people do, especially minorities. Yes they want academic excellence but they also want to be sure there kids will be in school where they won’t be a token and where they will see themselves reflected in the curriculum and staff.

Black and brown parents do care about diversity, but they care MORE about academic excellence and safety and security.

That's why you'll often see black and brown parents MOVE their kids to more well-to-do, majority-white schools within MCPS, even though they're less diverse.

And often they fine, that while the academics are better their kids are often LESS safe and secure in said majority-white schools. Hence all the dust ups about racism, bullying and bias in schools generally but especially the majority schools. Because even after being in the better academic environment they still have to fight to have their child recognized as capable, still have to fight for equal opportunities, and have to work overtime at home and outside of school to be sure their kid is comfortable with their being. Which is why those black and brown parents will take a school that’s 8/10 or 7/10 and diverse instead of 9/10 but a majority white school.

The people in 3/10 schools often can’t afford to move to majority white school and really are fighting to have their community given what’s needed so they can raise the bar. And frankly what’s likely needed most needs to happen outside of the school day. After school programs that do tutoring and homework. Community programs that teach families English. Erin study programs for Junior/Senior HS students. Community policing.

This is not as universally true for black and brown parents as you're stating. Yes, I agree with you, there are SOME parents who will make that calculated tradeoff in academic performance/safety and diversity to the 7 or 8/10 as you put it. But there are ALSO black and brown parents who actively seek the 9/10 majority-white schools no matter what. Some of this might be rooted in white-supermacist programming that anything white is better, but that is the reality: Some black and brown parents want their kids in a W school no matter what just like some of the most fervent W school parents here on DCUM.

Black and brown parents aren't a monolith. Diversity is not the highest priority for all of them when making decisions about their schools. Is it a priority for some? Sure. To what degree? Your mileage may vary.

What's really jarring for most black and brown parents is thaty they chose to live in MCPS to not have to worry about academic quality and safety and security at all. Now, we're being woken up to the reality that our schools have similar concerns with regard to safety and academics as we do to our neighboring school districts that we have historically seen as our inferiors: PG County Public Schools and DC Public Schools.

We may have concerns and problems here, but given the choice between PG, DC, and MoCo I bet most people will still pick MoCo.

Sure. But that doesn't change the fact that most of us who moved to MoCo did so because we thought we'd never have to deal with the kinds of problems that we historically associated with PGCPS and DCPS.

Obviously this was a bit of hubris on our parts, but we were also led to believe as much by county and MCPS leadership.

fully.
DP. What problems are you talking about? MCPS is one of the best places for educating black kids. Black kids in MCPS do better than almost anywhere.
DCUM is not real.

Showing up in our middle and high schools regularly:
- Drugs
- Guns
- Other Weapons

On the academic front:
- Abysmally low proficiency in math and ELA
- Lower pass rates for AP/IB exams

On the behavior front:
- Fights and assaults
- Curse words and disrespect on full display

I have no idea what you think success looks like for us, but this isn't what most black and brown parents thought they were buying when they signed up for MCPS.

Not sure black and brown parents thought they were buying into nirvana. But if so, then they like others were delusional. I’m not sure why anyone in 2024 thinks a public school district is perfect.

No one expects perfection, but the current state is unacceptable and you don’t have to be a perfectionist to see that.

No one said the current state is acceptable. But thinking all black and brown families are sudden terrified or distraught to have bought into MoCo is crazy.

I never said all black and brown families do anything. Quite the contrary: I said black and brown families are not a monolith.

But it definitely is true that many black and brown families are startled and stunned at how violent and dysfunctional MCPS has become but that wasn’t what they expected in this wealthy, highly educated, seemingly safe county.

And if you agree the current state is unacceptable, what are we arguing about?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Parent your kid. Vote sensibly. The ELLs will get a better education in MCPS and benefit our society. Remember they along with others bring the "diversity" that everyone claims they want for their kid to be exposed to, but have their kid turn their heads when a "diverse" person approaches them or sees them. Ya those people. The upper and upper middles will do fine regardless.

Claiming everyone wants diversity as if people are buying homes here to expose their family to diversity is such a crock. People buy for the academic excellence first and foremost. Unfortunately, that's gone in the toilet. And no- it's not true that if you're wealthy you'll be fine. Your child may test higher on standardized tests but spending 12 years in a school system that doesn't correct grammar leads to poor outcomes for every child. I suspect those who make the "if you're rich you'll be fine" claims aren't actually reading their students work.

Everyone may not care about diversity but many people do, especially minorities. Yes they want academic excellence but they also want to be sure there kids will be in school where they won’t be a token and where they will see themselves reflected in the curriculum and staff.

Black and brown parents do care about diversity, but they care MORE about academic excellence and safety and security.

That's why you'll often see black and brown parents MOVE their kids to more well-to-do, majority-white schools within MCPS, even though they're less diverse.

And often they fine, that while the academics are better their kids are often LESS safe and secure in said majority-white schools. Hence all the dust ups about racism, bullying and bias in schools generally but especially the majority schools. Because even after being in the better academic environment they still have to fight to have their child recognized as capable, still have to fight for equal opportunities, and have to work overtime at home and outside of school to be sure their kid is comfortable with their being. Which is why those black and brown parents will take a school that’s 8/10 or 7/10 and diverse instead of 9/10 but a majority white school.

The people in 3/10 schools often can’t afford to move to majority white school and really are fighting to have their community given what’s needed so they can raise the bar. And frankly what’s likely needed most needs to happen outside of the school day. After school programs that do tutoring and homework. Community programs that teach families English. Erin study programs for Junior/Senior HS students. Community policing.

This is not as universally true for black and brown parents as you're stating. Yes, I agree with you, there are SOME parents who will make that calculated tradeoff in academic performance/safety and diversity to the 7 or 8/10 as you put it. But there are ALSO black and brown parents who actively seek the 9/10 majority-white schools no matter what. Some of this might be rooted in white-supermacist programming that anything white is better, but that is the reality: Some black and brown parents want their kids in a W school no matter what just like some of the most fervent W school parents here on DCUM.

Black and brown parents aren't a monolith. Diversity is not the highest priority for all of them when making decisions about their schools. Is it a priority for some? Sure. To what degree? Your mileage may vary.

What's really jarring for most black and brown parents is thaty they chose to live in MCPS to not have to worry about academic quality and safety and security at all. Now, we're being woken up to the reality that our schools have similar concerns with regard to safety and academics as we do to our neighboring school districts that we have historically seen as our inferiors: PG County Public Schools and DC Public Schools.

We may have concerns and problems here, but given the choice between PG, DC, and MoCo I bet most people will still pick MoCo.

Sure. But that doesn't change the fact that most of us who moved to MoCo did so because we thought we'd never have to deal with the kinds of problems that we historically associated with PGCPS and DCPS.

Obviously this was a bit of hubris on our parts, but we were also led to believe as much by county and MCPS leadership.

fully.
DP. What problems are you talking about? MCPS is one of the best places for educating black kids. Black kids in MCPS do better than almost anywhere.
DCUM is not real.

Showing up in our middle and high schools regularly:
- Drugs
- Guns
- Other Weapons

On the academic front:
- Abysmally low proficiency in math and ELA
- Lower pass rates for AP/IB exams

On the behavior front:
- Fights and assaults
- Curse words and disrespect on full display

I have no idea what you think success looks like for us, but this isn't what most black and brown parents thought they were buying when they signed up for MCPS.

Not sure black and brown parents thought they were buying into nirvana. But if so, then they like others were delusional. I’m not sure why anyone in 2024 thinks a public school district is perfect.

No one expects perfection, but the current state is unacceptable and you don’t have to be a perfectionist to see that.

No one said the current state is acceptable. But thinking all black and brown families are sudden terrified or distraught to have bought into MoCo is crazy.

I never said all black and brown families do anything. Quite the contrary: I said black and brown families are not a monolith.

But it definitely is true that many black and brown families are startled and stunned at how violent and dysfunctional MCPS has become but that wasn’t what they expected in this wealthy, highly educated, seemingly safe county.

And if you agree the current state is unacceptable, what are we arguing about?

It’s ironic that mcps likes to think of itself as highly educated, yet seems to do everything in its power to try to kneecap its high performing students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Parent your kid. Vote sensibly. The ELLs will get a better education in MCPS and benefit our society. Remember they along with others bring the "diversity" that everyone claims they want for their kid to be exposed to, but have their kid turn their heads when a "diverse" person approaches them or sees them. Ya those people. The upper and upper middles will do fine regardless.

Claiming everyone wants diversity as if people are buying homes here to expose their family to diversity is such a crock. People buy for the academic excellence first and foremost. Unfortunately, that's gone in the toilet. And no- it's not true that if you're wealthy you'll be fine. Your child may test higher on standardized tests but spending 12 years in a school system that doesn't correct grammar leads to poor outcomes for every child. I suspect those who make the "if you're rich you'll be fine" claims aren't actually reading their students work.

Everyone may not care about diversity but many people do, especially minorities. Yes they want academic excellence but they also want to be sure there kids will be in school where they won’t be a token and where they will see themselves reflected in the curriculum and staff.

Black and brown parents do care about diversity, but they care MORE about academic excellence and safety and security.

That's why you'll often see black and brown parents MOVE their kids to more well-to-do, majority-white schools within MCPS, even though they're less diverse.

And often they fine, that while the academics are better their kids are often LESS safe and secure in said majority-white schools. Hence all the dust ups about racism, bullying and bias in schools generally but especially the majority schools. Because even after being in the better academic environment they still have to fight to have their child recognized as capable, still have to fight for equal opportunities, and have to work overtime at home and outside of school to be sure their kid is comfortable with their being. Which is why those black and brown parents will take a school that’s 8/10 or 7/10 and diverse instead of 9/10 but a majority white school.

The people in 3/10 schools often can’t afford to move to majority white school and really are fighting to have their community given what’s needed so they can raise the bar. And frankly what’s likely needed most needs to happen outside of the school day. After school programs that do tutoring and homework. Community programs that teach families English. Erin study programs for Junior/Senior HS students. Community policing.

This is not as universally true for black and brown parents as you're stating. Yes, I agree with you, there are SOME parents who will make that calculated tradeoff in academic performance/safety and diversity to the 7 or 8/10 as you put it. But there are ALSO black and brown parents who actively seek the 9/10 majority-white schools no matter what. Some of this might be rooted in white-supermacist programming that anything white is better, but that is the reality: Some black and brown parents want their kids in a W school no matter what just like some of the most fervent W school parents here on DCUM.

Black and brown parents aren't a monolith. Diversity is not the highest priority for all of them when making decisions about their schools. Is it a priority for some? Sure. To what degree? Your mileage may vary.

What's really jarring for most black and brown parents is thaty they chose to live in MCPS to not have to worry about academic quality and safety and security at all. Now, we're being woken up to the reality that our schools have similar concerns with regard to safety and academics as we do to our neighboring school districts that we have historically seen as our inferiors: PG County Public Schools and DC Public Schools.

We may have concerns and problems here, but given the choice between PG, DC, and MoCo I bet most people will still pick MoCo.

Sure. But that doesn't change the fact that most of us who moved to MoCo did so because we thought we'd never have to deal with the kinds of problems that we historically associated with PGCPS and DCPS.

Obviously this was a bit of hubris on our parts, but we were also led to believe as much by county and MCPS leadership.

fully.
DP. What problems are you talking about? MCPS is one of the best places for educating black kids. Black kids in MCPS do better than almost anywhere.
DCUM is not real.

Showing up in our middle and high schools regularly:
- Drugs
- Guns
- Other Weapons

On the academic front:
- Abysmally low proficiency in math and ELA
- Lower pass rates for AP/IB exams

On the behavior front:
- Fights and assaults
- Curse words and disrespect on full display

I have no idea what you think success looks like for us, but this isn't what most black and brown parents thought they were buying when they signed up for MCPS.

Not sure black and brown parents thought they were buying into nirvana. But if so, then they like others were delusional. I’m not sure why anyone in 2024 thinks a public school district is perfect.

No one expects perfection, but the current state is unacceptable and you don’t have to be a perfectionist to see that.

No one said the current state is acceptable. But thinking all black and brown families are sudden terrified or distraught to have bought into MoCo is crazy.

I never said all black and brown families do anything. Quite the contrary: I said black and brown families are not a monolith.

But it definitely is true that many black and brown families are startled and stunned at how violent and dysfunctional MCPS has become but that wasn’t what they expected in this wealthy, highly educated, seemingly safe county.

And if you agree the current state is unacceptable, what are we arguing about?

It’s ironic that mcps likes to think of itself as highly educated, yet seems to do everything in its power to try to kneecap its high performing students.

Parents like to believe this and its mostly true, but educators are into equity these days which is all about closing the gap by kneecapping high performers.

[Anonymous]

I'm really confused when parents think individual schools have different "academics". Every school in the county follows the exact same curriculum. Kids testing below grade level aren't sitting next to your kid in an AP class throwing paper airplanes at them, they're in a separate Special Education classroom. Parents who clutch their pearls at drugs in a poorer school have a much more permissive attitude when it comes to their kid's friend's parents hosting an underage drinking party in their million dollar neighborhood. The hysteria makes no sense, and judging from the college forum, admissions directors don't seem to get the hype for these alleged "better" schools either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Parent your kid. Vote sensibly. The ELLs will get a better education in MCPS and benefit our society. Remember they along with others bring the "diversity" that everyone claims they want for their kid to be exposed to, but have their kid turn their heads when a "diverse" person approaches them or sees them. Ya those people. The upper and upper middles will do fine regardless.

Claiming everyone wants diversity as if people are buying homes here to expose their family to diversity is such a crock. People buy for the academic excellence first and foremost. Unfortunately, that's gone in the toilet. And no- it's not true that if you're wealthy you'll be fine. Your child may test higher on standardized tests but spending 12 years in a school system that doesn't correct grammar leads to poor outcomes for every child. I suspect those who make the "if you're rich you'll be fine" claims aren't actually reading their students work.

Everyone may not care about diversity but many people do, especially minorities. Yes they want academic excellence but they also want to be sure there kids will be in school where they won’t be a token and where they will see themselves reflected in the curriculum and staff.

Black and brown parents do care about diversity, but they care MORE about academic excellence and safety and security.

That's why you'll often see black and brown parents MOVE their kids to more well-to-do, majority-white schools within MCPS, even though they're less diverse.

And often they fine, that while the academics are better their kids are often LESS safe and secure in said majority-white schools. Hence all the dust ups about racism, bullying and bias in schools generally but especially the majority schools. Because even after being in the better academic environment they still have to fight to have their child recognized as capable, still have to fight for equal opportunities, and have to work overtime at home and outside of school to be sure their kid is comfortable with their being. Which is why those black and brown parents will take a school that’s 8/10 or 7/10 and diverse instead of 9/10 but a majority white school.

The people in 3/10 schools often can’t afford to move to majority white school and really are fighting to have their community given what’s needed so they can raise the bar. And frankly what’s likely needed most needs to happen outside of the school day. After school programs that do tutoring and homework. Community programs that teach families English. Erin study programs for Junior/Senior HS students. Community policing.

This is not as universally true for black and brown parents as you're stating. Yes, I agree with you, there are SOME parents who will make that calculated tradeoff in academic performance/safety and diversity to the 7 or 8/10 as you put it. But there are ALSO black and brown parents who actively seek the 9/10 majority-white schools no matter what. Some of this might be rooted in white-supermacist programming that anything white is better, but that is the reality: Some black and brown parents want their kids in a W school no matter what just like some of the most fervent W school parents here on DCUM.

Black and brown parents aren't a monolith. Diversity is not the highest priority for all of them when making decisions about their schools. Is it a priority for some? Sure. To what degree? Your mileage may vary.

What's really jarring for most black and brown parents is thaty they chose to live in MCPS to not have to worry about academic quality and safety and security at all. Now, we're being woken up to the reality that our schools have similar concerns with regard to safety and academics as we do to our neighboring school districts that we have historically seen as our inferiors: PG County Public Schools and DC Public Schools.

We may have concerns and problems here, but given the choice between PG, DC, and MoCo I bet most people will still pick MoCo.

Sure. But that doesn't change the fact that most of us who moved to MoCo did so because we thought we'd never have to deal with the kinds of problems that we historically associated with PGCPS and DCPS.

Obviously this was a bit of hubris on our parts, but we were also led to believe as much by county and MCPS leadership.

fully.
DP. What problems are you talking about? MCPS is one of the best places for educating black kids. Black kids in MCPS do better than almost anywhere.
DCUM is not real.

Showing up in our middle and high schools regularly:
- Drugs
- Guns
- Other Weapons

On the academic front:
- Abysmally low proficiency in math and ELA
- Lower pass rates for AP/IB exams

On the behavior front:
- Fights and assaults
- Curse words and disrespect on full display

I have no idea what you think success looks like for us, but this isn't what most black and brown parents thought they were buying when they signed up for MCPS.

You are just repeating right wingers and private schools parents talking points. I doubt you live here much less having kids in MCPS.
MCPS AP passing rate is over 70% and IB is over 80%. Black kids in MCPS do better in AP than almost anywhere else.
20 MCPS H.S. made the AP honor roll.
All the other things you mentioned happen at every school district in the nation.

Cognitive dissonance. We understand.

To understand is to know what it means. I don't think you understand what cognitive dissonance means even if it hits you in the face.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Stupid article. No metrics or comparisons. Highlights are national issues not local politics -- culture war and a once in a century pandemic.

It's from FOX. What do you expect? Move on folks, don't give it much thought.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Parent your kid. Vote sensibly. The ELLs will get a better education in MCPS and benefit our society. Remember they along with others bring the "diversity" that everyone claims they want for their kid to be exposed to, but have their kid turn their heads when a "diverse" person approaches them or sees them. Ya those people. The upper and upper middles will do fine regardless.

Claiming everyone wants diversity as if people are buying homes here to expose their family to diversity is such a crock. People buy for the academic excellence first and foremost. Unfortunately, that's gone in the toilet. And no- it's not true that if you're wealthy you'll be fine. Your child may test higher on standardized tests but spending 12 years in a school system that doesn't correct grammar leads to poor outcomes for every child. I suspect those who make the "if you're rich you'll be fine" claims aren't actually reading their students work.

Everyone may not care about diversity but many people do, especially minorities. Yes they want academic excellence but they also want to be sure there kids will be in school where they won’t be a token and where they will see themselves reflected in the curriculum and staff.

Black and brown parents do care about diversity, but they care MORE about academic excellence and safety and security.

That's why you'll often see black and brown parents MOVE their kids to more well-to-do, majority-white schools within MCPS, even though they're less diverse.

And often they fine, that while the academics are better their kids are often LESS safe and secure in said majority-white schools. Hence all the dust ups about racism, bullying and bias in schools generally but especially the majority schools. Because even after being in the better academic environment they still have to fight to have their child recognized as capable, still have to fight for equal opportunities, and have to work overtime at home and outside of school to be sure their kid is comfortable with their being. Which is why those black and brown parents will take a school that’s 8/10 or 7/10 and diverse instead of 9/10 but a majority white school.

The people in 3/10 schools often can’t afford to move to majority white school and really are fighting to have their community given what’s needed so they can raise the bar. And frankly what’s likely needed most needs to happen outside of the school day. After school programs that do tutoring and homework. Community programs that teach families English. Erin study programs for Junior/Senior HS students. Community policing.

Parenting

[Anonymous]

The trash throwing kids usually are not in AP, they are usually in general ed and honors classes

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm really confused when parents think individual schools have different "academics". Every school in the county follows the exact same curriculum. Kids testing below grade level aren't sitting next to your kid in an AP class throwing paper airplanes at them, they're in a separate Special Education classroom. Parents who clutch their pearls at drugs in a poorer school have a much more permissive attitude when it comes to their kid's friend's parents hosting an underage drinking party in their million dollar neighborhood. The hysteria makes no sense, and judging from the college forum, admissions directors don't seem to get the hype for these alleged "better" schools either.

Except not all schools offer a lot of AP classes. Our school has a very limited number. And, now everything is called honors so they are mixing kids who should be in AP with regular kids and dumbing down the curriculum.

[Anonymous]

Moco is a sanctuary city. The floodgates opened up. We have kids coming from extreme poverty. We have kids living in unsafe housing (yes, in moco). These families are not thinking about a "W" school. They are coming for the services and resources that Moco and mcps provide.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Parent your kid. Vote sensibly. The ELLs will get a better education in MCPS and benefit our society. Remember they along with others bring the "diversity" that everyone claims they want for their kid to be exposed to, but have their kid turn their heads when a "diverse" person approaches them or sees them. Ya those people. The upper and upper middles will do fine regardless.

Claiming everyone wants diversity as if people are buying homes here to expose their family to diversity is such a crock. People buy for the academic excellence first and foremost. Unfortunately, that's gone in the toilet. And no- it's not true that if you're wealthy you'll be fine. Your child may test higher on standardized tests but spending 12 years in a school system that doesn't correct grammar leads to poor outcomes for every child. I suspect those who make the "if you're rich you'll be fine" claims aren't actually reading their students work.

Everyone may not care about diversity but many people do, especially minorities. Yes they want academic excellence but they also want to be sure there kids will be in school where they won’t be a token and where they will see themselves reflected in the curriculum and staff.

Black and brown parents do care about diversity, but they care MORE about academic excellence and safety and security.

That's why you'll often see black and brown parents MOVE their kids to more well-to-do, majority-white schools within MCPS, even though they're less diverse.

And often they fine, that while the academics are better their kids are often LESS safe and secure in said majority-white schools. Hence all the dust ups about racism, bullying and bias in schools generally but especially the majority schools. Because even after being in the better academic environment they still have to fight to have their child recognized as capable, still have to fight for equal opportunities, and have to work overtime at home and outside of school to be sure their kid is comfortable with their being. Which is why those black and brown parents will take a school that’s 8/10 or 7/10 and diverse instead of 9/10 but a majority white school.

The people in 3/10 schools often can’t afford to move to majority white school and really are fighting to have their community given what’s needed so they can raise the bar. And frankly what’s likely needed most needs to happen outside of the school day. After school programs that do tutoring and homework. Community programs that teach families English. Erin study programs for Junior/Senior HS students. Community policing.

This is not as universally true for black and brown parents as you're stating. Yes, I agree with you, there are SOME parents who will make that calculated tradeoff in academic performance/safety and diversity to the 7 or 8/10 as you put it. But there are ALSO black and brown parents who actively seek the 9/10 majority-white schools no matter what. Some of this might be rooted in white-supermacist programming that anything white is better, but that is the reality: Some black and brown parents want their kids in a W school no matter what just like some of the most fervent W school parents here on DCUM.

Black and brown parents aren't a monolith. Diversity is not the highest priority for all of them when making decisions about their schools. Is it a priority for some? Sure. To what degree? Your mileage may vary.

What's really jarring for most black and brown parents is thaty they chose to live in MCPS to not have to worry about academic quality and safety and security at all. Now, we're being woken up to the reality that our schools have similar concerns with regard to safety and academics as we do to our neighboring school districts that we have historically seen as our inferiors: PG County Public Schools and DC Public Schools.

We may have concerns and problems here, but given the choice between PG, DC, and MoCo I bet most people will still pick MoCo.

Sure. But that doesn't change the fact that most of us who moved to MoCo did so because we thought we'd never have to deal with the kinds of problems that we historically associated with PGCPS and DCPS.

Obviously this was a bit of hubris on our parts, but we were also led to believe as much by county and MCPS leadership.

fully.
DP. What problems are you talking about? MCPS is one of the best places for educating black kids. Black kids in MCPS do better than almost anywhere.
DCUM is not real.

Showing up in our middle and high schools regularly:
- Drugs
- Guns
- Other Weapons

On the academic front:
- Abysmally low proficiency in math and ELA
- Lower pass rates for AP/IB exams

On the behavior front:
- Fights and assaults
- Curse words and disrespect on full display

I have no idea what you think success looks like for us, but this isn't what most black and brown parents thought they were buying when they signed up for MCPS.

You are just repeating right wingers and private schools parents talking points. I doubt you live here much less having kids in MCPS.
MCPS AP passing rate is over 70% and IB is over 80%. Black kids in MCPS do better in AP than almost anywhere else.
20 MCPS H.S. made the AP honor roll.
All the other things you mentioned happen at every school district in the nation.

Please stop defending MCPS with these facts. You're ruining our right-wing narrative!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Moco is a sanctuary city. The floodgates opened up. We have kids coming from extreme poverty. We have kids living in unsafe housing (yes, in moco). These families are not thinking about a "W" school. They are coming for the services and resources that Moco and mcps provide.

This impacts standardized test averages and means that teachers have their work cut out for them. However, you can also get a comparable education to what was available 20 years ago too. It will just require more parental effort to pick up the slack created by teachers working with the many struggling ELLs.