Title 1 elementary schools

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So my quick take is that the wealthiest area schools often functionally have the most resources since the level of need per student is lower. Title 1 and focus schools have extra resources but this is in responsible to the very high needs of this population so your kids will be competing for resources with kids often with high needs. My children went to a focus school and yes the smaller class size was great as were some of the other resources. However because the school was high farms and high els it still struggled to meet the needs of special education students (504 plans or IEPs) and gifted students. If you need to live in a geography that sends to a Title 1 or Focus school, these can be very good schools that meet the high need of their students. But, realize you are moving into an area of high need students. Often these schools will have a less involved parent population (parents working multiple jobs) so the schools will not have the parent financial and volunteer support available at other schools. My advice for someone with a special needs child is I think the old adage of get the cheapest housing in the wealthiest area. As for gifted, the wealthy areas will also have more resources since more parents will be providing tutoring and pushing for accelerated options. If your child is very gifted then there are true gifted magnet programs, which require budding usually, that they can attempt to gain entrance to.

As someone who works at an affluent school, I'd say we get the least amount of resources because it's seen as we can handle it and don't need it. We get less staffing...we don't have focus teachers, extra special Education teachers, full time reading initiative, and larger class sizes. The most we have for the gifted kid is elc and compact math. We do have a great pta.

Of course wealthy schools have less resources that Title 1 and Focus schools. That is the entire point of a school being Title 1 or Focus. PP was saying wealthy schools have more resources relative to the need. The students at wealthy schools do not have the same needs as students as low income schools.

[Anonymous]

PTAs at wealthy schools are pretty impressive in their own right. One I know raised twenty-five thousand dollars for a digital marquee sign, along with funding an annual snack pantry for students. Never mind the sizeable investment in a/v equipment for stage musical / variety shows. Whereas at other schools they're using stuff that came out thirty years ago or else it's crumbling or broken. Or they have to borrow from the middle or high schools. :/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So my quick take is that the wealthiest area schools often functionally have the most resources since the level of need per student is lower. Title 1 and focus schools have extra resources but this is in responsible to the very high needs of this population so your kids will be competing for resources with kids often with high needs. My children went to a focus school and yes the smaller class size was great as were some of the other resources. However because the school was high farms and high els it still struggled to meet the needs of special education students (504 plans or IEPs) and gifted students. If you need to live in a geography that sends to a Title 1 or Focus school, these can be very good schools that meet the high need of their students. But, realize you are moving into an area of high need students. Often these schools will have a less involved parent population (parents working multiple jobs) so the schools will not have the parent financial and volunteer support available at other schools. My advice for someone with a special needs child is I think the old adage of get the cheapest housing in the wealthiest area. As for gifted, the wealthy areas will also have more resources since more parents will be providing tutoring and pushing for accelerated options. If your child is very gifted then there are true gifted magnet programs, which require budding usually, that they can attempt to gain entrance to.

As someone who works at an affluent school, I'd say we get the least amount of resources because it's seen as we can handle it and don't need it. We get less staffing...we don't have focus teachers, extra special Education teachers, full time reading initiative, and larger class sizes. The most we have for the gifted kid is elc and compact math. We do have a great pta.

Of course wealthy schools have less resources that Title 1 and Focus schools. That is the entire point of a school being Title 1 or Focus. PP was saying wealthy schools have more resources relative to the need. The students at wealthy schools do not have the same needs as students as low income schools.

An interesting comparison of the relative adequacy of school funding levels might revolve around enrichment. The impression is that attention to such comes after more established requirements for students with IEPs, 504s, EML designation, etc. Candidate data points might include:

Numbers and character of field trips

Class/school presentations by outside professionals/special-subject organizations

Frequency and depth of advanced reading groups

(the above three indicating, e.g., relative availability of class time and, possibly, financial resources after fulfillment of base curricular and other noted requirements)

Staff sponsorships of academically challenging extracurriculars (indicating, e.g., relative staff burden/burnout from in-class activity)

Etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So my quick take is that the wealthiest area schools often functionally have the most resources since the level of need per student is lower. Title 1 and focus schools have extra resources but this is in responsible to the very high needs of this population so your kids will be competing for resources with kids often with high needs. My children went to a focus school and yes the smaller class size was great as were some of the other resources. However because the school was high farms and high els it still struggled to meet the needs of special education students (504 plans or IEPs) and gifted students. If you need to live in a geography that sends to a Title 1 or Focus school, these can be very good schools that meet the high need of their students. But, realize you are moving into an area of high need students. Often these schools will have a less involved parent population (parents working multiple jobs) so the schools will not have the parent financial and volunteer support available at other schools. My advice for someone with a special needs child is I think the old adage of get the cheapest housing in the wealthiest area. As for gifted, the wealthy areas will also have more resources since more parents will be providing tutoring and pushing for accelerated options. If your child is very gifted then there are true gifted magnet programs, which require budding usually, that they can attempt to gain entrance to.

As someone who works at an affluent school, I'd say we get the least amount of resources because it's seen as we can handle it and don't need it. We get less staffing...we don't have focus teachers, extra special Education teachers, full time reading initiative, and larger class sizes. The most we have for the gifted kid is elc and compact math. We do have a great pta.

Of course wealthy schools have less resources that Title 1 and Focus schools. That is the entire point of a school being Title 1 or Focus. PP was saying wealthy schools have more resources relative to the need. The students at wealthy schools do not have the same needs as students as low income schools.

That's really odd because that other post that shows spending per student at various HS in moco shows that its higher at places like Whitman and CHurchill with <5% FARMS than Blair which is closer to 40%, the county average.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So my quick take is that the wealthiest area schools often functionally have the most resources since the level of need per student is lower. Title 1 and focus schools have extra resources but this is in responsible to the very high needs of this population so your kids will be competing for resources with kids often with high needs. My children went to a focus school and yes the smaller class size was great as were some of the other resources. However because the school was high farms and high els it still struggled to meet the needs of special education students (504 plans or IEPs) and gifted students. If you need to live in a geography that sends to a Title 1 or Focus school, these can be very good schools that meet the high need of their students. But, realize you are moving into an area of high need students. Often these schools will have a less involved parent population (parents working multiple jobs) so the schools will not have the parent financial and volunteer support available at other schools. My advice for someone with a special needs child is I think the old adage of get the cheapest housing in the wealthiest area. As for gifted, the wealthy areas will also have more resources since more parents will be providing tutoring and pushing for accelerated options. If your child is very gifted then there are true gifted magnet programs, which require budding usually, that they can attempt to gain entrance to.

As someone who works at an affluent school, I'd say we get the least amount of resources because it's seen as we can handle it and don't need it. We get less staffing...we don't have focus teachers, extra special Education teachers, full time reading initiative, and larger class sizes. The most we have for the gifted kid is elc and compact math. We do have a great pta.

Of course wealthy schools have less resources that Title 1 and Focus schools. That is the entire point of a school being Title 1 or Focus. PP was saying wealthy schools have more resources relative to the need. The students at wealthy schools do not have the same needs as students as low income schools.

That's really odd because that other post that shows spending per student at various HS in moco shows that its higher at places like Whitman and CHurchill with <5% FARMS than Blair which is closer to 40%, the county average.

PP here. You make a good point. No high schools are Title 1 or focus. Most of those are elementary schools. Title 1 is typically farms rates of 75% plus and I am not sure about focus but I think that is mainly for elementary schools (around 40% +) . At the high school level, you are combining lots of different neighborhoods so many have lower farms rates than the lowest income feeders. Plus, wealthy schools have more experienced teachers and they get paid more.

[Anonymous]

I guess this is more evidence the county is improving.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you intentionally asking because you’re going to move? Or just curious?
My kid went to Burtonsville ES a few years ago when it was a focus school. I believe the designation moved to title 1 after Covid but not sure.
k-2 has 13 -14 kids in her class which was awesome and she had enthusiastic and caring teachers who were great. I also liked the admin and Principal. She made good friends there. We left because of Covid and switched to private but while there we were happy and DD did well

We’re moving to the area. Seems like one of the “more desirable” elementary schools would be a better fit for my gifted kid, and the title 1s might be better for my kid who needs special education resources. Trying to figure out if there is a title 1 that would be good for both.

There is a middle ground which is schools that are not focus or Title 1 but are fairly diverse and are highly rated by teachers. Flora Singer and Oakland Terrace ESs are two that come to mind. Oakland Terrace has a Spanish immersion program for all students which might offer a good challenge for your gifted child (depending on your child's SN, that program may be good or bad for them). The downsides are these schools don't get extra allocations for smaller class sizes so that's luck of the draw in any given year, and also the middle schools may not be as strong. The upsides are those locations are more affordable, but the level of need in the student body is not as overwhelming as a Title 1 or Focus school and the PTA will be better resourced.

Either way do look at the most recent School Climate Survey results. Of course, any given school may change administration and the ratings may go up or down, but IMO it is more helpful information than test scores which I think by themselves say more about the students than the teachers. https://sharedaccountability.mcpsmd.org/SurveyResults/content.php

Flora Singer is a focus school (i.e. has reduced class sizes, though not as reduced as Title I).

Flora Singer has problems with behavior/classroom management. I would think twice about sending a gifted child there. The risk is that they will be ignored while focus is on higher needs kids.
Of course this is an issue throughout mcps.

We’ve generally had a good experience at flora singer but have heard this about some of the classes in the older grades. The class sizes increase a lot after 2nd grade but the high needs kids are still there, now there is just more per classroom. Depending on the year, they aren’t always able to meet the Focus school class size recommendations for K-2 either (the current 2nd grade cohort is huge). Also there are some new housing developments planned for the catchment area and I’m not sure how that will affect capacity long-term.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So my quick take is that the wealthiest area schools often functionally have the most resources since the level of need per student is lower. Title 1 and focus schools have extra resources but this is in responsible to the very high needs of this population so your kids will be competing for resources with kids often with high needs. My children went to a focus school and yes the smaller class size was great as were some of the other resources. However because the school was high farms and high els it still struggled to meet the needs of special education students (504 plans or IEPs) and gifted students. If you need to live in a geography that sends to a Title 1 or Focus school, these can be very good schools that meet the high need of their students. But, realize you are moving into an area of high need students. Often these schools will have a less involved parent population (parents working multiple jobs) so the schools will not have the parent financial and volunteer support available at other schools. My advice for someone with a special needs child is I think the old adage of get the cheapest housing in the wealthiest area. As for gifted, the wealthy areas will also have more resources since more parents will be providing tutoring and pushing for accelerated options. If your child is very gifted then there are true gifted magnet programs, which require budding usually, that they can attempt to gain entrance to.

As someone who works at an affluent school, I'd say we get the least amount of resources because it's seen as we can handle it and don't need it. We get less staffing...we don't have focus teachers, extra special Education teachers, full time reading initiative, and larger class sizes. The most we have for the gifted kid is elc and compact math. We do have a great pta.

Of course wealthy schools have less resources that Title 1 and Focus schools. That is the entire point of a school being Title 1 or Focus. PP was saying wealthy schools have more resources relative to the need. The students at wealthy schools do not have the same needs as students as low income schools.

That's really odd because that other post that shows spending per student at various HS in moco shows that its higher at places like Whitman and CHurchill with <5% FARMS than Blair which is closer to 40%, the county average.

A big part of spending per school is due to longevity of staff. For a variety of reasons, some schools have older staff, those staff get higher on the pay scale.

But, sure, spin it to find a conspiracy - it's the DCUM Way!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So my quick take is that the wealthiest area schools often functionally have the most resources since the level of need per student is lower. Title 1 and focus schools have extra resources but this is in responsible to the very high needs of this population so your kids will be competing for resources with kids often with high needs. My children went to a focus school and yes the smaller class size was great as were some of the other resources. However because the school was high farms and high els it still struggled to meet the needs of special education students (504 plans or IEPs) and gifted students. If you need to live in a geography that sends to a Title 1 or Focus school, these can be very good schools that meet the high need of their students. But, realize you are moving into an area of high need students. Often these schools will have a less involved parent population (parents working multiple jobs) so the schools will not have the parent financial and volunteer support available at other schools. My advice for someone with a special needs child is I think the old adage of get the cheapest housing in the wealthiest area. As for gifted, the wealthy areas will also have more resources since more parents will be providing tutoring and pushing for accelerated options. If your child is very gifted then there are true gifted magnet programs, which require budding usually, that they can attempt to gain entrance to.

As someone who works at an affluent school, I'd say we get the least amount of resources because it's seen as we can handle it and don't need it. We get less staffing...we don't have focus teachers, extra special Education teachers, full time reading initiative, and larger class sizes. The most we have for the gifted kid is elc and compact math. We do have a great pta.

Of course wealthy schools have less resources that Title 1 and Focus schools. That is the entire point of a school being Title 1 or Focus. PP was saying wealthy schools have more resources relative to the need. The students at wealthy schools do not have the same needs as students as low income schools.

That's really odd because that other post that shows spending per student at various HS in moco shows that its higher at places like Whitman and CHurchill with <5% FARMS than Blair which is closer to 40%, the county average.

A big part of spending per school is due to longevity of staff. For a variety of reasons, some schools have older staff, those staff get higher on the pay scale.

But, sure, spin it to find a conspiracy - it's the DCUM Way!

High income schools have more experienced staff. It's not a "conspiracy" - it's a reality.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So my quick take is that the wealthiest area schools often functionally have the most resources since the level of need per student is lower. Title 1 and focus schools have extra resources but this is in responsible to the very high needs of this population so your kids will be competing for resources with kids often with high needs. My children went to a focus school and yes the smaller class size was great as were some of the other resources. However because the school was high farms and high els it still struggled to meet the needs of special education students (504 plans or IEPs) and gifted students. If you need to live in a geography that sends to a Title 1 or Focus school, these can be very good schools that meet the high need of their students. But, realize you are moving into an area of high need students. Often these schools will have a less involved parent population (parents working multiple jobs) so the schools will not have the parent financial and volunteer support available at other schools. My advice for someone with a special needs child is I think the old adage of get the cheapest housing in the wealthiest area. As for gifted, the wealthy areas will also have more resources since more parents will be providing tutoring and pushing for accelerated options. If your child is very gifted then there are true gifted magnet programs, which require budding usually, that they can attempt to gain entrance to.

As someone who works at an affluent school, I'd say we get the least amount of resources because it's seen as we can handle it and don't need it. We get less staffing...we don't have focus teachers, extra special Education teachers, full time reading initiative, and larger class sizes. The most we have for the gifted kid is elc and compact math. We do have a great pta.

Of course wealthy schools have less resources that Title 1 and Focus schools. That is the entire point of a school being Title 1 or Focus. PP was saying wealthy schools have more resources relative to the need. The students at wealthy schools do not have the same needs as students as low income schools.

That's really odd because that other post that shows spending per student at various HS in moco shows that its higher at places like Whitman and CHurchill with <5% FARMS than Blair which is closer to 40%, the county average.

A big part of spending per school is due to longevity of staff. For a variety of reasons, some schools have older staff, those staff get higher on the pay scale.

But, sure, spin it to find a conspiracy - it's the DCUM Way!

High income schools have more experienced staff. It's not a "conspiracy" - it's a reality.

Sure. But some want to spin it as a deliberate effort to shortchange lower income schools by paying teachers less there. Correlation is not causation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So my quick take is that the wealthiest area schools often functionally have the most resources since the level of need per student is lower. Title 1 and focus schools have extra resources but this is in responsible to the very high needs of this population so your kids will be competing for resources with kids often with high needs. My children went to a focus school and yes the smaller class size was great as were some of the other resources. However because the school was high farms and high els it still struggled to meet the needs of special education students (504 plans or IEPs) and gifted students. If you need to live in a geography that sends to a Title 1 or Focus school, these can be very good schools that meet the high need of their students. But, realize you are moving into an area of high need students. Often these schools will have a less involved parent population (parents working multiple jobs) so the schools will not have the parent financial and volunteer support available at other schools. My advice for someone with a special needs child is I think the old adage of get the cheapest housing in the wealthiest area. As for gifted, the wealthy areas will also have more resources since more parents will be providing tutoring and pushing for accelerated options. If your child is very gifted then there are true gifted magnet programs, which require budding usually, that they can attempt to gain entrance to.

As someone who works at an affluent school, I'd say we get the least amount of resources because it's seen as we can handle it and don't need it. We get less staffing...we don't have focus teachers, extra special Education teachers, full time reading initiative, and larger class sizes. The most we have for the gifted kid is elc and compact math. We do have a great pta.

Of course wealthy schools have less resources that Title 1 and Focus schools. That is the entire point of a school being Title 1 or Focus. PP was saying wealthy schools have more resources relative to the need. The students at wealthy schools do not have the same needs as students as low income schools.

That's really odd because that other post that shows spending per student at various HS in moco shows that its higher at places like Whitman and CHurchill with <5% FARMS than Blair which is closer to 40%, the county average.

A big part of spending per school is due to longevity of staff. For a variety of reasons, some schools have older staff, those staff get higher on the pay scale.

But, sure, spin it to find a conspiracy - it's the DCUM Way!

Teacher experience evens out across schools. This is really because these areas have political clout to get a larger share of the pie

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So my quick take is that the wealthiest area schools often functionally have the most resources since the level of need per student is lower. Title 1 and focus schools have extra resources but this is in responsible to the very high needs of this population so your kids will be competing for resources with kids often with high needs. My children went to a focus school and yes the smaller class size was great as were some of the other resources. However because the school was high farms and high els it still struggled to meet the needs of special education students (504 plans or IEPs) and gifted students. If you need to live in a geography that sends to a Title 1 or Focus school, these can be very good schools that meet the high need of their students. But, realize you are moving into an area of high need students. Often these schools will have a less involved parent population (parents working multiple jobs) so the schools will not have the parent financial and volunteer support available at other schools. My advice for someone with a special needs child is I think the old adage of get the cheapest housing in the wealthiest area. As for gifted, the wealthy areas will also have more resources since more parents will be providing tutoring and pushing for accelerated options. If your child is very gifted then there are true gifted magnet programs, which require budding usually, that they can attempt to gain entrance to.

As someone who works at an affluent school, I'd say we get the least amount of resources because it's seen as we can handle it and don't need it. We get less staffing...we don't have focus teachers, extra special Education teachers, full time reading initiative, and larger class sizes. The most we have for the gifted kid is elc and compact math. We do have a great pta.

Of course wealthy schools have less resources that Title 1 and Focus schools. That is the entire point of a school being Title 1 or Focus. PP was saying wealthy schools have more resources relative to the need. The students at wealthy schools do not have the same needs as students as low income schools.

That's really odd because that other post that shows spending per student at various HS in moco shows that its higher at places like Whitman and CHurchill with <5% FARMS than Blair which is closer to 40%, the county average.

A big part of spending per school is due to longevity of staff. For a variety of reasons, some schools have older staff, those staff get higher on the pay scale.

But, sure, spin it to find a conspiracy - it's the DCUM Way!

High income schools have more experienced staff. It's not a "conspiracy" - it's a reality.

Sure. But some want to spin it as a deliberate effort to shortchange lower income schools by paying teachers less there. Correlation is not causation.

It becomes deliberate when it is a known issue for many years and shown by research as well, but little or no effort/resources are put into incentivizing experienced teachers to go to and stay in higher poverty schools. County residents would not support this, and we know it. It's a choice we make every year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So my quick take is that the wealthiest area schools often functionally have the most resources since the level of need per student is lower. Title 1 and focus schools have extra resources but this is in responsible to the very high needs of this population so your kids will be competing for resources with kids often with high needs. My children went to a focus school and yes the smaller class size was great as were some of the other resources. However because the school was high farms and high els it still struggled to meet the needs of special education students (504 plans or IEPs) and gifted students. If you need to live in a geography that sends to a Title 1 or Focus school, these can be very good schools that meet the high need of their students. But, realize you are moving into an area of high need students. Often these schools will have a less involved parent population (parents working multiple jobs) so the schools will not have the parent financial and volunteer support available at other schools. My advice for someone with a special needs child is I think the old adage of get the cheapest housing in the wealthiest area. As for gifted, the wealthy areas will also have more resources since more parents will be providing tutoring and pushing for accelerated options. If your child is very gifted then there are true gifted magnet programs, which require budding usually, that they can attempt to gain entrance to.

As someone who works at an affluent school, I'd say we get the least amount of resources because it's seen as we can handle it and don't need it. We get less staffing...we don't have focus teachers, extra special Education teachers, full time reading initiative, and larger class sizes. The most we have for the gifted kid is elc and compact math. We do have a great pta.

Of course wealthy schools have less resources that Title 1 and Focus schools. That is the entire point of a school being Title 1 or Focus. PP was saying wealthy schools have more resources relative to the need. The students at wealthy schools do not have the same needs as students as low income schools.

That's really odd because that other post that shows spending per student at various HS in moco shows that its higher at places like Whitman and CHurchill with <5% FARMS than Blair which is closer to 40%, the county average.

A big part of spending per school is due to longevity of staff. For a variety of reasons, some schools have older staff, those staff get higher on the pay scale.

But, sure, spin it to find a conspiracy - it's the DCUM Way!

High income schools have more experienced staff. It's not a "conspiracy" - it's a reality.

Sure. But some want to spin it as a deliberate effort to shortchange lower income schools by paying teachers less there. Correlation is not causation.

It becomes deliberate when it is a known issue for many years and shown by research as well, but little or no effort/resources are put into incentivizing experienced teachers to go to and stay in higher poverty schools. County residents would not support this, and we know it. It's a choice we make every year.

Experience means knowing better than to waste one’s time teaching kids who many don’t want to learn. It would take quite the incentive to get a teacher late in their career to opt in to being a glorified babysitter in many cases assuming the incentives were structured to direct them where the biggest problems are. No teacher minds being in a select magnet program with kids that want to be there, general pop it gets dicier when you start dealing with unmotivated kids with no support and limited repercussions. Yes some what to learn but many don’t and that’s where your time would have to be directed

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So my quick take is that the wealthiest area schools often functionally have the most resources since the level of need per student is lower. Title 1 and focus schools have extra resources but this is in responsible to the very high needs of this population so your kids will be competing for resources with kids often with high needs. My children went to a focus school and yes the smaller class size was great as were some of the other resources. However because the school was high farms and high els it still struggled to meet the needs of special education students (504 plans or IEPs) and gifted students. If you need to live in a geography that sends to a Title 1 or Focus school, these can be very good schools that meet the high need of their students. But, realize you are moving into an area of high need students. Often these schools will have a less involved parent population (parents working multiple jobs) so the schools will not have the parent financial and volunteer support available at other schools. My advice for someone with a special needs child is I think the old adage of get the cheapest housing in the wealthiest area. As for gifted, the wealthy areas will also have more resources since more parents will be providing tutoring and pushing for accelerated options. If your child is very gifted then there are true gifted magnet programs, which require budding usually, that they can attempt to gain entrance to.

As someone who works at an affluent school, I'd say we get the least amount of resources because it's seen as we can handle it and don't need it. We get less staffing...we don't have focus teachers, extra special Education teachers, full time reading initiative, and larger class sizes. The most we have for the gifted kid is elc and compact math. We do have a great pta.

Of course wealthy schools have less resources that Title 1 and Focus schools. That is the entire point of a school being Title 1 or Focus. PP was saying wealthy schools have more resources relative to the need. The students at wealthy schools do not have the same needs as students as low income schools.

That's really odd because that other post that shows spending per student at various HS in moco shows that its higher at places like Whitman and CHurchill with <5% FARMS than Blair which is closer to 40%, the county average.

A big part of spending per school is due to longevity of staff. For a variety of reasons, some schools have older staff, those staff get higher on the pay scale.

But, sure, spin it to find a conspiracy - it's the DCUM Way!

High income schools have more experienced staff. It's not a "conspiracy" - it's a reality.

Sure. But some want to spin it as a deliberate effort to shortchange lower income schools by paying teachers less there. Correlation is not causation.

It becomes deliberate when it is a known issue for many years and shown by research as well, but little or no effort/resources are put into incentivizing experienced teachers to go to and stay in higher poverty schools. County residents would not support this, and we know it. It's a choice we make every year.

Experience means knowing better than to waste one’s time teaching kids who many don’t want to learn. It would take quite the incentive to get a teacher late in their career to opt in to being a glorified babysitter in many cases assuming the incentives were structured to direct them where the biggest problems are. No teacher minds being in a select magnet program with kids that want to be there, general pop it gets dicier when you start dealing with unmotivated kids with no support and limited repercussions. Yes some what to learn but many don’t and that’s where your time would have to be directed

Exactly. We know that if we want low income kids to have experienced teachers we need to provide significant incentives, but we don't. It's a choice we make as a county.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So my quick take is that the wealthiest area schools often functionally have the most resources since the level of need per student is lower. Title 1 and focus schools have extra resources but this is in responsible to the very high needs of this population so your kids will be competing for resources with kids often with high needs. My children went to a focus school and yes the smaller class size was great as were some of the other resources. However because the school was high farms and high els it still struggled to meet the needs of special education students (504 plans or IEPs) and gifted students. If you need to live in a geography that sends to a Title 1 or Focus school, these can be very good schools that meet the high need of their students. But, realize you are moving into an area of high need students. Often these schools will have a less involved parent population (parents working multiple jobs) so the schools will not have the parent financial and volunteer support available at other schools. My advice for someone with a special needs child is I think the old adage of get the cheapest housing in the wealthiest area. As for gifted, the wealthy areas will also have more resources since more parents will be providing tutoring and pushing for accelerated options. If your child is very gifted then there are true gifted magnet programs, which require budding usually, that they can attempt to gain entrance to.

As someone who works at an affluent school, I'd say we get the least amount of resources because it's seen as we can handle it and don't need it. We get less staffing...we don't have focus teachers, extra special Education teachers, full time reading initiative, and larger class sizes. The most we have for the gifted kid is elc and compact math. We do have a great pta.

Of course wealthy schools have less resources that Title 1 and Focus schools. That is the entire point of a school being Title 1 or Focus. PP was saying wealthy schools have more resources relative to the need. The students at wealthy schools do not have the same needs as students as low income schools.

That's really odd because that other post that shows spending per student at various HS in moco shows that its higher at places like Whitman and CHurchill with <5% FARMS than Blair which is closer to 40%, the county average.

A big part of spending per school is due to longevity of staff. For a variety of reasons, some schools have older staff, those staff get higher on the pay scale.

But, sure, spin it to find a conspiracy - it's the DCUM Way!

High income schools have more experienced staff. It's not a "conspiracy" - it's a reality.

That's not always the case. There are smaller percentages of teachers with 15+ years experience at several "high income schools" such as Bannockburn (27%), Bradley Hills (38%), Chevy Chase (40%), Westbrook (34%), and Wyngate (40%), as compared to some Title I schools, such as Fairland (50%), Gaithersburg (55%), Stedwick (58%), Summit Hall (60%), Viers Mill (53%), and Wheaton Woods (50%).