Best high schools for African American students?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We'd be delighted to have you as a neighbor in MoCo, but what you are looking for is in PG.

https://www.pgcps.org/about-pgcps/applications

I’m an MCPS teacher that lives in PG and I wholeheartedly agree that PGCPS is a great option. While MCPS has diverse student populations… the VAST majority of teachers are white women. 60% of teachers in PGCPS are black, compared to 14% in MCPS. In my experience, MCPS does little to actively recruit racially diverse teachers. It’s a shame because there is SO MUCH RESEARCH that proves students benefit from having teachers that look like them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't know how you define well. There are A LOT of safety/security and cultural issues with the high schools in Silver Spring.

If I had to rank best to worst for black students, I'd say in the DCC:
- Blair
- Wheaton
- Einstein
- Northwood
- Kennedy

NEC:
- Blake
- Springbrook
- Paint Branch

Paint Branch is the most majority black high school population in MCPS but the academic outcomes and behavioral issues are OFF THE CHARTS. MCPS has a lot of work to do to improve the learning experience for black students. They've failed black kids pretty significantly.

Dog whistle alert.

No. I'm referring to the school climate/culture, which is the terminology MCPS uses to gauge the health and wellbeing of its schools. Go and look at the latest climate/culture surveys for the schools I listed. There are lots of problems.

[Anonymous]

Just pointing out for those who may not have noticed: OP's child is a rising kindergartener.

[Anonymous]

There are quite a number of highly educated, high income Black families that could afford Bethesda or Potomac but choose Silver Spring/Takoma Park for the larger concentration of similar families.

You'll find the kids of a number of prominent Black professors, thinktank and government people at these schools. You'd recognize some of these names.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't know how you define well. There are A LOT of safety/security and cultural issues with the high schools in Silver Spring.

If I had to rank best to worst for black students, I'd say in the DCC:
- Blair
- Wheaton
- Einstein
- Northwood
- Kennedy

NEC:
- Blake
- Springbrook
- Paint Branch

Paint Branch is the most majority black high school population in MCPS but the academic outcomes and behavioral issues are OFF THE CHARTS. MCPS has a lot of work to do to improve the learning experience for black students. They've failed black kids pretty significantly.

This is actually not true. The behavioral problems and police calls are actually a lot lower than at some of the W schools and RM. PBHS just gets a bad rap because it’s a majority black school.

[Anonymous]

Paint branch has not had stable administration.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Paint branch has not had stable administration.

But they’ve had very low teacher turnover which is a plus imo. High turnover would be a red flag.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:RHES/NCC/Silver Creek/BCC is quite diverse.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:RHES/NCC/Silver Creek/BCC is quite diverse.

+1

DC only went to elementary in the BCC cluster because we moved to a neighboring cluster in 6th but the school was extremely racially segregated. I don't know whether it's like that in other schools in that area but it was not ideal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We'd be delighted to have you as a neighbor in MoCo, but what you are looking for is in PG.

https://www.pgcps.org/about-pgcps/applications

So you’re basically saying that black students only do well in PG schools?

PG is where a lot of Black people live, including high achievers. OP wanted a lot of Black high achievers in one place.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Moving to Montgomery County from Southern Maryland. My daughter is a rising kindergarten and I’m interested in a school cluster that has a significant amount of African American students, but also ones that do extremely well and are well supported. I prefer the Silver Spring area since that’s where my job is, but I’m open to other parts of the county.

Blair, Blake, Einstein, Paint Branch... just to name a few.
Also, Silver Spring has the best outcomes for Black students.

Data for this? What a strange thing to say. I also don’t think it is correct.

To be specific, Silver Spring is among the best places in the country to raise Black boys, and research has shown that outcomes for Black men are the most impactful for families. The long paper link is below, and you can do a CTL-F for Silver Spring.

http://www.equality-of-opportunity.org/assets/documents/race_paper.pdf

(This is for 25%ile parent income. Best places for 75%ile parent income are not in DC area.)

Downtown Silver Spring, Woodside Park, Woodside Forest

College Park, Prince Georges' County

New Carrolton, Prince Georges' County

Greenbelt, Prince Georges' County

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't know how you define well. There are A LOT of safety/security and cultural issues with the high schools in Silver Spring.

If I had to rank best to worst for black students, I'd say in the DCC:
- Blair
- Wheaton
- Einstein
- Northwood
- Kennedy

NEC:
- Blake
- Springbrook
- Paint Branch

Paint Branch is the most majority black high school population in MCPS but the academic outcomes and behavioral issues are OFF THE CHARTS. MCPS has a lot of work to do to improve the learning experience for black students. They've failed black kids pretty significantly.

This is actually not true. The behavioral problems and police calls are actually a lot lower than at some of the W schools and RM. PBHS just gets a bad rap because it’s a majority black school.

A lot of incidents at Paint Branch get swept under the rug and don't make the news either. It's not just the W schools. There is a serious problem at PB. Stop living in denial.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just pointing out for those who may not have noticed: OP's child is a rising kindergartener.

Yes, but OP's post title asks specifically about high schools so....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't know how you define well. There are A LOT of safety/security and cultural issues with the high schools in Silver Spring.

If I had to rank best to worst for black students, I'd say in the DCC:
- Blair
- Wheaton
- Einstein
- Northwood
- Kennedy

NEC:
- Blake
- Springbrook
- Paint Branch

Paint Branch is the most majority black high school population in MCPS but the academic outcomes and behavioral issues are OFF THE CHARTS. MCPS has a lot of work to do to improve the learning experience for black students. They've failed black kids pretty significantly.

Dog whistle alert.

No. I'm referring to the school climate/culture, which is the terminology MCPS uses to gauge the health and wellbeing of its schools. Go and look at the latest climate/culture surveys for the schools I listed. There are lots of problems.

OP-School climate surveys
https://sharedaccountability.mcpsmd.org/SurveyResults/content.php

A lot of the indicators are actually pretty positive for Paint Branch, just like the other schools but the safety question for students does not look great. 59% of students said they felt safe while at most other schools it's more in the 80s to over 90%.

Kennedy and Watkins Mill (Gaithersburg area, not where OP is looking) are also low at 62%.

[Anonymous]

Blair