Quince Orchard high school - recent experiences

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. My kid is not into Sports and is also not a nerd, average student who would find AP classes difficult. How bad would it be for my kid? Are the Honors and regular classes filled with kids who don't care about going to college?

If you can afford it your child may be better off at private but with the change in leadership hard to know. QO pushes kids who should not take APs into APs (it looks better for the school on paper that way) so my guess is your child ends up in more APs than you expect. Lots of the kids in honors as well as APs do care about college and are great kids. The issue is disorganization/lack of academic support from the top down not ‘bad’ kids. And plenty of the teachers are really good! QO is not a terrible school it is just not as good as it should be based on its feeder schools.

No, they would not

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. My kid is not into Sports and is also not a nerd, average student who would find AP classes difficult. How bad would it be for my kid? Are the Honors and regular classes filled with kids who don't care about going to college?

If you can afford it your child may be better off at private but with the change in leadership hard to know. QO pushes kids who should not take APs into APs (it looks better for the school on paper that way) so my guess is your child ends up in more APs than you expect. Lots of the kids in honors as well as APs do care about college and are great kids. The issue is disorganization/lack of academic support from the top down not ‘bad’ kids. And plenty of the teachers are really good! QO is not a terrible school it is just not as good as it should be based on its feeder schools.

No, they would not

Students absolutely are better off at good private schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow. Didn't realize there was this much dissatisfaction about QO! I'm at a DCC high school and I thought we were the ones who were the most dissatisfied with MCPS.

A lot of people in Kentlands/Lakelands in particular aren’t thrilled that we paid a premium for our homes, only to have a subpar HS.

Maybe if they didn't focus on football so much, the school would have better academics.

You think the academic staff is focusing on football? 🙄

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s funny how around here, people think QO’s having a highly successful football program with enthusiastic supporters is a bad thing. I grew up in Ohio, so to me, enthusiastic community support for your local football program is the norm.

We don’t think it’s a bad thing.

We think it’s bad that the school neglects everything except for football.

Exactly. Zero value seems to be placed on academics or useful academic clubs like at other schools.

Also, it's fishy that all these good football players show up after not attending any neighborhood ES or MS. It's not a local football team. it's verging on cheating.

Recruiting is not allowed in public school. If only 1 school has poor characters doing it then no other school has a chance to win. That's not on the verge. That's cheating.

It’s not cheating for a good player to move to the neighborhood

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow. Didn't realize there was this much dissatisfaction about QO! I'm at a DCC high school and I thought we were the ones who were the most dissatisfied with MCPS.

A lot of people in Kentlands/Lakelands in particular aren’t thrilled that we paid a premium for our homes, only to have a subpar HS.

Maybe if they didn't focus on football so much, the school would have better academics.

You think the academic staff is focusing on football? 🙄

I know you want to think QO is a good school, but it’s just not.

It has 3 stars on the state report card.

Fully 35% of the students are chronically absent.

Zero demographic groups hit the state target in math. Only 62% of white kids and 69% of Asian kids are proficient in math there. A dismal 16% of black kids are proficient in math.

ELA is better, but it’s the sole bright spot.

https://reportcard.msde.maryland.gov/Graphs/#/ReportCards/ReportCardSchool/1/H/1/15/0125/0

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. My kid is not into Sports and is also not a nerd, average student who would find AP classes difficult. How bad would it be for my kid? Are the Honors and regular classes filled with kids who don't care about going to college?

If you can afford it your child may be better off at private but with the change in leadership hard to know. QO pushes kids who should not take APs into APs (it looks better for the school on paper that way) so my guess is your child ends up in more APs than you expect. Lots of the kids in honors as well as APs do care about college and are great kids. The issue is disorganization/lack of academic support from the top down not ‘bad’ kids. And plenty of the teachers are really good! QO is not a terrible school it is just not as good as it should be based on its feeder schools.

No, they would not

Students absolutely are better off at good private schools.

No, they absolutely are not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. My kid is not into Sports and is also not a nerd, average student who would find AP classes difficult. How bad would it be for my kid? Are the Honors and regular classes filled with kids who don't care about going to college?

If you can afford it your child may be better off at private but with the change in leadership hard to know. QO pushes kids who should not take APs into APs (it looks better for the school on paper that way) so my guess is your child ends up in more APs than you expect. Lots of the kids in honors as well as APs do care about college and are great kids. The issue is disorganization/lack of academic support from the top down not ‘bad’ kids. And plenty of the teachers are really good! QO is not a terrible school it is just not as good as it should be based on its feeder schools.

No, they would not

Students absolutely are better off at good private schools.

No, they absolutely are not.

You keep saying the same thing, but provide zero evidence.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow. Didn't realize there was this much dissatisfaction about QO! I'm at a DCC high school and I thought we were the ones who were the most dissatisfied with MCPS.

A lot of people in Kentlands/Lakelands in particular aren’t thrilled that we paid a premium for our homes, only to have a subpar HS.

Maybe if they didn't focus on football so much, the school would have better academics.

You think the academic staff is focusing on football? 🙄

I know you want to think QO is a good school, but it’s just not.

It has 3 stars on the state report card.

Fully 35% of the students are chronically absent.

Zero demographic groups hit the state target in math. Only 62% of white kids and 69% of Asian kids are proficient in math there. A dismal 16% of black kids are proficient in math.

ELA is better, but it’s the sole bright spot.

https://reportcard.msde.maryland.gov/Graphs/#/ReportCards/ReportCardSchool/1/H/1/15/0125/0

Wow - Wootton parent here who was going to defend QO but then clicked this link. I did not realize we were that far apart on Math proficiency. That is scary but for high achievers may work to their favor as far as college acceptance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. My kid is not into Sports and is also not a nerd, average student who would find AP classes difficult. How bad would it be for my kid? Are the Honors and regular classes filled with kids who don't care about going to college?

If you can afford it your child may be better off at private but with the change in leadership hard to know. QO pushes kids who should not take APs into APs (it looks better for the school on paper that way) so my guess is your child ends up in more APs than you expect. Lots of the kids in honors as well as APs do care about college and are great kids. The issue is disorganization/lack of academic support from the top down not ‘bad’ kids. And plenty of the teachers are really good! QO is not a terrible school it is just not as good as it should be based on its feeder schools.

The feeder schools aren’t that great.

I simply don’t understand why people in neighborhoods like Kentlands/Lakelands put up with such mediocre schools like LPMS and QOHS. Usually people who pay a premium for their homes don’t put up with that crap.

They are not putting up with that crap. They are at private schools.

I live in Lakelands and have had one kid attend LPMS and QO and one kid go to magnets for middle school and high school. The one who attended our home schools wasn’t as academically oriented and was well supported with a 504/IEP. For the other, the magnets were a blessing. We really haven’t had a bad experience with any school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. My kid is not into Sports and is also not a nerd, average student who would find AP classes difficult. How bad would it be for my kid? Are the Honors and regular classes filled with kids who don't care about going to college?

If you can afford it your child may be better off at private but with the change in leadership hard to know. QO pushes kids who should not take APs into APs (it looks better for the school on paper that way) so my guess is your child ends up in more APs than you expect. Lots of the kids in honors as well as APs do care about college and are great kids. The issue is disorganization/lack of academic support from the top down not ‘bad’ kids. And plenty of the teachers are really good! QO is not a terrible school it is just not as good as it should be based on its feeder schools.

The feeder schools aren’t that great.

I simply don’t understand why people in neighborhoods like Kentlands/Lakelands put up with such mediocre schools like LPMS and QOHS. Usually people who pay a premium for their homes don’t put up with that crap.

They are not putting up with that crap. They are at private schools.

I live in Lakelands and have had one kid attend LPMS and QO and one kid go to magnets for middle school and high school. The one who attended our home schools wasn’t as academically oriented and was well supported with a 504/IEP. For the other, the magnets were a blessing. We really haven’t had a bad experience with any school.

It says a lot that your academically oriented kid opted out of the regular program, though. That speaks to the poor quality of the schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow. Didn't realize there was this much dissatisfaction about QO! I'm at a DCC high school and I thought we were the ones who were the most dissatisfied with MCPS.

A lot of people in Kentlands/Lakelands in particular aren’t thrilled that we paid a premium for our homes, only to have a subpar HS.

Maybe if they didn't focus on football so much, the school would have better academics.

You think the academic staff is focusing on football? 🙄

I know you want to think QO is a good school, but it’s just not.

It has 3 stars on the state report card.

Fully 35% of the students are chronically absent.

Zero demographic groups hit the state target in math. Only 62% of white kids and 69% of Asian kids are proficient in math there. A dismal 16% of black kids are proficient in math.

ELA is better, but it’s the sole bright spot.

https://reportcard.msde.maryland.gov/Graphs/#/ReportCards/ReportCardSchool/1/H/1/15/0125/0

Wow - Wootton parent here who was going to defend QO but then clicked this link. I did not realize we were that far apart on Math proficiency. That is scary but for high achievers may work to their favor as far as college acceptance.

Yep. To be honest, I think it’s kind of awful for someone who can afford to live a couple neighborhoods over in North Potomac to instead buy in Kentlands/Lakelands and have their kid go to QO, given how obviously awful it is.

It’s one thing if you can’t afford it, but if you simply choose a crappier school because you like the neighborhood, that’s awful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow. Didn't realize there was this much dissatisfaction about QO! I'm at a DCC high school and I thought we were the ones who were the most dissatisfied with MCPS.

A lot of people in Kentlands/Lakelands in particular aren’t thrilled that we paid a premium for our homes, only to have a subpar HS.

Maybe if they didn't focus on football so much, the school would have better academics.

You think the academic staff is focusing on football? 🙄

No but like any organization, the focus comes from the top. When football is mentioned 100x more than anything academic, that sets the tone throughout the entire school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. My kid is not into Sports and is also not a nerd, average student who would find AP classes difficult. How bad would it be for my kid? Are the Honors and regular classes filled with kids who don't care about going to college?

If you can afford it your child may be better off at private but with the change in leadership hard to know. QO pushes kids who should not take APs into APs (it looks better for the school on paper that way) so my guess is your child ends up in more APs than you expect. Lots of the kids in honors as well as APs do care about college and are great kids. The issue is disorganization/lack of academic support from the top down not ‘bad’ kids. And plenty of the teachers are really good! QO is not a terrible school it is just not as good as it should be based on its feeder schools.

The feeder schools aren’t that great.

I simply don’t understand why people in neighborhoods like Kentlands/Lakelands put up with such mediocre schools like LPMS and QOHS. Usually people who pay a premium for their homes don’t put up with that crap.

They are not putting up with that crap. They are at private schools.

I live in Lakelands and have had one kid attend LPMS and QO and one kid go to magnets for middle school and high school. The one who attended our home schools wasn’t as academically oriented and was well supported with a 504/IEP. For the other, the magnets were a blessing. We really haven’t had a bad experience with any school.

This is me as well. I am grateful for the magnet experience for by one child (as anyone would be who has this kind of kid). For my other kid, QO has been fine. I don't think they would be having a different experience at Wooton or a private school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. My kid is not into Sports and is also not a nerd, average student who would find AP classes difficult. How bad would it be for my kid? Are the Honors and regular classes filled with kids who don't care about going to college?

If you can afford it your child may be better off at private but with the change in leadership hard to know. QO pushes kids who should not take APs into APs (it looks better for the school on paper that way) so my guess is your child ends up in more APs than you expect. Lots of the kids in honors as well as APs do care about college and are great kids. The issue is disorganization/lack of academic support from the top down not ‘bad’ kids. And plenty of the teachers are really good! QO is not a terrible school it is just not as good as it should be based on its feeder schools.

The feeder schools aren’t that great.

I simply don’t understand why people in neighborhoods like Kentlands/Lakelands put up with such mediocre schools like LPMS and QOHS. Usually people who pay a premium for their homes don’t put up with that crap.

They are not putting up with that crap. They are at private schools.

I live in Lakelands and have had one kid attend LPMS and QO and one kid go to magnets for middle school and high school. The one who attended our home schools wasn’t as academically oriented and was well supported with a 504/IEP. For the other, the magnets were a blessing. We really haven’t had a bad experience with any school.

This is me as well. I am grateful for the magnet experience for by one child (as anyone would be who has this kind of kid). For my other kid, QO has been fine. I don't think they would be having a different experience at Wooton or a private school.

You’re kidding yourself if you think QO or Wootton is the same as an excellent private school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. My kid is not into Sports and is also not a nerd, average student who would find AP classes difficult. How bad would it be for my kid? Are the Honors and regular classes filled with kids who don't care about going to college?

If you can afford it your child may be better off at private but with the change in leadership hard to know. QO pushes kids who should not take APs into APs (it looks better for the school on paper that way) so my guess is your child ends up in more APs than you expect. Lots of the kids in honors as well as APs do care about college and are great kids. The issue is disorganization/lack of academic support from the top down not ‘bad’ kids. And plenty of the teachers are really good! QO is not a terrible school it is just not as good as it should be based on its feeder schools.

The feeder schools aren’t that great.

I simply don’t understand why people in neighborhoods like Kentlands/Lakelands put up with such mediocre schools like LPMS and QOHS. Usually people who pay a premium for their homes don’t put up with that crap.

They are not putting up with that crap. They are at private schools.

I live in Lakelands and have had one kid attend LPMS and QO and one kid go to magnets for middle school and high school. The one who attended our home schools wasn’t as academically oriented and was well supported with a 504/IEP. For the other, the magnets were a blessing. We really haven’t had a bad experience with any school.

It says a lot that your academically oriented kid opted out of the regular program, though. That speaks to the poor quality of the schools.

Not really. When that dc went to the magnet in middle school, they thought the magnet kids there didn’t seem any different than their classmates from Rachel Carson (and this was back when they used Cogat, before it became a lottery). DC just liked having a more challenging curriculum — but the curriculum is the same in all non magnet middle schools in MCPS, from the highest performing schools to the lowest.