Why does MCPS crow about its greatness so much? And why do MCPS teachers and parents crow too?

[Anonymous]

Interesting discussion. We left private for MCPS this year. I had been very nervous about the switch, but so far we have been very impressed with MCPS. We think the quality of instruction is high, and the assignments appropriate. In addition, we have found good individualization going on (within the confines of a large class size)--for example, DC already knew all the spelling words, so was given a different list without us even having to ask. Yes, there are worksheets (DC is in elementary), but hardly a soul-deadening overemphasis on them. Private gave us a smaller class size, more recess, and more "specials"--arts, music, science, etc.; those are definitely advantages of private, but the only advantages I see so far. Private did not give us better teachers or a better curriculum. Granted, it's too early to tell how much testing will be an issue, and we have only been in MCPS since September so take this with a grain of salt, but so far, I have to say, I question why we spent so much money on private school tuition up until now.

[Anonymous]

Hey OP, Are you from Wellesley, Newton, Dover or Sherborn? Must be nice. They are like quaint little versions of Bethesda (much quainter) but hardly your typical New England town. I grew up in a far more middle class town in Massachusetts and I can tell you that MCPS offers far more than most small New England towns.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Interesting discussion. We left private for MCPS this year. I had been very nervous about the switch, but so far we have been very impressed with MCPS. We think the quality of instruction is high, and the assignments appropriate. In addition, we have found good individualization going on (within the confines of a large class size)--for example, DC already knew all the spelling words, so was given a different list without us even having to ask. Yes, there are worksheets (DC is in elementary), but hardly a soul-deadening overemphasis on them. Private gave us a smaller class size, more recess, and more "specials"--arts, music, science, etc.; those are definitely advantages of private, but the only advantages I see so far. Private did not give us better teachers or a better curriculum. Granted, it's too early to tell how much testing will be an issue, and we have only been in MCPS since September so take this with a grain of salt, but so far, I have to say, I question why we spent so much money on private school tuition up until now.

We did the same this year for HS and it has been wonderful. We also wonder if we should have switched earlier.

[Anonymous]

14:57 and 23:40, do you think you might have felt differently had your children been in some MCPS schools for the early grades? 20-30 minutes of recess once a day and very long blocks of time doing worksheets aren't conducive to helping children love school. Your children have adjusted well to the change, but isn't it possible that part of the reason is that they're older now and had a more developmentally appropriate early school experience at a private school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hey OP, Are you from Wellesley, Newton, Dover or Sherborn? Must be nice. They are like quaint little versions of Bethesda (much quainter) but hardly your typical New England town. I grew up in a far more middle class town in Massachusetts and I can tell you that MCPS offers far more than most small New England towns.

No, but am from a suburb west of Boston. I'm not comfortable naming it.

I'm not comparing MCPS to small New England towns as that would be an apples-to-oranges comparison. I'm comparing a larger, populated town, which is about as close a comparison as you can get (given the town system versus the county system difference).

I would compare a small Maryland town to a small New England town, however, and am guessing the results would be comparable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:14:57 and 23:40, do you think you might have felt differently had your children been in some MCPS schools for the early grades? 20-30 minutes of recess once a day and very long blocks of time doing worksheets aren't conducive to helping children love school. Your children have adjusted well to the change, but isn't it possible that part of the reason is that they're older now and had a more developmentally appropriate early school experience at a private school?

23:40 here. Hard to know what it would have been like but I do think my kids got an excellent foundation in private school. That being said the kids who came through MCPS all the way through also seem to be smart, motivated, well prepared, etc. Plus they are ahead in math.

[Anonymous]

Also did private then MCPS for early elementary grades. I agree w/a PP, other things private had over our public was the extra days of specials (but my dc can take those after school or weekends for far less cost) a few less kids in the class, and beauitful grounds. But for us, MCPS offered a stronger, more structured and planned academic curriculum. This worked better for our dc and for us. Our family has looked outside of the metro area for possible relocation more than once. We stay put because we feel MCPS (and Howard Co, Fairfax) offer top education. OP, you do see what's going on in PG and DC? Well, that I would say is very common throughout the US. We feel fortunate anyway.