MoCo parents - Am I kidding myself?

[Anonymous]

They differentiate at my kid's school as well --- for math, reading, and spelling. Kids were assessed at the beginning of the year and organized into groups. And, the teachers made the comment a number of times during back to school night as well as in the letters sent home related to the assessments and groupings that kids will be monitored closely and pushed up into a higher group if necessary. Trust me, they aren't grouping super smart kids with kids who can't speak English --- or even kids who aren't reading on a high level. They break everyone into groups and push the kids hard to achieve and accelerate. This is MCPS people -- they aren't going to let kids languish -- they are going to challenge them.

[Anonymous]

I don't have personal experience with MCPS yet, kids are in Montessori, but when I went to the Takoma Park Elementary Magnet open house, I would say there was a cafeteria full of people that didn't feel their kids had been challenged to the extent they should have been or else they wouldn't have been going thru applying to the magnet school. It was funny because when the head of the school/program said, don't worry even if you don't get into the magnet, your home school school should challenge the kids etc., people were like who again do you contact if you have spoken to the teacher and principal and that still isn't the case. Now granted, these were all kids in kindergarten that were applying to first - and if a child came in reading and with a certain amount of math skill in K, the focus may not be on keeping them ahead of the curve but rather getting everyone up to the target levels. Some people say they differentiate in K, but when I went to a tour at my local school they said that 1st grade is when they really did the big reading and math groupings.

So anyway, I can't speak for grades 3-5, but I have heard complaints from parents in the K-2 range with the kids not being challenged enough - though sometimes it could be that they happen to draw a teacher that either wasn't that strong or wasn't the best fit for their child - unfortunately that happens. I think a lot of what it comes down to the leadership of the Principal of the school. In general, if people feel like the Principal is a good leader and can handle the issues that come up, even if someone isn't 100% thrilled with the education their child received, the issues then tend to be more about the MCPS curriculum than the specific school.

[Anonymous]

If you are looking for equitable distribution of resources then your best bet will be the red zone. They have more teachers/student more support, more dollars/student, more afterschool activities and enrichment, homework and tutoring help. You will not find these things in the green zone where the children are expected to do well even if they have to learn in a closet.

[Anonymous]

haven't read through all of the posts but . . .

The CAP program at Blair is only open to those in the feeder patterns.

Some are limited b/c of funding and space.

And although students outside of some of the magnet feeders can apply (Loiderman, Parkland and Argyle, for example), first choice goes to those in the feeder schools.

So it's not that easy to get in, especially when schools are asked to balance out candidates by race, gender and FARMS.

Anonymous wrote:This is completely wrong, 14:14.

Any resident of MoCo is eligible to get in to the magnet program. They were telling you a fib or were misinformed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:haven't read through all of the posts but . . .

The CAP program at Blair is only open to those in the feeder patterns.

Some are limited b/c of funding and space.

And although students outside of some of the magnet feeders can apply (Loiderman, Parkland and Argyle, for example), first choice goes to those in the feeder schools.

So it's not that easy to get in, especially when schools are asked to balance out candidates by race, gender and FARMS.
misinformed.

I'm 9/29 19:19, and I posted that my kid got into a magnet from private school. Specifically, that magnet was the CAP program. So I don't think you have to have gone to a feeder school. Also, many of DC's friends in CAP didn't go to either the Eastern or Takoma middle school magnets.

(OK, CAP isn't officially a "magnet" however it's one of three HS test-in programs. I've heard c various reasons why it isn't called "magnet" - Blair can only have one magnet, obligations to provide busses.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They differentiate at my kid's school as well --- for math, reading, and spelling. Kids were assessed at the beginning of the year and organized into groups. And, the teachers made the comment a number of times during back to school night as well as in the letters sent home related to the assessments and groupings that kids will be monitored closely and pushed up into a higher group if necessary. Trust me, they aren't grouping super smart kids with kids who can't speak English --- or even kids who aren't reading on a high level. They break everyone into groups and push the kids hard to achieve and accelerate. This is MCPS people -- they aren't going to let kids languish -- they are going to challenge them.

This is not universally true, so be careful when you generalize. At our MCPS elementary school, which is in the RM cluster, they do group the children for guided reading groups; HOWEVER, our experience is that the majority of the time spent in the language arts block is used for the "whole group" instruction. After whole group (which is a heterogeneous class made up of many different levels) the children go to "centers" while the teacher meets with the guided reading groups. Our experience has been that the teacher is mandated to meet with the "at risk" or lower level groups daily. Our child's reading group, which is the highest level, meets with the teacher only once a week. There have been times when his group has gone two weeks without meeting at all. So, for the majority of the time spent in the language arts block, the children are in a heterogeneous classroom with all different levels. We've spoken to the administration about our concerns, but have been told that this is "Montgomery County Policy". I'll tell you straight up that our child has NOT been challenged to date in our MCPS school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: This is not universally true, so be careful when you generalize. At our MCPS elementary school, which is in the RM cluster, they do group the children for guided reading groups; HOWEVER, our experience is that the majority of the time spent in the language arts block is used for the "whole group" instruction. After whole group (which is a heterogeneous class made up of many different levels) the children go to "centers" while the teacher meets with the guided reading groups. Our experience has been that the teacher is mandated to meet with the "at risk" or lower level groups daily. Our child's reading group, which is the highest level, meets with the teacher only once a week. There have been times when his group has gone two weeks without meeting at all. So, for the majority of the time spent in the language arts block, the children are in a heterogeneous classroom with all different levels. We've spoken to the administration about our concerns, but have been told that this is "Montgomery County Policy". I'll tell you straight up that our child has NOT been challenged to date in our MCPS school.

What grade? And is this in the "red zone" or "green zone"? (Not that I really understand what that means yet, but I'll look it up.)

[Anonymous]

Our school has the same system..whole group instruction followed by smaller groups. I don't have a problem with that. Whole group instruction is usually applicable to kids at all levels. For example, while volunteering in 1st grade I would see the teacher review text features like tables of contents, captions, bold print to the whole group. Then the kids would do an exercise based on the lesson. Skilled readers would have more challenging books than the beginning readers but everyone worked on the concepts. Two weeks is a long gap for a reading group..but onve the kids are pretty fluent readers the small group time is much less important.

[Anonymous]

I live in Silver Spring, and my kids aren't school-age yet, so reading all these posts about the general quality of the downcounty schools is very encouraging!!

OP, I grew up in DC and attended DCPS and think I got a pretty decent education, but when it came time to buy a house, I just couldn't imagine voluntarily enrolling my children in the DCPS in the DC neighborhoods we could afford when for the same price we could afford a house in downcounty MoCo. I don't know how much better the actual education they will get is - but what I do expect from MCPS is better resources and administration. Right now, I'm really glad I don't have to worry about the future of the school system just because the superintendent is leaving - I feel confident that MoCo will choose another superintendent with minimum drama and strife and the system will presumably keep chugging along. Not so in DC. I know dealing DCPS wore my parents out by the time we were finished with the school system. However, I do think you really have to consider MoCo on a nieghborhood-by-neighborhood basis. Especially downcounty, there are schools where the scores just made me a little too uncomfortable to send my kids there. If diversity isn't as important to you and you can afford it, you're going to get better schools (at least on paper) in the western part of the county.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: This is not universally true, so be careful when you generalize. At our MCPS elementary school, which is in the RM cluster, they do group the children for guided reading groups; HOWEVER, our experience is that the majority of the time spent in the language arts block is used for the "whole group" instruction. After whole group (which is a heterogeneous class made up of many different levels) the children go to "centers" while the teacher meets with the guided reading groups. Our experience has been that the teacher is mandated to meet with the "at risk" or lower level groups daily. Our child's reading group, which is the highest level, meets with the teacher only once a week. There have been times when his group has gone two weeks without meeting at all. So, for the majority of the time spent in the language arts block, the children are in a heterogeneous classroom with all different levels. We've spoken to the administration about our concerns, but have been told that this is "Montgomery County Policy". I'll tell you straight up that our child has NOT been challenged to date in our MCPS school.

What grade? And is this in the "red zone" or "green zone"? (Not that I really understand what that means yet, but I'll look it up.)

Our experiences are in K and 1st ... still holding out hope for 2nd.
Re: red/green zones. To be honest, I don't know. My understanding is that for socio-economic reasons, the red zone schools have smaller class sizes and get more resources? If that is correct, than I suspect that because we are in Potomac, that we are in the green zone - but I could be wrong.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks everyone for the comments. I'm glad to hear that some are happy with their downcounty and Takoma Park schools, since that is probably where we will end up looking. And thanks for the "red zone" and "green zone" education. I had no idea!

Diversity is important to us and is one of the reasons we like living in this area.

[Anonymous]

FWIW, in the elementary schools that feed into Sherwood HS (in Olney and Brookeville) they begin differentiating in Kindergarten. In K, they grouped the kids into 2 different math levels --- on grade level (K) and 1st grade math --- and two of the 4 K teachers taught math on grade level while the other 2 taught the 1st grade level. Kids were divided into groups for reading skills as well. In 1st grade, the kids are grouped by level/skill for reading, math and spelling (ie: kids get different spelling lists each week based on ability; kids go to a separate math class that is either on level or the grade above (and the super smarties get even more challenging work). FWIW, I have friends and relatives who are teachers in MCPS and I've heard tons of comments from them about how many Type A yuppie parents feel their kids are special/gifted and aren't being challenged sufficiently --- but the reality is that they are. Teachers will tell you that it is particularly important to build a strong foundation for kids --- even the brightest kids --- in K-2. So even if your kid came into K knowing how to add 1 plus 2, that doesn't mean your kid can do the word story problems or the geometry or algebra (I'm not kidding -- they teach these concepts in MCPS beginning in K if your kid is doing the 1st grade math curriculum). There's absolutely no incentive for a teacher not to push a kid and challenge him. And MCPS teachers are trained to teach concepts using different strategies for different ability levels to reach the smartest kids as well as the ones who are struggling.

[Anonymous]

Hi OP: I'm curious after reading this thread about your reasons for leaving the district--have you not tried the charter or OOB lottery system? Or have you tried it and it didn't work out. I find a lot of the anxiety over schools in DC does not live up to the hype. Most well educated people I know are able to navigate the system pretty well and have kids that are receiving a good education after working the dual system of charters and good DCPS options...

[Anonymous]

Here is my question to you - Do you LIVE in the feeder area?

You said your child came from a private. If I live w/in Eastern's boundaries but send my daughter to the Catholic school down the road, she is still w/in area. So if her scores are high enough and her grades reflect her level of knowledge, she most likely has a chance of entering the CAP program.

See this link - http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/downcounty/
* Communication Arts Program (CAP)
Open to all students in the DCC (downcounty consortium)

Students with feeder patterns into Blair, Northwood, Einstein, Wheaton, and Kennedy can apply - NOT just Blair.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:haven't read through all of the posts but . . .

The CAP program at Blair is only open to those in the feeder patterns.

Some are limited b/c of funding and space.

And although students outside of some of the magnet feeders can apply (Loiderman, Parkland and Argyle, for example), first choice goes to those in the feeder schools.

So it's not that easy to get in, especially when schools are asked to balance out candidates by race, gender and FARMS.
misinformed.

I'm 9/29 19:19, and I posted that my kid got into a magnet from private school. Specifically, that magnet was the CAP program. So I don't think you have to have gone to a feeder school. Also, many of DC's friends in CAP didn't go to either the Eastern or Takoma middle school magnets.

(OK, CAP isn't officially a "magnet" however it's one of three HS test-in programs. I've heard c various reasons why it isn't called "magnet" - Blair can only have one magnet, obligations to provide busses.)

[Anonymous]

Hi 13:32. OP here. I would consider myself and DH “educated” and DC did just get into a good charter. But, I still want to move for several reasons:
1) DC’s charter is not near our home and it is not a great commute. Getting him there and picked up every day is a source of stress. Not really looking forward to doing that for 6 or 7 years. I grew up in the suburbs and like the idea of a “neighborhood” school that’s close to home.

2) The thought of having to do the lottery all over again for my youngest in March makes me nauseous. There is a chance that my 2nd won't get in to the same school (there were sibs on the waitlist this year), so I have to go visit open houses again this fall to identify more "back-up" schools. DH and I would then have to deal with getting two kids to two different schools with possibly two horrible commutes. More stress. And that’s just elementary school. The middle school choices are even slimmer and many even start pulling their kids from public after 2nd or 3rd grade. Most who can afford it go private for high school, if they haven’t already after 3rd grade. Maybe I’m wrong, but I don’t recall hearing many MoCo parents stress about getting their kid into a decent school two or three times.

3) With most of the charters, it seems (to me anyway) that you have to make some concession. No playground, no lunch room/auditorium/gym, no library, no green space… in most charters I saw, something that you get at most MCPS (and even DCPS) schools is missing because they’ve had to make do with spaces they can find. Obviously, I’d choose a good education over a playground, but should I have to choose?

4) And the idea that my zip code determines the quality of the education my kid is entitled to infuriates me. I don't live in a poor neighborhood, but it's not one in the sought after "JKLMM" school areas that you hear DC folks talk about. I welcome diversity and don’t insist that my kid be able to attend the school with the best test scores. However, I pay a great deal in taxes too and feel my children are just as worthy of the opportunity for a good education as the JKLMM kids. The fact that some of my neighbors can’t afford to pay $500 - $1000 per kid in PTA contributions to supplement what DCPS offers shouldn’t change that. (I would expect that a private school where you pay big money would have “perks”, but not a public school in a city where some schools need basics. It just doesn’t seem right.)

5) I just like MoCo better. It seems to me like they have better schools overall, more diversity within schools and more activities for kids that are accessible to most. (Another annoying thing to me about DC is that many of the organized activities for young kids– city sponsored and private – seem to be in those JKLMM areas, like the rest of us don’t want our kids in soccer, or mommy-and-me classes?)