Silver Spring schools- are they bad?

[Anonymous]

Which schools are you talking about?

[Anonymous]

Wheaton and Kennedy HSs. Argyle MS.

FWIW, the County Council admitted that the 20906 zip code has the largest concentration of low-income housing in the county -- and the attendent crime problems.

RE the schools: I'm sure there are tons of great kids at these schools and that it is possible to get a great education at these schools -- but the OP seemed to be looking for guidance as to the good areas/schools in Silver Spring -- and these certainly aren't on the top of the list.

FWIW, I met a few military families from out of state who didn't research the schools before winding up in these districts. Unfortunately they signed multiple year rental agreements and were stuck here until they could leave. Housing in this part of the county is affordable -- there are nice homes and everything seems grand when you drive through or go to open houses -- but you can't really get a feel for what you'll end up dealing with unless you experience it firsthand. If you lived in this area you would know what I'm talking about. If you don't, then read the Wheaton/Glenmont police reports for the district.

Again: read my previous posts to understand where I'm coming from: when we bought our home 6 years ago the demographics were sort of on the fence -- but declined rapidly -- hello tipping point. Crime was really bad when we moved several months ago, and now it's even worse (according to friends and family who still live in the area and can't sell their homes now -- and the Gazette and police reports).

And again: I'm sure there are parts of Silver Spring that are great -- just not this particular area.

[Anonymous]

The posts about 20906 are correct. This is not a racial issue, it's an economic one. To state the obvious, there are many attendant problems with poverty. Schools with high suspension rates, whatever their racial makeup, are probably not going to be the best environment in which to focus on learning. And it is tragic for the kids at those schools who do not want to get caught up in gang activity and are focused on academics but whose families are limited to those areas because of economics. Makes it very hard to get ahead and get out.

[Anonymous]

What about Sligo MS and Einstein High School? Same deal?

[Anonymous]

I am a person of color, and I appreciate the honesty about the 20906 district. Let's not kid ourselves - certain areas of MoCo are changing and not for the better.

[Anonymous]

Also want to ring in support for the 20906 poster. It doesn't help us to be so PC we can't discuss problems. I went to school with a number of thugs from bad homes of all races-- in elementary school they were not dangerous, but by middle school they were. It's not offensive to say it. Little kids are sweet, even those who will eventually turn to a life of crime and violence.

[Anonymous]

It was the way that the post was phrased.

[Anonymous]

PLEASE UNDERSTAND THAT IT THE PROBLEM WITH THE POST IS THAT IT EQUATED DIVERSITY WITH CRIMINAL BEHAVIOUR - 'DIVERSITY IS FINE IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, BUT ONCE YOU GET TO HIGH SCHOOL WATCH OUT'.
ONCE AGAIN I SAY THAT I TOO AM REALISTIC ABOUT CRIME, AND EDUCATIONAL STATISTICS, AND DECLINING HOME VALUES -- WHAT I HAVE A PROBLEM WITH IS EQUATING IT WITH A PARTICULAR GROUP.
But to bring the issue of diversity into the mix is off-base...that was my point...

[Anonymous]

FYI, from a gang assessment report for Montgomery County:

“MCPS School Clusters: The top active gangs are present in every school cluster with the
exception of Poolesville, Sherwood and Whitman. The highest risk areas are concentrated in
Gaithersburg, Johnson, Wheaton, Kennedy, Einstein and Blair.” (Note: this report is a little dated – 2004 – so I imagine all schools in the county have some gang activity at this point – although some schools obviously have more problems than others.)

Another report I came across stated that the Silver Spring/Wheaton area has the highest concentration of gang activity and gang-related crime. The report noted the Randolph Road/Georgia Avenue area (the heart of 20906 – a stone’s throw from both Kennedy and Wheaton HSs) as being plagued by gangs – noting representation from essentially every major gang in the area.

Granted, gang members come in all sizes, shapes and colors. FYI, there has been an Asian gang in this area (and at Kennedy HS) since my high school days. My sister’s friend who went to Kennedy told us about how Asian gangs of teens run by older youth and young adults would target successful Asian families with their own businesses to rob them at their homes. Sound familiar? There was a recent spate of such activity that made it into the papers – although it has been going on for years (and in this part of the county in particular).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: "While diversity is great, some schools are so diverse that they have upwards of 90% or more minorities -- some schools in the 20906 area are nearly 100% hispanic -- which is fine in the elementary level but then watch out when you get to MS and HS (read the Gazette and the local crime reports and you'll know what I mean -- the gang problems and random violence, muggings, etc are real and not imagined). Many neighborhoods in SS are -- according to our realtor, the person who appraised our home, etc. -- "in decline."


=========================================================================================================
Please don't let me be the only person who is sickened by these comments. As a person of color married to a person of color..raising children of color -- the idea that my kids are ok (we are actually african american and not hispanic) until they get to high school is appalling. Last I looked ethnicity and genetics did not determine criminal behaviour. No one wants to live in a high crime area...and i'm sure there a lot of latino/hispanic people living in high crime areas WHO ARE NOT CRIMINALs...but maybe they can't afford to move...but just because some criminals look a certain way doesn't mean everyone from that same ethnic/racial bkgrnd is a criminal... If that is the case...should i be worried that in high school the white kids inmy kids' school will turn into serial killers or should i stay away from all investment advisors who look like bernard madoff -- or not buy products from companies headed by guys who look like the white men who've put the u.s. auto industry in the toilet?
Sound just as ludicrous as the original poster's statements?
Let's all try to expand our minds beyond what may be our own narrow existence.
At 42 -- it saddens me that my 4 year old still has to deal with this kind of ignorance -- the thought that she's ok til she hits a certain age -- then look out!
My family wants the same thing yours does STARTING WITH RESPECT!

13:27 is probably the person who often posts of her flight from diverse, poor Silver Spring to the haven of Olney/Brookeville, which she assures us is chock full of diversity. BTW, if her Realtor really said many Silver Spring neighborhoods are "in decline," she was not only wrong but unwise, if not unethical.

FWIW, OP, the PP who said all MoCo public schools have the same curriculum is technically correct. What differs is the implementation of the curriculum. So at a high school in the green zone, AP American history students will be doing some engaging project that develops critical thinking skills. At a red zone high school, students in the same AP history class will be doing worksheets to prep them for the AP exam. Who's getting the better education? Principals also have a great deal of leeway in deciding what path their school will take, and some principals choose more of a social engineering route than others. Bottom line, OP, is to use the tools PPs have given you to carefully evaluate individual schools. Not all Silver Spring schools are the same, by any means. But most won't compare favorably to the richest green zone schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: "While diversity is great, some schools are so diverse that they have upwards of 90% or more minorities -- some schools in the 20906 area are nearly 100% hispanic -- which is fine in the elementary level but then watch out when you get to MS and HS (read the Gazette and the local crime reports and you'll know what I mean -- the gang problems and random violence, muggings, etc are real and not imagined). Many neighborhoods in SS are -- according to our realtor, the person who appraised our home, etc. -- "in decline."


=========================================================================================================
Please don't let me be the only person who is sickened by these comments. As a person of color married to a person of color..raising children of color -- the idea that my kids are ok (we are actually african american and not hispanic) until they get to high school is appalling. Last I looked ethnicity and genetics did not determine criminal behaviour. No one wants to live in a high crime area...and i'm sure there a lot of latino/hispanic people living in high crime areas WHO ARE NOT CRIMINALs...but maybe they can't afford to move...but just because some criminals look a certain way doesn't mean everyone from that same ethnic/racial bkgrnd is a criminal... If that is the case...should i be worried that in high school the white kids inmy kids' school will turn into serial killers or should i stay away from all investment advisors who look like bernard madoff -- or not buy products from companies headed by guys who look like the white men who've put the u.s. auto industry in the toilet?
Sound just as ludicrous as the original poster's statements?
Let's all try to expand our minds beyond what may be our own narrow existence.
At 42 -- it saddens me that my 4 year old still has to deal with this kind of ignorance -- the thought that she's ok til she hits a certain age -- then look out!
My family wants the same thing yours does STARTING WITH RESPECT!

13:27 is probably the person who often posts of her flight from diverse, poor Silver Spring to the haven of Olney/Brookeville, which she assures us is chock full of diversity. BTW, if her Realtor really said many Silver Spring neighborhoods are "in decline," she was not only wrong but unwise, if not unethical.

FWIW, OP, the PP who said all MoCo public schools have the same curriculum is technically correct. What differs is the implementation of the curriculum. So at a high school in the green zone, AP American history students will be doing some engaging project that develops critical thinking skills. At a red zone high school, students in the same AP history class will be doing worksheets to prep them for the AP exam. Who's getting the better education? Principals also have a great deal of leeway in deciding what path their school will take, and some principals choose more of a social engineering route than others. Bottom line, OP, is to use the tools PPs have given you to carefully evaluate individual schools. Not all Silver Spring schools are the same, by any means. But most won't compare favorably to the richest green zone schools.

PP, are you an educator?

[Anonymous]

What about at the elementary school level? Are there green and red schools? How does one find out?

[Anonymous]

"Declining market" is a technical label that Fannie Mae and other lenders used in 2008 during the beginning of the housing market crash. Many parts of Silver Spring were labelled by lenders and appraisers as declining areas -- which made it tough for sellers and buyers to get valid appraisals as well as mortgages. So, the realtor was being honest by advising us of the problems we would encounter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: "While diversity is great, some schools are so diverse that they have upwards of 90% or more minorities -- some schools in the 20906 area are nearly 100% hispanic -- which is fine in the elementary level but then watch out when you get to MS and HS (read the Gazette and the local crime reports and you'll know what I mean -- the gang problems and random violence, muggings, etc are real and not imagined). Many neighborhoods in SS are -- according to our realtor, the person who appraised our home, etc. -- "in decline."


=========================================================================================================
Please don't let me be the only person who is sickened by these comments. As a person of color married to a person of color..raising children of color -- the idea that my kids are ok (we are actually african american and not hispanic) until they get to high school is appalling. Last I looked ethnicity and genetics did not determine criminal behaviour. No one wants to live in a high crime area...and i'm sure there a lot of latino/hispanic people living in high crime areas WHO ARE NOT CRIMINALs...but maybe they can't afford to move...but just because some criminals look a certain way doesn't mean everyone from that same ethnic/racial bkgrnd is a criminal... If that is the case...should i be worried that in high school the white kids inmy kids' school will turn into serial killers or should i stay away from all investment advisors who look like bernard madoff -- or not buy products from companies headed by guys who look like the white men who've put the u.s. auto industry in the toilet?
Sound just as ludicrous as the original poster's statements?
Let's all try to expand our minds beyond what may be our own narrow existence.
At 42 -- it saddens me that my 4 year old still has to deal with this kind of ignorance -- the thought that she's ok til she hits a certain age -- then look out!
My family wants the same thing yours does STARTING WITH RESPECT!

13:27 is probably the person who often posts of her flight from diverse, poor Silver Spring to the haven of Olney/Brookeville, which she assures us is chock full of diversity. BTW, if her Realtor really said many Silver Spring neighborhoods are "in decline," she was not only wrong but unwise, if not unethical.

FWIW, OP, the PP who said all MoCo public schools have the same curriculum is technically correct. What differs is the implementation of the curriculum. So at a high school in the green zone, AP American history students will be doing some engaging project that develops critical thinking skills. At a red zone high school, students in the same AP history class will be doing worksheets to prep them for the AP exam. Who's getting the better education? Principals also have a great deal of leeway in deciding what path their school will take, and some principals choose more of a social engineering route than others. Bottom line, OP, is to use the tools PPs have given you to carefully evaluate individual schools. Not all Silver Spring schools are the same, by any means. But most won't compare favorably to the richest green zone schools.

PP, are you an educator?

Yes, though not the kind you probably mean; I'm a professor. The Post's Jay Matthews hinted at this recently (see last week's MoCo extra) and talking to teachers confirmed it for me. Also check out the MoCo GTA Letters group on Yahoo for some real eye-openers.

To the PP who asked about red vs. green zones, it's not an "official" MoCo designation but they do use it. I've seen a map with the zones marked on it, but it's hard to read. I imagine it's pretty much what you'd expect, though. High FARMS and LEP populations characterize the red zone schools. Again, check out the Yahoo groups GTA Letters group. It's quite interesting.

[Anonymous]

"I imagine it's pretty much what you'd expect, though. High FARMS and LEP populations characterize the red zone schools."

This is sums up the PP's less PC comments in a more palatable way. Ultimately, it's the same message.