COSA for overcrowding?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is a legitimate COSA? I am curious.

You can apply for a COSA and get one for various reasons in MoCo. Kid has a sibling at an HGC, so you want them to go to the same school. Or you have legitimate child care or work issues that require a change of school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is a legitimate COSA? I am curious.

You can apply for a COSA and get one for various reasons in MoCo. Kid has a sibling at an HGC, so you want them to go to the same school. Or you have legitimate child care or work issues that require a change of school.

YOU chose to send your child to an HGC. That is not a legit COSA. Your other kids can go to your local school on their local bus.

Childcare? Every school has a childcare option after school. Even if not on campus, they have kindercare, karate buses etc...

I mean an actual hardship for COSA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is a legitimate COSA? I am curious.

You can apply for a COSA and get one for various reasons in MoCo. Kid has a sibling at an HGC, so you want them to go to the same school. Or you have legitimate child care or work issues that require a change of school.

YOU chose to send your child to an HGC. That is not a legit COSA. Your other kids can go to your local school on their local bus.

Childcare? Every school has a childcare option after school. Even if not on campus, they have kindercare, karate buses etc...

I mean an actual hardship for COSA.

PP here. Don't get upset at me! My kid's not even at an HGC; we go to the home ES that we're zoned for.

But, MCPS does give out COSAs for kids who have siblings at an HGC. There are two in my DD's current 2nd grade class (that we know of, maybe more?).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is a legitimate COSA? I am curious.

You can apply for a COSA and get one for various reasons in MoCo. Kid has a sibling at an HGC, so you want them to go to the same school. Or you have legitimate child care or work issues that require a change of school.

YOU chose to send your child to an HGC. That is not a legit COSA. Your other kids can go to your local school on their local bus.

Childcare? Every school has a childcare option after school. Even if not on campus, they have kindercare, karate buses etc...

I mean an actual hardship for COSA.

PP here. Don't get upset at me! My kid's not even at an HGC; we go to the home ES that we're zoned for.

But, MCPS does give out COSAs for kids who have siblings at an HGC. There are two in my DD's current 2nd grade class (that we know of, maybe more?).

Sorry, I didn't cap "you" to actually mean you. I just think that 90% of COSA's are ridiculous and I can't believe how many they allow, especially for their stupid programs where kids get bussed all over. Are their siblings allowed to take the bus too. That just seems insane to me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is a legitimate COSA? I am curious.

You can apply for a COSA and get one for various reasons in MoCo. Kid has a sibling at an HGC, so you want them to go to the same school. Or you have legitimate child care or work issues that require a change of school.

YOU chose to send your child to an HGC. That is not a legit COSA. Your other kids can go to your local school on their local bus.

Childcare? Every school has a childcare option after school. Even if not on campus, they have kindercare, karate buses etc...

I mean an actual hardship for COSA.

PP here. Don't get upset at me! My kid's not even at an HGC; we go to the home ES that we're zoned for.

But, MCPS does give out COSAs for kids who have siblings at an HGC. There are two in my DD's current 2nd grade class (that we know of, maybe more?).

Sorry, I didn't cap "you" to actually mean you. I just think that 90% of COSA's are ridiculous and I can't believe how many they allow, especially for their stupid programs where kids get bussed all over. Are their siblings allowed to take the bus too. That just seems insane to me.

Yes, siblings are allowed to take the bus if you get a COSA

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is a legitimate COSA? I am curious.

You can apply for a COSA and get one for various reasons in MoCo. Kid has a sibling at an HGC, so you want them to go to the same school. Or you have legitimate child care or work issues that require a change of school.

YOU chose to send your child to an HGC. That is not a legit COSA. Your other kids can go to your local school on their local bus.

Childcare? Every school has a childcare option after school. Even if not on campus, they have kindercare, karate buses etc...

I mean an actual hardship for COSA.

PP here. Don't get upset at me! My kid's not even at an HGC; we go to the home ES that we're zoned for.

But, MCPS does give out COSAs for kids who have siblings at an HGC. There are two in my DD's current 2nd grade class (that we know of, maybe more?).

They actually stopped that practice, as of this past year. You have to prove an additional hardship other than the typical situation of having two children in different schools. Any new HGC parents applying for it for the first time were denied.

Hardship COSAs are intentionally vague. There is no hard and fast "this is accepted." I posted earlier about having colleagues that work in the office. Fraudulently filling out a shared housing form is not a COSA--that's for people who know their COSA application would never be approved. Most hardship COSAs are cases specific to the family, and the limited options available to that family.

Some examples that might be approved:
Parent is deployed, other parent works off hours and cannot get to daycare before it closes. A COSA might be granted for a caregiver's home school. (might) Hardship is that the parent would have to change jobs/careers.

Parents are divorced, non-primary custody parent uses public transportation and could not get child to other parent's home school. COSA might be granted for child to attend that parent's home school, rather than the one one of primary custodial parent. Hardship is that parent would lose custody time with child.

Child is placed in foster care. COSA may be granted for child to continue attending home school rather the school assigned to foster parents' address. Hardship would be lack of consistency for an already vulnerable child.

Single parent works retail hours and uses public transportation. Doesn't have a work schedule that guarantees parent's ability to pick up at daycare before it closes. Maybe an additional hardship that the parent needs a daycare voucher and is therefore limited in daycare choices. A relative has offered to provide all-hours childcare but doesn't drive. COSA might be granted for the relative's home school. Hardship would be parent would have to quit job and has limited options for new one.

A child with special needs attends one school for a specific special ed program. The parents have limited transportation options. The siblings of that student might be granted a COSA to attend the school with the program.

Those are just some examples, but again, there are usually specific to the person applying. Being inconvenienced by attending the home school is not a hardship. The home school not being up to your standard is not a hardship. It being easier to attend a different school is not a hardship. The receiving principal generally has to sign off on the COSA as well. Seriously, none of you believe me, but there are many many applications for COSAs every year, and the vast majority (like 90%) are denied. After that, parents can go through a lengthy appeal process that involves working with a hearing officer who contacts anyone involved, including employers, child care providers, both schools, etc. Their job is to prove the parents wrong, and they are usually successful in doing that. After the appeal is denied, in order to get the COSA, the parent must go before the school board and state the case. They don't give them out like candy, like everyone seems to think. And in the past 2-3 years, the restrictions have tightened considerably.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yet another reason to aim for the better W's, people with money have less reasons to pretend to get over on the system. Of course the system is set up to help them but why not take the help if you qualify?

But don't people try to get COSAs or do 'shared housing' for those better ESs? I would think people want to get their kids into those schools. We're in the RM cluster and there are quite a few 'shared housing' arrangements at our ES. It's a good school but not like Somersat, lol.

There are quite a few people who do this to get their kids into all types of schools, how are the W schools immune to this issue?

Yes but most of the people who would try stuff like this aren't the type who have friends that could afford to live in the some of the better W zones. And even if they did get in they would stick out like a sore thumb, an ESOL kid from Langley park would blend in to a next door Takoma Park school but that same kid at Bannockburn might be the only poor Latino immigrant in the entire school making harder to fake. The biggest problem the W schools have is when the parents live in the Ws and their kids use their address.

You are at much higher risk when like as the OP states,you live near a marginal area and people find ways in. Look at Westbrook in Bethesda, it is surrounded by Somerset, Woodacres, Janney, none of those kid's parents would bother to cheat to get into a school that wouldn't have their local friends that at best is just as good and some hapless parent else where doesn't even know about it because these have never really been in that part of the city.

Where I grew up and attended Piney Branch Elementary, I went to birthday parties in PG and DC while they claimed an Aunt or what not on Maple Ave in a small apt. That is the problem with the RM cluster is it really is the edge with low income areas all around it. Where as there are areas closer in and in the west that are surrounded by affluence for miles in every direction, they are simply sheltered from many of these types of problems save for the occasional maid's kid using an employers address.

THIS IS STILL FRAUD. It's not better because it's a grandparent's house instead of a tia's house.

Again, this happens all the time, even in the non-W clusters. People use a grandparent's address to gain access to a different ES.

But, interesting take on ESs that are surrounded by wealthier areas, versus more middle-class areas that are surrounded by mixed income areas.

as a side note the edge areas leave they selves vulnerable to this by the down right bigoted zones that are often drawn for them. They intentional clump the middle class areas in one school and right next door the clump all the low & mixed income housing to a different one causing a disparity where one side gets shafted and look for ways around it. If they just drew boundaries that were diverse, people would be dis-incentivized from cheating.

I personally couldn't imagine putting a child through having to lie about where they live for their entire school life. That is the real crime.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yet another reason to aim for the better W's, people with money have less reasons to pretend to get over on the system. Of course the system is set up to help them but why not take the help if you qualify?

But don't people try to get COSAs or do 'shared housing' for those better ESs? I would think people want to get their kids into those schools. We're in the RM cluster and there are quite a few 'shared housing' arrangements at our ES. It's a good school but not like Somersat, lol.

There are quite a few people who do this to get their kids into all types of schools, how are the W schools immune to this issue?

Yes but most of the people who would try stuff like this aren't the type who have friends that could afford to live in the some of the better W zones. And even if they did get in they would stick out like a sore thumb, an ESOL kid from Langley park would blend in to a next door Takoma Park school but that same kid at Bannockburn might be the only poor Latino immigrant in the entire school making harder to fake. The biggest problem the W schools have is when the parents live in the Ws and their kids use their address.

You are at much higher risk when like as the OP states,you live near a marginal area and people find ways in. Look at Westbrook in Bethesda, it is surrounded by Somerset, Woodacres, Janney, none of those kid's parents would bother to cheat to get into a school that wouldn't have their local friends that at best is just as good and some hapless parent else where doesn't even know about it because these have never really been in that part of the city.

Where I grew up and attended Piney Branch Elementary, I went to birthday parties in PG and DC while they claimed an Aunt or what not on Maple Ave in a small apt. That is the problem with the RM cluster is it really is the edge with low income areas all around it. Where as there are areas closer in and in the west that are surrounded by affluence for miles in every direction, they are simply sheltered from many of these types of problems save for the occasional maid's kid using an employers address.

You are so wrong.

[Anonymous]

RM is is surrounded by low income? Yes it is a diverse area but I don't think the folks in the Wootten Cluster (just south) and QO Cluster just west would like your description. Rockville HS to the east has some great neighborhoods too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
They actually stopped that practice, as of this past year. You have to prove an additional hardship other than the typical situation of having two children in different schools. Any new HGC parents applying for it for the first time were denied.

Hardship COSAs are intentionally vague. There is no hard and fast "this is accepted." I posted earlier about having colleagues that work in the office. Fraudulently filling out a shared housing form is not a COSA--that's for people who know their COSA application would never be approved. Most hardship COSAs are cases specific to the family, and the limited options available to that family.

Some examples that might be approved:
Parent is deployed, other parent works off hours and cannot get to daycare before it closes. A COSA might be granted for a caregiver's home school. (might) Hardship is that the parent would have to change jobs/careers.

Parents are divorced, non-primary custody parent uses public transportation and could not get child to other parent's home school. COSA might be granted for child to attend that parent's home school, rather than the one one of primary custodial parent. Hardship is that parent would lose custody time with child.

Child is placed in foster care. COSA may be granted for child to continue attending home school rather the school assigned to foster parents' address. Hardship would be lack of consistency for an already vulnerable child.

Single parent works retail hours and uses public transportation. Doesn't have a work schedule that guarantees parent's ability to pick up at daycare before it closes. Maybe an additional hardship that the parent needs a daycare voucher and is therefore limited in daycare choices. A relative has offered to provide all-hours childcare but doesn't drive. COSA might be granted for the relative's home school. Hardship would be parent would have to quit job and has limited options for new one.

A child with special needs attends one school for a specific special ed program. The parents have limited transportation options. The siblings of that student might be granted a COSA to attend the school with the program.

Those are just some examples, but again, there are usually specific to the person applying. Being inconvenienced by attending the home school is not a hardship. The home school not being up to your standard is not a hardship. It being easier to attend a different school is not a hardship. The receiving principal generally has to sign off on the COSA as well. Seriously, none of you believe me, but there are many many applications for COSAs every year, and the vast majority (like 90%) are denied. After that, parents can go through a lengthy appeal process that involves working with a hearing officer who contacts anyone involved, including employers, child care providers, both schools, etc. Their job is to prove the parents wrong, and they are usually successful in doing that. After the appeal is denied, in order to get the COSA, the parent must go before the school board and state the case. They don't give them out like candy, like everyone seems to think. And in the past 2-3 years, the restrictions have tightened considerably.

All of the above sound like valid reasons for a COSA, but I'm not in the position to judge either way (I don't work for the schools!).

However, we know of a family that just got a COSA this year for their DS to attend older DD's new HGC school. Definitely no 'hardship' as described above. Mom is a SAHM and we know the family well. They were denied, but then granted the COSA on appeal.

So, at least in that one case, it doesn't seem like MCPS is cracking down. And, we definitely know of many families at our ES who do the 'shared housing', but I'm sure there is no way for MCPS to monitor/control that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is a legitimate COSA? I am curious.

Your house burned down.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is a legitimate COSA? I am curious.

Your house burned down.

If your house burns down, your child qualifies for homeless status and can continue to attend their current school indefinitely without a COSA, with bus transportation provided. We had an ice dam last winter that caused our house to be uninhabitable for a month while it was being repaired. DS's asst principal let us know we qualified, and the bus picked him up and dropped him off every day at our hotel, and he even got free lunch.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:RM is is surrounded by low income? Yes it is a diverse area but I don't think the folks in the Wootten Cluster (just south) and QO Cluster just west would like your description. Rockville HS to the east has some great neighborhoods too.

RM actually has low income and a lot of it. Lincoln Park, Twinbrook, HUD apartments by college gardens ES, low income apartments off Rockville Pike near Wintergreen. Heritage House is all HUD/low income. MPDU sales in all the new apartment buildings in fallsgrove, park potomac, new condos in twinbrook, king farm, etc... Most of them go for 100K max mortgage. I think 25% of Rockville Town Center is low income rentals as well. Where do you think all the FARMS come from? Ritchie Park 25%, College Gardens 15%, Beall 28%, Twinbrook 65% RM is no different than QO and Rockville has a slightly higher Hispanic and FARMS.

I am not sure of the appeal of RM.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is a legitimate COSA? I am curious.

You can apply for a COSA and get one for various reasons in MoCo. Kid has a sibling at an HGC, so you want them to go to the same school. Or you have legitimate child care or work issues that require a change of school.

YOU chose to send your child to an HGC. That is not a legit COSA. Your other kids can go to your local school on their local bus.

Childcare? Every school has a childcare option after school. Even if not on campus, they have kindercare, karate buses etc...

I mean an actual hardship for COSA.

PP here. Don't get upset at me! My kid's not even at an HGC; we go to the home ES that we're zoned for.

But, MCPS does give out COSAs for kids who have siblings at an HGC. There are two in my DD's current 2nd grade class (that we know of, maybe more?).

They actually stopped that practice, as of this past year. You have to prove an additional hardship other than the typical situation of having two children in different schools. Any new HGC parents applying for it for the first time were denied.

Hardship COSAs are intentionally vague. There is no hard and fast "this is accepted." I posted earlier about having colleagues that work in the office. Fraudulently filling out a shared housing form is not a COSA--that's for people who know their COSA application would never be approved. Most hardship COSAs are cases specific to the family, and the limited options available to that family.

Some examples that might be approved:
Parent is deployed, other parent works off hours and cannot get to daycare before it closes. A COSA might be granted for a caregiver's home school. (might) Hardship is that the parent would have to change jobs/careers.

Parents are divorced, non-primary custody parent uses public transportation and could not get child to other parent's home school. COSA might be granted for child to attend that parent's home school, rather than the one one of primary custodial parent. Hardship is that parent would lose custody time with child.

Child is placed in foster care. COSA may be granted for child to continue attending home school rather the school assigned to foster parents' address. Hardship would be lack of consistency for an already vulnerable child.

Single parent works retail hours and uses public transportation. Doesn't have a work schedule that guarantees parent's ability to pick up at daycare before it closes. Maybe an additional hardship that the parent needs a daycare voucher and is therefore limited in daycare choices. A relative has offered to provide all-hours childcare but doesn't drive. COSA might be granted for the relative's home school. Hardship would be parent would have to quit job and has limited options for new one.

A child with special needs attends one school for a specific special ed program. The parents have limited transportation options. The siblings of that student might be granted a COSA to attend the school with the program.

Those are just some examples, but again, there are usually specific to the person applying. Being inconvenienced by attending the home school is not a hardship. The home school not being up to your standard is not a hardship. It being easier to attend a different school is not a hardship. The receiving principal generally has to sign off on the COSA as well. Seriously, none of you believe me, but there are many many applications for COSAs every year, and the vast majority (like 90%) are denied. After that, parents can go through a lengthy appeal process that involves working with a hearing officer who contacts anyone involved, including employers, child care providers, both schools, etc. Their job is to prove the parents wrong, and they are usually successful in doing that. After the appeal is denied, in order to get the COSA, the parent must go before the school board and state the case. They don't give them out like candy, like everyone seems to think. And in the past 2-3 years, the restrictions have tightened considerably.

Okay a parent deployed or foster care - okay that is a hardship. There rest are to make it much easier. Divorced parents wouldn't need COSA. The child could go to either school. Single parents, sorry. Find childcare for your kids. That is your responsibility. If you have the time to sit and make multiple appeals, you have time to find a new childcare option. Kids in other schools does not equal a hardship - no way. I don't think it is right. I already hate the wasted money going towards these programs but now we are bussing in entire families to one school because one kid gets in. No wonder these programs seem to be over involved parents that really are just happy to get out of crappy schools.

[Anonymous]

Okay a parent deployed or foster care - okay that is a hardship. There rest are to make it much easier. Divorced parents wouldn't need COSA. The child could go to either school. Single parents, sorry. Find childcare for your kids. That is your responsibility. If you have the time to sit and make multiple appeals, you have time to find a new childcare option. Kids in other schools does not equal a hardship - no way. I don't think it is right. I already hate the wasted money going towards these programs but now we are bussing in entire families to one school because one kid gets in. No wonder these programs seem to be over involved parents that really are just happy to get out of crappy schools.

Children of divorced parents go to the school assigned to the primary custody parent. They cannot just choose either one, unless they get a COSA.

The "wasted money" you're speaking of is for the sibling link in immersion, which is being eliminated anyway. Students on COSAs do not get transportation, so you're not paying to bus them all over the county. If a child got a COSA to attend a school where their sibling is in a special education program, the student would ride the same bus already provided for the sibling. No additional bus expense there (I know, you're probably shocked and appalled that students in non-home school special ed programs get transportation!).

Your view of "sorry, find childcare" is showing how privileged YOU are and how much perspective you lack. For many, many people in Montgomery County, it is not so simple to just "find childcare." Centers generally close by 7pm. The examples listed include someone living on a retail salary. Have you ever done with children? Do you have any idea what kind of hardship that actually is? Do you know what it's like to get off work from Walmart at 11pm and hope you can catch the last bus, because otherwise it's $15 (two hours of income) for a taxi? What do you think the response would be if that parent said "Sorry, I can only work 9-5 because I have kids at school." They would lose their job. Do you think that person has a ton of options available, for childcare, or even to better themselves and have opportunity for better employment? Unlikely. Would you prefer the parent just quit working all together so that childcare wouldn't be an issue?

Oh, I know, the person probably shouldn't have had kids in the first place, right? It might not be YOUR responsibility or problem, but it is the school system's responsibility to ensure every child has access to school, and believe it or not, sometimes that requires a COSA.