Did you waste your money buying a house to get access to MCPS?

[Anonymous]

OK, OP, you were betrayed. Obviously you should have rented, not bought.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:With the recent news about the failure of 2.0, I wonder what we did when we bought our house to send our kids to MCPS.
My kids fall smack dab in the wave of 2.0. They are 13 and 14. They got a heavy dose of 2.0 and any changes that are planned won’t gelp them one bit.
It has been years of complaining, tutoring, frustration and a stint at a private school that we couldn’t afford.
The only upside for me is if they fix the schools (I can’t imagine it getting any worse), my property value will probably improve.
I feel as if my kids were cheated and as a parent, I was exhausted.
My distrust will persist because these public servants betrayed us.

I am just really sorry, OP. I hope your kids have a more positive HS experience, and are well prepared for whatever they choose to do in life.

We have a much younger child who will start MCPS with the new curriculum. We signed a contract on a larger home in our neighborhood--as well as an expensive renovation of that home--weeks before the audit came out. We weren't too concerned with the overcrowding at our school (the outcomes are still good) or the Chromebook use (we figure they'll work out those kinks eventually), but the curriculum audit floored us. It was just so scathing.

Now we're left figuring out what to do. We'll watch what MCPS does and enroll our kid if the new curriculum seems better. If not, then what? We can't exactly easily sell a house we will have been in for just a couple of years. Private school would be a huge sacrifice for us. Plus, we love our neighborhood. We walked the streets when we bought our first home here after I got pregnant, talking about how great a place this will be to raise our daughter. The families are friendly, the neighborhood is safe ... it's almost a cloyingly idyllic suburban community. I am furious that MCPS's ineptitude will likely throw our family (and many others) into a very precarious state.

Similar situation. We live in Bethesda and just did a big renovation. Oldest child is about to start kindergarten. The way I look at it is that a lot of education comes from home, so if MCPS is failing, we'll just be sure to sit down more than usual with our children to teach them on our own in the evenings. We'll hire tutors if necessary.

Also, with 2.0, they had the arrogance to discourage parental involvement. Not letting parents get access to the curriculum in advance to help their kids. If they had textbooks, I would have been able to flip forward and see what was coming. We worked tirelessly with our kids, plus our day and night jobs. I cringe because I was a product of MCPS back in the day and I was proud of the education that I got. Not only that, I promised DH that the system was good. I also recommended it highly to one family who moved to this area from out west. When I saw the mess, at first I was in denial, even defending the schools. Then, by the time middle school math came around with massive typos and diagrams that looked like an 8 year old drew them, I had to start to consider private school.
Advice: if the change takes too long, consider Montessori until third grade, which is affordable. Another option is schools like Norwood, Landon, Holton, or Bullis to get the basics. In 3-4 years it should be OK.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That's great that your kids totally loved 2.0. Johns Hopkins, nearly all the teachers, and many parents have concluded that it utterly failed, so you are the exception.

So go have fun with your super well-educated kids. Over here, we're worried about the real deficiencies in the curriculum.

You're confusing people saying that their kids did learn foundational skills with 2.0 with "we love 2.0". I don't see anyone saying they want to keep 2.0, just that their kids did learn some things. I, and I'm sure most parents, are fine, even happy, with replacing 2.0, we just don't think we wasted money buying into MCPS. There's a bit of difference there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:With the recent news about the failure of 2.0, I wonder what we did when we bought our house to send our kids to MCPS.
My kids fall smack dab in the wave of 2.0. They are 13 and 14. They got a heavy dose of 2.0 and any changes that are planned won’t gelp them one bit.
It has been years of complaining, tutoring, frustration and a stint at a private school that we couldn’t afford.
The only upside for me is if they fix the schools (I can’t imagine it getting any worse), my property value will probably improve.
I feel as if my kids were cheated and as a parent, I was exhausted.
My distrust will persist because these public servants betrayed us.

I am just really sorry, OP. I hope your kids have a more positive HS experience, and are well prepared for whatever they choose to do in life.

We have a much younger child who will start MCPS with the new curriculum. We signed a contract on a larger home in our neighborhood--as well as an expensive renovation of that home--weeks before the audit came out. We weren't too concerned with the overcrowding at our school (the outcomes are still good) or the Chromebook use (we figure they'll work out those kinks eventually), but the curriculum audit floored us. It was just so scathing.

Now we're left figuring out what to do. We'll watch what MCPS does and enroll our kid if the new curriculum seems better. If not, then what? We can't exactly easily sell a house we will have been in for just a couple of years. Private school would be a huge sacrifice for us. Plus, we love our neighborhood. We walked the streets when we bought our first home here after I got pregnant, talking about how great a place this will be to raise our daughter. The families are friendly, the neighborhood is safe ... it's almost a cloyingly idyllic suburban community. I am furious that MCPS's ineptitude will likely throw our family (and many others) into a very precarious state.

Similar situation. We live in Bethesda and just did a big renovation. Oldest child is about to start kindergarten. The way I look at it is that a lot of education comes from home, so if MCPS is failing, we'll just be sure to sit down more than usual with our children to teach them on our own in the evenings. We'll hire tutors if necessary.

Also, with 2.0, they had the arrogance to discourage parental involvement. Not letting parents get access to the curriculum in advance to help their kids. If they had textbooks, I would have been able to flip forward and see what was coming. We worked tirelessly with our kids, plus our day and night jobs. I cringe because I was a product of MCPS back in the day and I was proud of the education that I got. Not only that, I promised DH that the system was good. I also recommended it highly to one family who moved to this area from out west. When I saw the mess, at first I was in denial, even defending the schools. Then, by the time middle school math came around with massive typos and diagrams that looked like an 8 year old drew them, I had to start to consider private school.
Advice: if the change takes too long, consider Montessori until third grade, which is affordable. Another option is schools like Norwood, Landon, Holton, or Bullis to get the basics. In 3-4 years it should be OK.

DP with a kid who will be in K next year. I seriously hope the bolded statement is right. DH and I have been having long conversations about whether we should consider private school. We *really* want to make public school work, but we are so demoralized by what we're seeing. I've lived in the area for the past 15 years and promised DH that MCPS was good ... that's always been the reputation. Now I feel like an idiot for advocating it when we were figuring out where to go to raise our kid (we were in the District before and couldn't afford upper NW).

Beyond the curriculum issues, the overcrowding and Chromebook ineptitude seriously worry me. I just keep hoping that somehow it'll get better. We'll see.

[Anonymous]

I think every parent should complain as loudly as we can. The way 2.0 was implemented was nothing short of criminal negligence. Sure, some kids are going to be fine no matter what happens. Their native intelligence and advantaged circumstance protected them from an inadequate education at school. But for the majority of the students, 2.0 was a massive failure as the JHU studies pointed out in student performance changes relative to neighboring district. MCPS needs to be rebuked and held accountable by every stakeholder. Your child may be fine but the school reputation and your property value may be affected as well. Just tell others to shut up is not the answer when the external audit is so black and white.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

DP with a kid who will be in K next year. I seriously hope the bolded statement is right. DH and I have been having long conversations about whether we should consider private school. We *really* want to make public school work, but we are so demoralized by what we're seeing. I've lived in the area for the past 15 years and promised DH that MCPS was good ... that's always been the reputation. Now I feel like an idiot for advocating it when we were figuring out where to go to raise our kid (we were in the District before and couldn't afford upper NW).

Beyond the curriculum issues, the overcrowding and Chromebook ineptitude seriously worry me. I just keep hoping that somehow it'll get better. We'll see.

PP, please don't base your impression about MCPS on the stuff you read on DCUM. People who are unhappy post their complaints on DCUM; people who are happy do not post their lack of complaints on DCUM.

(Where I come from, people don't "want to make public school work". They "send their children to school" - and "school" means public school.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:With the recent news about the failure of 2.0, I wonder what we did when we bought our house to send our kids to MCPS.
My kids fall smack dab in the wave of 2.0. They are 13 and 14. They got a heavy dose of 2.0 and any changes that are planned won’t gelp them one bit.
It has been years of complaining, tutoring, frustration and a stint at a private school that we couldn’t afford.
The only upside for me is if they fix the schools (I can’t imagine it getting any worse), my property value will probably improve.
I feel as if my kids were cheated and as a parent, I was exhausted.
My distrust will persist because these public servants betrayed us.

I am just really sorry, OP. I hope your kids have a more positive HS experience, and are well prepared for whatever they choose to do in life.

We have a much younger child who will start MCPS with the new curriculum. We signed a contract on a larger home in our neighborhood--as well as an expensive renovation of that home--weeks before the audit came out. We weren't too concerned with the overcrowding at our school (the outcomes are still good) or the Chromebook use (we figure they'll work out those kinks eventually), but the curriculum audit floored us. It was just so scathing.

Now we're left figuring out what to do. We'll watch what MCPS does and enroll our kid if the new curriculum seems better. If not, then what? We can't exactly easily sell a house we will have been in for just a couple of years. Private school would be a huge sacrifice for us. Plus, we love our neighborhood. We walked the streets when we bought our first home here after I got pregnant, talking about how great a place this will be to raise our daughter. The families are friendly, the neighborhood is safe ... it's almost a cloyingly idyllic suburban community. I am furious that MCPS's ineptitude will likely throw our family (and many others) into a very precarious state.

Similar situation. We live in Bethesda and just did a big renovation. Oldest child is about to start kindergarten. The way I look at it is that a lot of education comes from home, so if MCPS is failing, we'll just be sure to sit down more than usual with our children to teach them on our own in the evenings. We'll hire tutors if necessary.

Also, with 2.0, they had the arrogance to discourage parental involvement. Not letting parents get access to the curriculum in advance to help their kids. If they had textbooks, I would have been able to flip forward and see what was coming. We worked tirelessly with our kids, plus our day and night jobs. I cringe because I was a product of MCPS back in the day and I was proud of the education that I got. Not only that, I promised DH that the system was good. I also recommended it highly to one family who moved to this area from out west. When I saw the mess, at first I was in denial, even defending the schools. Then, by the time middle school math came around with massive typos and diagrams that looked like an 8 year old drew them, I had to start to consider private school.
Advice: if the change takes too long, consider Montessori until third grade, which is affordable. Another option is schools like Norwood, Landon, Holton, or Bullis to get the basics. In 3-4 years it should be OK.

DP with a kid who will be in K next year. I seriously hope the bolded statement is right. DH and I have been having long conversations about whether we should consider private school. We *really* want to make public school work, but we are so demoralized by what we're seeing. I've lived in the area for the past 15 years and promised DH that MCPS was good ... that's always been the reputation. Now I feel like an idiot for advocating it when we were figuring out where to go to raise our kid (we were in the District before and couldn't afford upper NW).

Beyond the curriculum issues, the overcrowding and Chromebook ineptitude seriously worry me. I just keep hoping that somehow it'll get better. We'll see.

K is easy to home tutor through. I would ask serious questions about their plans. Look closely at ordering Singapore Math and working through the workbooks, without overdoing it. Have your child read at home aloud. Start writing early, like simple stuff like Kumon writing. At least you have time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think every parent should complain as loudly as we can. The way 2.0 was implemented was nothing short of criminal negligence. Sure, some kids are going to be fine no matter what happens. Their native intelligence and advantaged circumstance protected them from an inadequate education at school. But for the majority of the students, 2.0 was a massive failure as the JHU studies pointed out in student performance changes relative to neighboring district. MCPS needs to be rebuked and held accountable by every stakeholder. Your child may be fine but the school reputation and your property value may be affected as well. Just tell others to shut up is not the answer when the external audit is so black and white.

I think it's good to hold MCPS accountable, and for parents to complain, but the doom and gloom regarding property values is over the top.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think every parent should complain as loudly as we can. The way 2.0 was implemented was nothing short of criminal negligence. Sure, some kids are going to be fine no matter what happens. Their native intelligence and advantaged circumstance protected them from an inadequate education at school. But for the majority of the students, 2.0 was a massive failure as the JHU studies pointed out in student performance changes relative to neighboring district. MCPS needs to be rebuked and held accountable by every stakeholder. Your child may be fine but the school reputation and your property value may be affected as well. Just tell others to shut up is not the answer when the external audit is so black and white.

I think it's good to hold MCPS accountable, and for parents to complain, but the doom and gloom regarding property values is over the top.

But I wouldn't expect any less of DCUM, where real estate is the favorite topic, regardless of the forum.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think every parent should complain as loudly as we can. The way 2.0 was implemented was nothing short of criminal negligence. Sure, some kids are going to be fine no matter what happens. Their native intelligence and advantaged circumstance protected them from an inadequate education at school. But for the majority of the students, 2.0 was a massive failure as the JHU studies pointed out in student performance changes relative to neighboring district. MCPS needs to be rebuked and held accountable by every stakeholder. Your child may be fine but the school reputation and your property value may be affected as well. Just tell others to shut up is not the answer when the external audit is so black and white.

I think it's good to hold MCPS accountable, and for parents to complain, but the doom and gloom regarding property values is over the top.

Is it though? I think most MoCo housing prices are not increasing as fast as the District or NoVa. The upper county is pretty slow recovering.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

DP with a kid who will be in K next year. I seriously hope the bolded statement is right. DH and I have been having long conversations about whether we should consider private school. We *really* want to make public school work, but we are so demoralized by what we're seeing. I've lived in the area for the past 15 years and promised DH that MCPS was good ... that's always been the reputation. Now I feel like an idiot for advocating it when we were figuring out where to go to raise our kid (we were in the District before and couldn't afford upper NW).

Beyond the curriculum issues, the overcrowding and Chromebook ineptitude seriously worry me. I just keep hoping that somehow it'll get better. We'll see.

PP, please don't base your impression about MCPS on the stuff you read on DCUM. People who are unhappy post their complaints on DCUM; people who are happy do not post their lack of complaints on DCUM.

(Where I come from, people don't "want to make public school work". They "send their children to school" - and "school" means public school.)

PP here -- Thanks. We'll try to stay optimistic.

Also, I hear you with the parenthetical statement. I spent most of my childhood in Buffalo, so I totally understand that. I'm also scarred by experiencing the decline of the public schools there. When the funding cuts get so bad that the toilets don't even work, it leaves you wary of what can happen when a public school systems fails. Not saying MCPS is anywhere close to that, but it's always in the back of my mind.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think every parent should complain as loudly as we can. The way 2.0 was implemented was nothing short of criminal negligence. Sure, some kids are going to be fine no matter what happens. Their native intelligence and advantaged circumstance protected them from an inadequate education at school. But for the majority of the students, 2.0 was a massive failure as the JHU studies pointed out in student performance changes relative to neighboring district. MCPS needs to be rebuked and held accountable by every stakeholder. Your child may be fine but the school reputation and your property value may be affected as well. Just tell others to shut up is not the answer when the external audit is so black and white.

I think it's good to hold MCPS accountable, and for parents to complain, but the doom and gloom regarding property values is over the top.

Is it though? I think most MoCo housing prices are not increasing as fast as the District or NoVa. The upper county is pretty slow recovering.

Eh, the real estate market is pretty good in our upcounty neighborhood. We just sold our place in 7 days to move to a larger place. Most houses only stay on the market for a week at most, unless there's something really wrong with them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:With the recent news about the failure of 2.0, I wonder what we did when we bought our house to send our kids to MCPS.
My kids fall smack dab in the wave of 2.0. They are 13 and 14. They got a heavy dose of 2.0 and any changes that are planned won’t gelp them one bit.
It has been years of complaining, tutoring, frustration and a stint at a private school that we couldn’t afford.
The only upside for me is if they fix the schools (I can’t imagine it getting any worse), my property value will probably improve.
I feel as if my kids were cheated and as a parent, I was exhausted.
My distrust will persist because these public servants betrayed us.

Maybe spend more time working with your kids then complaining about MCPS on DCUM. That shit is helpful to no one and no system.

Not true. Informed parents can decide.

A complaint is not information. You spouting crap about and entire system failing everyone's kids is not information.IT IS OPINION! You do not know the difference.

So the audit is just an opinion? Why don't you call up Johns Hopkins and tell them you think they're wrong.

READ M***^**** I SAID YOU WERE SPOUTING OPINION. JOHNS HOPKINS ISSUED A REPORT!!!!!!! YOU ISSUED AN OPINION OUT OF YOUR A**

[Anonymous]

No, we got convenient to our jobs. I went to MCPS so I knew it was overrated and we supplement at home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think every parent should complain as loudly as we can. The way 2.0 was implemented was nothing short of criminal negligence. Sure, some kids are going to be fine no matter what happens. Their native intelligence and advantaged circumstance protected them from an inadequate education at school. But for the majority of the students, 2.0 was a massive failure as the JHU studies pointed out in student performance changes relative to neighboring district. MCPS needs to be rebuked and held accountable by every stakeholder. Your child may be fine but the school reputation and your property value may be affected as well. Just tell others to shut up is not the answer when the external audit is so black and white.

Agree. I am from a developing nation and if my relatives back home saw some of the worksheets, they would laugh. I had a baby sitter from Spain, who was a teacher there, and she begged me to complain. Typos like the diagram not matching up with the words in the question, stuff like that.

I remember years ago watching a movie about a man who gave his wife money to buy their daughter a dress. The mother got a brilliant idea and decided to buy fabric to make a dress instead, even though she was not a seamstress. The dress was a complete failure and the daughter was very upset. When the father found out, he yelled at his wife and asked why she didn't just buy a d-m dress.

I want to ask MCPS, why they didn't just buy a d-m curriculum.