Is the 2.0 debacle worth opting out?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don't be freaked out.

What private schools will you be looking at? Are you talking Primary Day/Holton or Seneca Academy or Mary of Nazareth? If Seneca or Mary of Nazareth (or Barnesville/Christ Episcopal), what do you plan to do for high school? QO or a Holton at that point?

If you are referring to a Holton caliber private school and you easily can afford it, then yes, send your daughter there.

Are you involved middle class/umc parents? Does your daughter have any special needs? If she has special needs, I can see how a private would work better. But if you are your run of the mill middle class/umc parents, your child will be absolutely fine in your local elementary school. You can use the money to supplement in any areas you think she is lacking.

Reassess your decision for middle school.

We would likely be looking at Barnesville if we went the private school route. She does not have any special needs.

So go ask people on the private school forum about Barnesville. Ask your neighbors about your local school. Compare. Make a decision. The End.

Why do you have to be so nasty?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

We would likely be looking at Barnesville if we went the private school route. She does not have any special needs.

So go ask people on the private school forum about Barnesville. Ask your neighbors about your local school. Compare. Make a decision. The End.

Why do you have to be so nasty?

DP. Actually I agree with this advice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

We would likely be looking at Barnesville if we went the private school route. She does not have any special needs.

So go ask people on the private school forum about Barnesville. Ask your neighbors about your local school. Compare. Make a decision. The End.

Why do you have to be so nasty?

DP. Actually I agree with this advice.

Me too, but PP didn’t have to say it with such a tone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD will start K in fall 2019. We are districted to a good non-W ES in QO cluster. DD is our only child and we can afford private. However we want her to have the benefit of a neighborhood school, so we are torn. Should we apply to local privates or try our ES out and see how it goes? All this talk of 2.0 problems has really freaked us out.

OP, my advice to you is: do not make any decisions based on what you read on DCUM. Really. It's not an accurate reflection of reality. At BEST, it's a fun-house reflection of reality, or reality-TV "reality". And sometimes it's just completely bananas.

Your child will almost certainly be fine at the elementary school you're zoned for, and if she isn't, it won't be because of Curriculum 2.0.

[phone]

Another who agrees. Leaving your neighborhood public and making a massive and potentially unnecessary financial commitment because of what you read on here about 2.0 (which will be gone anyway) is beyond short-sighted.

So what I’m confused about it is that, unless we’re a pilot school, 2.0 could be around for about 2 years at our school before the new curriculum is phased in, right? We would certainly not base our decision solely on what we read here.

Personally, I think the 2.0 curriculum is lacking in math but I have been pretty pleased/satisfied with the reading instruction. Kindergarten math is counting, recognizing and writing numbers, and addition and subtraction within 10. Your kid is not going to be harmed by kindergarten 2.0. You could easily teach them that material if needed, and 1st grade is a lot of addition and subtraction again. I think the real 2.0 problems come in around 2nd, 3rd grade, personally. I would not worry about being stuck with 2.0 for K and 1st grade. Both of my kids (one who started K reading and one who did not) have learned a TON in reading, writing, spelling, text analysis with the 2.0 curriculum.

I read the Hopkins report too, and what Hopkins evaluated was how well the curriculum aligned to the common core standards. So they were dinged if they did too many 3rd grade standards in 2nd grade or doing a grab bag of 1st, 2nd and 3rd grade objectives in one unit. Also, the report analyzed how often teachers used materials that were not from the MCPS curriculum. Sometimes/often teachers are doing that because they find the curriculum wanting and are making up for its faults. So while I think the report showed lots of good reasons for MCPS to change the curriculum, and agree it said 2.0 is not a good curriculum, it doesn't mean that 2 years of 2.0 (especially in K and 1st grade) is going to ruin your kid's education.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

We would likely be looking at Barnesville if we went the private school route. She does not have any special needs.

So go ask people on the private school forum about Barnesville. Ask your neighbors about your local school. Compare. Make a decision. The End.

Why do you have to be so nasty?

DP. Actually I agree with this advice.

Me too, but PP didn’t have to say it with such a tone.

I think OP is obnoxious for coming onto the Maryland public schools forum and asking whether it's good enough for her kid. Why doesn't she go on the private schools forum and ask whether Barnesville is a better option for her child?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

We would likely be looking at Barnesville if we went the private school route. She does not have any special needs.

So go ask people on the private school forum about Barnesville. Ask your neighbors about your local school. Compare. Make a decision. The End.

Why do you have to be so nasty?

DP. Actually I agree with this advice.

Me too, but PP didn’t have to say it with such a tone.

I think OP is obnoxious for coming onto the Maryland public schools forum and asking whether it's good enough for her kid. Why doesn't she go on the private schools forum and ask whether Barnesville is a better option for her child?

+1 There's nothing nasty about telling OP to do her homework.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You have time to decide. Send your child to public for K. If all goes well, 1st. And so on. You're involved parents concerned about the issue, so you can keep track of how you're child's doing. If by mid or upper elementary you think the curriculum is failing your kid, then change schools.

This is some good common sense. You might be underwhelmed at the beginning of KG. A lot of people are because it starts slowly but just try it out. If your kid's school is not part of the pilot, your child will still have the current curriculum.

[Anonymous]

I live in Lakelands and my children attend Rachel Carson. While we may have some specific criticisms, you won’t find many residents of Lakelands or Kentlands who send their children to RCES who will badmouth it. If we thought it wasn’t good enough, we wouldn’t be sending our children there. I have a child who was selected for the local CES. The curriculum has not hurt my child, who had extremely high PARCC scores, despite the curriculum not being particularly well aligned with common core standards. I have no regrets about choosing our public school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I live in Lakelands and my children attend Rachel Carson. While we may have some specific criticisms, you won’t find many residents of Lakelands or Kentlands who send their children to RCES who will badmouth it. If we thought it wasn’t good enough, we wouldn’t be sending our children there. I have a child who was selected for the local CES. The curriculum has not hurt my child, who had extremely high PARCC scores, despite the curriculum not being particularly well aligned with common core standards. I have no regrets about choosing our public school.

Of course you won’t. Just like private school parents won’t badmouth their schools. That’s why it’s so hard to get objective information about schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I live in Lakelands and my children attend Rachel Carson. While we may have some specific criticisms, you won’t find many residents of Lakelands or Kentlands who send their children to RCES who will badmouth it. If we thought it wasn’t good enough, we wouldn’t be sending our children there. I have a child who was selected for the local CES. The curriculum has not hurt my child, who had extremely high PARCC scores, despite the curriculum not being particularly well aligned with common core standards. I have no regrets about choosing our public school.

Of course you won’t. Just like private school parents won’t badmouth their schools. That’s why it’s so hard to get objective information about schools.

I have found a lot of parents will give you a balanced view of their school if you ask for it - in person.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I live in Lakelands and my children attend Rachel Carson. While we may have some specific criticisms, you won’t find many residents of Lakelands or Kentlands who send their children to RCES who will badmouth it. If we thought it wasn’t good enough, we wouldn’t be sending our children there. I have a child who was selected for the local CES. The curriculum has not hurt my child, who had extremely high PARCC scores, despite the curriculum not being particularly well aligned with common core standards. I have no regrets about choosing our public school.

Of course you won’t. Just like private school parents won’t badmouth their schools. That’s why it’s so hard to get objective information about schools.

I have found a lot of parents will give you a balanced view of their school if you ask for it - in person.

I’ve rarely if ever found that. And if you choose something out of the ordinary, 99% of people will kick you out of their social circles.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I live in Lakelands and my children attend Rachel Carson. While we may have some specific criticisms, you won’t find many residents of Lakelands or Kentlands who send their children to RCES who will badmouth it. If we thought it wasn’t good enough, we wouldn’t be sending our children there. I have a child who was selected for the local CES. The curriculum has not hurt my child, who had extremely high PARCC scores, despite the curriculum not being particularly well aligned with common core standards. I have no regrets about choosing our public school.

Of course you won’t. Just like private school parents won’t badmouth their schools. That’s why it’s so hard to get objective information about schools.

I have found a lot of parents will give you a balanced view of their school if you ask for it - in person.

I’ve rarely if ever found that. And if you choose something out of the ordinary, 99% of people will kick you out of their social circles.

That reminds me of the joke about the rabbi who welcomed two different couples and who, when they asked him what the congregation was like, responded by asking them what their previous congregation was like.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I live in Lakelands and my children attend Rachel Carson. While we may have some specific criticisms, you won’t find many residents of Lakelands or Kentlands who send their children to RCES who will badmouth it. If we thought it wasn’t good enough, we wouldn’t be sending our children there. I have a child who was selected for the local CES. The curriculum has not hurt my child, who had extremely high PARCC scores, despite the curriculum not being particularly well aligned with common core standards. I have no regrets about choosing our public school.

Out of curiosity, how do you view Kentlands or Lakelands residents who send their kids to private school?

[Anonymous]

I know someone who sent their child to Barnesville and is extremely happy with it. From her description, it sounds like a lovely school. Her son has since graduated from the school and had a wonderful time there.

But - her child is a little quirky and he would not have done well in a public school. He needed the small class sizes. He needed the extra attention. Small class sizes they are - she said they had less than 10 kids in the class.

I just think an environment like that would have been extremely stifling for my child especially as they move into older grades. Looking back on my child's elementary years, I don't think those small classes would have markedly improved where she currently is.

So if she's a normal kid without any issues, start with your public school. If she is struggling, then move her to Barnesville.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I live in Lakelands and my children attend Rachel Carson. While we may have some specific criticisms, you won’t find many residents of Lakelands or Kentlands who send their children to RCES who will badmouth it. If we thought it wasn’t good enough, we wouldn’t be sending our children there. I have a child who was selected for the local CES. The curriculum has not hurt my child, who had extremely high PARCC scores, despite the curriculum not being particularly well aligned with common core standards. I have no regrets about choosing our public school.

Out of curiosity, how do you view Kentlands or Lakelands residents who send their kids to private school?

I’m only close to two families who send their children to private school. Both families chose Catholic schools. Both are very nice families. Their children don’t have as many friends right in our neighborhood, but I don’t think any of them are hurting socially. I guess they drive to play dates more often than they walk?