How is Westland these days?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have kids at Westland now, and want to point out that in some ways it was better when it was over crowded. We lost some of the best teachers (because people were allowed to stay based on seniority) and after all those students left for Silver Creek they cut some language and arts options due to low enrollment.

NO surprise there. Many parents warned of this when MoCo cut support for the 6th grades at NCCES and CCES, and instead of fighting those cuts, some parents asked for the new middle school and others warned of exactly what you describe - fewer academic opportunities due to smaller student population in 2 split schools.

Westland has always been called “wasteland” by the students themselves because a boring and unchallenging environment meant that kids focused on social interaction (sex, drinking, smoking, social media, popularity, etc.) in what were ultimately pretty negative ways.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have kids at Westland now, and want to point out that in some ways it was better when it was over crowded. We lost some of the best teachers (because people were allowed to stay based on seniority) and after all those students left for Silver Creek they cut some language and arts options due to low enrollment.

NO surprise there. Many parents warned of this when MoCo cut support for the 6th grades at NCCES and CCES, and instead of fighting those cuts, some parents asked for the new middle school and others warned of exactly what you describe - fewer academic opportunities due to smaller student population in 2 split schools.

Westland has always been called “wasteland” by the students themselves because a boring and unchallenging environment meant that kids focused on social interaction (sex, drinking, smoking, social media, popularity, etc.) in what were ultimately pretty negative ways.

You can't be serious... Students aren't saying it, you are saying it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have kids at Westland now, and want to point out that in some ways it was better when it was over crowded. We lost some of the best teachers (because people were allowed to stay based on seniority) and after all those students left for Silver Creek they cut some language and arts options due to low enrollment.

NO surprise there. Many parents warned of this when MoCo cut support for the 6th grades at NCCES and CCES, and instead of fighting those cuts, some parents asked for the new middle school and others warned of exactly what you describe - fewer academic opportunities due to smaller student population in 2 split schools.

Westland has always been called “wasteland” by the students themselves because a boring and unchallenging environment meant that kids focused on social interaction (sex, drinking, smoking, social media, popularity, etc.) in what were ultimately pretty negative ways.

You can't be serious... Students aren't saying it, you are saying it.

Nope. This is what kids describe to me. Repeatedly. Moving to the larger environment of BCC helps. Cliques break up to some degree as kids have more choices in classes in terms of challenge level and interest and more activity choices. Boredom breeds shallow, unhappy kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have kids at Westland now, and want to point out that in some ways it was better when it was over crowded. We lost some of the best teachers (because people were allowed to stay based on seniority) and after all those students left for Silver Creek they cut some language and arts options due to low enrollment.

NO surprise there. Many parents warned of this when MoCo cut support for the 6th grades at NCCES and CCES, and instead of fighting those cuts, some parents asked for the new middle school and others warned of exactly what you describe - fewer academic opportunities due to smaller student population in 2 split schools.

Westland has always been called “wasteland” by the students themselves because a boring and unchallenging environment meant that kids focused on social interaction (sex, drinking, smoking, social media, popularity, etc.) in what were ultimately pretty negative ways.

You can't be serious... Students aren't saying it, you are saying it.

Its been called that since at least 30 years ago when I went.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have kids at Westland now, and want to point out that in some ways it was better when it was over crowded. We lost some of the best teachers (because people were allowed to stay based on seniority) and after all those students left for Silver Creek they cut some language and arts options due to low enrollment.

Do they still have theater?

[Anonymous]

My son is a freshman at BCC, and spent the past 2 years at Westland (one pre-Silver Creek and one post.) Westland was not a great experience, in part because of the overcrowding in year one and the long bus rides, which actually got longer after SC opened.

Whenever I engaged with teachers directly and/or the assistant principal for his grade, they all seemed fantastic. But outside of those rare direct contacts, the school seemed incredibly impersonal and disengaged from the kids at a pretty crucial time in their lives. Even the 'promotion ceremony' involved parents watching closed circuit TV in the library because there wasn't enough room for even one guest per student.

Fwiw I also heard about teachers leaving after SC opened, but I didn't sense any deterioration in teaching or resources - as far as I know, they didn't cut languages or other specialized courses. My kid has never really enjoyed school, but he's much happier at BCC (despite the size) and Westland seems like the low point in his education so far. Then again I haven't heard anyone whose kids loved Pyle though so it may just be the curse of middle school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My son is a freshman at BCC, and spent the past 2 years at Westland (one pre-Silver Creek and one post.) Westland was not a great experience, in part because of the overcrowding in year one and the long bus rides, which actually got longer after SC opened.

Whenever I engaged with teachers directly and/or the assistant principal for his grade, they all seemed fantastic. But outside of those rare direct contacts, the school seemed incredibly impersonal and disengaged from the kids at a pretty crucial time in their lives. Even the 'promotion ceremony' involved parents watching closed circuit TV in the library because there wasn't enough room for even one guest per student.

Fwiw I also heard about teachers leaving after SC opened, but I didn't sense any deterioration in teaching or resources - as far as I know, they didn't cut languages or other specialized courses. My kid has never really enjoyed school, but he's much happier at BCC (despite the size) and Westland seems like the low point in his education so far. Then again I haven't heard anyone whose kids loved Pyle though so it may just be the curse of middle school.

Maybe they should send some Pyle kids over to westland. Sounds like neither is a good experience for kids, one is too big and one is too small. Silver Creek got the best available admin and teachers because you need strong people opening a school. MCPS chooses who gets to stay at a school based only on seniority. Not good teaching.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Ignore the thread derailment, OP. I hope you know that MCPS has a very firm bullying policy in place and that harassment of any kind, including and most specially sexual harassment, will not be tolerated.

My friends with kids at Westland are happy with it, especially this year, as many local children were shut out of the middle school magnets and MCPS opened some advanced classes to cater to their needs in 6th grade.

I encourage you to contact the school to ask whether your child, coming from private, could be eligible for these classes, and whether they need to register for the magnet middle school test in order to be considered (not that you want your child in a magnet, but that MCPS may only place those rejected from magnets into these special classes, if you see what I mean). Hurry, because I believe the test registration deadline may be quickly approaching.

My own child is at North Bethesda Middle School, and I also know kids at Pyle. These are all large, but decent schools.

I will say two things in general:

1. Writing. It is what you and your child make of it. Teachers provide the guidelines and examples of good writing, sometimes in minute detail, but they do not have the time to go over each student's writing with a fine-toothed comb and coach them to write better. This is because they have too many students. Parent involvement goes a long way toward ensuring that your child becomes a good writer.

2. Math. There are advanced tracks that offer a lot of material and end in high school with two years of AP classes or the possibility of taking a college class if the student has exhausted all MCPS math. However, they don't teach too much critical thinking in the sense that there aren't a lot of brain-teasers that force students to really SOLVE A PROBLEM. This is an issue that exists across the board in all K-12 education in the US (and perhaps in the world), with a few exceptions - the math magnets do expose students to higher-order thinking, for example.

Personally, I have not noticed that private schools teach writing and math better than the good public schools that my children have attended. In all cases, you need to engage in the process anyway.

Can we please have more responses like this one?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Westland should challenge Pyle for the best middle school in MoCo once the new middle school opens. It will be a true local school and under-enrolled which is all the parents ever wanted.

What new middle school? Silver creek opened two years or so ago. Is there another planned?

Probably a troll

My kids loved middle school -- it wasnt Moco but it showed me that middle school can be done well. Moco needs to get the size of these schools down. Way down. Put sixth grade in its own building or something.

OP here. I agree re smaller sizing = better, but MoCo is going the other way...at least until the next educational theory catches on.

[Anonymous]

All - thank you for your responses. I think Injust need to remember that nothing is perfect, and having my kid deal with some bumps in the private school is probably a good real-life experience, even though it maddens me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

My kids loved middle school -- it wasnt Moco but it showed me that middle school can be done well. Moco needs to get the size of these schools down. Way down. Put sixth grade in its own building or something.

OP here. I agree re smaller sizing = better, but MoCo is going the other way...at least until the next educational theory catches on.

I disagree. I went to a small middle school, around 100 students per grade. That was just enough students for there to be three groups: the popular group, the wanna-be-popular group, and the outcasts. A bigger school means more groups and more opportunity to find your people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

My kids loved middle school -- it wasnt Moco but it showed me that middle school can be done well. Moco needs to get the size of these schools down. Way down. Put sixth grade in its own building or something.

OP here. I agree re smaller sizing = better, but MoCo is going the other way...at least until the next educational theory catches on.

I disagree. I went to a small middle school, around 100 students per grade. That was just enough students for there to be three groups: the popular group, the wanna-be-popular group, and the outcasts. A bigger school means more groups and more opportunity to find your people.

100 = microschool. That’s less than small.