What makes MoCO so great?
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Anonymous
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We live in DC and were planning to stay in one of the better DCPS schools. I understand there is a huge stigma about DCPS schools, but I am in education and have been to them, seen the hard working highly effective teachers, the involved parents, etc. I love the idea of raising kids in a city.
What I want to know is: what would we be missing out on if we didn't do MoCo? Things that make me not want to move: I heard there is a huge culture of bullying in many schools... Teacher friends have told me they get so much homework from parents posing as their child and the parents often try to negotiate grades. I know this can happen in any affluent area, but you don't hear about that much in NW DC. Still, people tout MoCO as the best. What makes it so great? |
Anonymous
| There is bullying everywhere. With that said, my children have never been bullied in school. My children's MCPSs do not tolerate any bullying and will be on top of it if it is reported. I'm not sure where you are getting your info from. There is no more bullying here than anywhere else. In fact, there is likely less of it. |
Anonymous
| You will hear horror stories about every school. The difference with dc is that you have committed, highly educated parents keeping their kids in the system all the way through. |
Anonymous
What schools do your kids go to? |
Anonymous
"Huge culture of bullying" - nothing more than rumor. one parent telling another who tells another. kids for the most part are not bothered. no more bullying than there was 50 years ago. the only difference is that every kid has a phone and social media. "parents doing homework" - I have to admit that this does happen. teachers can tell the difference. "parents trying to negotiate grades" - it does happen, teachers are savvy enough to ignore them or to turn the tables on this type. |
Anonymous
| We're in CCMD and I highly doubt there is much difference between the SES/parent culture in NWDC and close-in MoCo. I don't know about bullying - we've never seen a whisper of it in 4 years in MCPS and they certainly drill anti-bullying stuff in the kids' heads from K onward. What I like so far about MCPS is the following: fantastic teachers (maybe we've been lucky, but I'm not exaggerating); responsive adminstrators; incredibly engaged and generous parent community; kids who are well prepared and well socialized to learn. I'm sure you could find that same checklist (and more) from a parent at Lafayette or one of the other highly regarded DCPS schools. But for me, as someone who doesn't have the resources to send 2 kids to private, the certainty of the MCPS system all the way through is a huge plus. I am very happy knowing that my kids will go to a top-notch MCPS HS without having to worry about admissions/resources for private. I definitely would not have anywhere near that confidence if I lived in NWDC or any other DC neighborhood. |
Anonymous
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I agree with the PP. For me, what being in Montgomery County means is that I can send my children to the public schools we are zoned for and know that they will get a decent education. Whereas my perception of DC is that, unless you live in neighborhoods west of Rock Creek Park, you have to go to a lot of trouble and effort, plus be lucky, to get the same outcome with the public/public charter schools.
If I lived in a neighborhood west of the park in DC, and I liked the public schools, would I move to Montgomery Coiunty? I don't think so. |
Anonymous
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Stay in DC unless you commute to MC.
What's not to love about DC if you can afford to live and send your kids to DCPS in upper NW. |
Anonymous
1. Middle School. 2. High School. |
Anonymous
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My kids are in Beth/CC MCPS and my sister's kids are in WOTP DCPS. From what I can tell, the biggest differences are in the opportunities for gifted kids ... HGCs in MCPS for ES & MS. More advanced programs for HS, too. At the elementary level, both my sister and I have been pleased with the education that our kids are getting ... also nice vibe at the schools, strong parental involvement, good and caring administrators. Still, we've both had complaints here and there and there's no perfect solution. I'd be wary of thinking that there's too much bullying in one system or another. There are probably more differences within any given school than across different schools.
My niece & nephew are in MS & HS in DCPS and both seem to be thriving. My kids are still in elem (oldest starts MS next year) and we've heard overall very good things from neighbors and friends about the upper level schools. |
Anonymous
| Certainly one of the best things about MCPS is that, in terms of results, MCPS is one of the top school districts in the country, and one that is quite diverse across the district, and in some schools. Many of the High Schools are some of the top in the country, and again some of those are quite diverse in their populations. While test scores etc are certainly not an end all, and I think there is way too much emphasis on testing these days, there is little question that MCPS does a pretty fabulous job of preparing its students for college and beyond, and pushes students to take accelerated or advanced classes. It is far from perfect, and I assume there are problems of bullying and helicpter parents throughout the system, but for a public school system, there is certainly a lot to like. The DC system is surely getting better but its strength is in the elementary schools while MCPS excels at the HS level, and I would think that is a better approach. |
Anonymous
| The bureaucracy. It's awesome. |
Anonymous
| I think MCPS is the most overrated and it is not perceived as one of the best in the nation. Please stop PP |
Anonymous
List your sources please. Thanks. |
Anonymous
Parents Coalition. Their "leader" thinks she knows all. Just ask her and get ready for a delusional earful. |