How transparent and open is your elementary school?

[Anonymous]

My child is in MCPS. We LOVE the principal and the teachers. My parent-teacher conference included lots of handouts of what my child should be learning this quarter, his map-m and -r scores relative to the class (with names hidden for privacy), and information on reading levels. We recently switched schools and the old school (also over good) did not give this level of detail. What are you finding?

[Anonymous]

No transparency at our MCPS school- in Bethesda. This year they have cut down on parent volunteers in the classroom . Confusing and inconsistent report cards with no comments. Very frustrating!

[Anonymous]

You are very lucky if you have a school like this. Not feelin' it in FCPS

[Anonymous]

This is one of the things that I think most distinguishes Fairfax, Falls Church, and Arlington from MCPS. MCPS is terrible about transparency. They hide everything. They never admit when things are wrong or bad. The central office "punishes" local schools if teachers or principals don't just repeat the party line (or lie). The VA schools don't do this. The Fairfax superintendent will admit that things are wrong or that a budget cut will impact students. There just isn't this obsession with pretending like shit takes like cake.

I also think it has gotten far worse under Starr. Under Weast the lack of transparency seemed to be more from lack of ability to know what was happening. Under Starr the same incompetent crew that can't pull together a correct plan or numbers is still there but now Starr has made it a mission to build an "Emperor with no clothes" model. He's created new senior PR and communications positions that end up just enraging parents with bullshit. Schools are instructed to tell parents how everyone just loves 2.0 and the new grade card when they know that the opposite is true. They hide test scores that make them look bad. They are desperately trying to delay PARCC because they know that 2.0 is a problem and scores will drop low. They are trying to downplay MSA score drops while other counties are seeing score increases.

VA schools are not perfect but they don't put all their resources and strategy into hiding the problems. IMO you can't fix problems without being honest about them.

[Anonymous]

There is absolutely no transparency at my son's MCPS elementary school, and absolutely no respect for parents, regardless of the issue. Even when test scores are given out, we get the least information they can possibly give us. And there are a lot of things going that they don't make public, like the capping of reading groups. Regardless of the child's reading ability, the groups are capped at one year above grade level. This isn't something they admit, but it is what's happening at our school. And when my I saw that my son's Map-R scores were a couple of years above grade level, the teacher actually said to me, those scores don't really matter because they are multiple choice?!?!?

[Anonymous]

No transparency at our Bethesda elementary school. Parents are treated like potential problems and are not welcome to even set foot in the school. Bad, bad policy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is absolutely no transparency at my son's MCPS elementary school, and absolutely no respect for parents, regardless of the issue. Even when test scores are given out, we get the least information they can possibly give us. And there are a lot of things going that they don't make public, like the capping of reading groups. Regardless of the child's reading ability, the groups are capped at one year above grade level. This isn't something they admit, but it is what's happening at our school. And when my I saw that my son's Map-R scores were a couple of years above grade level, the teacher actually said to me, those scores don't really matter because they are multiple choice?!?!?

This happened to me last year too! Luckily, my child's teacher this year is more experienced and doesn't just spout rhetoric. These tesst supposedly do give you a truer understanding of where child is at because the test adjusts as they answer the questions. Unfortunately, that doesn't mean the school will actually provide the enrichment the test scores demonstrate they could benefit from. I just found out that although the Map-R has a way to show what percentile your child is in (you may or may not receive a letter with this info I'm guessing) MCPS doesn't provide this for the Map-M. Or at least that is what I was told the last time I asked.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My child is in MCPS. We LOVE the principal and the teachers. My parent-teacher conference included lots of handouts of what my child should be learning this quarter, his map-m and -r scores relative to the class (with names hidden for privacy), and information on reading levels. We recently switched schools and the old school (also over good) did not give this level of detail. What are you finding?

Not surprisingly, my son LOVES going to school now.

Thank you to all those hidden gem teachers who put in the extra time, energy and commitment to reach your students. We really appreciate it.

[Anonymous]

What do people mean by "transparent" and "open"?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This isn't something they admit, but it is what's happening at our school. And when my I saw that my son's Map-R scores were a couple of years above grade level, the teacher actually said to me, those scores don't really matter because they are multiple choice?!?!?

Funny, they don't matter until trying to show your child is performing "on grade level" and need no additional resources.

[Anonymous]

Our Bethesda ES is also not transparent or open. MCPS is made of CYA, and every communication I receive from them drives this home.

[Anonymous]

Nope. Not even a little. The principal is terrible at communication, doesn't answer questions, and lies.

[Anonymous]

Ditto, no communication, some outright hostility to parents, not trustworthy. Kind of pointless to complain though, since her boss doesn't care and is even worse at communicating.

[Anonymous]

I feel our school is very open and transparent. Oakland Terrace elementary. Great staff and administration; wonderful principal. I am a current parent btw.

[Anonymous]

I would agree that is open as well. Frankly it is wonderful. Teachers communicate and are honest with assessments. Principal and administration are approachable and seem to really care and do something when the request is reasonable.