What is MoCo Good at Doing?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is at RICA. I think MCPS does behavioral SN well IF the parents want it. It’s when the parents won’t discuss teacher concerns that behavior issues take much longer to resolve and impact the other students learning. There are so many levels of scaffolded support: High functioning autism, SESES, ESESES, and RICA. If the teachers, parents, and administration are all in agreement that a change in placement is necessary, then the process is pretty easy, but still not quick.

MCPS is one of the few school systems in the country that offers a therapeutic, on par curriculum. I have friends in my support group that have to send their kid out of state to get the help I get locally. Fairfax has Keller and Phillips but they don’t use the FCPS curriculum; it’s similar to SP-Rockville or Foundation. If the goal is to provide the child the skills necessary to mainstream, then how can you expect that to happen if you are not providing as rigorous curriculum as your neighborhood students are receiving.

You forget to mention kids have to be severely impacted or parents have to hire an attorney or sue to get those placements.

If you have to hire an attorney or sue than one part of the IEP team (parents, teachers, administration) is not in agreement with a change in placement

[Anonymous]

What works well:

Infants and Toddlers program and Preschool Education Program (PEP), if you have a SN child 0-5 are fantastic.

ES usually has some wonderful teachers and some duds (just like real life).

MS, if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything

HS has choices, AP level courses, Honors courses and on-grade level courses. The only place your super intellectual or bored student can really rise to the top.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I teach in DC but live in MoCo and my kids go to MCPS. I’m very happy with their experience so far (2nd and 4th grades). They’ve had amazing teachers who have been responsive and nurturing. Both kids have learned a ton and love school. We don’t live in a high-performing area of the county either. Both of my kids have been adequately challenged though they have been at the top of their classes. So far I just don’t get all of the bellyaching I hear on this forum!

I agree. I honestly feel that people expect far too much of the public school system--whether it is addressing the needs of children who have challenging home lives that affect their ability to learn (there is only so much the school system can do) or addressing the desires of wealthier parents who want a private school experience without the price tag.

I do think the teacher shortage is going to have an effect on our children, but I completely understand why some teachers are leaving the profession (and why some people are not considering the profession as a viable career). My plan is to support my child's teacher and provide a lot of support and enrichment at home.

Agree some expect far too much. But I do think Benchmark and Eureka are mediocre. The ES curriculum is disappointing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They have amazing opportunities available (immersion, magnet, etc.), but it is largely up to parents to seek those out and the supply is less than the demand.

I was impressed by the level of art instruction in elementary. They seem to teach techniques, as opposed to the art classes I grew up with that were just random craft projects.

I understand they’re replacing the standard curriculum, so I am hopeful that will become something good, but I don’t yet have enough specifics to know rither way.

OP here. I'm in DC, but as the kids get older we are wondering if we should stay. After I read for hours on this site about the 2.0 debacle I told my spouse that there was no way I'd move to MoCo now. I understood that 2.0 was going away as of the 2018 JHI report. Is it still in place? Or what curriculum is in place?

C2.0 been gone and it was implemented in ES and MS, not HS.

To be replaced with the ‘outstanding’ (sarcasm) Benchmark curricula…the problem for MCPS is it is too big and the part time school board a major target for Texas based textbook sales companies peddling mediocre curricula. They must simply give small donations for these campaigns and get their votes - quite a good business strategy.

Can’t blame it al on the board. The state should have laws that n place about the quality of curriculum used in public schools. Even states like Mississippi are ahead of MD in this regard.

Yeah and Louisiana and Florida. The Louisiana Believes site rates curricula and the state will back a parish if it picks a tier 1 course. I am so amazed at how DMV can have all these PhDs and yet friggin’ Louisiana does something brilliant like this. Apparently they even raised ACT scores by 10 points by doing this and offering more teacher guidance. Then I researched it a little bit and realized it was a private school grad from DMV - St. Albans’ Jon White, now at Harvard. We get second and third tier education leadership.

There’s planning (a curriculum guide) and then there’s execution (what actually gets taught and the pedagogy). Many of my in-laws live in small towns in Louisiana. They are always amazed at what my kids are doing in MCPS compared to their kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I teach in DC but live in MoCo and my kids go to MCPS. I’m very happy with their experience so far (2nd and 4th grades). They’ve had amazing teachers who have been responsive and nurturing. Both kids have learned a ton and love school. We don’t live in a high-performing area of the county either. Both of my kids have been adequately challenged though they have been at the top of their classes. So far I just don’t get all of the bellyaching I hear on this forum!

I agree. I honestly feel that people expect far too much of the public school system--whether it is addressing the needs of children who have challenging home lives that affect their ability to learn (there is only so much the school system can do) or addressing the desires of wealthier parents who want a private school experience without the price tag.

I do think the teacher shortage is going to have an effect on our children, but I completely understand why some teachers are leaving the profession (and why some people are not considering the profession as a viable career). My plan is to support my child's teacher and provide a lot of support and enrichment at home.

Agree some expect far too much. But I do think Benchmark and Eureka are mediocre. The ES curriculum is disappointing.

Fun fact: the working group of mcps teachers who reviewed the potential new vendors for the curriculum also said benchmark and eureka were weak.

Sigh.

Leadership didn’t listen.

Someone might want to ask if the real reason the reading vendor was selected was because they offered content in Spanish as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I teach in DC but live in MoCo and my kids go to MCPS. I’m very happy with their experience so far (2nd and 4th grades). They’ve had amazing teachers who have been responsive and nurturing. Both kids have learned a ton and love school. We don’t live in a high-performing area of the county either. Both of my kids have been adequately challenged though they have been at the top of their classes. So far I just don’t get all of the bellyaching I hear on this forum!

I agree. I honestly feel that people expect far too much of the public school system--whether it is addressing the needs of children who have challenging home lives that affect their ability to learn (there is only so much the school system can do) or addressing the desires of wealthier parents who want a private school experience without the price tag.

I do think the teacher shortage is going to have an effect on our children, but I completely understand why some teachers are leaving the profession (and why some people are not considering the profession as a viable career). My plan is to support my child's teacher and provide a lot of support and enrichment at home.

Agree some expect far too much. But I do think Benchmark and Eureka are mediocre. The ES curriculum is disappointing.

I'm the poster you are responding to....I agree with you when it comes to the ES curriculum. I guess I have now taken the stance that the public school will do the minimum required and I will have to bridge any gaps/provide enrichment. For this school year I have spent several hours looking at the curriculum (on MCPS website) for both of my children (one in elementary and one in middle) and gathering other materials to supplement what they will supposedly learn in school. I thought about hiring a tutor, but I honestly feel I can do better if I plan ahead. Fingers crossed that this goes the way I planned!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They have amazing opportunities available (immersion, magnet, etc.), but it is largely up to parents to seek those out and the supply is less than the demand.

I was impressed by the level of art instruction in elementary. They seem to teach techniques, as opposed to the art classes I grew up with that were just random craft projects.

I understand they’re replacing the standard curriculum, so I am hopeful that will become something good, but I don’t yet have enough specifics to know rither way.

OP here. I'm in DC, but as the kids get older we are wondering if we should stay. After I read for hours on this site about the 2.0 debacle I told my spouse that there was no way I'd move to MoCo now. I understood that 2.0 was going away as of the 2018 JHI report. Is it still in place? Or what curriculum is in place?

C2.0 been gone and it was implemented in ES and MS, not HS.

To be replaced with the ‘outstanding’ (sarcasm) Benchmark curricula…the problem for MCPS is it is too big and the part time school board a major target for Texas based textbook sales companies peddling mediocre curricula. They must simply give small donations for these campaigns and get their votes - quite a good business strategy.

Can’t blame it al on the board. The state should have laws that n place about the quality of curriculum used in public schools. Even states like Mississippi are ahead of MD in this regard.

Yeah and Louisiana and Florida. The Louisiana Believes site rates curricula and the state will back a parish if it picks a tier 1 course. I am so amazed at how DMV can have all these PhDs and yet friggin’ Louisiana does something brilliant like this. Apparently they even raised ACT scores by 10 points by doing this and offering more teacher guidance. Then I researched it a little bit and realized it was a private school grad from DMV - St. Albans’ Jon White, now at Harvard. We get second and third tier education leadership.

There’s planning (a curriculum guide) and then there’s execution (what actually gets taught and the pedagogy). Many of my in-laws live in small towns in Louisiana. They are always amazed at what my kids are doing in MCPS compared to their kids.

over the pandemic my HSer met some gaming friends online who went to a private school in the state of LA. The kid was a grade older than my DC. They were talking about math classes, and it turned out my kid was taking a higher level math class. The kid was about to take an exam and was having a hard time with the material, so my DC tutored this kid. I think the kid ended up doing fairly well. They were amazed at how advanced MCPS math classes went.

[Anonymous]

Gaslighting. MCPS administrators are trained well to deflect instead of solving problems.

[Anonymous]

MCPS is good at grade inflation to cover up the learning loss from online learning.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I teach in DC but live in MoCo and my kids go to MCPS. I’m very happy with their experience so far (2nd and 4th grades). They’ve had amazing teachers who have been responsive and nurturing. Both kids have learned a ton and love school. We don’t live in a high-performing area of the county either. Both of my kids have been adequately challenged though they have been at the top of their classes. So far I just don’t get all of the bellyaching I hear on this forum!

I agree. I honestly feel that people expect far too much of the public school system--whether it is addressing the needs of children who have challenging home lives that affect their ability to learn (there is only so much the school system can do) or addressing the desires of wealthier parents who want a private school experience without the price tag.

I do think the teacher shortage is going to have an effect on our children, but I completely understand why some teachers are leaving the profession (and why some people are not considering the profession as a viable career). My plan is to support my child's teacher and provide a lot of support and enrichment at home.

Agree some expect far too much. But I do think Benchmark and Eureka are mediocre. The ES curriculum is disappointing.

I'm the poster you are responding to....I agree with you when it comes to the ES curriculum. I guess I have now taken the stance that the public school will do the minimum required and I will have to bridge any gaps/provide enrichment. For this school year I have spent several hours looking at the curriculum (on MCPS website) for both of my children (one in elementary and one in middle) and gathering other materials to supplement what they will supposedly learn in school. I thought about hiring a tutor, but I honestly feel I can do better if I plan ahead. Fingers crossed that this goes the way I planned!

Benchmark is terrible. Eureka is wonderful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I teach in DC but live in MoCo and my kids go to MCPS. I’m very happy with their experience so far (2nd and 4th grades). They’ve had amazing teachers who have been responsive and nurturing. Both kids have learned a ton and love school. We don’t live in a high-performing area of the county either. Both of my kids have been adequately challenged though they have been at the top of their classes. So far I just don’t get all of the bellyaching I hear on this forum!

I agree. I honestly feel that people expect far too much of the public school system--whether it is addressing the needs of children who have challenging home lives that affect their ability to learn (there is only so much the school system can do) or addressing the desires of wealthier parents who want a private school experience without the price tag.

I do think the teacher shortage is going to have an effect on our children, but I completely understand why some teachers are leaving the profession (and why some people are not considering the profession as a viable career). My plan is to support my child's teacher and provide a lot of support and enrichment at home.

Agree some expect far too much. But I do think Benchmark and Eureka are mediocre. The ES curriculum is disappointing.

I'm the poster you are responding to....I agree with you when it comes to the ES curriculum. I guess I have now taken the stance that the public school will do the minimum required and I will have to bridge any gaps/provide enrichment. For this school year I have spent several hours looking at the curriculum (on MCPS website) for both of my children (one in elementary and one in middle) and gathering other materials to supplement what they will supposedly learn in school. I thought about hiring a tutor, but I honestly feel I can do better if I plan ahead. Fingers crossed that this goes the way I planned!

Benchmark is terrible. Eureka is wonderful.

Benchmark is terrible. Eureka is ALSO terrible for our students. It is too advanced and our kids are pushed through instead of understanding the topics. (Seneca Valley cluster, staff development teacher).

[Anonymous]

They did well in creating the virtual academy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Music instruction is very good.

Foreign language instruction is excellent. There are lots of choices, immersion programs and an emphasis on communication.

There are some amazing special educators in MCPS although it really requires the parents pushing.

Have to disagree with last statement. Three years, two schools in W cluster - never saw it on spec Ed side. Actually complete opposite. This was a decade ago for context - but I think I’m more likely to be correct now since there are like 400 MCPS jobs open and most of them are Spec Ed. All the best folks left long, long ago.

Our speech therapy was 30 minutes a week for a child really struggling in a group with 6-8 kids with unrelated needs. Thankfully we could do private but completely unacceptable. The special education team ignored my kid.

There is a shortage of special ed teachers here and across the board. MCPS has many openings for them.

What district around here with this many SN kids does special ed well?

This was long before covid and we didn't need a special education teacher we needed an SLP.

[Anonymous]

Parks and libraries. Truly awesome.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They did well in creating the virtual academy.

My kids really thrived during virtual. Also MCPS did a great job averting national teacher shortage.