New CC Middle School

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks, 10:10. How did you feel about the size at RHES? DD is in a really small preschool, and I'm pretty concerned about moving from a class of 15 (and only 45 in the whole school) to a place of that size, especially w/r/to the bus. Do they do anything to make the place seem less chaotic and huge?

Well there's two pieces, one is class size and one is grade/school size. I think RHPS will always be generally towards the larger class size (the number of classes per grade makes it unlikely they will be at the very top or bottom of class size), but we've been happy with the teachers and personally I think the class size is ok. The kids do fine on the bus (again, this was a reason we were nervous about RHPS but our child has not had any problems and actually I've liked talking with my neighbors at the bus stop). I think it's actually a benefit that there are not older kids on the bus or in the school-- the whole school is oriented towards k-2. It is true that the entire grade eats lunch and has recess together (app. 200 kids) but there are a lot of parents who volunteer at the school, for lunch/recess and for other activities, so I'd say it is a very nice community. There a bunch of other RHPS threads in the archives you may want to check out.

[Anonymous]

Since CCES has the capacity to house their 6th graders for next few years, why not keep them there until a new M.S. is built? There is no reason to move the CCES 6th graders right now. If more space is necessary, as a previous poster wrote the Highly Gifted Center at CCES could be sited at Somerset ES. NCCES finally will be building a gym next year and in the process needs to re-site 3 portables. I makes sense that these 3 portables be relocated at Westland MS along with the NCCES 6th graders during construction of the gym and the later classroom addition. Only about 100 students would enter Westland MS each year. I don't know how many out-of-boundary transfers are actually at NCCES, but I am aware that many students get off the bus in the Rock Creek Forest area. NCCES needs to be more diligent in restricting these transfers until enough space is available for the in boundary students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't know how many out-of-boundary transfers are actually at NCCES, but I am aware that many students get off the bus in the Rock Creek Forest area. NCCES needs to be more diligent in restricting these transfers until enough space is available for the in boundary students.

Are you saying that kids who should be attending RCF are attending NCC? Did they get a hardship transfer? I don't understand how those things work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Since CCES has the capacity to house their 6th graders for next few years, why not keep them there until a new M.S. is built? There is no reason to move the CCES 6th graders right now.

The concern is that the difference between elementary schools is less than the difference between an elementary school and a middle school, particularly with the latest round of budget cuts. Many parents would love to keep their kids at CCES for 6th, but the county isn't keeping the curriculum comparable to what's available at the county's middle schools (and other parents think that 6th graders belong in middle school leaving aside the most recent budget/curriculum issues).

[Anonymous]

I don't know how many out-of-boundary transfers are actually at NCCES, but I am aware that many students get off the bus in the Rock Creek Forest area. NCCES needs to be more diligent in restricting these transfers until enough space is available for the in boundary students.

NP (on this anyway) - these may not be transfers. The boundaries in this area are all pretty close. RCF is actually closer to NCC than RHPS, so you may be seeing kids from the RHPS/NCC catchment who just happen to live close to RCF. Or kids who get bussed to an aftercare that is more convenient for the parents. Or maybe you're right about the transfers, I really don't know.

[Anonymous]

"The concern is that the difference between elementary schools is less than the difference between an elementary school and a middle school, particularly with the latest round of budget cuts. Many parents would love to keep their kids at CCES for 6th, but the county isn't keeping the curriculum comparable to what's available at the county's middle schools (and other parents think that 6th graders belong in middle school leaving aside the most recent budget/curriculum issues)."

It would be more feasible to make the curriculum comparable to that offered at Westland at one elementary school rather than two until the new school is ready to accommodate all the 6th graders. CCES doesn't have the overcrowding that NCCES has.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

"The concern is that the difference between elementary schools is less than the difference between an elementary school and a middle school, particularly with the latest round of budget cuts. Many parents would love to keep their kids at CCES for 6th, but the county isn't keeping the curriculum comparable to what's available at the county's middle schools (and other parents think that 6th graders belong in middle school leaving aside the most recent budget/curriculum issues)."

It would be more feasible to make the curriculum comparable to that offered at Westland at one elementary school rather than two until the new school is ready to accommodate all the 6th graders. CCES doesn't have the overcrowding that NCCES has.

Part of the reason NCC is overcrowded is that families from East Bethesda tend to apply for transfer there to avoid a split articulation and pairing pattern in BES. There is clear movement from MCPS and the BoE to examine this boundary pattern and refigure it so the E. Bethesda parents all go to BES from K-5. This would relieve some pressure on NCC.

There is absolutely no thought, as far as I'm aware, to move NCC to Westland and not move CCES. The majority of NCC/CCES parents do NOT support moving the 6th grade to Westland and they fought the BOE and Weast on this. Not to mention that Weast's own answers to BoE questions show that it would actually be less expensive both in the short term and over at least about 8 years to provide the 3 teachers needed for CCES/NCC to maintain the program they had several years ago which was basically on a par with Westland rather than to put everyone at Westland+16 trailers.

It is not true that it would be more feasible to make the curriculum available at 1 elementary school rather than two. If anything keeping the 6th grades at both schools offer better economy of scale to make a middle school program work there. For example, NCC and CCES already share an award-winning instrumental music teacher between the 2 schools w/o any problems.