Is 2.0 bad enough that I should move to DC instead of Bethesda?

[Anonymous]

Generally speaking I think that with or without 2.0 (and none of us know how much of the current angst is just driven by the transition process) MoCo schools are going to be comparable to good DCPS elementary schools (whether that's Lafayette or a good charter). I don't think it's worth getting wound up about the differences one way or the other.

[Anonymous]

Setting aside everyone's personal experience, there have been huge changes in MCPS over the past two years that are not widely popular. I know that when we were deciding between VA and MD many years ago, everyone raved about MCPS. Parents were very happy, scores were high, and it seemed like a very safe move. The only negative reviews we were able to find years ago were from the Parent's Coalition about fees which we don't care about and don't mind.

Now there is a good deal of dissatisfaction with the changes in class sizes, curriculum, grading system, math, and MCPS parent/system interactions etc. Whether you like 2.0 or not, I don't think you can say that this isn't going on.

There are some great teachers in MCPS but honestly I don't know if the young ones will stick around. It isn't an issue of pay but these changes are putting a huge burden on them. It really feels that the teachers doing the best are the ones who are secretly working around or outside the new system and putting in a lot of their own time to do this.

I'm not sure how all this will work out but if I was buying a new house, I would think twice about Montgomery County based on this situation.

[Anonymous]

If you are looking at the last 2 years then I think it really is mostly 2.0-- probably the reason you are hearing more dissatisfaction has more to do with this board than changes in the system.

That said, I think there has been a general increase in testing, there has been pressure on class sizes (although that does not play out the same in every school), and there have been pay freezes-- basically the county and the school system have been under financial stress and at some point that may well cause bigger problems down the road. On the other hand, I think a lot of people know that schools are one of the biggest strengths of the county, and I think there will always be a lot of support for them.

[Anonymous]

Virginia is one of a handful of states who have not adopted common core but its only a matter of time. When mcps is out scoring everyone on international standards we'll see how this plays out....

[Anonymous]

I am the poster at 2/7 12:00

Why I like Curriculum 2.0: Compared to what my fourth grader did in first grade, my first grader is getting more interesting reading and writing assignments, more (and more interesting) science and social studies, and a lot less drill and test prep. Meanwhile, my first grader is still in ability groups for math and reading. Also, I like the detailed report card and assessing on whether the child has learned a given skill, rather than letter grades. Also I expect that my first grader will have a more thorough understanding of math than my fourth grader, who (for example) has spent about a week total on long division because of skipping grades in math.

(And no, nobody is paying me to say this. I mean, really.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I realize that I'm posting on the Maryland Public Schools forum, so many of you will be biased, but -

Someone posted that DC schools, even the west of the park and charter schools, are not as good as Maryland schools. My children are too young to be in school yet, and I'm not sure where we'll live, but I had the impression that some of the DC charters, like LAMB and Yu Ying, were on par with some of the best Maryland schools.

Have I gotten misinformation? Or are some of the people posting here just misinformed or unaware of these charter schools? I'm trying to be objective here, and I have no stake in either side, but most of the parents that I know whose kids are at the best DC charters seem to be some of the smartest people around, with "resources" to go elsewhere, and I was assuming that the top DC charters could actually be better than some Maryland public schools, such as those around Silver Spring.

PP, I think there is rightfully a lot of excitement about some DC charters. That said, I've never heard anyone suggest that YY or LAMB or even SWW are on par with McPS or the best NOVA school systems. They may get there but the reality is that these are relatively new experiments right now. The suburban schools have a long track record of success by multiple measures (test scores, independent rankings, college placements) - very few if any DC charters can match that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Then you need to speak to your principal. He/she is 100% responsible for what you have described. All schools have been afforded the same resources to implement the curriculum, and many are doing an exceptional job.

How do you know? How is it that you have experience at so many different schools? And what is your definition of exceptional (do the teachers get P or ES for that)? My kid in K is fine, although they dropped the unit assessments my older child received in K. Those were very informative. My kid in 3rd grade-ugh-they are flying by the seats of their pants.

ROFL. Loved the P versus ES comment. To the OP besides the do they or don't they accelerate in my school inconsistency, there is the mystery of the ES. Is it given out, what is the benchmark to get them, Am I more likely to spot a unicorn on the Beltway than an ES on a report card. Some people claim their child has six ES ratings another person will say their child was ahead in material last year but gets a P for the same stuff this year. It's almost comical.

In all seriousness, I think it will be worked out in a few years, there are just a lot of transition pains and poor communication.

[Anonymous]

Sorry, but the math curriculum is weak. MCPS is going to have to eat crow on that one and make adjustments.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Have I gotten misinformation? Or are some of the people posting here just misinformed or unaware of these charter schools? I'm trying to be objective here, and I have no stake in either side, but most of the parents that I know whose kids are at the best DC charters seem to be some of the smartest people around, with "resources" to go elsewhere, and I was assuming that the top DC charters could actually be better than some Maryland public schools, such as those around Silver Spring.

Charter language immersion schools are the closest thing DC offers to "gifted" programs for advanced learners. That said, PTAs in DCPS schools are free to raise funds to pay for extra staff, unlike their MD counterparts. Parents at our Capitol Hill elementary school, Brent, pays for a part-time math teacher who runs pullout groups for advanced learners. It's common for families to hand the the PTA $1,000+ annually to support enrichment programs, saying "hey, cheaper that Sidwell." In the 10 or so DCPS schools where the kids are mostly upper-middle-class (yes, that tends to mean white in DC), your kid can in fact get an ES education to comparable to MoCo, at least if you supplement with museum time on weekends (easily done with the Smitihsonians a mile away) and home inputs. I would certainly not argue this for middle school, and I'm not sold on the charters.

Even the best charter elementary schools, like Two Rivers and Yu Ying, are sadly geared toward test prep for low-incomed and lower-middle-class AA students poorly served by DCPS neighborhood schools from 3rd grade on. Moreover, the charters don't officially allow any sort of "cherry picking" of students, running a single admissions lottery each, meaning that the language immersion schools are loaded with families with no connection to the target languages, and no real interest in them, there just to escape crappy neighborhood schools. If you look on the DC schools DCUM link you'll find one thread after another discussing serious problems with the charters popular with middle-class families, especially YY. Draw your own conclusions, but we wouldn't bother with any DC ES after K but one EotP (East of Rock Creek Park) or our IB school.

[Anonymous]

Is 2.0 bad enough that I should move to DC instead of Bethesda?

Yes.

[Anonymous]

Don't know about DC but will not pick Bethesda.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is 2.0 bad enough that I should move to DC instead of Bethesda?

Yes.

Strange b/c the problems with 2.0 are the very things that make it more like DCPS (no ability grouping, one-size-fits-all approach, focus on bringing the lowest performers up and ignoring the high achievers, undue focus on test scores). Sure, avoid 2.0 but going to DC schools won't help you avoid it. You'll get the same approach with a different name.