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Silver Spring schools- are they bad?
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Anonymous
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Thanks for the MoCo yahoo group on GTA. Here's a post from that site that explains that the zones don't exist anymore and instead schools are labelled as "in transition" or "focus schools" if they don't meet the poverty level required for Title 1 status. FWIW, all of the schools in the 20906 zip code are either Title 1 or Focus schools. This list may be helpful to folks researching schools in the county.
> Q. Does anyone have this on a map or a list of elementary schools that > are affected by being in the red zone? > > A. I believe you might be asking about schools which MCPS considers "focus" schools. To the best of my knowledge the red/green zone terminology has not been used by MCPS for several years. A school is considered a focus school when its student population does not meet the level of poverty that would qualify for Title I designation, but does have a higher level of poverty than a majority of the schools in MCPS. The level of poverty for focus school designation is finalized after the budget is approved, and the number of schools we are able to support is determined. These schools receive allocation for reduced class size for Kindergarten through Grade 2, as do Title I schools, but do not receive any other services or staffing uniquely provided through the Title I grant. Title 1 Schools – FARMS (Free and Reduced price meals rank above 75% NCLB Act allows districts to continue to provide Title I funds to schools that fall below the district established Title I cut-off percentage for one-year as a way to avoid having schools constantly entering and exiting the Title I program. If a school continues to fall below the district cut-off point for a second year, MCPS provides local transition funds at the 50 percent level for the first year and 25 percent level for the second year. Attached is a list of current focus schools, schools in transition, and Title I schools. FY 2008 63 Focus Elementary Schools (40 Focus schools plus 23 Focus Title 1 schools = 63 Schools) Beall Bel Pre Brookhaven Brown Station Cannon Road Clopper Mill Cresthaven Daly Drew Fairland Flower Hill Forest Knolls Fox Chapel Galway Glen Haven Glenallan Greencastle (Transition) Highland View (Transition) Jackson Road Maryvale Meadow Hall Mill Creek Towne Oakland Terrace Page (Transition) Pine Crest Piney Branch Resnik Ride Rock Creek Forest Rock Creek Valley Rock View Sequoyah Sligo Creek Stedwick Strathmore Strawberry Knoll Takoma Park Watkins Mill Whetstone Woodlin 23 Title I Elementary Schools Arcola Broad Acres Burnt Mills East Silver Spring Gaithersburg Georgian Forest Harmony Hills Highland Kemp Mill Montgomery Knolls New Hampshire Estates Nix Oak View Rolling Terrace Rosemont Shriver South Lake Summit Hall Twinbrook Viers Mill Washington Grove Weller Road Wheaton Woods |
Anonymous
| if folks want to ignore crime and gangs to be pc, let them. when their kids complain or get in trouble, remember the inappropriate (but honest) comments on this site. Racism and intolerance are wrong. Economic and social pressures are real. |
Anonymous
| Yes, 17:48, MoCo officially now has focus schools instead of zones, but it is my understanding they are still using the red and green zone internally and for presentations and other purposes. It is considered very politically incorrect so it's not widely discussed. However, everyone knows generally which schools fall into the two zones. |
Anonymous
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Seems like the posters who are negative re: Silver Spring schools are focusing on particular areas of Silver Spring.
Other parts of Silver Spring became filled with more affluent, better educated parents after the housing prices increased early this decade. For example, Woodside, Woodmor, Forest Glen, Forest Estates, Capital View, parts of Downtown. (the 20902, 20910, and 20901 zip codes). What is happening with those schools? I've had friends at Oakland Terrace who have told me that the upper grades are very diverse with a lot of non-native English families. But that the Kindergarten classes this year are filled with middle class (for this area- well above national average) families and they are not very diverse at all. I am just wondering if those areas which became pretty expensive have unsafe schools. Hard to imagine these types of families staying in them for the long haul if they do. |
Anonymous
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I know we have gangs in the Silver Spring area, but I rarely found gang members to be a problem in class. I know for a fact they were members b/c they stupidly tagged their English folders and sometimes even their essays. So I turned quite a few into security.
However, in terms of creating an unsafe environment for your children, most hang together and rarely - if ever - disrupt the classroom setting b/c they fear being exposed if they're suspended, or worse yet, expelled. And I can say I've taught a handful over the years. Gang members do not make up half the class, nor do they make up a large population of the school. And if security and administration are on their toes, they are constantly monitoring the students' behavior b/c they know who they are. In terms of PP's quote regarding parts of Silver Spring - "Other parts of Silver Spring became filled with more affluent, better educated parents after the housing prices increased early this decade. For example, Woodside, Woodmor, Forest Glen, Forest Estates, Capital View, parts of Downtown. (the 20902, 20910, and 20901 zip codes)" - most of these parents opt for one of the following: *private school *language immersion *magnet Their choices do indeed affect their local schools, but so do the consortium schools that we have downcounty and in the NE segment of Silver Spring. Without being PC at all, there is white flight. I see it in my own neighborhood when I hear parents say that "School X is a better fit for my child." (Around here, School X is majority white.) So although I find this thread disturbing as a teacher (b/c I believe all students have a right to learn), I see how the school system itself has created more problems with its "innovative" programs. If you teach your children right from wrong, and if your children are raised to believe that everyone is equal, s/he will do well in the public setting and will even surpass children who have been sheltered in private schools. So sometimes zip code means nothing. |
Anonymous
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"So sometimes zip code means nothing."
I think zip codes mean a great deal in terms of real estate values, crime rates, etc. Given that MC has uniform curriculum, zip codes probably don't mean as much to curriculum and instruction. I don't think it's fair to label this as white flight -- it has more to do with socioeconomics than race (after all, there is racial diversity in Bethesda, Chevy Chase, Potomac, Kensington, Olney, etc. yet those zips don't seem to have the same problems as parts of Silver Spring -- to wit: we rarely see posts asking where the good schools are in those areas). The Woodlin, Rock Creek Forest and Oakland Terrace neighborhoods don't have the same issues as the Georgian Forest, Harmony Hills, Glenallan neighborhoods. It's important to look at the stats for a school before moving to a neighborhood. Similarly, it is important IMHO to see how many homes are in foreclosure; how many rentals are in the area; how many registered sex offenders are in the area (a bunch in 20906 FWIW -- why? Perhaps b/c of the over abundance of low-income rentals (highest density of low-income rental housing in the county). Silver Spring is a huge area -- the boundaries of what qualifies as Silver Spring are enormous -- so it is probably safe to say that some parts of SS are better than others (how could this enormous part of the county be homogenous?). Just as the PP stated, however, house prices and demographics can be deceiving if folks are opting to to send their kids to private school. You really need to research your neighborhood thoroughly as opposed to relying on MCPS stats. Check out the local shopping centers, library, parks, etc. Folks in the Oakland Terrace area border Kensington and are a stone's throw from Rockville Pike and downtown Silver Spring -- really nice areas to shop, convenient public transportation, nice parks and libraries, etc. If you live in the Georgian Forest district, you border Aspen Hill, Glenmont, and the Layhill/Bel Pre area (which will soon have an ICC exit ramp). |
Anonymous
| I am in the Oakland Terrace district. I don't see many middle and upper middle class parents rushing to private school but I don't know what they plan to do for high school (it's mostly young families in my neighborhood). |
Anonymous
With all due respect, PP, (b/c you do make some great points), it really is race instead of socioeconomic level. If you break down the FARMs data (free and reduced meals) by race, you'll see very few whites who receive those services. Furthermore, examine the racial breakdown of the three Northeast Consortium high schools, which allows for school choice: - Blake: 37.3% white, 38.7% African American, 14.1% Hispanic, and 9.3% Asian. 16.5% are FARMS. Suspension rate is 5.8%. - Paint Branch: 22.5% white, 46.5% AA, 10.6% Hisp., and 20% Asian. 20.9% are FARMS. Suspension rate is 3.3%. - Springbrook: 14.5% white, 46.4% AA, 22.6% Hisp., and 16.1% Asian. 31% are FARMS. Suspension rate is 10.2%. In the past, Blake had a higher percentage of white students. Recently, however, in order to attempt to balance out numbers, the quotas have changed. Also keep in mind that FARMs drop significantly in high schools b/c there is often a stigma attached to them. I know for a fact that people associate race with gang activity and with how "good" a school is. As I mentioned previously, if you teach your children wrong from right, empower them, and teach them to respect all people despite differences, your children will be successful in any situation. |
Anonymous
Could you clarify what you mean by this part of the post? What quotas are you talking about ? What numbers? Are you saying that there was some kind of boundary change based on the desire to race-balance in the schools? I don't know what you're talking about here? |
Anonymous
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"As I mentioned previously, if you teach your children wrong from right, empower them, and teach them to respect all people despite differences, your children will be successful in any situation. "
I totally agree with you. I guess I have a somewhat different perspective having lived in an otherwise nice neighborhood yet had to deal with smashed windows, my car being shot, a car being stolen, witnessing open air drug dealing, watching a home on my street be surrounded by local police and federal agents for a drug bust, not being able to use the local park b/c of broken beer bottles and drug paraphanelia, having neighbors and relatives get mugged and assaulted after leaving the Glenmont metro, etc. Having to drive to the Leisureworld shopping center to grocery shop b/c neighbors had been mugged at the Aspen Hill shopping center, and someone had been held up in the Super Fresh center, and someone was knifed outside of the local Dunkin Donuts, and a gas station attendant at the Plaza del Mercado had been killed, etc. The machete incident in front of Kennedy HS was one of the final straws. I apologize for my original post -- it was poorly written and did not convey my original intention. MCPS teachers and administrators (relatives, neighbors and friends -- some who even work at the schools that have been mentioned) gave me unfiltered comments on the neighborhood schools and other county schools. Bottom line: even a so-so elementary school in MoCo is fine -- but you have to be careful when it comes to middle and high schools (not because of race -- but because of myriad factors -- and for myriad reasons). Others posting on this thread have said the same thing -- ie: folks love Oakland Terrace but get nervous about Sligo and Einstein. So the point I was trying to make is that while you might like the neighborhood elem, you should really look the middle and high schools as well as the neighborhood and surrounding areas. If folks are willing to send their kids to OT but many move or go the private route prior to MS and HS, will you be able to do the same if it matters to you? That's all I'm trying to say. And yes, we wouldn't have some of these problems if everyone who lived in a neighborhood sent their kids to the neighborhood school instead of magnet programs or private schools. I tried to stick it out and was optimistic when new families (of all races) with young kids moved in -- but they all either left before their kids would start kindergarten or went the private school route (including my African American neighbors -- they pulled their kids out of the local elem and middle school within a matter of weeks and went the private route). The asian and hispanic families on my street sent their kids to Catholic schools. All the high school students (a handful) that I knew in my neighborhood went to out of boundary public HSs (for IB programs) or private schools. End of story. I propose we end this thread -- I don't think it's useful to the OP anymore, and I apologize for being the catalyst by not being careful with my word choice. Folks should post suggestions for the best schools in Silver Spring on the other thread that was started. |
Anonymous
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Wow -- that was very gracious and very clear (i'm the one who originally wrote about being offended) by your original post.
Thanks for clearing things up -- much respect |
Anonymous
OK - last one (out of respect for the PP who wanted to end this) . . . When the consortium was created, I believe 100% of students got their first choice. Blake was 3rd, if I remember correctly, in "popularity," but it quickly moved up. However, because the numbers weren't balanced across racial/socioeconomic lines, fewer students were not receiving their first choice. They limited it by about 20%, I think - or something to that effect. (It's been some time and memory fades!) I do believe there are boundary issues, too. Parts of Farquhar MS (Sherwood's feeder) feed into Blake, and many of those students also have an opening into the IB program at Springbrook. I think people in Hampshire Greens wanted to rezone - something about changing middle schools (they were going to Key???), but the board did not accept their proposal. So it's basically a numbers game in terms of balancing. Blake is much more diverse than it was in the past, which is good, but unfortunately the idea of school choice also destroys neighborhoods and that community "feel." |
Anonymous
| FYI, in today's Gazette -- from the local police reports: Aggravated assault on Dec. 5 at Loiderman Middle School, 12701 Goodhill Road in Glenmont. Between juvenile students. |
Anonymous
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?
Was this just a fight b/w kids? Doesn't that happen everywhere? |
Anonymous
| Sure, fights happen at schools all the time. But fights resulting in calling the police and students being charged with aggravated assault isn't the norm. |