CCES HGC

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I suspect there are some sour grapes on this thread. We have heard many positive experiences at the Chevy Chase HGC, in particular from parents whose children went from strong home school environments.

Children went from being home schooled to the HGC? How many could there be who do that?

Not the PP but, in this context "home school" means the in-boundary elementary school that the child started at before testing in to the HGC. It does not mean that the child was "home-schooled" in the sense of parents teaching the child at home. For ex., in context one might say: "My child's home school was Wood Acres, but she tested in to the HGC and now goes to the Chevy Chase HGC."

D'oh! Thanks.

[Anonymous]

All CCES HCG cluster schools are strong, i.e. Bethesda Elementary, Bradley Hills, etc.

Haven't you ever just LOVED one of your child's teachers, and friends are either Meh or Bleh?

People have different opinions and experiences, that's not sour grages.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All CCES HCG cluster schools are strong, i.e. Bethesda Elementary, Bradley Hills, etc.

Haven't you ever just LOVED one of your child's teachers, and friends are either Meh or Bleh?

People have different opinions and experiences, that's not sour grages.

No - my experience is if I thought a teacher was terrible, I later found out most other parents shared the same opinion - if people have complained about the same teacher multiple years, probably there's an issue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All CCES HCG cluster schools are strong, i.e. Bethesda Elementary, Bradley Hills, etc.

Haven't you ever just LOVED one of your child's teachers, and friends are either Meh or Bleh?

People have different opinions and experiences, that's not sour grages.

No - my experience is if I thought a teacher was terrible, I later found out most other parents shared the same opinion - if people have complained about the same teacher multiple years, probably there's an issue.

+1. So true. Parents don't like to talk about specific problems with specific teachers at school because it usually means revealing some problem that the child has. But, as a parent, I've always found that when I break the code of omertà on a teacher, other parents usually admit that they have had problems with the same teacher.

[Anonymous]

This thread is really making me more chill about whether my kids get into HGC. Thanks, people!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This thread is really making me more chill about whether my kids get into HGC. Thanks, people!

I think it is sad that MCPS cares so little about HGC that no changes are made when there are obvious problems.

[Anonymous]

I think it is a mistake to extrapolate from the experiences at Chevy Chase, where the Principal is a source of lots of the problems, to other HGCs. It is, however, sad that MCPS generally refuses to remove bad Principals. In the District, the Chevy Chase Principal would not have lasted a full year.

[Anonymous]

I am surprised that any HGC would get bad-mouthed. Is it from HGC parents or non-HGC parents I wonder?

You could have a bad principal who makes the experience less than stellar, but in other HGCs parents are more focused on the experience of their child within the homeroom.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I suspect there are some sour grapes on this thread. We have heard many positive experiences at the Chevy Chase HGC, in particular from parents whose children went from strong home school environments.

Sour grapes? I'm a PP who criticized CCES. I'm not sure why I'd have sour grapes. My DC did well at CCES, despite very negative experiences with a 4th grade teacher and the principal. Our home school was very strong as well. Some parents like the CCES principal - I do not. But I've never met another parent who speaks warmly about this teacher. I've heard from around a dozen parents who have been unhappy with this teacher, over the past 3-4 years. Most have had experiences worse than DC's.

At our home school, on the rare occasion when we've had problems with a teacher, we've spoken with the principal about it and it was addressed. The frustrating part of CCES is that parent complaints are dismissed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, I am not the PP here, but have also heard about problems in the HGC at CCES over the last few years. The number of students admitted to the Takoma Park MS Math/Science magnet from CCES has gone down tremendously and steadily over the last 4 years. It's not clear to me why that is. I had a child in the program several years ago. We were quite happy at that time; math acceleration was regularly offered to HGC students in a range from on grade level to 3 grades ahead. Now, with the change to C2.0, I don't know what math is being offered in the HGC. I do know that on the home school side of CCES all students who had been accelerated under C2.0 were taken off acceleration and put back on grade level no matter how far ahead they had been. Then last year, some students were placed in the new compacted C2.0 4/5/6 math compacted into grades 4 and 5. I am sure these changes affected the HGC as well, since students in the home school program had often been mixed with HGC students in math in order to make full(er) classes so that more advanced levels could be offered. Many parents at CCES protested the deceleration, but the principal refused to budge. She is very difficult to work with.

All of this is so interesting. I concur with the others who have said that the teaching at CCES HGC is very disappointing in 4th grade (everyone says the 5th grade teachers are great). You would think it would be easy to find fantastic and gifted teachers to teach these kids, but I think the principal is to blame for (1) not being able to attract talent and (2) refusing to do anything about the problems that have persisted for years. Parents have complained about this teacher every year she has been there (approx 3-4 years) and the principal does nothing. The most problematic teacher teaches ALL the HGC students in math, and it doesn't surprise me to hear that the acceptances to Takoma have gone down from CCES given what my kid's 4th grade math test scores looked like (compared to other years, a clear anomaly). This teacher is also prone to yelling at or humiliating kids publicly. We thought our kid's issues were unique, until we talked to other parents and learned the extent of the problem. But given how competitive the admissions are for HGC, who wants to speak up?

[Anonymous]

The person at MCPS to contact with feedback about CCES HGC is:

Abrunzo, Mr. Pat D
Director II, School Support and Improvement, ES
301-315-7358
[e-mail]

He is responsive and keeping a file.

[Anonymous]

It was my understanding that the teacher being referenced came from another gifted program and had a solid reputation there. (No, I am not an MCPS shill, I promise!)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Would NOT recommend CCES HGC. The teachers are hyper, rigid, and create anxiety for the children. Over-crowded and over-taxed teachers. We attended one year there and have finally recovered from it. The principal cares more about updating her twitter posts than she does about the children.

This exactly. One of the two 4th grade teachers is a yeller, and overly inflexible. (For example: Pencil sharpeners are not allowed in class, ever. You cannot sharpen a pencil in her classroom.) A couple of her students ended up in therapy for anxiety (I'm not kidding). My child is supposed to receive accommodations which were rarely provided, except in a punitive way. My child was deeply unhappy in the class but the principal did nothing about it. The principal just recently denied to her supervisors that there have been parent complaints in the past. I just learned that the teacher will unfortunately be returning in the fall.

The 5th grade teachers are much better (and not yellers!). But one is more rigid than necessary, and again we found her to be overrated.

I have to add that the principal of this school is not just a benign/passive enabler of the teacher who is a yeller. Unlike all the principals our children have ever had, she inserts herself forcefully into routine, age-appropriate disputes between children, agitates everything into a big mess, and upsets the children even more. As a result of her interventions, students have been removed from the program on a temporary and permanent basis for surprisingly minor things, sometimes without teacher input. I've never seen any administrator handle issues more ham-handedly...it's like she thrives on drama. Like others have said above, we thought it was just us, but apparently she has been imperious, erratic and unprofessional for some time. It's no surprise that complaints to her go nowhere. I'm curious whether she handles all CCES students this way, or if her behavior is unique to the HGC students.

[Anonymous]

To answer your question above, she handles all CCES kids in this way and has since she has been Principal, and many complaints have been lodged against her though you can always hope that the next one will tip the balance.

[Anonymous]

I have heard that the teacher referenced above is not returning to teach in the HGC this fall...can anyone confirm? AFAIK, the principal is coming back, though.