Public vs. Private Schools for people living in Montgomery County

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Certain schools in montgomery county are great, but not all. So it depends where your kids would be going. If you can afford private schooling, then you might want to do it.

Translation: Schools with lots of affluent, white, and Asian parents have a good reputation. Schools with lots of poor, African-American, and Hispanic parents have a bad reputation.

But if you have a smart white or Asian kid with ADD or other mild disorder, such as GT/LD, 2e, best to move to the "lower SES" part of the county so they'll pay attention to you. Otherwise your kid will get lost if he or she needs IEP-type help but is not failing courses. Privates are full of very bright kids with ADD who are not well served by MCPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Certain schools in montgomery county are great, but not all. So it depends where your kids would be going. If you can afford private schooling, then you might want to do it.

Translation: Schools with lots of affluent, white, and Asian parents have a good reputation. Schools with lots of poor, African-American, and Hispanic parents have a bad reputation.

i thought the buzz word was diversity

All schools follow the same curriculum. 2nd grade math is 2nd grade math no matter what school you attend in the county. Biology is biology no matter what school. Where things start to change is the demographics....

If the population has a majority of students that need remedial assistance to get them up to par for say 2nd grade math then the teacher will focus their attention and energy to the level. If you child does not need the remedial assistance they will need to sit in class and wait for the rest of the class to learn the material. If you get a great teacher, hopefully, there will be some differentiation. But under 2.0, differentiation is not strongly encouraged anymore and truthfully it makes more work for the teachers. If your child is one of a few that is ahead of the class, they don't have a peer group to encourage higher performance. They might not like to be singled out as the "smart" kid and it might backfire. School demographics also impact the PTA which in turn impacts the extra circular activities that are offered at the school. There is no point in offering latin, yoga, or art history if the majority of the parents in the school district cannot afford the class. If the parents cannot afford the class, the chances that the PTA being able to fund the class from their funds is also slim. In addition, if the school demographics require a stronger focus on basic needs (food, clothing) teachers need to address this issue before they can teach educational material.

But from an educational curriculum standpoint, all the schools are the same.

This is BS. Read the online assignments. I did and it was eye opening. Schools are NOT the same.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi everyone,

Please help me understand (since I did not grow up in this country); say you live in Montgomery County, which has an excellent public school system: what would be the advantage of sending your kids to pricey private schools, like e.g. Sidwell Friends.
I am not being cynical, I am trying to think forward; our twins are only 2 years old and we live in NW DC. I grew up in a country with free education, so I am just trying to consider what would be best, including maybe moving to Montgomery County which I know has an excellent (best in the country?) public school system. One of my friends live in Montgomery County, but they send all of their kids to private schools. Is there an advantage for later on when they enter higher education? Thanks!

I live in upper NWDC and my husband and I considered moving to Montgomery County and sending our twins (now 12 year old) to MCPS when they were 8 years old. I remember having a conversation with a friend who told me something I will never forget. She said "I don't know why you are thinking about moving to Montgomery County. You will end up sending your kids to private school anyway." And, we are so glad we did not do it because most of the friends we know who live in Montgomery County send their kids to private school in middle and high school. We love our house in a sought after neighborhood DC and would have regretted the decision to sell and move to the suburbs and still be paying private school tuition. And, the kicker would be that we would not have been able to afford to move back in our DC neighborhood because we bought before the market went crazy and got a good deal. Just food for thought...

Yep, PP, this is us. Rue the decision to move to Bethesda.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some of the hater posts seem to be written by thesame person...but here is my take:

You don't see that many private schools in MoCo for the simple reason that the public system is indeed, on a high level, excellent. If there was a need for privates or charters you would see it look more like DC, where well over 50% of families choose against public. In MoCo something like 90% are public (I think it is on MCPS website but someone else can use google here.)

For some families, obviously the religious aspects is important. For others, in HS, sports are a consideration. And smaller class sizes are important of course also.

FWIW, if you look at Fairfax also (similarly quality school system, and similar size) there also are not a lot of independant schools. And it's because of a lack of demand, not a lack of income among residents.

Are you kidding me? There are a TON of private schools in MoCo, especially in the Potomac and Bethesda area.

[Anonymous]

Go public. My kid deserves that spot

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People may jump all over this but I think that it is accurate to say that Montgomery County used to be considerably more homogenous in terms of social class. Over time the number of lower income residents has increased and this increase has occurred predominately in the eastern pert of the county. The shifting demographics have had an impact on MCPS.

That does not explain why teachers at Bethesda and Chevy Chase schools make spelling mistakes.

[Anonymous]

Oh, another reason to go private. BOOKS.

Books are an amazing innovation in education, but apparently none of MCPS's consultants have recommended BOOKS. Instead, our kids are expected to remember everything a teacher says or writes on the board.

They come home with worksheets that don't explain what was taught, and there's no book to reference.

I bet MCPS spends more money on BoD meals and expense accounts than classroom books for elementary and middle school students.

[Anonymous]

Op..to get a balanced opinion you should post in the public forum as well..you are only getting part of the story here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op..to get a balanced opinion you should post in the public forum as well..you are only getting part of the story here.

Why? She asked WHY we would send kids to private. Public school parents aren't doing that unless they have kids in both public and private (as I do). Early on, we were told that if you had a child who was extremely self-motivated, he or she would do well in MCPS. Show me a BOY who is extremely self-motivated. They are few and far between. We now have one boy in private and hoping one can make it through public.

[Anonymous]

Since you mentioned Sidwell by name, Here are some reasons I send my DS to Sidwell rather than MoCo

I love the Quaker traditions and sense of community there.

Most of his classes have 10-12 students

In MoCo magnet he was one of two AA boys; Sidwell is more diverse

Sidwell has professional artists/muscians work with kids in their arts programs

The speakers at Sidwell are fascinating

The math teaching is superior

The writing instruction is superior

There are many opportunities to travel with the school overseas

Sidwell requires students to self advocate; teachers do not have to listen to pushy parents

The kids push themselves ( maybe too much)

Is the school perfect, no it is not. But it works for my kid. He was not as happy at his MoCo school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: Since you mentioned Sidwell by name, Here are some reasons I send my DS to Sidwell rather than MoCo

I love the Quaker traditions and sense of community there.

Most of his classes have 10-12 students

In MoCo magnet he was one of two AA boys; Sidwell is more diverse

Sidwell has professional artists/muscians work with kids in their arts programs

The speakers at Sidwell are fascinating

The math teaching is superior

The writing instruction is superior

There are many opportunities to travel with the school overseas

Sidwell requires students to self advocate; teachers do not have to listen to pushy parents

The kids push themselves ( maybe too much)

Is the school perfect, no it is not. But it works for my kid. He was not as happy at his MoCo school.

Meant to say there were only one or two AA boys in his magnet, not that he is AA; although this is beside the point

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I teach in MCPS and my DC attends private. I wanted a religious education and to avoid most of the social dysfunction I see first hand in public schools. We're AA.

I find it great peopel on here are ok saying they are AA I think alcoholics have bene shamed so much in this country, glad they are willing to put in in every post.

Very funny.

The fact is that many people on DCUM forget that middle class people of color have many of the same aspirations and values as whites. The default assumption is that the child of color in private school must be there on a sports scholarship, not that his or her parents scrimp and sacrifice to fund a better educational opportunity or social setting.

[Anonymous]

Diversity:

http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/regulatoryaccountability/glance/currentyear/schools/04427.pdf

Sidwell: For the 2013-2014 school year, 1,132 students (563 boys and 569 girls) are enrolled. Forty-seven percent of the student body are students of color.

Maret: 42% students of color and 30% faculty of color.

NCS: Students of color constitute 38% of the NCS student body

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People may jump all over this but I think that it is accurate to say that Montgomery County used to be considerably more homogenous in terms of social class. Over time the number of lower income residents has increased and this increase has occurred predominately in the eastern pert of the county. The shifting demographics have had an impact on MCPS.

That does not explain why teachers at Bethesda and Chevy Chase schools make spelling mistakes.

Or why a Wootton kid writes "payed" next to my kid's swim team card.

[Anonymous]

Huh?