Is it worth it to move from NW DC to Montgomery County for Public Schools - for 5 year old?

[Anonymous]

OP here - yes, this is what I want for my twins, see below from PP. I do not need diversity by all means just for the sake of diversity, we encounter plenty of that anyway. I want a good school, good teachers, serious/ambitious kids, committed parents, good role models, kids and families with whom we can have a relationship after school as well, in our neighborhood. This is not about race, but about quality. I don't care what your color, religion or background is. Also, I would not want to send them to a 99% hispanic school, since that is not our culture and language, so what's the point. I just want the best for them, according to what my value system is and what I believe is best for them and for us as a family. I want the best that this country has to offer for my kids - make my tax dollars work!


NP here and so what? Sadly, the demographics tend to show the school's ability. Are you saying we should all want to go to Wheaton Regional instead of Whitman because it is more diverse even though the drop out rate is higher, the test scores are lower and there are more police calls/arrests there? If we prefer Whitman, we are racist?

I want my kids to go to the best school with kids that want to be there and learn. That get good grades and test scores. Families that take it seriously. I would send my kid to a 99% hispanic school if it was the highest rated, but guess what? There aren't any.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

And since it is expected to re-open above capacity, guess what - more trailers. But at least the new building will be amazing.

Where do you get that from? It's not in the MCPS projections. Future capacity 757, 705 maximum projected enrollment for the period 2015-2021.

http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/regulatoryaccountability/glance/currentyear/schools/02417.pdf

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

NP here and so what? Sadly, the demographics tend to show the school's ability. Are you saying we should all want to go to Wheaton Regional instead of Whitman because it is more diverse even though the drop out rate is higher, the test scores are lower and there are more police calls/arrests there? If we prefer Whitman, we are racist?

I want my kids to go to the best school with kids that want to be there and learn. That get good grades and test scores. Families that take it seriously. I would send my kid to a 99% hispanic school if it was the highest rated, but guess what? There aren't any.

No, they don't. The demographics show the school's demographics. Of course, if you want to define "best school" as "school with the highest test scores" or "school with the most affluent, most educated families" (which basically comes out the same), then yes, Whitman is the best school. But that doesn't say anything about the teaching, which is an integral part of school quality in my definition.

By the way, for 2013-2014,

Whitman: 17 police calls, 0 arrests, ~1,900 students
Wheaton: 12 police calls, 0 arrests, ~1,400 students

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here - yes, this is what I want for my twins, see below from PP. I do not need diversity by all means just for the sake of diversity, we encounter plenty of that anyway. I want a good school, good teachers, serious/ambitious kids, committed parents, good role models, kids and families with whom we can have a relationship after school as well, in our neighborhood. This is not about race, but about quality. I don't care what your color, religion or background is. Also, I would not want to send them to a 99% hispanic school, since that is not our culture and language, so what's the point. I just want the best for them, according to what my value system is and what I believe is best for them and for us as a family. I want the best that this country has to offer for my kids - make my tax dollars work!

OP, you can find this all over the county, not just in the Whitman cluster. Actually maybe you can't find it in the Whitman cluster, or so I infer from all of the complaining I read on DCUM about elementary schools in the Whitman cluster.

[Anonymous]

Seriously. I'd really like to see a data sheet that shows the % of girls with eating disorders, the % of kids who drink excessively, the % being treated for anxiety, and the total number of drunk driving incidents. Then the county high school rankings will look quite different. There's more to a school than our current test score measures.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Seriously. I'd really like to see a data sheet that shows the % of girls with eating disorders, the % of kids who drink excessively, the % being treated for anxiety, and the total number of drunk driving incidents. Then the county high school rankings will look quite different. There's more to a school than our current test score measures.

Since you are flinging stereotypes around do I get to ask to see all of the stats for your school's teen pregnancies, little white boys confused running around thinking they are gangstas, football players who can't read and 21 year olds ESOL student who only go to school to date young girls and sell drugs while collecting free lunch?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Seriously. I'd really like to see a data sheet that shows the % of girls with eating disorders, the % of kids who drink excessively, the % being treated for anxiety, and the total number of drunk driving incidents. Then the county high school rankings will look quite different. There's more to a school than our current test score measures.

Since you are flinging stereotypes around do I get to ask to see all of the stats for your school's teen pregnancies, little white boys confused running around thinking they are gangstas, football players who can't read and 21 year olds ESOL student who only go to school to date young girls and sell drugs while collecting free lunch?

Yes, I can see you are joking but I would love to know these actual facts as well. Because without knowing which are actual facts we are left to our own imaginations, which are not usually terribly accurate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Seriously. I'd really like to see a data sheet that shows the % of girls with eating disorders, the % of kids who drink excessively, the % being treated for anxiety, and the total number of drunk driving incidents. Then the county high school rankings will look quite different. There's more to a school than our current test score measures.

Since you are flinging stereotypes around do I get to ask to see all of the stats for your school's teen pregnancies, little white boys confused running around thinking they are gangstas, football players who can't read and 21 year olds ESOL student who only go to school to date young girls and sell drugs while collecting free lunch?

Yes, I can see you are joking but I would love to know these actual facts as well. Because without knowing which are actual facts we are left to our own imaginations, which are not usually terribly accurate.

you don't get to know the actual facts because largely they are personal information. who counts how many abortions the 12th grade girls have had? yuk.

[Anonymous]

The point is, many of the facts about a school that make it "good" or "bad" are not reflected in test scores.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The point is, many of the facts about a school that make it "good" or "bad" are not reflected in test scores.

No, that's really what makes the "school" good or bad. It all boils down to grades and achievement. Everything else is detail.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The point is, many of the facts about a school that make it "good" or "bad" are not reflected in test scores.

No, that's really what makes the "school" good or bad. It all boils down to grades and achievement. Everything else is detail.

Yes, teaching is irrelevant. Attitudes toward school and learning are also irrelevant. Also irrelevant is anything that doesn't involve grades, test scores, or awards. Grades and "achievement" are the only things that matter.

(I don't actually believe this.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The point is, many of the facts about a school that make it "good" or "bad" are not reflected in test scores.

No, that's really what makes the "school" good or bad. It all boils down to grades and achievement. Everything else is detail.

Ok then can you please show me a ranking of schools based on "grades and achievement"? Because all I see are rankings based on test scores.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The point is, many of the facts about a school that make it "good" or "bad" are not reflected in test scores.

No, that's really what makes the "school" good or bad. It all boils down to grades and achievement. Everything else is detail.

Yes, teaching is irrelevant. Attitudes toward school and learning are also irrelevant. Also irrelevant is anything that doesn't involve grades, test scores, or awards. Grades and "achievement" are the only things that matter.

(I don't actually believe this.)

Erm, no, that is not what I meant at all. In order for the grades and achievement to be good, you will automatically need to have excellent teachers and a strong curriculum, conscientious students and involved parents.

How else do you think these schools get the good results?

What is superfluous, is teenage pregnancy, anorexia and various other PERSONAL issues which are actually none of your fucking business.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The point is, many of the facts about a school that make it "good" or "bad" are not reflected in test scores.

No, that's really what makes the "school" good or bad. It all boils down to grades and achievement. Everything else is detail.

Ok then can you please show me a ranking of schools based on "grades and achievement"? Because all I see are rankings based on test scores.

Newsflash. Test scores = grades and achievement. Do I really have to spell out to you that I'm not talking about report cards? Are you completely stupid?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The point is, many of the facts about a school that make it "good" or "bad" are not reflected in test scores.

No, that's really what makes the "school" good or bad. It all boils down to grades and achievement. Everything else is detail.

Ok then can you please show me a ranking of schools based on "grades and achievement"? Because all I see are rankings based on test scores.

Newsflash. Test scores = grades and achievement. Do I really have to spell out to you that I'm not talking about report cards? Are you completely stupid?

This is not as simple as you think it is. Your black and white thinking makes me think you are in fact a teenager, in which case I'll forgive you for your naïveté. Some schools have very high test scores but are also pressure cookers full of anxious, ruthless kids. A school's culture matters. I do not want my child to emulate people who come on public sites and call people "completely stupid" and whine that thing are "none of their fucking business." Character matters.