What's up with Piney Branch?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

The county will benefit when they spin up more local centers like the ones at PBES and RCES.

Interesting that you chose RCES as a comparative school. RCES had terrible PARRC scores considering how low the FARMS rate is at that school. Pass rates were in the 50s and 60s which for a wealthy area that doesn't have kids entering years below grade level is really bad. Go a few miles down the road and Cold Spring had a 98% pass rate. Cold Spring is a less wealthy area of Potomac while Rachel Carson pulls from the most expensive area in gaithersburg -not much SES difference in the populations. Both schools have a CES. So its either that within the same SES range smarter people with smarter kids choose Cold Spring while dumber people with dumber kids choose Rachel Carson OR much more likely there is something wrong at RCES.

My money is on the overcrowding which is the same problem at Piney Branch. Its crazy to have a CES at overcrowded schools which just increases the overcrowding! Based on the low score performance, a CES is not what these schools need and is just for show to appease parents who think their kid is gifted.

All schools deserve a local CES. Overcrowding and undercrowding is just a function of bad zoning. However, without the CES Cold Spring would cease to exist which from my perspective means it should be shut down as local centers come online.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is Piney Branch: https://ibb.co/hhJts9

This is Rolling Terrace: https://ibb.co/dPrwC9

This is East Silver Spring: https://ibb.co/bvhskU

This is Flora Singer: https://ibb.co/eYXxKp

I asked for actual links multiple times which the PP was unable to produce, and now posting photoshopped images on some random website doesn't cut it either. I'll stick with the Great Schools data thank you very much.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Piney Branch has never been considered a good school. Its only recently that a few DCUM posters have decided to pump their neighborhood. The school is overcrowded, low performing and does a poor job with all students but the parents are overly invested in pretending its just dandy. A new principal isn't going to change things.

Some of the other schools with far more FARMS kids are doing so much better because the teachers can really focus on those kids. At PBES there are so many zealous, whiny white parents wanting it to become the Bethesda of the east that resources gets scattered trying to placate them with faux differentiation when in the end their kids do no better anyway.

My 4th grader who goes there is doing great. They scored in the 240's on their MAP-M, 230's on their MAP-R, and 5's on their PARCC. Overall we've had a great experience, but we're also supportive of our child's education. This is a diverse school and many parents have different priorities.

Thanks - this is the only helpful post in the entire thread.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PBES is not over crowded. I know for a fact that the average class size for 3rd grade this year is 23. Last year it was 26 so there is some flux.

Sorry but that doesn't check out. There are 231 3rd graders at PBES and 9 classes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In two or three years PBES will be a GS 9 or possibly 10. Nevertheless, some groups will be continuing to struggle at PBES and in MCPS. The county will have made little progress closing the achievement gap because it's a fool's errand. This has been covered on these boards in numerous other threads.

You're right. Until all parents take responsibility for their children and stop expecting the county to do everything this situation isn't going to improve.

Sadly - you nailed it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PARCC is a terrible test that the state is phasing out. I wouldn't get my panties in a twist because my kids cohort scored a few percentage points lower at one school or another.

This point appears to be lost on the OP, but the state canceled PARCC because it's a bad test that fails to measure anything of value.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is Piney Branch: https://ibb.co/hhJts9

This is Rolling Terrace: https://ibb.co/dPrwC9

This is East Silver Spring: https://ibb.co/bvhskU

This is Flora Singer: https://ibb.co/eYXxKp

I asked for actual links multiple times which the PP was unable to produce, and now posting photoshopped images on some random website doesn't cut it either. I'll stick with the Great Schools data thank you very much.

Did you even try following the directions given by more than one poster about how to follow the links? Or are you being deliberately obtuse?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is Piney Branch: https://ibb.co/hhJts9

This is Rolling Terrace: https://ibb.co/dPrwC9

This is East Silver Spring: https://ibb.co/bvhskU

This is Flora Singer: https://ibb.co/eYXxKp

I asked for actual links multiple times which the PP was unable to produce, and now posting photoshopped images on some random website doesn't cut it either. I'll stick with the Great Schools data thank you very much.

Did you even try following the directions given by more than one poster about how to follow the links? Or are you being deliberately obtuse?

LOL - give it up or link the data.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is Piney Branch: https://ibb.co/hhJts9

This is Rolling Terrace: https://ibb.co/dPrwC9

This is East Silver Spring: https://ibb.co/bvhskU

This is Flora Singer: https://ibb.co/eYXxKp

I asked for actual links multiple times which the PP was unable to produce, and now posting photoshopped images on some random website doesn't cut it either. I'll stick with the Great Schools data thank you very much.

It's not news that FARMs and URMs do poorly on standardized tests at MCPS schools. Even cherry-picked that only looks at the math scores of 5th graders isn't showing anything different. These groups are failing at all schools.

[Anonymous]

East Silver Spring is a much smaller school than most of the others and has about 1/3 as many 5th traders as PB. That will likely mean more variability in their percentages year to year just because of the quirks of that particular class/group of students. It also may make it easier to identify and work with the kids on the cusp and prep them individually to do better on PARCC. I can see why a smaller school would be able to individually target kids for improvement more easily than a much bigger school. I’m ambivalent about how much one test really shows. On the one hand it’s good to make data available, on the other hand it’s not a complete picture of any school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:East Silver Spring is a much smaller school than most of the others and has about 1/3 as many 5th traders as PB. That will likely mean more variability in their percentages year to year just because of the quirks of that particular class/group of students. It also may make it easier to identify and work with the kids on the cusp and prep them individually to do better on PARCC. I can see why a smaller school would be able to individually target kids for improvement more easily than a much bigger school. I’m ambivalent about how much one test really shows. On the one hand it’s good to make data available, on the other hand it’s not a complete picture of any school.

You are right and this metric is fairly specific which makes me wonder if the OP is simply cherry-picking their facts to suit their desired narrative i.e. PARCC Math for 5th graders in two cohorts. It is hardly representative of a school's overall performance. Why not 4th grade English PARCC or a standardized test the state hasn't dumped.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:East Silver Spring is a much smaller school than most of the others and has about 1/3 as many 5th traders as PB. That will likely mean more variability in their percentages year to year just because of the quirks of that particular class/group of students. It also may make it easier to identify and work with the kids on the cusp and prep them individually to do better on PARCC. I can see why a smaller school would be able to individually target kids for improvement more easily than a much bigger school. I’m ambivalent about how much one test really shows. On the one hand it’s good to make data available, on the other hand it’s not a complete picture of any school.

I'm the PP who has put kids through both PBES and ESS, and you are right that ESS is smaller and there is more variability. But it would be a mistake to turn the focus of this thread to PBES vs. ESS, because OP has a very valid point. Year to year, consistently, Black kids do worse at Piney Branch than at almost any other school in the area. This despite having an overall richer student population, a more active PTA, and more middle class Black and mixed race families.

This is something that PBES needs to wrestle with, and I sincerely hope they are doing so. OP has a valid concern as a parent to a Black child, and I sure hope someone from PBES is watching this thread and taking it to heart.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:East Silver Spring is a much smaller school than most of the others and has about 1/3 as many 5th traders as PB. That will likely mean more variability in their percentages year to year just because of the quirks of that particular class/group of students. It also may make it easier to identify and work with the kids on the cusp and prep them individually to do better on PARCC. I can see why a smaller school would be able to individually target kids for improvement more easily than a much bigger school. I’m ambivalent about how much one test really shows. On the one hand it’s good to make data available, on the other hand it’s not a complete picture of any school.

I'm the PP who has put kids through both PBES and ESS, and you are right that ESS is smaller and there is more variability. But it would be a mistake to turn the focus of this thread to PBES vs. ESS, because OP has a very valid point. Year to year, consistently, Black kids do worse at Piney Branch than at almost any other school in the area. This despite having an overall richer student population, a more active PTA, and more middle class Black and mixed race families.

This is something that PBES needs to wrestle with, and I sincerely hope they are doing so. OP has a valid concern as a parent to a Black child, and I sure hope someone from PBES is watching this thread and taking it to heart.

The statistics they're using show that Black kids do worse on 5th grade math at PBES, but sadly that cohort does poorly at every MCPS school including ESS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:East Silver Spring is a much smaller school than most of the others and has about 1/3 as many 5th traders as PB. That will likely mean more variability in their percentages year to year just because of the quirks of that particular class/group of students. It also may make it easier to identify and work with the kids on the cusp and prep them individually to do better on PARCC. I can see why a smaller school would be able to individually target kids for improvement more easily than a much bigger school. I’m ambivalent about how much one test really shows. On the one hand it’s good to make data available, on the other hand it’s not a complete picture of any school.

You are right and this metric is fairly specific which makes me wonder if the OP is simply cherry-picking their facts to suit their desired narrative i.e. PARCC Math for 5th graders in two cohorts. It is hardly representative of a school's overall performance. Why not 4th grade English PARCC or a standardized test the state hasn't dumped.

I think people were looking at 5th grade math because that's the metric OP used, based on her concerns about her Black child entering Piney Branch. But, let's look at something else. I guess the opposite of 5th grade math is 3rd grade English, right? So here are the scores for that group.

Piney Branch - met and exceeded

Black - 19%

Hispanic - 25%

Rolling Terrace - met and exceeded

Black - 19%

Hispanic - 11%

East Silver Spring - met and exceeded

Black - 43%

Hispanic - 40%

Flora Singer - met and exceeded

Black - 47%

Hispanic - 17%



None of this is meant to get into a pissing match over which ES is "best" but OP has a very legitimate concern as the parent to a kid of color. The resistance on this thread to acknowledging her concern as legitimate is troubling.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:“PBES's principal was widely regarded as one of the best in the county, and was tapped to open a new school. I don't think she is the issue.”

This depends on who you want all to. As a white, UMC woman, my impression was that the former principal was not excellent at pleasing the PTA and other highly involved parents. But perhaps not so hot at addressing the needs of all students (I’m being delicate here). I have high hopes that the new principal will be a substantial improvement in this regard.

Most Principals are so so in MD, VA and DC as salaries are low as well as school ratings. By comparison Jehrico HS on Long Island which is rated number 1 Public HS in United States will do a national search and pay up to $400,000 a year for top school admin.

They will get the best. We get leftovers