How is Ritchie Park Elementary?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"But not great. And for the area, it should be better. Parent involvement has diminished severely and there are a ton of non involved families or over the top helicopter/tiger parents. There doesn't seem to be much in-between. Just lacking any fun. Stale programs and activities. Same things each year. Get's old quick."

Well, we went through one of those schools DCUM usually calls, great.

We only have 2 kids and the second one went to the gifted center school their last two years so we were involved for just 6 years.

The programs got stale there as well. That is not a RP problem, it is everywhere.

+1

If someone thinks that PTA programs at their school are stale there is an extremely simple solution. Come up with new program ideas and be the event coordinator for that/those new programs. Viola, fresh new programs at your school!

As for Ritchie Park in particular, this past year alone, the PTA added an outdoor garden initiative, geography bee, math Olympiad program, color run, Golf fundraiser, and spring picnic. I would hardly call 6 brand new programs "stale" but I guess some stuck up Potomac mom's just love to complain and not lift a finger.

Ritchie Park is in Rockville

Some houses in the zone have Potomac addresses.

Yes, some houses have a Potomac mailing address, but the houses are priced significantly less than if they went to a Potomac school (i.e., Churchill). Perhaps Potomac moms and Rockville moms are pretty similar. As an aside, my nephew was getting special education services at Ritchie Park and the school moved him to a different school in the cluster to receive "special education services" that Ritchie Park said they could not provide. Well that was a disaster (for lots of reasons) and his needs were not so significant that the school could not have accommodated him.

This was the former principal’s mo because she was obsessed with test scores.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"But not great. And for the area, it should be better. Parent involvement has diminished severely and there are a ton of non involved families or over the top helicopter/tiger parents. There doesn't seem to be much in-between. Just lacking any fun. Stale programs and activities. Same things each year. Get's old quick."

Well, we went through one of those schools DCUM usually calls, great.

We only have 2 kids and the second one went to the gifted center school their last two years so we were involved for just 6 years.

The programs got stale there as well. That is not a RP problem, it is everywhere.

+1

If someone thinks that PTA programs at their school are stale there is an extremely simple solution. Come up with new program ideas and be the event coordinator for that/those new programs. Viola, fresh new programs at your school!

As for Ritchie Park in particular, this past year alone, the PTA added an outdoor garden initiative, geography bee, math Olympiad program, color run, Golf fundraiser, and spring picnic. I would hardly call 6 brand new programs "stale" but I guess some stuck up Potomac mom's just love to complain and not lift a finger.

Ritchie Park is in Rockville

Some houses in the zone have Potomac addresses.

Yes, some houses have a Potomac mailing address, but the houses are priced significantly less than if they went to a Potomac school (i.e., Churchill). Perhaps Potomac moms and Rockville moms are pretty similar. As an aside, my nephew was getting special education services at Ritchie Park and the school moved him to a different school in the cluster to receive "special education services" that Ritchie Park said they could not provide. Well that was a disaster (for lots of reasons) and his needs were not so significant that the school could not have accommodated him.

+1

I know about RP ES trying to get rid of special education kids to boost test score. It's a horrible action and not sure how these people even get in a sector like education. Entire staff will take hint from the top and they will behave the same way.

Even if school may get new principle, culture will continue for few years. Horrible way to raise young child. No empathy for kids who may be different. I am in RP and I was horrified when I learned about. I talked to BOE members immediately to remove principle from MCPS. No one with this kind of attitude should be working in MCPS. I don't think me raising the issue made any difference. It was few years back.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"But not great. And for the area, it should be better. Parent involvement has diminished severely and there are a ton of non involved families or over the top helicopter/tiger parents. There doesn't seem to be much in-between. Just lacking any fun. Stale programs and activities. Same things each year. Get's old quick."

Well, we went through one of those schools DCUM usually calls, great.

We only have 2 kids and the second one went to the gifted center school their last two years so we were involved for just 6 years.

The programs got stale there as well. That is not a RP problem, it is everywhere.

+1

If someone thinks that PTA programs at their school are stale there is an extremely simple solution. Come up with new program ideas and be the event coordinator for that/those new programs. Viola, fresh new programs at your school!

As for Ritchie Park in particular, this past year alone, the PTA added an outdoor garden initiative, geography bee, math Olympiad program, color run, Golf fundraiser, and spring picnic. I would hardly call 6 brand new programs "stale" but I guess some stuck up Potomac mom's just love to complain and not lift a finger.

Ritchie Park is in Rockville

Some houses in the zone have Potomac addresses.

Yes, some houses have a Potomac mailing address, but the houses are priced significantly less than if they went to a Potomac school (i.e., Churchill). Perhaps Potomac moms and Rockville moms are pretty similar. As an aside, my nephew was getting special education services at Ritchie Park and the school moved him to a different school in the cluster to receive "special education services" that Ritchie Park said they could not provide. Well that was a disaster (for lots of reasons) and his needs were not so significant that the school could not have accommodated him.

Yes, we know that well. Original home owners have lost an average $100-$150K in value to their homes once RP moved out of Wootton to RM. It sucks. There are some families in Montgomery Square that have legit Potomac addresses and are not a part of city of Rockville. The rest have 20854 zip codes and are city of Rockville. But it doesn't matter. The $$ is where the school is and RM does not bring the money to these homes the way that Wootton did.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"But not great. And for the area, it should be better. Parent involvement has diminished severely and there are a ton of non involved families or over the top helicopter/tiger parents. There doesn't seem to be much in-between. Just lacking any fun. Stale programs and activities. Same things each year. Get's old quick."

Well, we went through one of those schools DCUM usually calls, great.

We only have 2 kids and the second one went to the gifted center school their last two years so we were involved for just 6 years.

The programs got stale there as well. That is not a RP problem, it is everywhere.

+1

If someone thinks that PTA programs at their school are stale there is an extremely simple solution. Come up with new program ideas and be the event coordinator for that/those new programs. Viola, fresh new programs at your school!

As for Ritchie Park in particular, this past year alone, the PTA added an outdoor garden initiative, geography bee, math Olympiad program, color run, Golf fundraiser, and spring picnic. I would hardly call 6 brand new programs "stale" but I guess some stuck up Potomac mom's just love to complain and not lift a finger.

Ritchie Park is in Rockville

Some houses in the zone have Potomac addresses.

Yes, some houses have a Potomac mailing address, but the houses are priced significantly less than if they went to a Potomac school (i.e., Churchill). Perhaps Potomac moms and Rockville moms are pretty similar. As an aside, my nephew was getting special education services at Ritchie Park and the school moved him to a different school in the cluster to receive "special education services" that Ritchie Park said they could not provide. Well that was a disaster (for lots of reasons) and his needs were not so significant that the school could not have accommodated him.

Yes, we know that well. Original home owners have lost an average $100-$150K in value to their homes once RP moved out of Wootton to RM. It sucks. There are some families in Montgomery Square that have legit Potomac addresses and are not a part of city of Rockville. The rest have 20854 zip codes and are city of Rockville. But it doesn't matter. The $$ is where the school is and RM does not bring the money to these homes the way that Wootton did.

In the 80's...almost 40 years ago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"But not great. And for the area, it should be better. Parent involvement has diminished severely and there are a ton of non involved families or over the top helicopter/tiger parents. There doesn't seem to be much in-between. Just lacking any fun. Stale programs and activities. Same things each year. Get's old quick."

Well, we went through one of those schools DCUM usually calls, great.

We only have 2 kids and the second one went to the gifted center school their last two years so we were involved for just 6 years.

The programs got stale there as well. That is not a RP problem, it is everywhere.

+1

If someone thinks that PTA programs at their school are stale there is an extremely simple solution. Come up with new program ideas and be the event coordinator for that/those new programs. Viola, fresh new programs at your school!

As for Ritchie Park in particular, this past year alone, the PTA added an outdoor garden initiative, geography bee, math Olympiad program, color run, Golf fundraiser, and spring picnic. I would hardly call 6 brand new programs "stale" but I guess some stuck up Potomac mom's just love to complain and not lift a finger.

Ritchie Park is in Rockville

Some houses in the zone have Potomac addresses.

Yes, some houses have a Potomac mailing address, but the houses are priced significantly less than if they went to a Potomac school (i.e., Churchill). Perhaps Potomac moms and Rockville moms are pretty similar. As an aside, my nephew was getting special education services at Ritchie Park and the school moved him to a different school in the cluster to receive "special education services" that Ritchie Park said they could not provide. Well that was a disaster (for lots of reasons) and his needs were not so significant that the school could not have accommodated him.

Yes, we know that well. Original home owners have lost an average $100-$150K in value to their homes once RP moved out of Wootton to RM. It sucks. There are some families in Montgomery Square that have legit Potomac addresses and are not a part of city of Rockville. The rest have 20854 zip codes and are city of Rockville. But it doesn't matter. The $$ is where the school is and RM does not bring the money to these homes the way that Wootton did.

I don't think anyone that owned a house in that area in 1987 (when RP was zoned out of wootton) has "lost money".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"But not great. And for the area, it should be better. Parent involvement has diminished severely and there are a ton of non involved families or over the top helicopter/tiger parents. There doesn't seem to be much in-between. Just lacking any fun. Stale programs and activities. Same things each year. Get's old quick."

Well, we went through one of those schools DCUM usually calls, great.

We only have 2 kids and the second one went to the gifted center school their last two years so we were involved for just 6 years.

The programs got stale there as well. That is not a RP problem, it is everywhere.

+1

If someone thinks that PTA programs at their school are stale there is an extremely simple solution. Come up with new program ideas and be the event coordinator for that/those new programs. Viola, fresh new programs at your school!

As for Ritchie Park in particular, this past year alone, the PTA added an outdoor garden initiative, geography bee, math Olympiad program, color run, Golf fundraiser, and spring picnic. I would hardly call 6 brand new programs "stale" but I guess some stuck up Potomac mom's just love to complain and not lift a finger.

Ritchie Park is in Rockville

Some houses in the zone have Potomac addresses.

Yes, some houses have a Potomac mailing address, but the houses are priced significantly less than if they went to a Potomac school (i.e., Churchill). Perhaps Potomac moms and Rockville moms are pretty similar. As an aside, my nephew was getting special education services at Ritchie Park and the school moved him to a different school in the cluster to receive "special education services" that Ritchie Park said they could not provide. Well that was a disaster (for lots of reasons) and his needs were not so significant that the school could not have accommodated him.

Yes, we know that well. Original home owners have lost an average $100-$150K in value to their homes once RP moved out of Wootton to RM. It sucks. There are some families in Montgomery Square that have legit Potomac addresses and are not a part of city of Rockville. The rest have 20854 zip codes and are city of Rockville. But it doesn't matter. The $$ is where the school is and RM does not bring the money to these homes the way that Wootton did.

I don't think anyone that owned a house in that area in 1987 (when RP was zoned out of wootton) has "lost money".

That's almost certainly an incorrect assumption. Anybody who bought a house in 1986 and sold within a recent time after could have lose money due to a number of factors: cost of sale, market fluctuations, etc.

[Anonymous]

We’ve had a good experience with RP, as have most of our neighbors. I have friends with kids at Lakewood, Travilah and Wayside and I don’t really see a lot of difference to RP - it’s basically the same demographic mix as those schools.

[Anonymous]

Our family just recently moved to the area and our children are zoned for Ritchie Park. Reading this thread I have concerns about special education at this school. Can anyone provide insight as to whether there is still a pattern of pushing special education students to other schools?

[Anonymous]

RP got a new principal this year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:RP got a new principal this year.

I do believe that the new principal is coming from Barnsley which has a special education program called GT/LD. Unfortunately, I don't think he was popular with those parents. MCPS just has a habit of moving people around to spread the mediocrity. Perhaps this is a better situation for him.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:RP got a new principal this year.

I do believe that the new principal is coming from Barnsley which has a special education program called GT/LD. Unfortunately, I don't think he was popular with those parents. MCPS just has a habit of moving people around to spread the mediocrity. Perhaps this is a better situation for him.

They don't move principals that way. There was an opening, and Winter applied for the position and was hired. There's a recent thread, principal openings, I think, where his performance at Barnsley is discussed. He was at Barnsley for 10 years, and it's not unusual for principals to choose to make lateral moves after that long in one place.

[Anonymous]

There has been a lot of turn over in the past 3 years at RP (a different principal each year). I would not be biased based on these posts bc of all the transitions. Also, there are some people on this forum that love to bash Ritchie Park no matter what. I am a very happy parent there the majority of parents I know are also happy. Mr. Winter will hopefully take a great school give it stability with leadership and help it become an exceptional school.

[Anonymous]

Has an update been given on who will lead the school in 24-25?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"But not great. And for the area, it should be better. Parent involvement has diminished severely and there are a ton of non involved families or over the top helicopter/tiger parents. There doesn't seem to be much in-between. Just lacking any fun. Stale programs and activities. Same things each year. Get's old quick."

Well, we went through one of those schools DCUM usually calls, great.

We only have 2 kids and the second one went to the gifted center school their last two years so we were involved for just 6 years.

The programs got stale there as well. That is not a RP problem, it is everywhere.

+1

If someone thinks that PTA programs at their school are stale there is an extremely simple solution. Come up with new program ideas and be the event coordinator for that/those new programs. Viola, fresh new programs at your school!

As for Ritchie Park in particular, this past year alone, the PTA added an outdoor garden initiative, geography bee, math Olympiad program, color run, Golf fundraiser, and spring picnic. I would hardly call 6 brand new programs "stale" but I guess some stuck up Potomac mom's just love to complain and not lift a finger.

Ritchie Park is in Rockville

Some houses in the zone have Potomac addresses.

Yes, some houses have a Potomac mailing address, but the houses are priced significantly less than if they went to a Potomac school (i.e., Churchill). Perhaps Potomac moms and Rockville moms are pretty similar. As an aside, my nephew was getting special education services at Ritchie Park and the school moved him to a different school in the cluster to receive "special education services" that Ritchie Park said they could not provide. Well that was a disaster (for lots of reasons) and his needs were not so significant that the school could not have accommodated him.

Yes, we know that well. Original home owners have lost an average $100-$150K in value to their homes once RP moved out of Wootton to RM. It sucks. There are some families in Montgomery Square that have legit Potomac addresses and are not a part of city of Rockville. The rest have 20854 zip codes and are city of Rockville. But it doesn't matter. The $$ is where the school is and RM does not bring the money to these homes the way that Wootton did.

I don't think anyone that owned a house in that area in 1987 (when RP was zoned out of wootton) has "lost money".

That's almost certainly an incorrect assumption. Anybody who bought a house in 1986 and sold within a recent time after could have lose money due to a number of factors: cost of sale, market fluctuations, etc.

Not in that neighbohood.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There has been a lot of turn over in the past 3 years at RP (a different principal each year). I would not be biased based on these posts bc of all the transitions. Also, there are some people on this forum that love to bash Ritchie Park no matter what. I am a very happy parent there the majority of parents I know are also happy. Mr. Winter will hopefully take a great school give it stability with leadership and help it become an exceptional school.

Winter is long gone. He dared to advocate and he was, of course, banished.