MCPS is no longer a desirable school district

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Philadelphia Main Line suburbs - the school districts are outstanding there. No SD is perfect, but this is a much better fit for us.

Are those countywide or based on the town? Any with countywide districts will have the same/similar issues.

We’ve been in mcps a long time, with several kids. The emphasis has definitely changed from meeting the needs of high performing students to meeting the needs of FARMS and ESL students. Maybe that’s about equity but I think it’s more about demographic changes and the influx of high poverty to the county.

Not sure that mcps can do anything differently as they must meet the needs of all students. And the students with the most needs are high poverty. I actually think they do a pretty good job at serving that population. It was never realistic to be able to reduce the achievement gap between wealthy high achieving students and students in poverty who don’t speak English at home. But I think mcps does a good job meeting basic needs.

They need to be honest about that though, and not pretend they are the mcps of years past.

The new school district we are now in is on the Philadelphia main line. The district is about a tenth the size of MCPS and the teachers on average are paid about $50k more. Also they spend about $10k more per student. My special needs son got more services and a more individualized iep when we moved and my younger son also learned more at the end of the year and pushed academically. I also talked to other parents and they are overall happy w special ed here. MCPS sucks, as a product of Fairfax county public schools I hear you but the teachers although well meaning do not have the resources or bandwidth to keep up w the educational needs of the county. It may have been good years ago but sadly cannot compete with other well managed school districts across the country.

That I don’t believe. MCPS pays quite well; the starting salary is 62k; I’d guess the average is 80k or so. Teachers are averaging 130k in your district?

MCPS caps entry levels for external candidates with experience. Many of us would get a paycut working for MCPS. It’s part of how Maryland school systems hold teachers hostage

I applied to MCPS with 16 years of experience. They would only give me credit for 8.

So I applied to privates and got a position that offered more than MCPS.

I’m thrilled with my current position, but it is a shame that the county doesn’t value experience. I was yet another strong teacher who took my talent elsewhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Philadelphia Main Line suburbs - the school districts are outstanding there. No SD is perfect, but this is a much better fit for us.

Are those countywide or based on the town? Any with countywide districts will have the same/similar issues.

We’ve been in mcps a long time, with several kids. The emphasis has definitely changed from meeting the needs of high performing students to meeting the needs of FARMS and ESL students. Maybe that’s about equity but I think it’s more about demographic changes and the influx of high poverty to the county.

Not sure that mcps can do anything differently as they must meet the needs of all students. And the students with the most needs are high poverty. I actually think they do a pretty good job at serving that population. It was never realistic to be able to reduce the achievement gap between wealthy high achieving students and students in poverty who don’t speak English at home. But I think mcps does a good job meeting basic needs.

They need to be honest about that though, and not pretend they are the mcps of years past.

The new school district we are now in is on the Philadelphia main line. The district is about a tenth the size of MCPS and the teachers on average are paid about $50k more. Also they spend about $10k more per student. My special needs son got more services and a more individualized iep when we moved and my younger son also learned more at the end of the year and pushed academically. I also talked to other parents and they are overall happy w special ed here. MCPS sucks, as a product of Fairfax county public schools I hear you but the teachers although well meaning do not have the resources or bandwidth to keep up w the educational needs of the county. It may have been good years ago but sadly cannot compete with other well managed school districts across the country.

That I don’t believe. MCPS pays quite well; the starting salary is 62k; I’d guess the average is 80k or so. Teachers are averaging 130k in your district?

MCPS caps entry levels for external candidates with experience. Many of us would get a paycut working for MCPS. It’s part of how Maryland school systems hold teachers hostage

I applied to MCPS with 16 years of experience. They would only give me credit for 8.

So I applied to privates and got a position that offered more than MCPS.

I’m thrilled with my current position, but it is a shame that the county doesn’t value experience. I was yet another strong teacher who took my talent elsewhere.

Ok?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We moved to Montgomery County because of the schools, and now, we are moving out for the exact same reason. MCPS has been deteriorating on so many levels over the last decade. It feels like watching a car wreck in slow motion. Our kids deserve better.

MCPS is one of the 20 largest, most diverse (socioeconomically & ethnically) public school systems in the country. Everyone has a different experience. Too bad it didn't work out for you and your family.

I hope you're going to a smaller, generally all-around wealthy district.

For the record, we have been part of the school system for 10+ years and feel our kids have gotten a very good education and will be better prepared for college that most graduating seniors in the US.

I am asking genuinely, although it may come across as snarky or judgmental. I don't mean it to be. But what type of school are you in, and are your kids neurotypical? Because my son had experience in a Potomac middle school and did wonderfully, but switched to a much more economically diverse high school and it was a complete cluster ****. Kids who wanted to learn, who were set up by supportive, able parents to learn, just could not learn. Too much chaos, disrespect, disruption, and at times violence. I used to think a child could get a good education at any school. With the right approach and supports. But I've changed my mind. I'm just one experience in thousands and thousands. I know.

I just can't believe how bad the high school was. With staff and administration that cared and worked hard. This isn't about the teachers at all. It's the kids and whether they are being set up for success by the county-wide policies in place. I don't think they are.

Not one of the OP's but my kid is in an economically diverse HS and doing fine. Have they had to learn resilience, stick-to-it ness, and what it means to navigate a system? Absolutely. And those are life skills that will do them well.

Take a look a society at large and then take a look at the overall MoCO HS. Most often it's a mirror of society or better. I'm not sure why folks are expecting public school to be this place of nirvana.

My kid has learned resilience too, although it's not really the type I wanted him to learn. And I hope his high school experience does not mirror society.

He was assaulted four times in his freshman year. Assaulted once in sophomore. Got tough, and knows how to play the survival game now. He once said to me, "Mom, it's really weird that I know kids who have killed people." There are gangs in his school. Neighborhood gangs. Not much talk about MS13 or anything like that. But the neighborhood gangs are real. Not at school but two of his classmates were shot and survived (separate incidents). One was shot and killed. Two have been arrested for murder. (All of these have been reported in the local news). One classmate bragged about how his mom and his house got shot up, but the joke was on the shooters, because he and his mom had moved out a couple days before. hahahah. (That was not reported in the news, but I was able to confirm it through other methods.) He knows when someone is carrying a weapon in the school by their body language. By the way the square up for fights. Or don't. He got in trouble with some kids who threated to hurt his parents (me, obviously), which I didn't know until about a year later. But he knew that threat was real.

My son has graduated and I'm so grateful he is no longer in that environment. He is going to Montgomery College, and I hope that is better.

Sounds completely made up or not MCPS. Which school?

Here's one of the incidents I mentioned.

https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/local/maryland/wheaton-metro-homicide-emmanuel-simmonds-allegedly-shot-teen-victim-tenneson-leslie-in-head-as-he-was-fleeing-for-his-life/65-23201f62-3eb4-4f37-a6ee-c893521f5879

Ah yes. Magruder High School. Where MCPS had its first in-school shooting. Makes sense!

They've really put a lid on the behavioral issues over there post-shooting, haven't they?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Philadelphia Main Line suburbs - the school districts are outstanding there. No SD is perfect, but this is a much better fit for us.

Are those countywide or based on the town? Any with countywide districts will have the same/similar issues.

We’ve been in mcps a long time, with several kids. The emphasis has definitely changed from meeting the needs of high performing students to meeting the needs of FARMS and ESL students. Maybe that’s about equity but I think it’s more about demographic changes and the influx of high poverty to the county.

Not sure that mcps can do anything differently as they must meet the needs of all students. And the students with the most needs are high poverty. I actually think they do a pretty good job at serving that population. It was never realistic to be able to reduce the achievement gap between wealthy high achieving students and students in poverty who don’t speak English at home. But I think mcps does a good job meeting basic needs.

They need to be honest about that though, and not pretend they are the mcps of years past.

The new school district we are now in is on the Philadelphia main line. The district is about a tenth the size of MCPS and the teachers on average are paid about $50k more. Also they spend about $10k more per student. My special needs son got more services and a more individualized iep when we moved and my younger son also learned more at the end of the year and pushed academically. I also talked to other parents and they are overall happy w special ed here. MCPS sucks, as a product of Fairfax county public schools I hear you but the teachers although well meaning do not have the resources or bandwidth to keep up w the educational needs of the county. It may have been good years ago but sadly cannot compete with other well managed school districts across the country.

What is the name of this utopia school district where teachers got paid on average $50k more than MCPS teachers?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We moved to Montgomery County because of the schools, and now, we are moving out for the exact same reason. MCPS has been deteriorating on so many levels over the last decade. It feels like watching a car wreck in slow motion. Our kids deserve better.

MCPS is one of the 20 largest, most diverse (socioeconomically & ethnically) public school systems in the country. Everyone has a different experience. Too bad it didn't work out for you and your family.

I hope you're going to a smaller, generally all-around wealthy district.

For the record, we have been part of the school system for 10+ years and feel our kids have gotten a very good education and will be better prepared for college that most graduating seniors in the US.

I am asking genuinely, although it may come across as snarky or judgmental. I don't mean it to be. But what type of school are you in, and are your kids neurotypical? Because my son had experience in a Potomac middle school and did wonderfully, but switched to a much more economically diverse high school and it was a complete cluster ****. Kids who wanted to learn, who were set up by supportive, able parents to learn, just could not learn. Too much chaos, disrespect, disruption, and at times violence. I used to think a child could get a good education at any school. With the right approach and supports. But I've changed my mind. I'm just one experience in thousands and thousands. I know.

I just can't believe how bad the high school was. With staff and administration that cared and worked hard. This isn't about the teachers at all. It's the kids and whether they are being set up for success by the county-wide policies in place. I don't think they are.

Not one of the OP's but my kid is in an economically diverse HS and doing fine. Have they had to learn resilience, stick-to-it ness, and what it means to navigate a system? Absolutely. And those are life skills that will do them well.

Take a look a society at large and then take a look at the overall MoCO HS. Most often it's a mirror of society or better. I'm not sure why folks are expecting public school to be this place of nirvana.

My kid has learned resilience too, although it's not really the type I wanted him to learn. And I hope his high school experience does not mirror society.

He was assaulted four times in his freshman year. Assaulted once in sophomore. Got tough, and knows how to play the survival game now. He once said to me, "Mom, it's really weird that I know kids who have killed people." There are gangs in his school. Neighborhood gangs. Not much talk about MS13 or anything like that. But the neighborhood gangs are real. Not at school but two of his classmates were shot and survived (separate incidents). One was shot and killed. Two have been arrested for murder. (All of these have been reported in the local news). One classmate bragged about how his mom and his house got shot up, but the joke was on the shooters, because he and his mom had moved out a couple days before. hahahah. (That was not reported in the news, but I was able to confirm it through other methods.) He knows when someone is carrying a weapon in the school by their body language. By the way the square up for fights. Or don't. He got in trouble with some kids who threated to hurt his parents (me, obviously), which I didn't know until about a year later. But he knew that threat was real.

My son has graduated and I'm so grateful he is no longer in that environment. He is going to Montgomery College, and I hope that is better.

Sounds completely made up or not MCPS. Which school?

Here's one of the incidents I mentioned.

https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/local/maryland/wheaton-metro-homicide-emmanuel-simmonds-allegedly-shot-teen-victim-tenneson-leslie-in-head-as-he-was-fleeing-for-his-life/65-23201f62-3eb4-4f37-a6ee-c893521f5879

Nah, not related to your story.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Philadelphia Main Line suburbs - the school districts are outstanding there. No SD is perfect, but this is a much better fit for us.

Are those countywide or based on the town? Any with countywide districts will have the same/similar issues.

We’ve been in mcps a long time, with several kids. The emphasis has definitely changed from meeting the needs of high performing students to meeting the needs of FARMS and ESL students. Maybe that’s about equity but I think it’s more about demographic changes and the influx of high poverty to the county.

Not sure that mcps can do anything differently as they must meet the needs of all students. And the students with the most needs are high poverty. I actually think they do a pretty good job at serving that population. It was never realistic to be able to reduce the achievement gap between wealthy high achieving students and students in poverty who don’t speak English at home. But I think mcps does a good job meeting basic needs.

They need to be honest about that though, and not pretend they are the mcps of years past.

The new school district we are now in is on the Philadelphia main line. The district is about a tenth the size of MCPS and the teachers on average are paid about $50k more. Also they spend about $10k more per student. My special needs son got more services and a more individualized iep when we moved and my younger son also learned more at the end of the year and pushed academically. I also talked to other parents and they are overall happy w special ed here. MCPS sucks, as a product of Fairfax county public schools I hear you but the teachers although well meaning do not have the resources or bandwidth to keep up w the educational needs of the county. It may have been good years ago but sadly cannot compete with other well managed school districts across the country.

That I don’t believe. MCPS pays quite well; the starting salary is 62k; I’d guess the average is 80k or so. Teachers are averaging 130k in your district?

MCPS caps entry levels for external candidates with experience. Many of us would get a paycut working for MCPS. It’s part of how Maryland school systems hold teachers hostage

I applied to MCPS with 16 years of experience. They would only give me credit for 8.

So I applied to privates and got a position that offered more than MCPS.

I’m thrilled with my current position, but it is a shame that the county doesn’t value experience. I was yet another strong teacher who took my talent elsewhere.

Ok?

My comment is relevant to the conversation if you follow it upthread.

Previous posters discussed concern about attracting teachers to the county, which is a valid concern. MCPS’s reputation among teachers in the region isn’t as good as it used to be. Since they refuse to pay for experience like neighboring counties and private schools, MCPS loses a lot of great teachers simply because they won’t pay for them.

[Anonymous]

An interesting tale of where progressive governance leads.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Philadelphia Main Line suburbs - the school districts are outstanding there. No SD is perfect, but this is a much better fit for us.

Are those countywide or based on the town? Any with countywide districts will have the same/similar issues.

We’ve been in mcps a long time, with several kids. The emphasis has definitely changed from meeting the needs of high performing students to meeting the needs of FARMS and ESL students. Maybe that’s about equity but I think it’s more about demographic changes and the influx of high poverty to the county.

Not sure that mcps can do anything differently as they must meet the needs of all students. And the students with the most needs are high poverty. I actually think they do a pretty good job at serving that population. It was never realistic to be able to reduce the achievement gap between wealthy high achieving students and students in poverty who don’t speak English at home. But I think mcps does a good job meeting basic needs.

They need to be honest about that though, and not pretend they are the mcps of years past.

The new school district we are now in is on the Philadelphia main line. The district is about a tenth the size of MCPS and the teachers on average are paid about $50k more. Also they spend about $10k more per student. My special needs son got more services and a more individualized iep when we moved and my younger son also learned more at the end of the year and pushed academically. I also talked to other parents and they are overall happy w special ed here. MCPS sucks, as a product of Fairfax county public schools I hear you but the teachers although well meaning do not have the resources or bandwidth to keep up w the educational needs of the county. It may have been good years ago but sadly cannot compete with other well managed school districts across the country.

That I don’t believe. MCPS pays quite well; the starting salary is 62k; I’d guess the average is 80k or so. Teachers are averaging 130k in your district?

MCPS caps entry levels for external candidates with experience. Many of us would get a paycut working for MCPS. It’s part of how Maryland school systems hold teachers hostage

I applied to MCPS with 16 years of experience. They would only give me credit for 8.

So I applied to privates and got a position that offered more than MCPS.

I’m thrilled with my current position, but it is a shame that the county doesn’t value experience. I was yet another strong teacher who took my talent elsewhere.

Ok?

My comment is relevant to the conversation if you follow it upthread.

Previous posters discussed concern about attracting teachers to the county, which is a valid concern. MCPS’s reputation among teachers in the region isn’t as good as it used to be. Since they refuse to pay for experience like neighboring counties and private schools, MCPS loses a lot of great teachers simply because they won’t pay for them.

DCUM is not real.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We moved to Montgomery County because of the schools, and now, we are moving out for the exact same reason. MCPS has been deteriorating on so many levels over the last decade. It feels like watching a car wreck in slow motion. Our kids deserve better.

MCPS is one of the 20 largest, most diverse (socioeconomically & ethnically) public school systems in the country. Everyone has a different experience. Too bad it didn't work out for you and your family.

I hope you're going to a smaller, generally all-around wealthy district.

For the record, we have been part of the school system for 10+ years and feel our kids have gotten a very good education and will be better prepared for college that most graduating seniors in the US.

I am asking genuinely, although it may come across as snarky or judgmental. I don't mean it to be. But what type of school are you in, and are your kids neurotypical? Because my son had experience in a Potomac middle school and did wonderfully, but switched to a much more economically diverse high school and it was a complete cluster ****. Kids who wanted to learn, who were set up by supportive, able parents to learn, just could not learn. Too much chaos, disrespect, disruption, and at times violence. I used to think a child could get a good education at any school. With the right approach and supports. But I've changed my mind. I'm just one experience in thousands and thousands. I know.

I just can't believe how bad the high school was. With staff and administration that cared and worked hard. This isn't about the teachers at all. It's the kids and whether they are being set up for success by the county-wide policies in place. I don't think they are.

Not one of the OP's but my kid is in an economically diverse HS and doing fine. Have they had to learn resilience, stick-to-it ness, and what it means to navigate a system? Absolutely. And those are life skills that will do them well.

Take a look a society at large and then take a look at the overall MoCO HS. Most often it's a mirror of society or better. I'm not sure why folks are expecting public school to be this place of nirvana.

My kid has learned resilience too, although it's not really the type I wanted him to learn. And I hope his high school experience does not mirror society.

He was assaulted four times in his freshman year. Assaulted once in sophomore. Got tough, and knows how to play the survival game now. He once said to me, "Mom, it's really weird that I know kids who have killed people." There are gangs in his school. Neighborhood gangs. Not much talk about MS13 or anything like that. But the neighborhood gangs are real. Not at school but two of his classmates were shot and survived (separate incidents). One was shot and killed. Two have been arrested for murder. (All of these have been reported in the local news). One classmate bragged about how his mom and his house got shot up, but the joke was on the shooters, because he and his mom had moved out a couple days before. hahahah. (That was not reported in the news, but I was able to confirm it through other methods.) He knows when someone is carrying a weapon in the school by their body language. By the way the square up for fights. Or don't. He got in trouble with some kids who threated to hurt his parents (me, obviously), which I didn't know until about a year later. But he knew that threat was real.

My son has graduated and I'm so grateful he is no longer in that environment. He is going to Montgomery College, and I hope that is better.

Sounds completely made up or not MCPS. Which school?

Here's one of the incidents I mentioned.

https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/local/maryland/wheaton-metro-homicide-emmanuel-simmonds-allegedly-shot-teen-victim-tenneson-leslie-in-head-as-he-was-fleeing-for-his-life/65-23201f62-3eb4-4f37-a6ee-c893521f5879

Ah yes. Magruder High School. Where MCPS had its first in-school shooting. Makes sense!

They've really put a lid on the behavioral issues over there post-shooting, haven't they?

People really need to stop phrasing it and harping on it as “Where MCPS had its first school shooting.” It’s terrible, YES, but did folks really believe that would never happen in MCPS?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Philadelphia Main Line suburbs - the school districts are outstanding there. No SD is perfect, but this is a much better fit for us.

Are those countywide or based on the town? Any with countywide districts will have the same/similar issues.

We’ve been in mcps a long time, with several kids. The emphasis has definitely changed from meeting the needs of high performing students to meeting the needs of FARMS and ESL students. Maybe that’s about equity but I think it’s more about demographic changes and the influx of high poverty to the county.

Not sure that mcps can do anything differently as they must meet the needs of all students. And the students with the most needs are high poverty. I actually think they do a pretty good job at serving that population. It was never realistic to be able to reduce the achievement gap between wealthy high achieving students and students in poverty who don’t speak English at home. But I think mcps does a good job meeting basic needs.

They need to be honest about that though, and not pretend they are the mcps of years past.

The new school district we are now in is on the Philadelphia main line. The district is about a tenth the size of MCPS and the teachers on average are paid about $50k more. Also they spend about $10k more per student. My special needs son got more services and a more individualized iep when we moved and my younger son also learned more at the end of the year and pushed academically. I also talked to other parents and they are overall happy w special ed here. MCPS sucks, as a product of Fairfax county public schools I hear you but the teachers although well meaning do not have the resources or bandwidth to keep up w the educational needs of the county. It may have been good years ago but sadly cannot compete with other well managed school districts across the country.

That I don’t believe. MCPS pays quite well; the starting salary is 62k; I’d guess the average is 80k or so. Teachers are averaging 130k in your district?

MCPS caps entry levels for external candidates with experience. Many of us would get a paycut working for MCPS. It’s part of how Maryland school systems hold teachers hostage

I applied to MCPS with 16 years of experience. They would only give me credit for 8.

So I applied to privates and got a position that offered more than MCPS.

I’m thrilled with my current position, but it is a shame that the county doesn’t value experience. I was yet another strong teacher who took my talent elsewhere.

Ok?

My comment is relevant to the conversation if you follow it upthread.

Previous posters discussed concern about attracting teachers to the county, which is a valid concern. MCPS’s reputation among teachers in the region isn’t as good as it used to be. Since they refuse to pay for experience like neighboring counties and private schools, MCPS loses a lot of great teachers simply because they won’t pay for them.

DCUM is not real.

I don’t understand your point. The conversations between teachers aren’t happening on DCUM. They happen at state-wide trainings, on education forums, in faculty rooms, etc. We aren’t comparing pay and working conditions on DCUM.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We moved to Montgomery County because of the schools, and now, we are moving out for the exact same reason. MCPS has been deteriorating on so many levels over the last decade. It feels like watching a car wreck in slow motion. Our kids deserve better.

MCPS is one of the 20 largest, most diverse (socioeconomically & ethnically) public school systems in the country. Everyone has a different experience. Too bad it didn't work out for you and your family.

I hope you're going to a smaller, generally all-around wealthy district.

For the record, we have been part of the school system for 10+ years and feel our kids have gotten a very good education and will be better prepared for college that most graduating seniors in the US.

I am asking genuinely, although it may come across as snarky or judgmental. I don't mean it to be. But what type of school are you in, and are your kids neurotypical? Because my son had experience in a Potomac middle school and did wonderfully, but switched to a much more economically diverse high school and it was a complete cluster ****. Kids who wanted to learn, who were set up by supportive, able parents to learn, just could not learn. Too much chaos, disrespect, disruption, and at times violence. I used to think a child could get a good education at any school. With the right approach and supports. But I've changed my mind. I'm just one experience in thousands and thousands. I know.

I just can't believe how bad the high school was. With staff and administration that cared and worked hard. This isn't about the teachers at all. It's the kids and whether they are being set up for success by the county-wide policies in place. I don't think they are.

Not one of the OP's but my kid is in an economically diverse HS and doing fine. Have they had to learn resilience, stick-to-it ness, and what it means to navigate a system? Absolutely. And those are life skills that will do them well.

Take a look a society at large and then take a look at the overall MoCO HS. Most often it's a mirror of society or better. I'm not sure why folks are expecting public school to be this place of nirvana.

My kid has learned resilience too, although it's not really the type I wanted him to learn. And I hope his high school experience does not mirror society.

He was assaulted four times in his freshman year. Assaulted once in sophomore. Got tough, and knows how to play the survival game now. He once said to me, "Mom, it's really weird that I know kids who have killed people." There are gangs in his school. Neighborhood gangs. Not much talk about MS13 or anything like that. But the neighborhood gangs are real. Not at school but two of his classmates were shot and survived (separate incidents). One was shot and killed. Two have been arrested for murder. (All of these have been reported in the local news). One classmate bragged about how his mom and his house got shot up, but the joke was on the shooters, because he and his mom had moved out a couple days before. hahahah. (That was not reported in the news, but I was able to confirm it through other methods.) He knows when someone is carrying a weapon in the school by their body language. By the way the square up for fights. Or don't. He got in trouble with some kids who threated to hurt his parents (me, obviously), which I didn't know until about a year later. But he knew that threat was real.

My son has graduated and I'm so grateful he is no longer in that environment. He is going to Montgomery College, and I hope that is better.

Sounds completely made up or not MCPS. Which school?

Here's one of the incidents I mentioned.

https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/local/maryland/wheaton-metro-homicide-emmanuel-simmonds-allegedly-shot-teen-victim-tenneson-leslie-in-head-as-he-was-fleeing-for-his-life/65-23201f62-3eb4-4f37-a6ee-c893521f5879

Ah yes. Magruder High School. Where MCPS had its first in-school shooting. Makes sense!

They've really put a lid on the behavioral issues over there post-shooting, haven't they?

People really need to stop phrasing it and harping on it as “Where MCPS had its first school shooting.” It’s terrible, YES, but did folks really believe that would never happen in MCPS?

What? We need to stop stating the fact that Magruder was the first time in MCPS's history that a shooting happened on school grounds? Why? Who does it serve by us not acknowledging reality?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Philadelphia Main Line suburbs - the school districts are outstanding there. No SD is perfect, but this is a much better fit for us.

Are those countywide or based on the town? Any with countywide districts will have the same/similar issues.

We’ve been in mcps a long time, with several kids. The emphasis has definitely changed from meeting the needs of high performing students to meeting the needs of FARMS and ESL students. Maybe that’s about equity but I think it’s more about demographic changes and the influx of high poverty to the county.

Not sure that mcps can do anything differently as they must meet the needs of all students. And the students with the most needs are high poverty. I actually think they do a pretty good job at serving that population. It was never realistic to be able to reduce the achievement gap between wealthy high achieving students and students in poverty who don’t speak English at home. But I think mcps does a good job meeting basic needs.

They need to be honest about that though, and not pretend they are the mcps of years past.

The new school district we are now in is on the Philadelphia main line. The district is about a tenth the size of MCPS and the teachers on average are paid about $50k more. Also they spend about $10k more per student. My special needs son got more services and a more individualized iep when we moved and my younger son also learned more at the end of the year and pushed academically. I also talked to other parents and they are overall happy w special ed here. MCPS sucks, as a product of Fairfax county public schools I hear you but the teachers although well meaning do not have the resources or bandwidth to keep up w the educational needs of the county. It may have been good years ago but sadly cannot compete with other well managed school districts across the country.

That I don’t believe. MCPS pays quite well; the starting salary is 62k; I’d guess the average is 80k or so. Teachers are averaging 130k in your district?

MCPS caps entry levels for external candidates with experience. Many of us would get a paycut working for MCPS. It’s part of how Maryland school systems hold teachers hostage

I applied to MCPS with 16 years of experience. They would only give me credit for 8.

So I applied to privates and got a position that offered more than MCPS.

I’m thrilled with my current position, but it is a shame that the county doesn’t value experience. I was yet another strong teacher who took my talent elsewhere.

Ok?

My comment is relevant to the conversation if you follow it upthread.

Previous posters discussed concern about attracting teachers to the county, which is a valid concern. MCPS’s reputation among teachers in the region isn’t as good as it used to be. Since they refuse to pay for experience like neighboring counties and private schools, MCPS loses a lot of great teachers simply because they won’t pay for them.

DCUM is not real.

I don’t understand your point. The conversations between teachers aren’t happening on DCUM. They happen at state-wide trainings, on education forums, in faculty rooms, etc. We aren’t comparing pay and working conditions on DCUM.

You are not a teacher in MCPS, you never teach in MCPS, in fact you're a private school troll teacher.
MCPS has a good reputation among most teachers IRL.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Philadelphia Main Line suburbs - the school districts are outstanding there. No SD is perfect, but this is a much better fit for us.

Are those countywide or based on the town? Any with countywide districts will have the same/similar issues.

We’ve been in mcps a long time, with several kids. The emphasis has definitely changed from meeting the needs of high performing students to meeting the needs of FARMS and ESL students. Maybe that’s about equity but I think it’s more about demographic changes and the influx of high poverty to the county.

Not sure that mcps can do anything differently as they must meet the needs of all students. And the students with the most needs are high poverty. I actually think they do a pretty good job at serving that population. It was never realistic to be able to reduce the achievement gap between wealthy high achieving students and students in poverty who don’t speak English at home. But I think mcps does a good job meeting basic needs.

They need to be honest about that though, and not pretend they are the mcps of years past.

The new school district we are now in is on the Philadelphia main line. The district is about a tenth the size of MCPS and the teachers on average are paid about $50k more. Also they spend about $10k more per student. My special needs son got more services and a more individualized iep when we moved and my younger son also learned more at the end of the year and pushed academically. I also talked to other parents and they are overall happy w special ed here. MCPS sucks, as a product of Fairfax county public schools I hear you but the teachers although well meaning do not have the resources or bandwidth to keep up w the educational needs of the county. It may have been good years ago but sadly cannot compete with other well managed school districts across the country.

That I don’t believe. MCPS pays quite well; the starting salary is 62k; I’d guess the average is 80k or so. Teachers are averaging 130k in your district?

MCPS caps entry levels for external candidates with experience. Many of us would get a paycut working for MCPS. It’s part of how Maryland school systems hold teachers hostage

I applied to MCPS with 16 years of experience. They would only give me credit for 8.

So I applied to privates and got a position that offered more than MCPS.

I’m thrilled with my current position, but it is a shame that the county doesn’t value experience. I was yet another strong teacher who took my talent elsewhere.

Ok?

My comment is relevant to the conversation if you follow it upthread.

Previous posters discussed concern about attracting teachers to the county, which is a valid concern. MCPS’s reputation among teachers in the region isn’t as good as it used to be. Since they refuse to pay for experience like neighboring counties and private schools, MCPS loses a lot of great teachers simply because they won’t pay for them.

DCUM is not real.

I don’t understand your point. The conversations between teachers aren’t happening on DCUM. They happen at state-wide trainings, on education forums, in faculty rooms, etc. We aren’t comparing pay and working conditions on DCUM.

You are not a teacher in MCPS, you never teach in MCPS, in fact you're a private school troll teacher.
MCPS has a good reputation among most teachers IRL.

Not true. There are multiple Facebook pages that teachers created to support each other from the nightmare that is working for MCPS. Most of us post anonymously since people have had negative career actions taken against them due to posts on those pages. MCPS is the most mismanaged organization in the county by far.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Philadelphia Main Line suburbs - the school districts are outstanding there. No SD is perfect, but this is a much better fit for us.

Are those countywide or based on the town? Any with countywide districts will have the same/similar issues.

We’ve been in mcps a long time, with several kids. The emphasis has definitely changed from meeting the needs of high performing students to meeting the needs of FARMS and ESL students. Maybe that’s about equity but I think it’s more about demographic changes and the influx of high poverty to the county.

Not sure that mcps can do anything differently as they must meet the needs of all students. And the students with the most needs are high poverty. I actually think they do a pretty good job at serving that population. It was never realistic to be able to reduce the achievement gap between wealthy high achieving students and students in poverty who don’t speak English at home. But I think mcps does a good job meeting basic needs.

They need to be honest about that though, and not pretend they are the mcps of years past.

The new school district we are now in is on the Philadelphia main line. The district is about a tenth the size of MCPS and the teachers on average are paid about $50k more. Also they spend about $10k more per student. My special needs son got more services and a more individualized iep when we moved and my younger son also learned more at the end of the year and pushed academically. I also talked to other parents and they are overall happy w special ed here. MCPS sucks, as a product of Fairfax county public schools I hear you but the teachers although well meaning do not have the resources or bandwidth to keep up w the educational needs of the county. It may have been good years ago but sadly cannot compete with other well managed school districts across the country.

That I don’t believe. MCPS pays quite well; the starting salary is 62k; I’d guess the average is 80k or so. Teachers are averaging 130k in your district?

MCPS caps entry levels for external candidates with experience. Many of us would get a paycut working for MCPS. It’s part of how Maryland school systems hold teachers hostage

I applied to MCPS with 16 years of experience. They would only give me credit for 8.

So I applied to privates and got a position that offered more than MCPS.

I’m thrilled with my current position, but it is a shame that the county doesn’t value experience. I was yet another strong teacher who took my talent elsewhere.

Ok?

My comment is relevant to the conversation if you follow it upthread.

Previous posters discussed concern about attracting teachers to the county, which is a valid concern. MCPS’s reputation among teachers in the region isn’t as good as it used to be. Since they refuse to pay for experience like neighboring counties and private schools, MCPS loses a lot of great teachers simply because they won’t pay for them.

DCUM is not real.

I don’t understand your point. The conversations between teachers aren’t happening on DCUM. They happen at state-wide trainings, on education forums, in faculty rooms, etc. We aren’t comparing pay and working conditions on DCUM.

You are not a teacher in MCPS, you never teach in MCPS, in fact you're a private school troll teacher.
MCPS has a good reputation among most teachers IRL.

Not true. There are multiple Facebook pages that teachers created to support each other from the nightmare that is working for MCPS. Most of us post anonymously since people have had negative career actions taken against them due to posts on those pages. MCPS is the most mismanaged organization in the county by far.

Serious question: Why is your union, the MCEA, such a failure at improving your work environment and why do you teachers tolerate it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Philadelphia Main Line suburbs - the school districts are outstanding there. No SD is perfect, but this is a much better fit for us.

Are those countywide or based on the town? Any with countywide districts will have the same/similar issues.

We’ve been in mcps a long time, with several kids. The emphasis has definitely changed from meeting the needs of high performing students to meeting the needs of FARMS and ESL students. Maybe that’s about equity but I think it’s more about demographic changes and the influx of high poverty to the county.

Not sure that mcps can do anything differently as they must meet the needs of all students. And the students with the most needs are high poverty. I actually think they do a pretty good job at serving that population. It was never realistic to be able to reduce the achievement gap between wealthy high achieving students and students in poverty who don’t speak English at home. But I think mcps does a good job meeting basic needs.

They need to be honest about that though, and not pretend they are the mcps of years past.

The new school district we are now in is on the Philadelphia main line. The district is about a tenth the size of MCPS and the teachers on average are paid about $50k more. Also they spend about $10k more per student. My special needs son got more services and a more individualized iep when we moved and my younger son also learned more at the end of the year and pushed academically. I also talked to other parents and they are overall happy w special ed here. MCPS sucks, as a product of Fairfax county public schools I hear you but the teachers although well meaning do not have the resources or bandwidth to keep up w the educational needs of the county. It may have been good years ago but sadly cannot compete with other well managed school districts across the country.

That I don’t believe. MCPS pays quite well; the starting salary is 62k; I’d guess the average is 80k or so. Teachers are averaging 130k in your district?

MCPS caps entry levels for external candidates with experience. Many of us would get a paycut working for MCPS. It’s part of how Maryland school systems hold teachers hostage

I applied to MCPS with 16 years of experience. They would only give me credit for 8.

So I applied to privates and got a position that offered more than MCPS.

I’m thrilled with my current position, but it is a shame that the county doesn’t value experience. I was yet another strong teacher who took my talent elsewhere.

Ok?

My comment is relevant to the conversation if you follow it upthread.

Previous posters discussed concern about attracting teachers to the county, which is a valid concern. MCPS’s reputation among teachers in the region isn’t as good as it used to be. Since they refuse to pay for experience like neighboring counties and private schools, MCPS loses a lot of great teachers simply because they won’t pay for them.

DCUM is not real.

I don’t understand your point. The conversations between teachers aren’t happening on DCUM. They happen at state-wide trainings, on education forums, in faculty rooms, etc. We aren’t comparing pay and working conditions on DCUM.

You are not a teacher in MCPS, you never teach in MCPS, in fact you're a private school troll teacher.
MCPS has a good reputation among most teachers IRL.

I'm laughing at faculty rooms. They are lucky if they get a lunch room, but some are converted into classrooms.