Cold Spring Kindergarten

[Anonymous]

At kindergarten orientation we learned that 24 students are registered so far. I'm assuming there will be just 1 class, especially with class sizes increasing due to budget cuts. How many more kids need to enroll for there to be a second class? Would they really allow 2 classes of 15ish students if a few more kids enroll? That doesn't seem fair when classes at other schools are bursting at the seams. It seems like they will probably start looking at school boundaries in the area pretty soon. Are they already?

[Anonymous]

The kindergarten classes are generally small. 15-20 kids have been the norm in recent years. Typically the number of students enrolled jumps during the summer. If it's at 24 now, it's reasonable to expect 30 by fall. I think the chance of having just one classroom is slim.

You'll love the school.

[Anonymous]

You could end up with one class with 30 kids. No non Title 1 school is going to get two classrooms with 15 kids. Schools with low enrollment just have empty rooms. They still have huge class sizes.

[Anonymous]

They really need to move the neighboring development Horizon Hill to Cold Spring. Ritchie Park is bursting with 4-5 K classes of 25 kids. It doesn't seem right.

One school has 8 portables and another has empty classes. Can't they at least give them an option?

[Anonymous]

They changed the cap size for non Title I for next year. I don't remember if it's 29 or 30. If the enrollment DOES hit one above whatever the number is, then yes, you will end up with two classes of 15/16 kids. Even if it's not Title I.

[Anonymous]

The class size cap for kindergarten next year is 26. If Cold Spring has 27+ in its planned enrollment for next year, then yes, there will be two classes next year, just as there are two classes this year: http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/coldspringes/classroom/kindergarten/

[Anonymous]

How does Cold Spring get away with being so underpopulated when so many schools are overpopulated? It seems like if this has been a consistent issue then boundaries should have been changed already.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How does Cold Spring get away with being so underpopulated when so many schools are overpopulated? It seems like if this has been a consistent issue then boundaries should have been changed already.

That's a very good question. No one seems to be able to answer that question adequately, though. Whenever boundary changes are mentioned, some people balk at it because it costs too much for little gain.

I agree with another PP. I think under enrolled schools should have less restrictive COSAs. I think, however, MCPS fears that it will be the wealthier families that move their kids to CS, and they don't want to pull wealthy families out of "poorer" areas. I think they should bring the "poorer" parts near Rockville Town Center area over to CS. If they can have kids all the way out in Fallsgrove bused to RP, they can have kids in Rockville bused to CS. This would alleviate some of the overcrowding in the other ESs and keep the SES more equitable between the neighboring schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How does Cold Spring get away with being so underpopulated when so many schools are overpopulated? It seems like if this has been a consistent issue then boundaries should have been changed already.

That's a very good question. No one seems to be able to answer that question adequately, though. Whenever boundary changes are mentioned, some people balk at it because it costs too much for little gain.

I agree with another PP. I think under enrolled schools should have less restrictive COSAs. I think, however, MCPS fears that it will be the wealthier families that move their kids to CS, and they don't want to pull wealthy families out of "poorer" areas. I think they should bring the "poorer" parts near Rockville Town Center area over to CS. If they can have kids all the way out in Fallsgrove bused to RP, they can have kids in Rockville bused to CS. This would alleviate some of the overcrowding in the other ESs and keep the SES more equitable between the neighboring schools.

Imagine how the people involved will react to a boundary study to move the kids from the "poorer" parts near Rockville Town Center (meaning what, exactly? Lincoln Park?) to Cold Spring ES, then back to the RM cluster for middle school and high school.

You seem to think that's not an adequate answer for the question of why MCPS is not moving people around. I find it a very adequate answer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How does Cold Spring get away with being so underpopulated when so many schools are overpopulated? It seems like if this has been a consistent issue then boundaries should have been changed already.

That's a very good question. No one seems to be able to answer that question adequately, though. Whenever boundary changes are mentioned, some people balk at it because it costs too much for little gain.

I agree with another PP. I think under enrolled schools should have less restrictive COSAs. I think, however, MCPS fears that it will be the wealthier families that move their kids to CS, and they don't want to pull wealthy families out of "poorer" areas. I think they should bring the "poorer" parts near Rockville Town Center area over to CS. If they can have kids all the way out in Fallsgrove bused to RP, they can have kids in Rockville bused to CS. This would alleviate some of the overcrowding in the other ESs and keep the SES more equitable between the neighboring schools.

They moved Fallsgrove in because at the time, Ritchie Park was the most underpopulated of the 3 potential schools, Fallmeade and Lakewood. But then they also gave RP Park Potomac after it was already over capacity from Fallsgrove and somehow Beverly Farms, which is the closer school to Park Potomac AND under enrolled, has stayed free from change. So I don't think they should start busing poor kids into Cold Spring. Horizon Hill used to be in the Wootton school district and in fact, more than half of the development (if not all) can walk to Cold Spring, Frost and Wootton. The fact is, they pulled it out of Wootton in the 80's because they needed some numbers and wealth for the failing RM district. But now they have IB, Fallsgrove, Rose Hill, Park Potomac and they don't need Horizon Hill like they used to. Since we got gauged and lost about $100K in the housing market back then, it would be nice to get that back and walkable schools. But for now, I can listen to the play by play announcers at Wootton sports games, while hearing about neighbors in their 16 kids per class Cold Spring school while we are bussed to Richie Park in class sizes over 30 in 1st grade. It has been this way for 10yrs and is total BS.

[Anonymous]

I agree with another PP. I think under enrolled schools should have less restrictive COSAs.

I agree with this 100%. COSA's don't require spending more for buses. COSA's are year to year, they don't convey a guarantee to follow on to an overcrowded middle or high school. In Churchill and Wootton many elementary schools are under enrolled. The in-boundary kids come back for upper ES (HGC), middle school, and high school so there is overcrowding at the middle and high school.

There is no reason why families in super crowded schools like Richie Park or Rachel Carson shouldn't be able to a do a COSA for one of the under enrolled elementary schools. MCPS needs to stop be an obstruction to anything that benefits an actual students.

[Anonymous]

Horizon Hill used to be in the Wootton school district and in fact, more than half of the development (if not all) can walk to Cold Spring, Frost and Wootton. The fact is, they pulled it out of Wootton in the 80's because they needed some numbers and wealth for the failing RM district.

This is just stupid. MCPS wastes so much money busing kids all over to play games with the data. Wouldn't it make more sense to spend those dollars on oh I don't know ..maybe teachers to teach in failing schools kids rather than busing kids that score well anyway into the school to prop up the numbers.

Boundaries need to be by geographic distance. If a new development is going into an area then they need to plan to expand the school not bus people around in the crazy way to screw with their numbers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
This is just stupid. MCPS wastes so much money busing kids all over to play games with the data. Wouldn't it make more sense to spend those dollars on oh I don't know ..maybe teachers to teach in failing schools kids rather than busing kids that score well anyway into the school to prop up the numbers.

Boundaries need to be by geographic distance. If a new development is going into an area then they need to plan to expand the school not bus people around in the crazy way to screw with their numbers.

You call it "playing games with the data". I call it counteracting the bad effects of residential segregation by income on education in public schools.

http://www.tcf.org/work/education/detail/housing-policy-is-school-policy

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How does Cold Spring get away with being so underpopulated when so many schools are overpopulated? It seems like if this has been a consistent issue then boundaries should have been changed already.

That's a very good question. No one seems to be able to answer that question adequately, though. Whenever boundary changes are mentioned, some people balk at it because it costs too much for little gain.

I agree with another PP. I think under enrolled schools should have less restrictive COSAs. I think, however, MCPS fears that it will be the wealthier families that move their kids to CS, and they don't want to pull wealthy families out of "poorer" areas. I think they should bring the "poorer" parts near Rockville Town Center area over to CS. If they can have kids all the way out in Fallsgrove bused to RP, they can have kids in Rockville bused to CS. This would alleviate some of the overcrowding in the other ESs and keep the SES more equitable between the neighboring schools.

Imagine how the people involved will react to a boundary study to move the kids from the "poorer" parts near Rockville Town Center (meaning what, exactly? Lincoln Park?) to Cold Spring ES, then back to the RM cluster for middle school and high school.

You seem to think that's not an adequate answer for the question of why MCPS is not moving people around. I find it a very adequate answer.

No, the point is to keep those kids in the Wootton cluster, not move them to JW/RM after ES. Makes perfect sense to me if MCPS is trying to keep the SES a bit even across the board. That's why they moved Horizon Hill and Fallsgrove to the RM cluster. What they are doing now (which is nothing) is not an adequate answer. And given that ES#5 for RM is probably not going to happen now with the budget cuts, it's even more important they rezone now.

[Anonymous]

Yes, there are some people that sadly think that 1970s style busing works. It doesn't and was a disaster in the 70s. However, regardless of whether you want to engage in a large social experiment that failed once, there is no approved ecumenic and racial busing program in place at MCPS. The voters have never voted for this. People moving into the area have no knowledge that this is part of the program.

It only being done as a hidden opportunity in some random areas which is unfair to those students effected. It wastes money and more importantly is done under the table.

If you and your MCPS buddies think 1970s busing is the way to go then campaign on it. Bring forward a proposal to be voted on! Be hones and upfront

You can add it to your lets protect pedophiles program to keep administrators who allow offenders in schools from being fired in schools platform. Better yet, add it to the we embrace mediocrity and its all about the bureaucrat slogan.