New boundary study for Churchill, Clarksburg, Damascus, Gaithersburg, RM, Northwest, Poolesville, QO, SV, WM, Wootton

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow, yikes. My heart goes out to everyone who purchased a home in a specific neighborhood of MoCo so that they could be zoned for a specific school. I understand the need for a full rezoning with the new schools, but it’s just tragic for people who put thought and good money into picking their kid’s school.

? There aren't even any changes yet. With new schools being constructed, it is completely possible for them to make changes that are upgrades for everyone. Newer facilities for those who want them, leave successful districts untouched.

The district is Montgomery County Public Schools. All MCPS schools are schools in MCPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow, yikes. My heart goes out to everyone who purchased a home in a specific neighborhood of MoCo so that they could be zoned for a specific school. I understand the need for a full rezoning with the new schools, but it’s just tragic for people who put thought and good money into picking their kid’s school.

? There aren't even any changes yet. With new schools being constructed, it is completely possible for them to make changes that are upgrades for everyone. Newer facilities for those who want them, leave successful districts untouched.

The district is Montgomery County Public Schools. All MCPS schools are schools in MCPS.

"District" is a generic term for an administrative division. Anyone with a brain can tell that in this context it's referring to a cluster such as Churchill, Clarksburg, Damascus, Gaithersburg, RM, Northwest, Poolesville, QO, SV, WM, or Wootton. If you're going to be insufferably pedantic then at least be correct.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow, yikes. My heart goes out to everyone who purchased a home in a specific neighborhood of MoCo so that they could be zoned for a specific school. I understand the need for a full rezoning with the new schools, but it’s just tragic for people who put thought and good money into picking their kid’s school.

? There aren't even any changes yet. With new schools being constructed, it is completely possible for them to make changes that are upgrades for everyone. Newer facilities for those who want them, leave successful districts untouched.

The district is Montgomery County Public Schools. All MCPS schools are schools in MCPS.

"District" is a generic term for an administrative division. Anyone with a brain can tell that in this context it's referring to a cluster such as Churchill, Clarksburg, Damascus, Gaithersburg, RM, Northwest, Poolesville, QO, SV, WM, or Wootton. If you're going to be insufferably pedantic then at least be correct.

DP. No, "district" is not the correct word to describe a school cluster.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wow, yikes. My heart goes out to everyone who purchased a home in a specific neighborhood of MoCo so that they could be zoned for a specific school. I understand the need for a full rezoning with the new schools, but it’s just tragic for people who put thought and good money into picking their kid’s school.

Well, we experienced it during the upcounty boundary study. We purchased a brand-new home to be in one cluster but got moved to another cluster that we were adamantly against. A few years later, I see why the switch was needed. Sometimes we have to deal with uncomfortable sucky things for the betterment of the community/public; and honestly, it's not as bad as we thought it would be.

[Anonymous]

I was in an MCPS cluster that got divided when a new school opened. I had one year in one high school, and then they took about half of that class and moved us over to the new school. I remember being so annoyed. But then I went to the new school and within a few days it was fine. I stayed in touch with friends who stayed the old school and kept my relationships with friends at the new school. My class always felt kind of tightly bonded because we'd experienced all of that together.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow, yikes. My heart goes out to everyone who purchased a home in a specific neighborhood of MoCo so that they could be zoned for a specific school. I understand the need for a full rezoning with the new schools, but it’s just tragic for people who put thought and good money into picking their kid’s school.

? There aren't even any changes yet. With new schools being constructed, it is completely possible for them to make changes that are upgrades for everyone. Newer facilities for those who want them, leave successful districts untouched.

The district is Montgomery County Public Schools. All MCPS schools are schools in MCPS.

"District" is a generic term for an administrative division. Anyone with a brain can tell that in this context it's referring to a cluster such as Churchill, Clarksburg, Damascus, Gaithersburg, RM, Northwest, Poolesville, QO, SV, WM, or Wootton. If you're going to be insufferably pedantic then at least be correct.

DP. No, "district" is not the correct word to describe a school cluster.

DP. No, I don't think so.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was in an MCPS cluster that got divided when a new school opened. I had one year in one high school, and then they took about half of that class and moved us over to the new school. I remember being so annoyed. But then I went to the new school and within a few days it was fine. I stayed in touch with friends who stayed the old school and kept my relationships with friends at the new school. My class always felt kind of tightly bonded because we'd experienced all of that together.

No one cares how students think. This is about how parents think and whether or not they can brag about their kids going to one of the "good" MCPS high schools.

[Anonymous]

Wow - apparently saying that being redistricted to Gaithersburg to reduce FARMS is reportable?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow, yikes. My heart goes out to everyone who purchased a home in a specific neighborhood of MoCo so that they could be zoned for a specific school. I understand the need for a full rezoning with the new schools, but it’s just tragic for people who put thought and good money into picking their kid’s school.

? There aren't even any changes yet. With new schools being constructed, it is completely possible for them to make changes that are upgrades for everyone. Newer facilities for those who want them, leave successful districts untouched.

The district is Montgomery County Public Schools. All MCPS schools are schools in MCPS.

"District" is a generic term for an administrative division. Anyone with a brain can tell that in this context it's referring to a cluster such as Churchill, Clarksburg, Damascus, Gaithersburg, RM, Northwest, Poolesville, QO, SV, WM, or Wootton. If you're going to be insufferably pedantic then at least be correct.

The word for a cluster is "cluster".

Which does raise the question of what the PP meant by saying "leave successful [clusters] untouched."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow, yikes. My heart goes out to everyone who purchased a home in a specific neighborhood of MoCo so that they could be zoned for a specific school. I understand the need for a full rezoning with the new schools, but it’s just tragic for people who put thought and good money into picking their kid’s school.

? There aren't even any changes yet. With new schools being constructed, it is completely possible for them to make changes that are upgrades for everyone. Newer facilities for those who want them, leave successful districts untouched.

The district is Montgomery County Public Schools. All MCPS schools are schools in MCPS.

"District" is a generic term for an administrative division. Anyone with a brain can tell that in this context it's referring to a cluster such as Churchill, Clarksburg, Damascus, Gaithersburg, RM, Northwest, Poolesville, QO, SV, WM, or Wootton. If you're going to be insufferably pedantic then at least be correct.

The word for a cluster is "cluster".

Which does raise the question of what the PP meant by saying "leave successful [clusters] untouched."

Yes. Who knows what the PP meant by "successful," but in any event there is significant overcrowding to be dealt with at Churchill, Clarksburg, RM, Northwest, and QO, so they will certainly not be left "untouched" by this study, regardless. And the Crown site itself is either within or across the street from the Gaithersburg and Wootton clusters, so they will be touched for that reason too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wow - apparently saying that being redistricted to Gaithersburg to reduce FARMS is reportable?

I definitely would expect the redistricting to seek to better balance out the FARMS populations across schools. Which is a good thing, because without restricting right now, we've basically created segregated schools where poor Black and Hispanic kids go and then the other well-resourced schools where the white and Asian kids go.

Now they need to do this redistricting in a way that accounts for distance from home and school as busing kids across county is also harmful and not desirable.

But I fully expect rich, white and Asian MoCo families to protest and be up in arms about this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow - apparently saying that being redistricted to Gaithersburg to reduce FARMS is reportable?

I definitely would expect the redistricting to seek to better balance out the FARMS populations across schools. Which is a good thing, because without restricting right now, we've basically created segregated schools where poor Black and Hispanic kids go and then the other well-resourced schools where the white and Asian kids go.

Now they need to do this redistricting in a way that accounts for distance from home and school as busing kids across county is also harmful and not desirable.

But I fully expect rich, white and Asian MoCo families to protest and be up in arms about this.

What do you mean by “well-resourced” schools? Don’t Title I schools - those with the highest FARMS rates - receive more funding that those with the lowest FARMS rates?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow - apparently saying that being redistricted to Gaithersburg to reduce FARMS is reportable?

I definitely would expect the redistricting to seek to better balance out the FARMS populations across schools. Which is a good thing, because without restricting right now, we've basically created segregated schools where poor Black and Hispanic kids go and then the other well-resourced schools where the white and Asian kids go.

Now they need to do this redistricting in a way that accounts for distance from home and school as busing kids across county is also harmful and not desirable.

But I fully expect rich, white and Asian MoCo families to protest and be up in arms about this.

What do you mean by “well-resourced” schools? Don’t Title I schools - those with the highest FARMS rates - receive more funding that those with the lowest FARMS rates?

The simplest answer to your question is that there are no Title I high schools in MCPS.

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/dtecps/title1/schools/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow - apparently saying that being redistricted to Gaithersburg to reduce FARMS is reportable?

I definitely would expect the redistricting to seek to better balance out the FARMS populations across schools. Which is a good thing, because without restricting right now, we've basically created segregated schools where poor Black and Hispanic kids go and then the other well-resourced schools where the white and Asian kids go.

Now they need to do this redistricting in a way that accounts for distance from home and school as busing kids across county is also harmful and not desirable.

But I fully expect rich, white and Asian MoCo families to protest and be up in arms about this.

What do you mean by “well-resourced” schools? Don’t Title I schools - those with the highest FARMS rates - receive more funding that those with the lowest FARMS rates?

The simplest answer to your question is that there are no Title I high schools in MCPS.

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/dtecps/title1/schools/

Ok, so how do some high schools end up as well-resourced while others don’t? Is PP saying that MCPS spends more money for high schools in rich white areas than they do in poorer more diverse areas?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow - apparently saying that being redistricted to Gaithersburg to reduce FARMS is reportable?

I definitely would expect the redistricting to seek to better balance out the FARMS populations across schools. Which is a good thing, because without restricting right now, we've basically created segregated schools where poor Black and Hispanic kids go and then the other well-resourced schools where the white and Asian kids go.

Now they need to do this redistricting in a way that accounts for distance from home and school as busing kids across county is also harmful and not desirable.

But I fully expect rich, white and Asian MoCo families to protest and be up in arms about this.

What do you mean by “well-resourced” schools? Don’t Title I schools - those with the highest FARMS rates - receive more funding that those with the lowest FARMS rates?

The simplest answer to your question is that there are no Title I high schools in MCPS.

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/dtecps/title1/schools/

Ok, so how do some high schools end up as well-resourced while others don’t? Is PP saying that MCPS spends more money for high schools in rich white areas than they do in poorer more diverse areas?

DP. Yes, they probably do. Richer high schools have more experienced teachers, who get paid more. Personnel is the biggest cost. Also, the resources of the student body matter. Tutors, parent education, access to food, all of those resources matter too.

On the other hand the low income schools do have some special programs like the High School Wellness Centers so not sure how that affects the balance. And of course more kids get free meals so that is a resource as well.