The state of MCPS is atrocious

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And if your source is from 2019, it’s irrelevant. COVID revealed to a ton of parents how awful MCPS really is.

Moreover, only 17% of the people contacted for the 2019 survey responded.

https://moco360.media/2019/10/03/parents-pleased-with-mcps-survey-shows/

And yet they keep sending their kids to MCPS schools, while they themselves do little to affect any change or want to increase taxes to pay for their champagne wishes.

What choice do most of us have? Not everyone is wealthy or living in a "good" school district. The only "affordable" privates are Catholic schools and that's only for elementary. Only a few Catholic schools are remotely welcoming to non-Catholic/non-Christian families. The rest of us cannot afford $50-60K privates, and there are very few privates let alone non-religious ones.

And, the privates don't have the same math track come MS/HS.

I used to think this. Then I took my child out of MCPS and put him in a Catholic k-8. (We aren’t Catholic.) He is now excelling at a Catholic high school. We have never experienced anything other than acceptance as non-Catholics. It has been a great experience and I am thrilled by the effectiveness of the teachers. He’s really learning how to write! As for Math, it’s true that the K-8 didn’t offer Algebra until 8th. Why exactly is that a problem? Students can still take Calculus in high school and kids from Catholic high schools aren’t having problems getting into colleges.

I’d give the Catholic schools another look.

I looked at about 6 Catholics and only one was welcoming. There is a difference between being Christian and another religion or atheist. They had a more structured curriculum but the religion was a huge issue, several were pretty clear they didn't want non-Christians and when I asked how many non-Christians there were, none would tell me except the one.

The problem with starting later is it impacts other classes you take. You are looking for reasons to justify your choices and if you have a kid who should be on a regular or slower path, that makes sense but it comes an issue with higher level science and other STEM related things. Often the private school kids have to take geometry in summer school to make up for the slower pace. Most smarter kids take it in 7th.

At Norwood, kids in accelerated math end 8th grade with geometry.

If a kid doesn’t accelerate and ends 8th grade with algebra, they can still end high school with BC calc, especially if they are able to switch to an honors track in HS.

The point is there are options and you act as though private school don’t offer those.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And if your source is from 2019, it’s irrelevant. COVID revealed to a ton of parents how awful MCPS really is.

Moreover, only 17% of the people contacted for the 2019 survey responded.

https://moco360.media/2019/10/03/parents-pleased-with-mcps-survey-shows/

And yet they keep sending their kids to MCPS schools, while they themselves do little to affect any change or want to increase taxes to pay for their champagne wishes.

What choice do most of us have? Not everyone is wealthy or living in a "good" school district. The only "affordable" privates are Catholic schools and that's only for elementary. Only a few Catholic schools are remotely welcoming to non-Catholic/non-Christian families. The rest of us cannot afford $50-60K privates, and there are very few privates let alone non-religious ones.

And, the privates don't have the same math track come MS/HS.

I used to think this. Then I took my child out of MCPS and put him in a Catholic k-8. (We aren’t Catholic.) He is now excelling at a Catholic high school. We have never experienced anything other than acceptance as non-Catholics. It has been a great experience and I am thrilled by the effectiveness of the teachers. He’s really learning how to write! As for Math, it’s true that the K-8 didn’t offer Algebra until 8th. Why exactly is that a problem? Students can still take Calculus in high school and kids from Catholic high schools aren’t having problems getting into colleges.

I’d give the Catholic schools another look.

I looked at about 6 Catholics and only one was welcoming. There is a difference between being Christian and another religion or atheist. They had a more structured curriculum but the religion was a huge issue, several were pretty clear they didn't want non-Christians and when I asked how many non-Christians there were, none would tell me except the one.

The problem with starting later is it impacts other classes you take. You are looking for reasons to justify your choices and if you have a kid who should be on a regular or slower path, that makes sense but it comes an issue with higher level science and other STEM related things. Often the private school kids have to take geometry in summer school to make up for the slower pace. Most smarter kids take it in 7th.

If you don’t want to consider Catholic schools, then fine. Just don’t think you can paint them all with the same brush. Your experience merely looking at schools doesn’t erase our years of experience attending one, nor does it erase the similar experiences of many others. (Our school also has atheists and non-Christians. About 50% are Catholic.)

As for your second paragraph, that’s a little hard to take seriously. There is a growing concern about over-acceleration in Math, and there’s a growing consensus that American students are doing worse because more advanced Math is pushed before young brains are ready. Does your child really need to take Calculus in 11th? Why? What purpose does that even serve?

I don’t need to justify my choices to you or anyone. Taking him out of MCPS was the correct choice, as was sending him to a Catholic high school. I post here so others can see that there are options. Maybe you don’t want them. Fine. But there are other parents who may want to know.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And if your source is from 2019, it’s irrelevant. COVID revealed to a ton of parents how awful MCPS really is.

Moreover, only 17% of the people contacted for the 2019 survey responded.

https://moco360.media/2019/10/03/parents-pleased-with-mcps-survey-shows/

And yet they keep sending their kids to MCPS schools, while they themselves do little to affect any change or want to increase taxes to pay for their champagne wishes.

What choice do most of us have? Not everyone is wealthy or living in a "good" school district. The only "affordable" privates are Catholic schools and that's only for elementary. Only a few Catholic schools are remotely welcoming to non-Catholic/non-Christian families. The rest of us cannot afford $50-60K privates, and there are very few privates let alone non-religious ones.

And, the privates don't have the same math track come MS/HS.

I used to think this. Then I took my child out of MCPS and put him in a Catholic k-8. (We aren’t Catholic.) He is now excelling at a Catholic high school. We have never experienced anything other than acceptance as non-Catholics. It has been a great experience and I am thrilled by the effectiveness of the teachers. He’s really learning how to write! As for Math, it’s true that the K-8 didn’t offer Algebra until 8th. Why exactly is that a problem? Students can still take Calculus in high school and kids from Catholic high schools aren’t having problems getting into colleges.

I’d give the Catholic schools another look.

I looked at about 6 Catholics and only one was welcoming. There is a difference between being Christian and another religion or atheist. They had a more structured curriculum but the religion was a huge issue, several were pretty clear they didn't want non-Christians and when I asked how many non-Christians there were, none would tell me except the one.

The problem with starting later is it impacts other classes you take. You are looking for reasons to justify your choices and if you have a kid who should be on a regular or slower path, that makes sense but it comes an issue with higher level science and other STEM related things. Often the private school kids have to take geometry in summer school to make up for the slower pace. Most smarter kids take it in 7th.

If you don’t want to consider Catholic schools, then fine. Just don’t think you can paint them all with the same brush. Your experience merely looking at schools doesn’t erase our years of experience attending one, nor does it erase the similar experiences of many others. (Our school also has atheists and non-Christians. About 50% are Catholic.)

As for your second paragraph, that’s a little hard to take seriously. There is a growing concern about over-acceleration in Math, and there’s a growing consensus that American students are doing worse because more advanced Math is pushed before young brains are ready. Does your child really need to take Calculus in 11th? Why? What purpose does that even serve?

I don’t need to justify my choices to you or anyone. Taking him out of MCPS was the correct choice, as was sending him to a Catholic high school. I post here so others can see that there are options. Maybe you don’t want them. Fine. But there are other parents who may want to know.

Very well said!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And if your source is from 2019, it’s irrelevant. COVID revealed to a ton of parents how awful MCPS really is.

Moreover, only 17% of the people contacted for the 2019 survey responded.

https://moco360.media/2019/10/03/parents-pleased-with-mcps-survey-shows/

And yet they keep sending their kids to MCPS schools, while they themselves do little to affect any change or want to increase taxes to pay for their champagne wishes.

What choice do most of us have? Not everyone is wealthy or living in a "good" school district. The only "affordable" privates are Catholic schools and that's only for elementary. Only a few Catholic schools are remotely welcoming to non-Catholic/non-Christian families. The rest of us cannot afford $50-60K privates, and there are very few privates let alone non-religious ones.

And, the privates don't have the same math track come MS/HS.

I used to think this. Then I took my child out of MCPS and put him in a Catholic k-8. (We aren’t Catholic.) He is now excelling at a Catholic high school. We have never experienced anything other than acceptance as non-Catholics. It has been a great experience and I am thrilled by the effectiveness of the teachers. He’s really learning how to write! As for Math, it’s true that the K-8 didn’t offer Algebra until 8th. Why exactly is that a problem? Students can still take Calculus in high school and kids from Catholic high schools aren’t having problems getting into colleges.

I’d give the Catholic schools another look.

I looked at about 6 Catholics and only one was welcoming. There is a difference between being Christian and another religion or atheist. They had a more structured curriculum but the religion was a huge issue, several were pretty clear they didn't want non-Christians and when I asked how many non-Christians there were, none would tell me except the one.

The problem with starting later is it impacts other classes you take. You are looking for reasons to justify your choices and if you have a kid who should be on a regular or slower path, that makes sense but it comes an issue with higher level science and other STEM related things. Often the private school kids have to take geometry in summer school to make up for the slower pace. Most smarter kids take it in 7th.

If you don’t want to consider Catholic schools, then fine. Just don’t think you can paint them all with the same brush. Your experience merely looking at schools doesn’t erase our years of experience attending one, nor does it erase the similar experiences of many others. (Our school also has atheists and non-Christians. About 50% are Catholic.)

As for your second paragraph, that’s a little hard to take seriously. There is a growing concern about over-acceleration in Math, and there’s a growing consensus that American students are doing worse because more advanced Math is pushed before young brains are ready. Does your child really need to take Calculus in 11th? Why? What purpose does that even serve?

I don’t need to justify my choices to you or anyone. Taking him out of MCPS was the correct choice, as was sending him to a Catholic high school. I post here so others can see that there are options. Maybe you don’t want them. Fine. But there are other parents who may want to know.

You very clearly are looking to justify it as otherwise you would not be posting here about it.

How many other religions are at your school? Jewish, Muslim…..

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And if your source is from 2019, it’s irrelevant. COVID revealed to a ton of parents how awful MCPS really is.

Moreover, only 17% of the people contacted for the 2019 survey responded.

https://moco360.media/2019/10/03/parents-pleased-with-mcps-survey-shows/

And yet they keep sending their kids to MCPS schools, while they themselves do little to affect any change or want to increase taxes to pay for their champagne wishes.

What choice do most of us have? Not everyone is wealthy or living in a "good" school district. The only "affordable" privates are Catholic schools and that's only for elementary. Only a few Catholic schools are remotely welcoming to non-Catholic/non-Christian families. The rest of us cannot afford $50-60K privates, and there are very few privates let alone non-religious ones.

And, the privates don't have the same math track come MS/HS.

I used to think this. Then I took my child out of MCPS and put him in a Catholic k-8. (We aren’t Catholic.) He is now excelling at a Catholic high school. We have never experienced anything other than acceptance as non-Catholics. It has been a great experience and I am thrilled by the effectiveness of the teachers. He’s really learning how to write! As for Math, it’s true that the K-8 didn’t offer Algebra until 8th. Why exactly is that a problem? Students can still take Calculus in high school and kids from Catholic high schools aren’t having problems getting into colleges.

I’d give the Catholic schools another look.

I looked at about 6 Catholics and only one was welcoming. There is a difference between being Christian and another religion or atheist. They had a more structured curriculum but the religion was a huge issue, several were pretty clear they didn't want non-Christians and when I asked how many non-Christians there were, none would tell me except the one.

The problem with starting later is it impacts other classes you take. You are looking for reasons to justify your choices and if you have a kid who should be on a regular or slower path, that makes sense but it comes an issue with higher level science and other STEM related things. Often the private school kids have to take geometry in summer school to make up for the slower pace. Most smarter kids take it in 7th.

At Norwood, kids in accelerated math end 8th grade with geometry.

If a kid doesn’t accelerate and ends 8th grade with algebra, they can still end high school with BC calc, especially if they are able to switch to an honors track in HS.

The point is there are options and you act as though private school don’t offer those.

Norwood is a meh school and $40k.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And if your source is from 2019, it’s irrelevant. COVID revealed to a ton of parents how awful MCPS really is.

Moreover, only 17% of the people contacted for the 2019 survey responded.

https://moco360.media/2019/10/03/parents-pleased-with-mcps-survey-shows/

And yet they keep sending their kids to MCPS schools, while they themselves do little to affect any change or want to increase taxes to pay for their champagne wishes.

What choice do most of us have? Not everyone is wealthy or living in a "good" school district. The only "affordable" privates are Catholic schools and that's only for elementary. Only a few Catholic schools are remotely welcoming to non-Catholic/non-Christian families. The rest of us cannot afford $50-60K privates, and there are very few privates let alone non-religious ones.

And, the privates don't have the same math track come MS/HS.

I used to think this. Then I took my child out of MCPS and put him in a Catholic k-8. (We aren’t Catholic.) He is now excelling at a Catholic high school. We have never experienced anything other than acceptance as non-Catholics. It has been a great experience and I am thrilled by the effectiveness of the teachers. He’s really learning how to write! As for Math, it’s true that the K-8 didn’t offer Algebra until 8th. Why exactly is that a problem? Students can still take Calculus in high school and kids from Catholic high schools aren’t having problems getting into colleges.

I’d give the Catholic schools another look.

I looked at about 6 Catholics and only one was welcoming. There is a difference between being Christian and another religion or atheist. They had a more structured curriculum but the religion was a huge issue, several were pretty clear they didn't want non-Christians and when I asked how many non-Christians there were, none would tell me except the one.

The problem with starting later is it impacts other classes you take. You are looking for reasons to justify your choices and if you have a kid who should be on a regular or slower path, that makes sense but it comes an issue with higher level science and other STEM related things. Often the private school kids have to take geometry in summer school to make up for the slower pace. Most smarter kids take it in 7th.

At Norwood, kids in accelerated math end 8th grade with geometry.

If a kid doesn’t accelerate and ends 8th grade with algebra, they can still end high school with BC calc, especially if they are able to switch to an honors track in HS.

The point is there are options and you act as though private school don’t offer those.

Norwood is a meh school and $40k.

Care to share why you think it’s a meh school? Would love to hear it.

[Anonymous]

This year’s Norwood HS acceptances included Exeter and Lawrenceville, but sure: meh school.

https://www.norwoodschool.org/program/high-school-placement

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The 50% grade thing for doing nothing was done in the name of equity. They foujnd that too many kids of certain groups were not doing any work. By giving 50% for doing nothing, then if they at least did one or two assignments, it would be enough for a D and they'd pass.

Otherwise, MCPS would fail its equity goals because certain groups would have too high of a failure rate.

“The soft bigotry of low expectations”

[Anonymous]

Hello

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This year’s Norwood HS acceptances included Exeter and Lawrenceville, but sure: meh school.

https://www.norwoodschool.org/program/high-school-placement

People brag about their private lower school ($44,000 per year) by citing acceptances to private boarding prep high schools ($60,000 for day or $73,000 boarding, per year)? That is just completely in a different universe from me as a MCPS parent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This year’s Norwood HS acceptances included Exeter and Lawrenceville, but sure: meh school.

https://www.norwoodschool.org/program/high-school-placement

Not relevan when talking about mcp and alternatives being affortable. It’s a very small wealthy school. Of course they will have kids going to boarding school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This year’s Norwood HS acceptances included Exeter and Lawrenceville, but sure: meh school.

https://www.norwoodschool.org/program/high-school-placement

People brag about their private lower school ($44,000 per year) by citing acceptances to private boarding prep high schools ($60,000 for day or $73,000 boarding, per year)? That is just completely in a different universe from me as a MCPS parent.

Exactly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This year’s Norwood HS acceptances included Exeter and Lawrenceville, but sure: meh school.

https://www.norwoodschool.org/program/high-school-placement

People brag about their private lower school ($44,000 per year) by citing acceptances to private boarding prep high schools ($60,000 for day or $73,000 boarding, per year)? That is just completely in a different universe from me as a MCPS parent.

Ok?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This year’s Norwood HS acceptances included Exeter and Lawrenceville, but sure: meh school.

https://www.norwoodschool.org/program/high-school-placement

Not relevan when talking about mcp and alternatives being affortable. It’s a very small wealthy school. Of course they will have kids going to boarding school.

I didn’t post it because I expected it to be relevant to that. I posted it in response to someone who said it’s a meh school. Clearly it’s not.

[Anonymous]

You realize it’s just rich people paying for rich outcomes. There’s nothing special about getting into Exeter outside of writing a check and drinking brandy.