24 kids in kindergarten?? That is insane!

[Anonymous]

Tough to eyeball the difference between a room of 18 or 20. Its still undersubscribed compared to a room of 24. So from K-3, CSES is materially less crowded that neighboring schools. That is not debatable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Another vote for FARMS … DD had 16 in her K class and DS will have 19 when he starts next week. DD has gotten an amazing education. You get what you pay for when you buy those houses in more expensive neighbor …. oh, wait ...

It's OK in elementary, but peer influences become much more important as the kids get older.

… your implication being that people from lower SES will automatically be negative influences? That's an interesting mindset to have about the world. I'd beg to differ, being the daughter of a debutante who married the dirt-poor son of farmers.

I'm the daughter of a dirt-poor daughter of a farmer who married a WASP. Unfortunately, you do tend to see more negative-influences with lower SES. Look at the statistics. Schools (high schools & middle schools) with higher SES rates have more drop-outs, pregnancy, kids with arrest records, etc. You're incredibly naive if you don't think a child's peer group can influence their educational experience. There are many low SES kids who are great students, and who go on to achieve great things- my mother being one of them- but the odds are stacked against them. However, statistically, low SES kids are less likely to perform well I'm school and are less likely to go to college.

As much as I hate large classes, I'd choose a large class in a high SES school over a small class in a low SES school any day. Unfortunatly, SES has more of an influence on academic performance than class size.

I agree. And most of the time the FARMS schools have high ESL enrollment and they eat up so much of the teacher's time because they don't understand a lick of what she is saying. I will take a few more kids any day of the week over 16 kids with 6 that don't speak English. And once middle school hits SES does make a huge difference. The test scores, attendance, drop-out and police records of certain schools do not lie.

Wow. I forgot I was on DCUM for a minute and that I was someplace where people were actually reasonable. DD's class has had several ESL students and she has been rigorously challenged and had tons of teacher attention, as opposed to the former classmates who get no individual attention at their "more desirable" schools. These are the years that count, folks. You're laying the educational foundation. Your kids will befriend the same types of kids regardless of where they are. DD who is in to unicorns will not be playing with the girls who are into Hunger Games or whatever, no matter the school. But, hey, this works for me, I get to have DD around the type of people I'd like for her to associate with - open minded, generous of spirit, caring, accepting - there is trouble everywhere, the W schools just have more $$ to cover it up so it doesn't get to the press.

Peace.

[Anonymous]

I think that there is a big difference between some of the FOCUS schools at 40% FARMS and some of the Title I schools at 70% or more FARMS. I have a child at each. At the 40% FARMS, there is an incredible amount of parental involvement, dedicated community, many advanced students, etc. At the 70% FARMS, the school can't even get enough volunteers to have a PTA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No crowded classes at Cold Spring where my DD is in third grade. most classes around 14-18 kids. plenty of empty classrooms for extra individual attention and tutoring (or to remove one of the bad kids).

See that really pisses me off. We are right across the street at Ritchie Park. We have tons of portables, high ratios and every school in our cluster is just as bad or worse. Why they can not relocate Horizon Hill to Cold Spring is beyond me. Either that or they should redistrict the never ending new buildings of Park Potomac to you or Beverly Farms - both under enrolled. Yet they gave the overcrowded school who already had to deal with all of Fallsgrove coming to it, another new section when Park Potomac was built. It is actually closer to Beverly Farms anyway. I just do not understand it. A new condo building will be opening in Spring 2015 and another round of increased enrollment will be hitting Ritchie Park.

I live in the RP/JW/RM cluster as well, but note that the 5th elementary for RM is already approved for funding and will open in a couple years, so the overcrowding issue at the ES level is already being addressed.

With respect to the new condo/apartment development in Park Potomac, it's doubtful that it will add many students given the demographics (pre-marriage millennials and empty nesters) of likely buyers/renters. In any event though, there will be other new construction coming to Wootton if the current zoning is retained when the Belwood Farm property is developed.

Lastly, if there were a permanent size imbalance between RM and Wootton or Churchill, moving Fallsgrove or Park Potomac would have the effect of increasing the socio-economic disparities between the two clusters given those are the two wealthiest pockets in RM.

[Anonymous]

I live in the RP/JW/RM cluster as well, but note that the 5th elementary for RM is already approved for funding and will open in a couple years, so the overcrowding issue at the ES level is already being addressed.


I don't think this is true..it has been delayed.
http://news.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/quicknotes/six-year-school-construction-plan-approved/. The Chinese Immersion program should be moved from College Gardens. This would not alter any disparities. The all kids already travel to get there. The whole program and teachers could stay the same. Just a different building.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I live in the RP/JW/RM cluster as well, but note that the 5th elementary for RM is already approved for funding and will open in a couple years, so the overcrowding issue at the ES level is already being addressed.


I don't think this is true..it has been delayed.
http://news.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/quicknotes/six-year-school-construction-plan-approved/. The Chinese Immersion program should be moved from College Gardens. This would not alter any disparities. The all kids already travel to get there. The whole program and teachers could stay the same. Just a different building.

There's a whole thread about over crowing in RM cluster on DCUM.

The 5th ES has been delayed till 2018. I'm not counting on it opening up in time, because as noted, it was delayed once before.

And to the other PP about the SES disparity if Park Potomac or Fallsgrove were zoned elsewhere, if the income disparity was a huge issue, why don't they send the lower SES neighborhood kids from RP to the Churchill cluster? It can't be any further than Fallsgrove from RP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I live in the RP/JW/RM cluster as well, but note that the 5th elementary for RM is already approved for funding and will open in a couple years, so the overcrowding issue at the ES level is already being addressed.


I don't think this is true..it has been delayed.
http://news.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/quicknotes/six-year-school-construction-plan-approved/. The Chinese Immersion program should be moved from College Gardens. This would not alter any disparities. The all kids already travel to get there. The whole program and teachers could stay the same. Just a different building.

No, RM ES#5 has now been "approved," meaning that the appropriation has been made and (at least for fiscal reasons) it cannot be delayed further. It is scheduled to open in 2018.

http://gis.mcpsmd.org/cipmasterpdfs/MP15CH4_MontgomeryR.pdf

In the prior CIP, it was "programmed" for 2017.

In other words, the project was delayed a year, but actually funded this time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I live in the RP/JW/RM cluster as well, but note that the 5th elementary for RM is already approved for funding and will open in a couple years, so the overcrowding issue at the ES level is already being addressed.


I don't think this is true..it has been delayed.
http://news.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/quicknotes/six-year-school-construction-plan-approved/. The Chinese Immersion program should be moved from College Gardens. This would not alter any disparities. The all kids already travel to get there. The whole program and teachers could stay the same. Just a different building.

There's a whole thread about over crowing in RM cluster on DCUM.

The 5th ES has been delayed till 2018. I'm not counting on it opening up in time, because as noted, it was delayed once before.

And to the other PP about the SES disparity if Park Potomac or Fallsgrove were zoned elsewhere, if the income disparity was a huge issue, why don't they send the lower SES neighborhood kids from RP to the Churchill cluster? It can't be any further than Fallsgrove from RP.

Because MCPS is not concerned about ES overcrowding in the RM cluster prospectively. As noted above, the issue has been addressed by approval of funding for ES #5. They aren't going to rezone elementary schools temporarily for 4 years just to move everybody back at that time. It's just not how MCPS does things.

[Anonymous]

A lot of states are taking steps to reduce class size. For example, in Florida the class size amendment limits the number of kids in pre-k throughout 3rd grade to 18. My son's second grade class had 22 forcing then to add another certified teacher. Can you imagine an 11:1 ratio in a public school? It was amazing! Wish all states would follow that model.

http://www.fldoe.org/classsize/

[Anonymous]

Though I am not sure anyone thinks of Florida as a good to state for education..

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A lot of states are taking steps to reduce class size. For example, in Florida the class size amendment limits the number of kids in pre-k throughout 3rd grade to 18. My son's second grade class had 22 forcing then to add another certified teacher. Can you imagine an 11:1 ratio in a public school? It was amazing! Wish all states would follow that model.

http://www.fldoe.org/classsize/

that would be awesome, but where would the extra classes be? Most of the ES are already using multiple portables. And would MCPS have the $ to hire the extra teachers? pipe dream.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I live in the RP/JW/RM cluster as well, but note that the 5th elementary for RM is already approved for funding and will open in a couple years, so the overcrowding issue at the ES level is already being addressed.


I don't think this is true..it has been delayed.
http://news.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/quicknotes/six-year-school-construction-plan-approved/. The Chinese Immersion program should be moved from College Gardens. This would not alter any disparities. The all kids already travel to get there. The whole program and teachers could stay the same. Just a different building.

There's a whole thread about over crowing in RM cluster on DCUM.

The 5th ES has been delayed till 2018. I'm not counting on it opening up in time, because as noted, it was delayed once before.

And to the other PP about the SES disparity if Park Potomac or Fallsgrove were zoned elsewhere, if the income disparity was a huge issue, why don't they send the lower SES neighborhood kids from RP to the Churchill cluster? It can't be any further than Fallsgrove from RP.

Because MCPS is not concerned about ES overcrowding in the RM cluster prospectively. As noted above, the issue has been addressed by approval of funding for ES #5. They aren't going to rezone elementary schools temporarily for 4 years just to move everybody back at that time. It's just not how MCPS does things.

I just bet that they will have some funky redistricting when ES #5 opens up where some neighborhoods have to pass 3 ESs to get to their home school, like how it is now for those in the Fallsgrove area. Oh, I can't wait to see how they redistrict. I'm sure it will be even more convoluted than it is now.

[Anonymous]

Are there aides or teacher assistants in the kindergarten classrooms in MCPS?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are there aides or teacher assistants in the kindergarten classrooms in MCPS?

Not in our school. Just parent volunteers to cut/sort/copy, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Though I am not sure anyone thinks of Florida as a good to state for education..

Overall the schools aren't great, but there are parts of Florida that have excellent schools. Paxton and Stanton in Jacksonville are consistently rated in the top 20 in the nation. St. John's County schools are outstanding. Pine View High School in Osprey is ranked #8 in the nation. There are also several top 20 high schools in Miami.

I think the state as a whole is trying to improve. The lottery money certainly doesn't 't hurt.