Is it worth it to move from NW DC to Montgomery County for Public Schools - for 5 year old?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Newsflash. Test scores = grades and achievement. Do I really have to spell out to you that I'm not talking about report cards? Are you completely stupid?

Well, no, actually, test scores = test scores. Test scores may or may not be an indicator of achievement, but even if they are, they are certainly not the only indicator, or even the most important one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The point is, many of the facts about a school that make it "good" or "bad" are not reflected in test scores.

No, that's really what makes the "school" good or bad. It all boils down to grades and achievement. Everything else is detail.

Yes, teaching is irrelevant. Attitudes toward school and learning are also irrelevant. Also irrelevant is anything that doesn't involve grades, test scores, or awards. Grades and "achievement" are the only things that matter.

(I don't actually believe this.)

Erm, no, that is not what I meant at all. In order for the grades and achievement to be good, you will automatically need to have excellent teachers and a strong curriculum, conscientious students and involved parents.

How else do you think these schools get the good results?

What is superfluous, is teenage pregnancy, anorexia and various other PERSONAL issues which are actually none of your fucking business.

That's not true, although people would certainly like to think that it is.

[Anonymous]

OP - moving from NW to DC for MCPS schools was the worst decision that we ever made. We sunk too much into a house that has barely appreciated in value. Even though we are in the magic "W" cluster, the curriculum has gone down the drain. Math is horrible. We should have stayed in JKLM and decided to in middle or high school to move to VA or go private.

Special needs pretty much sucks everywhere but MCPS is more understaffed. Special needs instructors, para educators, and the positions that support kids with special needs are gone now. ESL and salary increases for MCPS staff have absorbed what little there was available in the past. At our school the one special needs teacher end up doing more general work -reading and math assessments for compacted math, staff development, covering when a teacher has a meeting- then working with the special needs kids. She's as frustrated as the parents but this is MCPS - no accountability.

[Anonymous]

MCPS has worse accountability than DCPS? Wow,

[Anonymous]

Special needs pretty much sucks everywhere but MCPS is more understaffed. Special needs instructors, para educators, and the positions that support kids with special needs are gone now. ESL and salary increases for MCPS staff have absorbed what little there was available in the past. At our school the one special needs teacher end up doing more general work -reading and math assessments for compacted math, staff development, covering when a teacher has a meeting- then working with the special needs kids. She's as frustrated as the parents but this is MCPS - no accountability.

I would have to disagree with some of this. It very much depends on the school you attend. I know there are schools with "autism classrooms" and others where special needs are integrated into the regular classrooms, with specialist teachers on hand to help out. Its true that in some schools there is barely anything going on, but its not true of EVERY school.

Really if you have need for certain resources you need to call the schools directly or ask during a tour what is available and how it is metered out.

[Anonymous]

It's not that simple PP. Parents spends years with lawyers fighting for those resources. Most of our friend who are in DCPS have a much easier time getting help.

[Anonymous]

I know this isn't part of the criteria you talked about but in the areas you are looking there are really not a lot of single moms or single fathers for that matter. Everyone we know has a two-parent household. I would imagine it would be fine as this is 2015 but thought it might be helpful to know.

[Anonymous]

As a single parent I would think hard about time and the commute would not be worth it. You can do a lot more for your kids if you can be close by and volunteer at the school and make every soccer game.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP - moving from NW to DC for MCPS schools was the worst decision that we ever made. We sunk too much into a house that has barely appreciated in value. Even though we are in the magic "W" cluster, the curriculum has gone down the drain. Math is horrible. We should have stayed in JKLM and decided to in middle or high school to move to VA or go private.

Special needs pretty much sucks everywhere but MCPS is more understaffed. Special needs instructors, para educators, and the positions that support kids with special needs are gone now. ESL and salary increases for MCPS staff have absorbed what little there was available in the past. At our school the one special needs teacher end up doing more general work -reading and math assessments for compacted math, staff development, covering when a teacher has a meeting- then working with the special needs kids. She's as frustrated as the parents but this is MCPS - no accountability.

Your problem is your kid, there really isn't a magic place to fix those type of kids.

[Anonymous]

OP here - thanks everyone! I will just have to decide what to do....stay with Eaton elementary, which is our IB School; or move to be IB for H. Mann elementary, which I really liked when I took a tour there a few days ago. OR, move by buying or renting to Friendship Heights/ Chevy Chase or up on Mass. Ave to Bethesda so kids can attend MCPS.....I keep thinking back and forth on what would be best. I hear middle schools are not too good in DC. We would feed into Hardy Middle School, and then Wilson High School. Did not hear too many good things about these two.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here - yes, this is what I want for my twins, see below from PP. I do not need diversity by all means just for the sake of diversity, we encounter plenty of that anyway. I want a good school, good teachers, serious/ambitious kids, committed parents, good role models, kids and families with whom we can have a relationship after school as well, in our neighborhood. This is not about race, but about quality. I don't care what your color, religion or background is. Also, I would not want to send them to a 99% hispanic school, since that is not our culture and language, so what's the point. I just want the best for them, according to what my value system is and what I believe is best for them and for us as a family. I want the best that this country has to offer for my kids - make my tax dollars work!


NP here and so what? Sadly, the demographics tend to show the school's ability. Are you saying we should all want to go to Wheaton Regional instead of Whitman because it is more diverse even though the drop out rate is higher, the test scores are lower and there are more police calls/arrests there? If we prefer Whitman, we are racist?

I want my kids to go to the best school with kids that want to be there and learn. That get good grades and test scores. Families that take it seriously. I would send my kid to a 99% hispanic school if it was the highest rated, but guess what? There aren't any.

Hispanic is not a culture or language. You don't need diversity, you need education.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here - yes, this is what I want for my twins, see below from PP. I do not need diversity by all means just for the sake of diversity, we encounter plenty of that anyway. I want a good school, good teachers, serious/ambitious kids, committed parents, good role models, kids and families with whom we can have a relationship after school as well, in our neighborhood. This is not about race, but about quality. I don't care what your color, religion or background is. Also, I would not want to send them to a 99% hispanic school, since that is not our culture and language, so what's the point. I just want the best for them, according to what my value system is and what I believe is best for them and for us as a family. I want the best that this country has to offer for my kids - make my tax dollars work!


NP here and so what? Sadly, the demographics tend to show the school's ability. Are you saying we should all want to go to Wheaton Regional instead of Whitman because it is more diverse even though the drop out rate is higher, the test scores are lower and there are more police calls/arrests there? If we prefer Whitman, we are racist?

I want my kids to go to the best school with kids that want to be there and learn. That get good grades and test scores. Families that take it seriously. I would send my kid to a 99% hispanic school if it was the highest rated, but guess what? There aren't any.

Hispanic is not a culture or language. You don't need diversity, you need education.

Also, Wheaton Regional is a park, not a school.