Has anyone had a good experience with MCPS?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Common Core was state, C 2.0 as county.
Sounds like your kid is magnet/Blair so not affected, curriculum is totally different.

Common Core is standards. It's not curriculum. There needs to be curriculum for teaching the students so that they meet the standards. C2.0 is MCPS's curriculum. Other school districts used different curricula.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Common Core was state, C 2.0 as county.
Sounds like your kid is magnet/Blair so not affected, curriculum is totally different.

Common Core is standards. It's not curriculum. There needs to be curriculum for teaching the students so that they meet the standards. C2.0 is MCPS's curriculum. Other school districts used different curricula.

More agreement! MD signed up for Common Core, and MoCo paid Pearsons for a chromebook/website curriculum! And every time the Math and Reading PARCC test scores are good, the county gets federal money money money!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

2.0 was state mandated I seem to recall.

Nope.

Howard county is in MD and didn't have 2.0. Many states have adopted common core and do not have the 2.0 nonsense. MCPS tried to blame the state for 2.0 but MCPS was unique in creating its own interpretation of common core called 2.0. They engaged Pearson in a bad deal but the majority of the content was created by the curriculum staff in MCPS. The materials belong to MCPS and are copyrighted by them.

Plus the grading system is obviously not a state mandate for common core as MCPS just scrapped it.

that is true too. Pearsons and some secretive MCPS teacher committees mashed up 15 different ways to teach math, english and reading (and put science and social studies into those classes instead of their own class), and then copywrote it hoping to make some mo' money money money selling it. Ha! Love to see those sales...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Common Core was state, C 2.0 as county.
Sounds like your kid is magnet/Blair so not affected, curriculum is totally different.

Common Core is standards. It's not curriculum. There needs to be curriculum for teaching the students so that they meet the standards. C2.0 is MCPS's curriculum. Other school districts used different curricula.

More agreement! MD signed up for Common Core, and MoCo paid Pearsons for a chromebook/website curriculum! And every time the Math and Reading PARCC test scores are good, the county gets federal money money money!

Which federal money money money, specifically, is tied to the Common Core standards and PARCC test results?

[Anonymous]

I had a good experience in MCPS, as did my kids, in ES. At that point I didn't know much about MCPS except the great reputation. Now that I know more (2 kids in HS), no, I can't say anything good other than ES. Plus, the excellent ES Principal left, replaced with a young dolt trying to impress the idiots in MCPS, so now I've heard that it sucks too.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I've had a good experience. We're at a Focus School in Silver Spring, and I've been really impressed with the degree to which teachers and administrators *know* my kids. They are incredibly committed, and have a good sense of who my kids are and what they need, which is reflected in the teachers they are assigned, support from the counselor for typical kid stuff, etc.

As an example, my child was supposed to sit for the GT test last week but had a bug. The GT coordinator reached out that same morning to make sure I knew my child could take the test as soon as they felt better. It was a kind gesture.

Uh - they're supposed to do that, PP. It's in the written guidelines for the exam.

Of course. Letting them retake the test is in the guidelines. Proactively reaching out before I'd even called in the absence was nice.

It was. And what are your thoughts on the curriculum, the school calendar, etc?


Here's the truth for you, OP: the silent majority is happy with MCPS. Why? because they don't know any better. The end.

Then why don't you tell us what better?

Numerous posters have done so, in this thread, and for years. Read the archives of the MD public schools forum.

Really,
I don't see any post that tells me what better. So basically you have nothing better but you just like to rant and spew out venom and ignorance .
Got it.

[Anonymous]

We are happy with MCPS for the most part. Our criticisms really apply to all public schools. We have one child in privage because it’s a better fit for him and I wish MCPS could repllcate the progressive approach but I don’t know that there is any public school system around that would do that. The only area we have experienced frustration is with SN IEP issues. However, a new principal at our elementary school really turned things around.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:We have a child in kindergarten at Rosemary Hills who is happy and learning a lot, so thus far we are satisfied. Of course, there are many years to go, so who knows how we will feel down the line.

We can’t afford private, but despite our good experience thus far, I can see how some people would prefer private to MCPS. I think we lucked out and got a very good teacher. I know others who have not had such a good experience. Also, the school is HUGE, and though we only have 23 per K class at our school this year, typically it is 26. And the curriculum is extremely structured for early childhood—ideally I’d want it to be more experiential and play based.

Agreed. The class sizes are one of my big concerns. We have a preschooler right now who is in a program that includes K, so we will be keeping her there and enrolling her in a strong, non-W cluster ES starting in 1st grade.

We are lucky enough to be able to afford private (though it would be a stretch), though for a lot of reasons we would really prefer to go public. We'll have to see, though. I am disturbed by the posters who say their kids aren't learning spelling or grammar, for example. We'll cross that bridge if/when we get to it.

FWIW my son is learning a TON of spelling and grammar.

that's good to hear. Reading posts by people who say their kids aren't getting that freaked me out. I'm willing to supplement at home for certain things, but spelling and grammar seem pretty fundamental.

My DCs have had spelling tests, even in MS to some degree -- they had a spelling bee week where every student in 1st period class had to participate. And they do have grammar instruction. But, I think the issue some parents have is that the teachers don't seem to correct grammar and spelling on the writing, like if they write a paragraph about something. An ES teacher responded on this forum about how they try not to get bogged down on the spelling and grammar because otherwise, the students focus too much on the mechanics and not on the critical thinking or creating writing skills. The spelling and grammar on the writing does eventually get focused on as they get older.

[Anonymous]

Given the ever increasing class sizes (by 5th grade up to 31, 35+ in MS), and teachers who do not differentiate (how can they with so many kids at so many different levels, not to mention the many behavioral problems with no consequences and an ever increasing number of ED kids in my kids schools), no.

Wish we could afford private.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Given the ever increasing class sizes (by 5th grade up to 31, 35+ in MS), and teachers who do not differentiate (how can they with so many kids at so many different levels, not to mention the many behavioral problems with no consequences and an ever increasing number of ED kids in my kids schools), no.

Wish we could afford private.

By ever-increasing, do you mean that class sizes get bigger as the kid goes from K to upper ES to MS to HS? Because otherwise no, class sizes aren't "ever increasing". In fact, MCPS just lowered some maximum class sizes in ES. Class size limits in non-focus ESs are 25 in K, 27 in 1-3, 29 in 4-5.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Given the ever increasing class sizes (by 5th grade up to 31, 35+ in MS), and teachers who do not differentiate (how can they with so many kids at so many different levels, not to mention the many behavioral problems with no consequences and an ever increasing number of ED kids in my kids schools), no.

Wish we could afford private.

By ever-increasing, do you mean that class sizes get bigger as the kid goes from K to upper ES to MS to HS? Because otherwise no, class sizes aren't "ever increasing". In fact, MCPS just lowered some maximum class sizes in ES. Class size limits in non-focus ESs are 25 in K, 27 in 1-3, 29 in 4-5.

Class size is much less relevant as kids get older..

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Given the ever increasing class sizes (by 5th grade up to 31, 35+ in MS), and teachers who do not differentiate (how can they with so many kids at so many different levels, not to mention the many behavioral problems with no consequences and an ever increasing number of ED kids in my kids schools), no.

Wish we could afford private.

By ever-increasing, do you mean that class sizes get bigger as the kid goes from K to upper ES to MS to HS? Because otherwise no, class sizes aren't "ever increasing". In fact, MCPS just lowered some maximum class sizes in ES. Class size limits in non-focus ESs are 25 in K, 27 in 1-3, 29 in 4-5.

Our kids K has 30. It had three classes of 20-21 and then one kid left for private and it became two at 30. And we lost the teacher.

Caps are indeed higher as grade level goes up. In our 4th grader they keep tryouts to split up a group of 8-9 loud boys but they still take over each of those classes.

No idea about MS but since it’s busting with crowded hallways and trailer classrooms probably the same.

[Anonymous]

So if MCPS did lower it- and I will ask our principal next week when I’m there- that has not been in effect last fall nor now.

[Anonymous]

My kid is in K and I’ve been happy with MCPS so far. Teacher is well educated and energetic and incorporates aspects of evidence based learning in her classroom (lots of movement breaks, hands on learning, flexible seating options). I do wish that class sizes were smaller but my kid’s non Focus classroom is still smaller than the classroom of other kids I know who are in DCPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Given the ever increasing class sizes (by 5th grade up to 31, 35+ in MS), and teachers who do not differentiate (how can they with so many kids at so many different levels, not to mention the many behavioral problems with no consequences and an ever increasing number of ED kids in my kids schools), no.

Wish we could afford private.

By ever-increasing, do you mean that class sizes get bigger as the kid goes from K to upper ES to MS to HS? Because otherwise no, class sizes aren't "ever increasing". In fact, MCPS just lowered some maximum class sizes in ES. Class size limits in non-focus ESs are 25 in K, 27 in 1-3, 29 in 4-5.

Our kids K has 30. It had three classes of 20-21 and then one kid left for private and it became two at 30. And we lost the teacher.

Caps are indeed higher as grade level goes up. In our 4th grader they keep tryouts to split up a group of 8-9 loud boys but they still take over each of those classes.

No idea about MS but since it’s busting with crowded hallways and trailer classrooms probably the same.

What ES are you in? Rachel Carson ES--the most overcrowded in MCPS--has 26 kids per K class. All the grades have 25-26 kids per class.