East Silver Spring Elementary

[Anonymous]

I recommend looking at the recent School Climate survey and comparing it to all MCPS. ESS ratings do not look favorable.

https://sharedaccountability.mcpsmd.org/SurveyResults/content.php?l=0&sch=756&survey=2023CLIMATE&type=Staff&comparison=2

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would really appreciate honest and objective feedback about ESS. The reviews about the school are sketchy and old. The academic rating is also kind of below or borderline of the MC band. How safe is the school and how accommodating and patient are the teachers towards children? My son is four and I am wondering if having him here will have a well-rounded impact on him. Is Sligo Creek a better option? Thank you all , I will be reading your comments.

All I can say is our UMC neighbors all send their kids there (ours are younger) and rave about it. The school has a high FARMS rate, higher than neighboring schools, which affects test scores, etc. It’s a focus school with much smaller class sizes. It’s very diverse both racially and economically. We’ve attended neighborhood school events and it seems to have a great community.

SCES is a much richer school.

[Anonymous]

Staff morale is at an all time low since the principal left and the AP became acting principal (a role she is continuing to take over for this school year). Many teachers quit. It’s sad because ESS used to be a great school.

[Anonymous]

It’s been undesirable since the 80s, it tries but simply too much low income housing around there. Many of the middle class opt out to cheap 2nd tier privates like grace

[Anonymous]

Th acting principal has no idea what she is doing. She’s obsessed with tracking kids (putting low kids with low kids, high kids with high kids) all while wanting to basically eliminate direct instruction. She thinks the “real learning” happens in small groups. Great, except what are only low kids going to learn from their peers? This is why tracking is not best practice. She tends to throw anything out there to see if it sticks and then backtracks because none of her ideas actually work. There’s a reason so many staff members left this year. She doesn’t know the curriculum. She has no business being a leader.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Th acting principal has no idea what she is doing. She’s obsessed with tracking kids (putting low kids with low kids, high kids with high kids) all while wanting to basically eliminate direct instruction. She thinks the “real learning” happens in small groups. Great, except what are only low kids going to learn from their peers? This is why tracking is not best practice. She tends to throw anything out there to see if it sticks and then backtracks because none of her ideas actually work. There’s a reason so many staff members left this year. She doesn’t know the curriculum. She has no business being a leader.

Can confirm. She’s a disaster. She also selected to keep doing Leader in Me. I felt like my soul was dying during the mandated training. The kids absolutely hate it. I have no idea why anyone would opt to keep the program.

[Anonymous]

How long do these principal searches typically take?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s been undesirable since the 80s, it tries but simply too much low income housing around there. Many of the middle class opt out to cheap 2nd tier privates like grace

I don’t know a single family in our ESS-zoned neighborhood who sends their kids to private.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How long do these principal searches typically take?

A few months. I don't think the ESS principal position was ever posted though. They will probably post it during this school year and hire a permanent principal, who may or may not be the acting principal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Th acting principal has no idea what she is doing. She’s obsessed with tracking kids (putting low kids with low kids, high kids with high kids) all while wanting to basically eliminate direct instruction. She thinks the “real learning” happens in small groups. Great, except what are only low kids going to learn from their peers? This is why tracking is not best practice. She tends to throw anything out there to see if it sticks and then backtracks because none of her ideas actually work. There’s a reason so many staff members left this year. She doesn’t know the curriculum. She has no business being a leader.

Can confirm. She’s a disaster. She also selected to keep doing Leader in Me. I felt like my soul was dying during the mandated training. The kids absolutely hate it. I have no idea why anyone would opt to keep the program.

Do Curricula sales people make their quota on inferior products off the backs of MCPS students? So many poor decisions at - what would appear to be - basic blocking and tackling for a half decent public school system. Yet repeatedly this is a problem.

My guess - former MCPS admins leave to become salesmen but still have friends who then want to ingratiate themselves with textbook company friend and buy multi-year curricula deals. MCPS admins did this about a decade ago (I think the company in question was Discovery education ah I mean television, yes the shark week folks). Time for yet another WaPo investigation on MCPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s been undesirable since the 80s, it tries but simply too much low income housing around there. Many of the middle class opt out to cheap 2nd tier privates like grace

I don’t know a single family in our ESS-zoned neighborhood who sends their kids to private.

I don’t either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s been undesirable since the 80s, it tries but simply too much low income housing around there. Many of the middle class opt out to cheap 2nd tier privates like grace

I don’t know a single family in our ESS-zoned neighborhood who sends their kids to private.

I don’t either.

You most likely don’t know many of your neighbors. If you don’t live a few houses down or meet at the school your chances of crossing get slim fast.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How long do these principal searches typically take?

A few months. I don't think the ESS principal position was ever posted though. They will probably post it during this school year and hire a permanent principal, who may or may not be the acting principal.

It wasn’t posted. She was just handed the job. She only had one year experience as an AP prior… they gave the acting AP position to a third grade teacher because he was in a program to become an admin. It was a disaster. No idea why MCPS thought this would work out well for the upcoming school year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s been undesirable since the 80s, it tries but simply too much low income housing around there. Many of the middle class opt out to cheap 2nd tier privates like grace

I don’t know a single family in our ESS-zoned neighborhood who sends their kids to private.

I don’t either.

You most likely don’t know many of your neighbors. If you don’t live a few houses down or meet at the school your chances of crossing get slim fast.

I know lots of neighbors. I’m sure private school families exist, but the previous comment gave the impression middle class families zoned for ESS were largely trying to escape and go elsewhere. I’m sure that happens but it doesn’t describe my neighborhood, broadly speaking.

[Anonymous]

The acting principal is a trip. She refers to students as “our babies” and “treasures” all while comically not know how to behave around students (despite being a teacher previously) she is so awkward and unnatural. As someone else mentioned, she doesn’t know the curriculum, she changes schedules on a whim, she thinks direct instruction should be 10 minutes, she cannot delegate…. She’s just bad at her job.