Seniors and families: your MCPS experience

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To the posters saying get tutors, hasn't the school system failed if that many students are needing tutors? Whether it's $8 or $100 an hour, how is this okay? Equity??

Oh, my dear, you know nothing. I live in Bethesda, where half my friends and neighbors send their kids to privates and half send their kids to MCPS.

100% of the kids end up having a tutor at some point. Some to get ahead and stay ahead, and some for remediation.

As I've explained many times before, tutoring and supplementation are mostly correlated with family wealth. Not whether the family is in private or public. Except now in recent years, there's a growing industry of remote tutoring, as posters have mentioned, that brings down the cost of virtual tutors considerably. But near my house, there's Prep Matters where you can get a senior tutor at $250/hr. I paid for one of those for my kid with severe ADHD and dyscalculia! Worked out well, actually

Public school cannot make wealth differences disappear, PP. That's impossible. This happens in every country, even ones in Europe and Asia with much better social services than the US.

That tells a lot about the kind of parents MCPS has. Eye opening hook sentence.

PP you replied to. Sorry, I've raised two kids through the MCPS system and it boggles my mind that some parents don't understand basic socio-economic dynamics. Did that poster seriously believe that somehow, just because it's public school, all kids have equal access to education?

Public school is the concept that every resident minor has a right to *an* education. It doesn't guarantee that kid a good education - even though MCPS and FCPS come mighty close to it, and have a great reputation for trying to reach struggling students. The rest is up to the parents and the kid. And if the kid has needs that are difficult to manage, and/or if the parents aren't involved or don't have the home stability or the funds to provide a good educational framework for their child... the public school system might not rescue that kid. It can't work miracles.

Our school refuses any kind of help for our struggling child.

I find this hard to believe but if so then a phone call and letter to CO is warranted.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's great if schools have the resources to get tutors for students who need them. Not all families have the resources for tutoring services even if they are not lower SES

Mcps used to offer free tutoring for all. Few used it. Our school has no resources for help. My kid is struggling, teachers don’t grade it respond, several are barely there this year, random curriculum and we were refused an iep. So what other option do we have but tutor?

lack of feedback. teachers in HS don't have time to give feedback to 160 students.

That’s their job and they teach 5 classes, some 4, so no where near 160 except arts teachers.

My neighbor teaches 142 students and not only does she do her job, she does the job of other teachers who have quit. She gets maybe 1-2 planning periods per week when she isn’t subbing or attending meetings. She takes days off to recover.

That's great if she's a good one. Sadly we've only had a few of those. We've had multiple teachers out for long periods of time (some legit issues like illness or death, some not). With higher level classes our only choice is tutors as the videos on youtube aren't great the teachers give.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's great if schools have the resources to get tutors for students who need them. Not all families have the resources for tutoring services even if they are not lower SES

Mcps used to offer free tutoring for all. Few used it. Our school has no resources for help. My kid is struggling, teachers don’t grade it respond, several are barely there this year, random curriculum and we were refused an iep. So what other option do we have but tutor?

lack of feedback. teachers in HS don't have time to give feedback to 160 students.

That’s their job and they teach 5 classes, some 4, so no where near 160 except arts teachers.

Please tell that to the 164 English grades I just finalized today.

[Anonymous]

My HS Senior is a W school and there are definitely more great teachers than bad.

My kid definitely had at least one teacher that really sucked every year. Most kids in the class were struggling and the teacher just did not know how to engage with student and did not know how to reach. As a parent, that was the most frustrating thing about MCPS.

But, I will also say part of that responsibility falls on the kid. My daughter had some of the same teachers as my son. My daughter did fine, my son had some challenges.

But, in the end, he graduated with a 3.8 rigorous classes, good ECs and going to a T20 public school, not UMD. I am happy with MCPS. There are mostly great teachers who inspired my kids and took the time to write great recommendation letters.

I know others who did go to private school and ended up in T20. In my situation, I’m glad I did not have to spend the extra $400k. I’m saving that for their college and grad school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's great if schools have the resources to get tutors for students who need them. Not all families have the resources for tutoring services even if they are not lower SES

Mcps used to offer free tutoring for all. Few used it. Our school has no resources for help. My kid is struggling, teachers don’t grade it respond, several are barely there this year, random curriculum and we were refused an iep. So what other option do we have but tutor?

lack of feedback. teachers in HS don't have time to give feedback to 160 students.

That’s their job and they teach 5 classes, some 4, so no where near 160 except arts teachers.

My neighbor teaches 142 students and not only does she do her job, she does the job of other teachers who have quit. She gets maybe 1-2 planning periods per week when she isn’t subbing or attending meetings. She takes days off to recover.

That's great if she's a good one. Sadly we've only had a few of those. We've had multiple teachers out for long periods of time (some legit issues like illness or death, some not). With higher level classes our only choice is tutors as the videos on youtube aren't great the teachers give.

How would you know the reason a teacher is out?

I missed a week recently for the flu. I didn’t advertise WHY I was out. Frankly, I don’t think my personal or sick leave is anybody’s business.

And even though I had massive body aches and a fever, I still spent 4-6 hours each day online answering emails, grading, and making solid sub plans.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To the posters saying get tutors, hasn't the school system failed if that many students are needing tutors? Whether it's $8 or $100 an hour, how is this okay? Equity??

The school offers tutors. And kids have significant opportunities to get supplemental assistance from teachers.

People can try to demean MCPS as much as they want. But the fact is that there are tons of resources.

Where? Our school offers no tutors, teachers don’t respond to parents and don’t even grade till last minute. You are lucky.

Every HS has clubs that tutor kids. Ask and you will find. There are tons of resources.

Teachers that do not grade in a timely manner are a problem.

Not every teacher is great. My kids definitely have teachers that are horrible and just doing their time for retirement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To the posters saying get tutors, hasn't the school system failed if that many students are needing tutors? Whether it's $8 or $100 an hour, how is this okay? Equity??

Oh, my dear, you know nothing. I live in Bethesda, where half my friends and neighbors send their kids to privates and half send their kids to MCPS.

100% of the kids end up having a tutor at some point. Some to get ahead and stay ahead, and some for remediation.

As I've explained many times before, tutoring and supplementation are mostly correlated with family wealth. Not whether the family is in private or public. Except now in recent years, there's a growing industry of remote tutoring, as posters have mentioned, that brings down the cost of virtual tutors considerably. But near my house, there's Prep Matters where you can get a senior tutor at $250/hr. I paid for one of those for my kid with severe ADHD and dyscalculia! Worked out well, actually

Public school cannot make wealth differences disappear, PP. That's impossible. This happens in every country, even ones in Europe and Asia with much better social services than the US.

That tells a lot about the kind of parents MCPS has. Eye opening hook sentence.

PP you replied to. Sorry, I've raised two kids through the MCPS system and it boggles my mind that some parents don't understand basic socio-economic dynamics. Did that poster seriously believe that somehow, just because it's public school, all kids have equal access to education?

Public school is the concept that every resident minor has a right to *an* education. It doesn't guarantee that kid a good education - even though MCPS and FCPS come mighty close to it, and have a great reputation for trying to reach struggling students. The rest is up to the parents and the kid. And if the kid has needs that are difficult to manage, and/or if the parents aren't involved or don't have the home stability or the funds to provide a good educational framework for their child... the public school system might not rescue that kid. It can't work miracles.

Our school refuses any kind of help for our struggling child.

I find this hard to believe but if so then a phone call and letter to CO is warranted.

How do you find it hard to believe? The VP and psychologist who never met my child showed up 5 minutes before the meeting ended (one in her car) and said everything was fine. A teacher even said the child needed help. This is MCPS. The only way to get help is hire an advocate and I'd rather use that money for tutoring.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To the posters saying get tutors, hasn't the school system failed if that many students are needing tutors? Whether it's $8 or $100 an hour, how is this okay? Equity??

The school offers tutors. And kids have significant opportunities to get supplemental assistance from teachers.

People can try to demean MCPS as much as they want. But the fact is that there are tons of resources.

Where? Our school offers no tutors, teachers don’t respond to parents and don’t even grade till last minute. You are lucky.

Every HS has clubs that tutor kids. Ask and you will find. There are tons of resources.

Teachers that do not grade in a timely manner are a problem.

Not every teacher is great. My kids definitely have teachers that are horrible and just doing their time for retirement.

My kid is in some of the highest level classes. Peers cannot do that kind of tutoring. We spend a fortune on tutors and ours are online/affortable. There are not tons of resources. If there are please list them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's great if schools have the resources to get tutors for students who need them. Not all families have the resources for tutoring services even if they are not lower SES

Mcps used to offer free tutoring for all. Few used it. Our school has no resources for help. My kid is struggling, teachers don’t grade it respond, several are barely there this year, random curriculum and we were refused an iep. So what other option do we have but tutor?

lack of feedback. teachers in HS don't have time to give feedback to 160 students.

That’s their job and they teach 5 classes, some 4, so no where near 160 except arts teachers.

My neighbor teaches 142 students and not only does she do her job, she does the job of other teachers who have quit. She gets maybe 1-2 planning periods per week when she isn’t subbing or attending meetings. She takes days off to recover.

That's great if she's a good one. Sadly we've only had a few of those. We've had multiple teachers out for long periods of time (some legit issues like illness or death, some not). With higher level classes our only choice is tutors as the videos on youtube aren't great the teachers give.

How would you know the reason a teacher is out?

I missed a week recently for the flu. I didn’t advertise WHY I was out. Frankly, I don’t think my personal or sick leave is anybody’s business.

And even though I had massive body aches and a fever, I still spent 4-6 hours each day online answering emails, grading, and making solid sub plans.

I wish teachers were like you and adults vs. kids friends and not overshare. However, ours sends emails to the kids saying they are sick, on vacation, or other reasons (some legit). The problem is when teachers are out a week or two every month, it impacts learning. A week for illness or death, agree, but when you take a vacation and then get sick and need another week, it adds up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My HS Senior is a W school and there are definitely more great teachers than bad.

My kid definitely had at least one teacher that really sucked every year. Most kids in the class were struggling and the teacher just did not know how to engage with student and did not know how to reach. As a parent, that was the most frustrating thing about MCPS.

But, I will also say part of that responsibility falls on the kid. My daughter had some of the same teachers as my son. My daughter did fine, my son had some challenges.

But, in the end, he graduated with a 3.8 rigorous classes, good ECs and going to a T20 public school, not UMD. I am happy with MCPS. There are mostly great teachers who inspired my kids and took the time to write great recommendation letters.

I know others who did go to private school and ended up in T20. In my situation, I’m glad I did not have to spend the extra $400k. I’m saving that for their college and grad school.

I think you are better off in public for college admission as the public graduation size is much larger so colleges will take more kids in from each school. There are teachers that are better for some kids and not others. We were warned about a few teachers who ended up being a great fit for ours and then told to ask for other teachers who ended up being a terrible fit. In ES they sent out a survey asking basic questions for teacher but they never actually followed it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To the posters saying get tutors, hasn't the school system failed if that many students are needing tutors? Whether it's $8 or $100 an hour, how is this okay? Equity??

Oh, my dear, you know nothing. I live in Bethesda, where half my friends and neighbors send their kids to privates and half send their kids to MCPS.

100% of the kids end up having a tutor at some point. Some to get ahead and stay ahead, and some for remediation.

As I've explained many times before, tutoring and supplementation are mostly correlated with family wealth. Not whether the family is in private or public. Except now in recent years, there's a growing industry of remote tutoring, as posters have mentioned, that brings down the cost of virtual tutors considerably. But near my house, there's Prep Matters where you can get a senior tutor at $250/hr. I paid for one of those for my kid with severe ADHD and dyscalculia! Worked out well, actually

Public school cannot make wealth differences disappear, PP. That's impossible. This happens in every country, even ones in Europe and Asia with much better social services than the US.

That tells a lot about the kind of parents MCPS has. Eye opening hook sentence.

PP you replied to. Sorry, I've raised two kids through the MCPS system and it boggles my mind that some parents don't understand basic socio-economic dynamics. Did that poster seriously believe that somehow, just because it's public school, all kids have equal access to education?

Public school is the concept that every resident minor has a right to *an* education. It doesn't guarantee that kid a good education - even though MCPS and FCPS come mighty close to it, and have a great reputation for trying to reach struggling students. The rest is up to the parents and the kid. And if the kid has needs that are difficult to manage, and/or if the parents aren't involved or don't have the home stability or the funds to provide a good educational framework for their child... the public school system might not rescue that kid. It can't work miracles.

Our school refuses any kind of help for our struggling child.

I find this hard to believe but if so then a phone call and letter to CO is warranted.

Taylor doesn't care. I've emailed and he responded oh well.... we can do what we want.

[Anonymous]

Unhappy with the lack of consequences in MCPS for anything the kids do ES through HS. Unhappy with overcrowded schools. Unhappy with HS counselors that have too many kids to manage. Unhappy with crap policies (50% for no effort, no final exams, no decent research papers because the teachers have too many students and don't want to grade 200 10+ page research papers). Very unhappy that they got rid of SROs. Unhappy with current boundary study process

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Unhappy with the lack of consequences in MCPS for anything the kids do ES through HS. Unhappy with overcrowded schools. Unhappy with HS counselors that have too many kids to manage. Unhappy with crap policies (50% for no effort, no final exams, no decent research papers because the teachers have too many students and don't want to grade 200 10+ page research papers). Very unhappy that they got rid of SROs. Unhappy with current boundary study process

You must be a graduating family? If you have any energy left (sigh) after you leave, try advocating for the changes you want to see. If you are a resident of the county, you are paying for this school system!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Unhappy with the lack of consequences in MCPS for anything the kids do ES through HS. Unhappy with overcrowded schools. Unhappy with HS counselors that have too many kids to manage. Unhappy with crap policies (50% for no effort, no final exams, no decent research papers because the teachers have too many students and don't want to grade 200 10+ page research papers). Very unhappy that they got rid of SROs. Unhappy with current boundary study process

Troll

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Go private.

Unfortunately, private is worse than MCPS academically.