Downcounty schools

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know a PP chimed in with "Not East Silver Spring" but we've had kids there for years and have had a great experience.

While it can be daunting to send your middle class white kid to a high FARMS and majority minority school, we've found that the mix of middle class social justice-oriented families and education-oriented immigrant families is a great mix. One thing we have loved about the school is the high performing Black and Latino kids, obviously being spurred by parents who came to the US to give their kids a good shot at success.

There's one poster on DCUM who is really negative about the school, and maybe she had a bad experience, but that hasn't been our experience at all. We've found solid teachers, a strong principal, and a really friendly and high achieving group of kids. It's also a small school, which lends itself to the kind of "neighborhood school" environment that we were looking for.

We're AA and opted out of ESS. Not the only AA family we know to do so. In fact, I can easily think of at least 7 other AA families in the neighborhood (along Sligo, SS Ave, across from MC-Takoma, near Safeway, etc) that we know socially who are sending their DC to private school rather than ESS. None of us are affluent. I'm glad it is working for your family and many others whether white and MC or immigrant black and Latino. However, there are concerns we have about the achievement gap at ESS. I'm not sure if things would be different if we all were zoned for TPES/PBES because I have not looked at the test scores there. I have AA friends who are happy with other DCC ES than ESS, but I'm sorry, I don't know any AA families attending ESS who describe it as a great school. Please have the ones you know post their experiences on this thread or a new one. I'd love to see what I and others I know are missing.

If you're interested, you can come to the PTA meeting after the break. Our NAACP representative will be giving a presentation on "Math and Minorities." You'll see lots of families, AA and not, who are interested in the topic. https://www.facebook.com/events/1097594046940215

I'm not saying that any local public school is going to give you the same experience as a private school. So, if you can afford private and you're happy with it, then I'm happy for you. But this idea that East Silver Spring is an automatic nonstarter is just not true. There are plenty of happy and successful kids, including AA kids, and in fact my oldest's "advanced" reading and math groups have always been about half Black. The presence of an active NAACP parents' council, as well as a Black female principal and Black guidance counselor (the graduate of an HBCU) ensure that the achievement gap is understood and addressed, even if it has not been erased.

We know that DCUM skews white and rich. Jeff has said so repeatedly. So the fact that we don't hear from happy Black and Latin@ families using their local public schools on this side of the county shouldn't be taken to mean that they don't exist.

But, again, I'm not trying to change your mind. The school loses a lot of families in the neighborhood to the language immersion programs as well, since they are so close by, and I'm happy that those families have that choice as well. This isn't a contest and educational achievement isn't a zero sum game. If private is working for you, great. But I wouldn't slag off your local public without knowing more about the hard work that families, teachers, and administrators are doing there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We love Stonegate. The neighborhood is wonderful! The school is the best elementary I have experienced.

+1 its a great neighborhood with a great elementary school

Yes but zoned for the NEC (PB, Springbrook or Blake)

not the DCC

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We love Stonegate. The neighborhood is wonderful! The school is the best elementary I have experienced.

+1 its a great neighborhood with a great elementary school

Here's the thing, folks. So many people buy for the ES, which is a really stupid move. You buy for the HS. Good high schools pull from excellent feeders (elementary and middle).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We love Stonegate. The neighborhood is wonderful! The school is the best elementary I have experienced.

+1 its a great neighborhood with a great elementary school

Here's the thing, folks. So many people buy for the ES, which is a really stupid move. You buy for the HS. Good high schools pull from excellent feeders (elementary and middle).

That is true, if you define "good" as "having mostly students from affluent families".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We love Stonegate. The neighborhood is wonderful! The school is the best elementary I have experienced.

+1 its a great neighborhood with a great elementary school

Here's the thing, folks. So many people buy for the ES, which is a really stupid move. You buy for the HS. Good high schools pull from excellent feeders (elementary and middle).

I get what you're saying, but truly not every elementary that feeds into a rich high school is actually good, i.e. with small classes, great principal, happy teachers. And I wouldn't see the point in a child spending 6 years in an elementary school they may not like for the sake of the 4 years of high school they may or may not eventually attend. It's really not hard to just move if you spend 6 or 8 or 10 years there and then decide the high school isn't up to your standards.

My kid has never had more than 19 kids in his class k-2. The kids at the "good" schools don't get that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know a PP chimed in with "Not East Silver Spring" but we've had kids there for years and have had a great experience.

While it can be daunting to send your middle class white kid to a high FARMS and majority minority school, we've found that the mix of middle class social justice-oriented families and education-oriented immigrant families is a great mix. One thing we have loved about the school is the high performing Black and Latino kids, obviously being spurred by parents who came to the US to give their kids a good shot at success.

There's one poster on DCUM who is really negative about the school, and maybe she had a bad experience, but that hasn't been our experience at all. We've found solid teachers, a strong principal, and a really friendly and high achieving group of kids. It's also a small school, which lends itself to the kind of "neighborhood school" environment that we were looking for.

We're AA and opted out of ESS. Not the only AA family we know to do so. In fact, I can easily think of at least 7 other AA families in the neighborhood (along Sligo, SS Ave, across from MC-Takoma, near Safeway, etc) that we know socially who are sending their DC to private school rather than ESS. None of us are affluent. I'm glad it is working for your family and many others whether white and MC or immigrant black and Latino. However, there are concerns we have about the achievement gap at ESS. I'm not sure if things would be different if we all were zoned for TPES/PBES because I have not looked at the test scores there. I have AA friends who are happy with other DCC ES than ESS, but I'm sorry, I don't know any AA families attending ESS who describe it as a great school. Please have the ones you know post their experiences on this thread or a new one. I'd love to see what I and others I know are missing.

If you're interested, you can come to the PTA meeting after the break. Our NAACP representative will be giving a presentation on "Math and Minorities." You'll see lots of families, AA and not, who are interested in the topic. https://www.facebook.com/events/1097594046940215

I'm not saying that any local public school is going to give you the same experience as a private school. So, if you can afford private and you're happy with it, then I'm happy for you. But this idea that East Silver Spring is an automatic nonstarter is just not true. There are plenty of happy and successful kids, including AA kids, and in fact my oldest's "advanced" reading and math groups have always been about half Black. The presence of an active NAACP parents' council, as well as a Black female principal and Black guidance counselor (the graduate of an HBCU) ensure that the achievement gap is understood and addressed, even if it has not been erased.

We know that DCUM skews white and rich. Jeff has said so repeatedly. So the fact that we don't hear from happy Black and Latin@ families using their local public schools on this side of the county shouldn't be taken to mean that they don't exist.

But, again, I'm not trying to change your mind. The school loses a lot of families in the neighborhood to the language immersion programs as well, since they are so close by, and I'm happy that those families have that choice as well. This isn't a contest and educational achievement isn't a zero sum game. If private is working for you, great. But I wouldn't slag off your local public without knowing more about the hard work that families, teachers, and administrators are doing there.

Thanks for the invite. I will plan to attend. Our child's advanced performance in math was one reason why we were put off ESS. We did look at hard data and did not just opt for private based on anecdotes from other families that we knew. The math data that raised the red flag was the performance of ESS's AA students on standardized testing. We actually did ask ESS staff about both the racial achievement gap in general and the downward trend in AA math scores between Grade 3 and Grade 5. We got non-answers. Vague MCPS-speak about the importance of addressing the gap, preparing students for the seven keys, etc. Mostly, they seemed excited at the prospect of our DC enrolling and we worried that was because of potential to help contribute to a little bump in scores in a couple subgroups. We're both educators and know what impact one child can make for a smallish school if he or she tests well (or poorly).

That was a couple years ago and the data has not improved.

http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/regulatoryaccountability/glance/currentyear/schools/02756.pdf

Perhaps there has been a concerted effort to put programs in place to address the gap, but we didn't want to risk losing our child's love for and success with math while ESS is tweaking these remedies to produce statistically notable results. We realize that we are in a fortunate position to make private school happen with some sacrifices. There are gloomy late February days when I'd love to access the small class sizes and relatively new classrooms of ESS that my tax dollars are paying for so we could use our tuition dollars for a lovely winter getaway to the sunny Caribbean.