Beware quince orchard Parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

RCES is at most a 15 min walk from any portion of Lakelands. Governor Sq Apts is a 3 min drive (admittedly not technically across the street, but on the other side of Muddy Branch Rd) from Fields Road. MCPS made a decision to include that neighborhood in the RCES boundaries. It’s not an immediately logical choice, suggesting there was some decision making process behind it.

Yes, there was, and here it is:

http://gis.mcpsmd.org/boundarystudypdfs/BoundaryProcess_BriefDescriptionFeb2016.pdf

I wonder why they bring them out of the way to the school even though it is already so overcrowded. Why not Dufief which is under enrolled?

The Governor Square Apartments are zoned for Rachel Carson ES because that was the boundary decision when Rachel Carson ES opened in 1990.

There will be another boundary study when the Dufief addition nears completion.

Ok, but why make that decision then? Fields Road was around then, too, as were other schools with seats.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

RCES is at most a 15 min walk from any portion of Lakelands. Governor Sq Apts is a 3 min drive (admittedly not technically across the street, but on the other side of Muddy Branch Rd) from Fields Road. MCPS made a decision to include that neighborhood in the RCES boundaries. It’s not an immediately logical choice, suggesting there was some decision making process behind it.

Yes, there was, and here it is:

http://gis.mcpsmd.org/boundarystudypdfs/BoundaryProcess_BriefDescriptionFeb2016.pdf

I wonder why they bring them out of the way to the school even though it is already so overcrowded. Why not Dufief which is under enrolled?

The Governor Square Apartments are zoned for Rachel Carson ES because that was the boundary decision when Rachel Carson ES opened in 1990.

There will be another boundary study when the Dufief addition nears completion.

Ok, but why make that decision then? Fields Road was around then, too, as were other schools with seats.

"How come MCPS has to send those poor brown and black kids to my school, when they should really go to that other school over there?" is a question that comes up on DCUM from time to time, and it sounds just like what it sounds like.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am a Ridgeview parent and I also received this anomoyous letter. It is very disturbing and full off racist rants. I have a feeling it is a PTA parent and it was sent to all the families that had their address listed because PYA members received a school directory back last fall. How else could someone have families addresses.

Has anyone sent the letter to the FBI?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

This is a troll poster. I have a hard time believing that someone could mail out letters via USPS. USPS is both costly for a high school size and how would this parent have gotten this information. OP, email is move believable, next time stick to thinking your lies through.

ALL children should be highlighted not just black students---no matter the size of their student population. If this story is indeed true it is sad on both the part of the school and the part of the alleged racist parent.

I'd be upset too, if my child worked just as hard as another black student and was not recognized.

I'm leaning toward troll as well.

There is a an argument to be made that highlighting the accomplishments of the black students may help lower performing black students more than it would hurt higher performing white students. I have no idea what the demographic breakdown is at Ridgeview. I do know that in several of the Silver Spring schools the racial/SES/performance breakdown is very stark. The majority of AA and Latino students are lower SES/lower performing while the white kids are UMC/higher performing. The inside of the school is very segregated - AA/Latino kids not winning academic awards, filling the lower tier classes, higher drop out rate etc. In those schools, highlighting and focusing on AA or Latino kids who are succeeding can send a powerful message to other kids that they can do it too. If the majority of kids up there are all white and the everyday experience is segregated within the school, the AA students don't see themselves as someone who can succeed.

In that scenario, the successful AA and Hispanic kids should be recognized just like the successful white and Asian kids. There is no reason to highlight or focus on their achievements to the exclusion of others who through no fault of their own were not born black or brown.

I still don't know what the letter in the OP was about, but am going to assume that Black kids just beat out white kids fair and square for academic honors and that the letter writer assumed that the deck had been stacked in some way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am a Ridgeview parent and I also received this anomoyous letter. It is very disturbing and full off racist rants. I have a feeling it is a PTA parent and it was sent to all the families that had their address listed because PYA members received a school directory back last fall. How else could someone have families addresses.

Has anyone sent the letter to the FBI?

FBI has better things to do than investigate some PTA mom sending a letter that sounds racist.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

This is a troll poster. I have a hard time believing that someone could mail out letters via USPS. USPS is both costly for a high school size and how would this parent have gotten this information. OP, email is move believable, next time stick to thinking your lies through.

ALL children should be highlighted not just black students---no matter the size of their student population. If this story is indeed true it is sad on both the part of the school and the part of the alleged racist parent.

I'd be upset too, if my child worked just as hard as another black student and was not recognized.

I'm leaning toward troll as well.

There is a an argument to be made that highlighting the accomplishments of the black students may help lower performing black students more than it would hurt higher performing white students. I have no idea what the demographic breakdown is at Ridgeview. I do know that in several of the Silver Spring schools the racial/SES/performance breakdown is very stark. The majority of AA and Latino students are lower SES/lower performing while the white kids are UMC/higher performing. The inside of the school is very segregated - AA/Latino kids not winning academic awards, filling the lower tier classes, higher drop out rate etc. In those schools, highlighting and focusing on AA or Latino kids who are succeeding can send a powerful message to other kids that they can do it too. If the majority of kids up there are all white and the everyday experience is segregated within the school, the AA students don't see themselves as someone who can succeed.

In that scenario, the successful AA and Hispanic kids should be recognized just like the successful white and Asian kids. There is no reason to highlight or focus on their achievements to the exclusion of others who through no fault of their own were not born black or brown.

I still don't know what the letter in the OP was about, but am going to assume that Black kids just beat out white kids fair and square for academic honors and that the letter writer assumed that the deck had been stacked in some way.

+100
Yep. More likely.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am a Ridgeview parent and I also received this anomoyous letter. It is very disturbing and full off racist rants. I have a feeling it is a PTA parent and it was sent to all the families that had their address listed because PYA members received a school directory back last fall. How else could someone have families addresses.

Has anyone sent the letter to the FBI?

FBI has better things to do than investigate some PTA mom sending a letter that sounds racist.

Until “PTA mom” moves on to more threatening intimidation tactics, and/or shows up with a gun. Let the FBI decide if it’s worth looking into. They’re there to protect us. At the very least, I would send it to MCPD.

[Anonymous]

So what if they did decide to bus kids to create more diversity? That benefits all kids. All kids are going to work in the real world, and with people of all ideologies, colors, religions, ethnicities etc. May as well learn young how to incorporate others’ perspectives and to work with anyone and everyone. The world has changed and will keep on changing.

[Anonymous]

White people in MoCo need to be comfortable with our kids going to school with kids of color. Whites are now only 43% of the county population and I think we have even less representation in MCPS. If this freaks some people out, maybe a more rural county is a better option for you.

[Anonymous]

Here's what I think. The author of that letter is not only racist, he/she must have a dim child who has no academic accomplishments whatsoever, so it hurts the author twofold when minority children are being touted. I mean, my child is a good student and we know that, why would I be jealous if someone else's kids are also high achievers? Plus, it's only middle school, it's not like those pesky minorities have stolen the snowflake's spot at Haaa'vard.

[Anonymous]

The letter writer definitely is jealous and insecure. And racist to boot. Attractive combo - yikes. She would probably deny being jealous too!

[Anonymous]

So what if they did decide to bus kids to create more diversity? That benefits all kids

No it doesn't. By bussing kids from far away into a school that is 400 students over capacity while the school system does nothing to relieve the crowding, all students are harmed. What is so damn frustrating for parents at Rachel Carson is that MCPS will not do anything to alleviate this. Travilah, Dufief and Cold Spring all are under enrolled and need students. Favorite teachers have been pushed into retirement or transferred. Staff has been cut creating logistical issues. Those schools would happily take more kids. MCPS said no to allowing voluntary COSAs from RCES into those schools because those kids would be higher SES kids. MCPS also said no to bussing the lower income students that travel from further away to RCES over to Travilah or Dufief because that would leave RCES with not enough minority students. Its reasonable that Cold Soring is too far but Travilah or Dufief are not. URM students do very well at Travilah and this would be better for them.

Its so stupid that all the kids at RCES, Travilah and Dufief need to suffer because some dim wit that cares more about balancing the racial profiles than educating students is in charge at central office.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

So what if they did decide to bus kids to create more diversity? That benefits all kids

No it doesn't. By bussing kids from far away into a school that is 400 students over capacity while the school system does nothing to relieve the crowding, all students are harmed. What is so damn frustrating for parents at Rachel Carson is that MCPS will not do anything to alleviate this. Travilah, Dufief and Cold Spring all are under enrolled and need students. Favorite teachers have been pushed into retirement or transferred. Staff has been cut creating logistical issues. Those schools would happily take more kids. MCPS said no to allowing voluntary COSAs from RCES into those schools because those kids would be higher SES kids. MCPS also said no to bussing the lower income students that travel from further away to RCES over to Travilah or Dufief because that would leave RCES with not enough minority students. Its reasonable that Cold Soring is too far but Travilah or Dufief are not. URM students do very well at Travilah and this would be better for them.

Its so stupid that all the kids at RCES, Travilah and Dufief need to suffer because some dim wit that cares more about balancing the racial profiles than educating students is in charge at central office.

I am sure that’s right, so I’ll amend my statement to say it benefits all kids—but only if they balance for enrollment numbers. By the way, teachers can’t get forced into retirement without cause, but they can get shunted to another school. Same is true for any teacher—they don’t lose their job, but they can get moved to a school with higher enrollment if theirs drops. It’s a major reason many colleagues of mine have left MCPS—they could never put down roots because they kept getting assigned to jobs in areas with fluctuating enrollment. As the last one in, they were repeatedly the first one out. Just when they got comfortable, it was “too bad so sad.” I personally had fits of anxiety every year until I was no longer the one vulnerable to being “involuntary transferred.” Anyway, that’s a different topic, but another bit of MCPS short-sightedness.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

So what if they did decide to bus kids to create more diversity? That benefits all kids

No it doesn't. By bussing kids from far away into a school that is 400 students over capacity while the school system does nothing to relieve the crowding, all students are harmed. What is so damn frustrating for parents at Rachel Carson is that MCPS will not do anything to alleviate this. Travilah, Dufief and Cold Spring all are under enrolled and need students. Favorite teachers have been pushed into retirement or transferred. Staff has been cut creating logistical issues. Those schools would happily take more kids. MCPS said no to allowing voluntary COSAs from RCES into those schools because those kids would be higher SES kids. MCPS also said no to bussing the lower income students that travel from further away to RCES over to Travilah or Dufief because that would leave RCES with not enough minority students. Its reasonable that Cold Soring is too far but Travilah or Dufief are not. URM students do very well at Travilah and this would be better for them.

Its so stupid that all the kids at RCES, Travilah and Dufief need to suffer because some dim wit that cares more about balancing the racial profiles than educating students is in charge at central office.

Yup. Let’s hope the Dufief expansion happens. There’s also a rumor MCPS is doing a study for a new elementary school in the RCES part of Gaithersburg. Fingers crossed it all goes through because Kimco is likely building 1600 residential units in Kentlands Market Square in the next 5 years, and if that happens I don’t know what RCES will do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

So what if they did decide to bus kids to create more diversity? That benefits all kids

No it doesn't. By bussing kids from far away into a school that is 400 students over capacity while the school system does nothing to relieve the crowding, all students are harmed. What is so damn frustrating for parents at Rachel Carson is that MCPS will not do anything to alleviate this. Travilah, Dufief and Cold Spring all are under enrolled and need students. Favorite teachers have been pushed into retirement or transferred. Staff has been cut creating logistical issues. Those schools would happily take more kids. MCPS said no to allowing voluntary COSAs from RCES into those schools because those kids would be higher SES kids. MCPS also said no to bussing the lower income students that travel from further away to RCES over to Travilah or Dufief because that would leave RCES with not enough minority students. Its reasonable that Cold Soring is too far but Travilah or Dufief are not. URM students do very well at Travilah and this would be better for them.

Its so stupid that all the kids at RCES, Travilah and Dufief need to suffer because some dim wit that cares more about balancing the racial profiles than educating students is in charge at central office.

Preach!