Silver Spring elementary schools + reading above grade level

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A huge number of us teachers are raising our kids in Silver Spring schools. No one -- and i mean no one -- knows the schools better than we do. We value our children's education probably more than other other profession. We would never let our kids go to schools that don't meet our expectations. And we don't.

DC is at a focus school in the SS area. About 1/3'rd of their class reads at +2 grade levels. Sure there are some kids who struggle too, but the point is there are plenty of high-achievers. The nice thing about these schools unlike schools in areas like Bethesda is there are more differentiated learning opportunities and class sizes are often much smaller.

We are at a focus school. They exclude parents from volunteering and there is little communication. There is also little differentiated learning opportunities and at our school they don't work much with the kids 1-1, even if an IEP mandates it. We rarely get work home and when we do its weeks later with corrections they never reviewed with our child/bit late. MCPS is a very disappointing experience for us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A huge number of us teachers are raising our kids in Silver Spring schools. No one -- and i mean no one -- knows the schools better than we do. We value our children's education probably more than other other profession. We would never let our kids go to schools that don't meet our expectations. And we don't.

DC is at a focus school in the SS area. About 1/3'rd of their class reads at +2 grade levels. Sure there are some kids who struggle too, but the point is there are plenty of high-achievers. The nice thing about these schools unlike schools in areas like Bethesda is there are more differentiated learning opportunities and class sizes are often much smaller.

We are at a focus school. They exclude parents from volunteering and there is little communication. There is also little differentiated learning opportunities and at our school they don't work much with the kids 1-1, even if an IEP mandates it. We rarely get work home and when we do its weeks later with corrections they never reviewed with our child/bit late. MCPS is a very disappointing experience for us.

I posted earlier, but this is nothing like our experience at a SS focus school. We're invited to volunteer, I get DD's work back daily with corrections, and she has plenty of opportunities for differentiated learning. I'm sorry about your experience, PP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A huge number of us teachers are raising our kids in Silver Spring schools. No one -- and i mean no one -- knows the schools better than we do. We value our children's education probably more than other other profession. We would never let our kids go to schools that don't meet our expectations. And we don't.

DC is at a focus school in the SS area. About 1/3'rd of their class reads at +2 grade levels. Sure there are some kids who struggle too, but the point is there are plenty of high-achievers. The nice thing about these schools unlike schools in areas like Bethesda is there are more differentiated learning opportunities and class sizes are often much smaller.

Sounds similar to our experience. It's great that DC's 2nd-grade class only has 16 kids, and unfortunate this can't be the norm everywhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A huge number of us teachers are raising our kids in Silver Spring schools. No one -- and i mean no one -- knows the schools better than we do. We value our children's education probably more than other other profession. We would never let our kids go to schools that don't meet our expectations. And we don't.

DC is at a focus school in the SS area. About 1/3'rd of their class reads at +2 grade levels. Sure there are some kids who struggle too, but the point is there are plenty of high-achievers. The nice thing about these schools unlike schools in areas like Bethesda is there are more differentiated learning opportunities and class sizes are often much smaller.

Sounds similar to our experience. It's great that DC's 2nd-grade class only has 16 kids, and unfortunate this can't be the norm everywhere.

To further put this in perspective for OP and others, my older child's 1st grade class at a "W" ES had 27 kids to start the year; she had 25 in her K class. Younger child's first grade class has only 23 I think. 22-25 seems to be the norm in our school for the younger grades (K-2). The class of 27 was a grade cohort that just barely missed qualifying for an additional classroom.

[Anonymous]

OP, can you afford to stay in DC and move IB for Murch?

[Anonymous]

We are in a school that is neither focus, nor Title 1 and here's what we like:

- A faster pace of the curriculum because the parents send their children to school ready to learn
-weekly email blast from the teacher
-Emails & communication from the principal
- Strong and active PTA (most important on our list)
- weekly graded work send home on Thursday/Friday
- Teachers who are a little older and thus experienced (most important on our list)
- Most kids come from 2 parent family homes (another important factor on our list)
-The commute isn't too bad (important)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are in a school that is neither focus, nor Title 1 and here's what we like:

- A faster pace of the curriculum because the parents send their children to school ready to learn
-weekly email blast from the teacher
-Emails & communication from the principal
- Strong and active PTA (most important on our list)
- weekly graded work send home on Thursday/Friday
- Teachers who are a little older and thus experienced (most important on our list)
- Most kids come from 2 parent family homes (another important factor on our list)
-The commute isn't too bad (important)

uh... ok.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are in a school that is neither focus, nor Title 1 and here's what we like:

- A faster pace of the curriculum because the parents send their children to school ready to learn
-weekly email blast from the teacher
-Emails & communication from the principal
- Strong and active PTA (most important on our list)
- weekly graded work send home on Thursday/Friday
- Teachers who are a little older and thus experienced (most important on our list)
- Most kids come from 2 parent family homes (another important factor on our list)
-The commute isn't too bad (important)

uh... ok.

+1

PP - I'm a single mom, not by choice and not by my own bad decisions. But sometimes life comes at you fast, and sometimes your professionally successful and high-earning partner goes through a midlife crisis and leaves you for a twenty-something broker at his firm. It's not right or fair, but it's also not unheard of. In fact, it's so common as to be a stereotype.

I'm so sorry that you believe my kids would be a negative influence on your children. For what it's worth, they are great. Smart, well-adjusted, academically successful, and successful in their chosen extracurriculars. But, you know, they come from a (whispers) broken home, so there's also that.

Let's hope life doesn't come at you as fast as it did at me. It was pretty hard, to be honest. But at least I know which sanctimonious b*tches to stay away from now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Actually the higher expectations of a W school are precisely why we will stay in SS. My kid could meet them but I think the early years need more play time not more academic enrichment. He doesn’t need to do algebra at age six just because he can - there is time enough for that. We are trying to avoid the pressure cooker environment, and if that means he is a bit bored sometimes, so be it.

To each his own. My kid would be bored silly if not challenged by his teachers AND his peers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Actually the higher expectations of a W school are precisely why we will stay in SS. My kid could meet them but I think the early years need more play time not more academic enrichment. He doesn’t need to do algebra at age six just because he can - there is time enough for that. We are trying to avoid the pressure cooker environment, and if that means he is a bit bored sometimes, so be it.

To each his own. My kid would be bored silly if not challenged by his teachers AND his peers.

Great. But you don’t need to live in Potomac or surround yourself with only white people to accomplish that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Actually the higher expectations of a W school are precisely why we will stay in SS. My kid could meet them but I think the early years need more play time not more academic enrichment. He doesn’t need to do algebra at age six just because he can - there is time enough for that. We are trying to avoid the pressure cooker environment, and if that means he is a bit bored sometimes, so be it.

To each his own. My kid would be bored silly if not challenged by his teachers AND his peers.

Exactly, my SS kid who attends the Blair magnet would likely also be bored silly at a snooty W.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are at Woodlin ES. Many of the kids are above reading levels. The principal this year purchased curriculum to accommodate those students who are advanced.

Students are receiving instruction in William & Mary, Jacob’s Ladder and Junior Greatbooks at the higher levels (grades 3-5). In math the advanced kids do compacted math (combining 5th/6th grade math) at a good pace. In all other grades the kids do a gifted curriculum written by Univ. of Connecticut, it’s called Project M2.

In the lower grades K-2, the kids read Junior Greatbooks and/or study a specific author or concept in depth. In writing, the kids do Lucy Calkins and for spelling ‘Words Their Way’
OP, I would suggest that you reach out to the PTA’s of the school’s that you are interested in and they can really give you the inside scoop and put you on the community listservs.

This is great to hear! Thank you for sharing.

-Future Woodlin parent

[Anonymous]

I have known a few Silver Spring families, and none of them were happy with their elementary school's academic levels. One moved to Bethesda where they found that their child was comparatively behind in reading, another moved to Rockville where they are happier, and another stayed put and complained for years, but now in middle school things are better, because the students are tracked in certain core subjects.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
I have known a few Silver Spring families, and none of them were happy with their elementary school's academic levels. One moved to Bethesda where they found that their child was comparatively behind in reading, another moved to Rockville where they are happier, and another stayed put and complained for years, but now in middle school things are better, because the students are tracked in certain core subjects.

PP again. One unhappy family was at Woodlin, so it's funny that the other Woodlin PP is happy. All of this is just anecdotal, OP.

[Anonymous]

At our SS school, there is a range of kids. About half of DC's class is reading 1-2 years over grade level but many also struggle. About half the kids are in enriched math too. I'd imagine at a W feeder you'd have fewer extremes but can't imagine this matters since there's a strong peer group of similar kids.