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How bad are Montgomery County Schools?
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Anonymous
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I liked this thread better when it was called Anyone Regret Sending their Kids to Public School? or maybe when it was called Recess for Kindergartners in MoCo schools or maybe when it was called Interview with GT, ex-MCPS, AA parent, etc. etc.
I can't help but think there has to be a ton of sock puppeting going on with these threads. Somebody who wants to convince us that their decision to ditch public school is the only rational choice. Or want to convince us that if there's any supplementation going on in our homes that we're overscheduling. OP, you seem not interested in positive stories, so I won't trouble you with a discussion of our local MCPS, which my children attend, and with which we have been quite pleased for a whole pile of reasons. |
Anonymous
I've posted twice--I am 14:40 and 7:18--the poster who left public to go private because of lack of challenge. So the other six pages of this thread are not me--no sock-puppeting there!--and I genuinely am curious why you would suspect this thread of sock-puppeting? Because people are sharing their honest experiences with the schools, for which you are a booster? That's great that you are pleased, but why would you discount others' experiences? Are they not just as valid as yours? Apparently you don't think so, which is kind of weird, actually. I don't think anyone has been trying to convince anyone that leaving private is the "only rational choice"--in fact, speaking for myself, I specifically said in one of my posts that although we left, that if I were OP I would nonetheless try public first. In fact, your entire tone and words seem pretty downright disconnected from the actual things that people have been saying--it's as if you haven't even really read through the thread. |
Anonymous
| Sock puppeting ... big deal...so what? What happened to plain common sense and judgement? Too many people scream sock puppet (ing) whenever there is disagreement or contrarian view (s). Another trite DCUMMIE reflex and refrain. Follow your common sense and judgement. |
Anonymous
Sheesh, defensive much? Maybe you should start your own thread called "I can't handle any criticism of MCPS because I bought a house I can't afford just to send my kids to a school with high test scores". |
Anonymous
A pp here who loves our MoCo elementary and has named it in previous positive posts. I think the pp's comment above is why parents need to ask specific, challenging questions about the schools they're considering sending their children to. It's certainly not enough to assume that all MoCo schools are excellent. High test scores could either reflect a culture of teaching to the test or a culture of curiosity and exploration. I recently chatted with a parent disappointed with their high-scoring MoCo school for being overly test-focused and uncreative. Searching for the school on DCUM, I found a question from a potential parent. The ONLY response was from someone with kids too young for the school, saying that it has a reputation for being a great place. I see that kind of response a lot and take it with a huge grain of salt--unless they have experienced it for themselves, they may be falling for the faint praise of someone like the PP above and hoping that it will work out for their family. I do feel that with more extensive research, it's possible to get at some of the potential problems of a school--seeking honest answers directly from people, paying attention to faint praise, getting a sense of how many parents choose private and why, taking a tour and getting a sense of the administration, etc. Obviously that won't tell a family how their child would fare a the school, but it gives them more information to go on than, "oh, I hear it's a great school--and all MoCo schools are excellent, anyway." |
Anonymous
Sheesh, jump to gratuitous nasty conclusions much? Maybe I'll start a thread called, "We can handle our mortgage quite easily thanks as well as private school tuition but fortunately we have a great neighborhood school." |
Anonymous
| I'm the Greenwood poster who is thrilled with school. FWIW (and in response to a PP) Greenwood differentiates for math and reading starting in K (ie: after assessing the kids, they split them into groups and the 4 teachers each have a group at a certain level. For example, one teacher has a group of kids doing 1st or 2nd grade math, while another teacher works with another group of kids on the K level for math). MCPS teachers are under a great deal of pressure to challenge their students and help them move ahead (and I make this statement as the sister of a veteran MCPS teacher), so I'm always a little stumped by DCUM posters who say their kids aren't being "challenged" in MCPS. Sometimes I wonder if that is code for "my kid couldn't sit still and follow directions so he was obviously bored and not being challenged" (placing all the blame on the teacher/MCPS). Granted it isn't fair to make such sweeping generalizations since there are always exceptions to the rule, but I'll make the comment nonetheless since I know a few families with kids with issues who blamed MCPS, then blamed the new private school, and then ultimately either home-schooled their kid or finally addressed underlying issues that prevented them from succeeding in the traditional school environment. |
Anonymous
| But PP as we have read from other posters, all MCPS are different. Not all of them differentiate instruction in K. Our waits until 1st grade to do that. So what happens in K when the teacher starts from the very beginning with the letters and the sounds that they make? Some kids don't pay any attention. Why? Because they already know that. My DS learned that when he was 2 yrs old. So he probably won't pay much attention. Does it mean he has a problem? Probably not. But his teacher will have a problem with him if she doesn't group the kids based on where there are. Our local school doesn't do that in K. Why? Not enough staff probably. One teacher per 25+ kindergarteners who don't do well w/ too much individual work while the teacher rotates through reading groups. All schools are different even though they teach the same curriculum. People really need to go to the school, ask lots of questions and do their homework. |
Anonymous
| 10:54 here, and I agree with the PP to an extent. I went to private schools in MoCo K-12, and I have nieces, nephews, and family friends in private school in DC and MoCo, so I know what goes on in those schools. So I'm wondering what folks think happens in the privates that is so different from MCPS in terms of assessing and grouping, etc.? And for folks looking into the privates, please be sure to ask about the credentials and educational backgrounds of the teachers. In MCPS, all teachers earned undergrad degrees in Education -- and then they must work towards a Masters or equivalency in short order (as well as routinely doing continuing education courses). This isn't the case in the privates. I could go get a job at a private school with my BS and masters (even though neither is education-related and I haven't received any formal instruction as to how to teach children). |
Anonymous
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"In MCPS, all teachers earned undergrad degrees in Education -- and then they must work towards a Masters or equivalency in short order (as well as routinely doing continuing education courses). This isn't the case in the privates. I could go get a job at a private school with my BS and masters (even though neither is education-related and I haven't received any formal instruction as to how to teach children). "
This is interesting point but you sometimes get much better teachers if they are not restricted to only hiring ECE grads.I wish the public schools would not have this requirement. I went to a private high school and the teachers had masters degrees from Ivy league schools in the subjects they were teaching. They had no received formal education on how to teach but they were amazing teachers and had a greater grasp of the subject matter. The hiring process, requiring a teacher to do a guest lecture, show curricular designs and review of student evaluations when the candidate was teaching as an adjunct is critical. The privates have more flexibility to find great teachers while the publics that require the ECE degree get a baseline but may get stuck with many mediocre teachers who don't have a passion or even deep knowledge of the subject they are teaching. |
Anonymous
| I went to private school as well and had some amazing teachers -- particularly in HS. But there is a huge difference when it comes to lecturing HS students and effectively teaching squirmy kindergarteners. I went to private school and recall sitting in rows, sitting still and learning the old fashioned way (and FWIW, I thrived). MCPS K (and 1 and 2) aren't like this. The teachers have been taught how to engage children and tailor lessons to best meet the needs of all children (at any level). |
Anonymous
AMEN!!!!!!!!! |
Anonymous
This is actually only true to an extent. I had a daughter at Kindergarten at Greenwood. She was way ahead of the curriculum and even in the "groups" she was at the top of her group, and could not get any further because things like PE and art took priority over sending her to an even higher group. I fought with the principal every day to rememdy this, but to no avail. I hear there is a new principal now, so I can't speak on what currently goes on. But it was definitely a battle to get keep her challenged. And she can sit still and follow directions perfectly fine. She is at St. John's now sitting very still, following directions perfectly, and doing work at her level, not at the level that the county mandates. |
Anonymous
| Thank you to everyone for entertaining me on a Friday morning. This thread is great. Jeff should make people sign their names, I wonder how much opinions would change . . |
Anonymous
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One man's meat is another's poison. Response to the public vs private debate.
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