Oakland Terrace: Kindergartners at overcrowded elementary could be sent to middle school

[Anonymous]

"Call it an early promotion: kindergarteners at the notoriously-overcrowded Oakland Terrace Elementary School in Wheaton will soon be bused to empty classrooms at Sligo Middle School due to a lack of space. Both on and off the blog, I've heard from concerned parents who say Montgomery County Public Schools' latest proposal could put their kids at risk." more...
[url]
http://www.justupthepike.com/2009/12/kindergartners-at-overcrowded.html[/url]

[Anonymous]

Prior to Weast's arrival in MCPS, the specifications for kindergarten classrooms included a bathroom and water fountain within the room. Educational specifications from 1993 for a MCPS kindgergarten classroom are shown to the left (at link).

Makes sense doesn't it? A classroom with a bathroom and water fountain keeps the kindergarteners under the watchful eye of the teacher at all times. Not only was there to be a bathroom in the classroom, but the fixtures were to be child sized with everything accessible to a small child.

http://parentscoalitionmc.blogspot.com/2009/12/just-up-pike-kindergarteners-to-go-to.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"Call it an early promotion: kindergarteners at the notoriously-overcrowded Oakland Terrace Elementary School in Wheaton will soon be bused to empty classrooms at Sligo Middle School due to a lack of space. Both on and off the blog, I've heard from concerned parents who say Montgomery County Public Schools' latest proposal could put their kids at risk." more...
[url]
http://www.justupthepike.com/2009/12/kindergartners-at-overcrowded.html[/url]

The caption under the second picture in the link says that Oakland Terrace already has six portable classrooms. That is not correct. There are eleven portables at the school.

[Anonymous]

Why is Oakland Terrace so overcrowded?

[Anonymous]

Nevermind, I read the article and other threads.

Moving 4th and 5th grade doesn't seem like a great option either.

[Anonymous]

Wow, this seems crazy. There is another thread too, there won't be an appropriate play area or playground equipment.

We live in DC and are always debating moving to MC, for now we're staying put. Yikes.

[Anonymous]

It's not that hard to put up a fence and put in some kindergarten appropriate playground equipment. My elementary school did this one year os the K could have their own appropriate play area. That in and of itself shouldn't be a big deal and wouldn't cost al that much, compared with the cost of having 11 trailers to maintain.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's not that hard to put up a fence and put in some kindergarten appropriate playground equipment. My elementary school did this one year os the K could have their own appropriate play area. That in and of itself shouldn't be a big deal and wouldn't cost al that much, compared with the cost of having 11 trailers to maintain.

with what money?

Haven't you been keeping up with the budget cuts?

[Anonymous]

Kindergartners sharing bathrooms with middle schoolers doesn't sound good to me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's not that hard to put up a fence and put in some kindergarten appropriate playground equipment. My elementary school did this one year os the K could have their own appropriate play area. That in and of itself shouldn't be a big deal and wouldn't cost al that much, compared with the cost of having 11 trailers to maintain.

with what money?

Haven't you been keeping up with the budget cuts?

What budget cuts? MCPS' Operating budget has been increasing every year for the last 10 years. The Operating Budget has gone from $1 billion to over $2.1 billion.

The issue is not the funds, because there are plenty. The issue is the will of the Superintendent to spend the funds on children. Superintendent Weast is happy to hand out credit cards to 1,400 MCPS staff and not monitor their use.

http://parentscoalitionmc.blogspot.com/search?q=credit+cards#

Superintendent Weast is happy to let MCPS staff make multi-million dollar technology purchases (outside of the State law procedures) and take trips to London to promote vendor products.

http://parentscoalitionmc.blogspot.com/2009/07/mcps-chief-tech-spends-77-million.html

http://parentscoalitionmc.blogspot.com/2009/08/sherwin-collette-two-days-at-conference.html

And each summer Superintendent Weast takes funds that have been dedicated for Textbook and Instructional Supplies and declares millions of dollars of those funds surplus and not needed for classrooms. (That's not a cut, that's a failure to spend the funds as designated by the Superintendent.)

http://parentscoalitionmc.blogspot.com/2009/07/4651000-surplus-in-textbook-fund.html

11 classroom trailers is no big deal to Superintendent Weast. But if parents don't like the trailers, he will move their kids to a middle school. But he won't put any funds toward making it a safe, secure approriate facility for 5 year olds.

[Anonymous]

Where is the other thread?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's not that hard to put up a fence and put in some kindergarten appropriate playground equipment. My elementary school did this one year os the K could have their own appropriate play area. That in and of itself shouldn't be a big deal and wouldn't cost al that much, compared with the cost of having 11 trailers to maintain.

with what money?

Haven't you been keeping up with the budget cuts?

From the savings you get in not having to rent and maintain 11 "learning cottages". I assume MCPS rents them, but if they own them, well, I guess there'd be no savings.

Kindergarteners do not need a lot of playground equipment. They need a defined play area to run around in, perhpas a blacktop, and maybe a $5,000 play structure such as this one:

http://www.detailedplaypro.com/playground-equipment/commercial-play-structures/play-system-csb1.htm

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's not that hard to put up a fence and put in some kindergarten appropriate playground equipment. My elementary school did this one year os the K could have their own appropriate play area. That in and of itself shouldn't be a big deal and wouldn't cost al that much, compared with the cost of having 11 trailers to maintain.

with what money?

Haven't you been keeping up with the budget cuts?

From the savings you get in not having to rent and maintain 11 "learning cottages". I assume MCPS rents them, but if they own them, well, I guess there'd be no savings.

Kindergarteners do not need a lot of playground equipment. They need a defined play area to run around in, perhpas a blacktop, and maybe a $5,000 play structure such as this one:

http://www.detailedplaypro.com/playground-equipment/commercial-play-structures/play-system-csb1.htm

170 kindergartners playing on that thing? All at once?? Ha. My 5 year old would laugh at that structure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
170 kindergartners playing on that thing? All at once?? Ha. My 5 year old would laugh at that structure.

No, not everyone playing on that thing.

I don't think the school district should be expected to build a playground that would serve all 170 kindergarteners at one time. That doesn't seem like it would be the best use of resources, especially as the suggested move to the middle school is only anticipated to be a temporary measure.

My point is just that the lack of an appropriate playground space for kindergartners at the middle school could be fairly easily and cheaply remedied.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
170 kindergartners playing on that thing? All at once?? Ha. My 5 year old would laugh at that structure.

No, not everyone playing on that thing.

I don't think the school district should be expected to build a playground that would serve all 170 kindergarteners at one time. That doesn't seem like it would be the best use of resources, especially as the suggested move to the middle school is only anticipated to be a temporary measure.

My point is just that the lack of an appropriate playground space for kindergartners at the middle school could be fairly easily and cheaply remedied.

Point NOT made.