recent experiences at takoma park elementary

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do they try to keep kids in the same cohort from year to year or is it a totally new class each year? Parents who have kids at the school- do your kids keep friendships year to year? Is there a sense of community amongst the parents or do people not really want to invest bc kids only together for a year?

Bumping up this question - curious if any recently families can share their experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do they try to keep kids in the same cohort from year to year or is it a totally new class each year? Parents who have kids at the school- do your kids keep friendships year to year? Is there a sense of community amongst the parents or do people not really want to invest bc kids only together for a year?

Bumping up this question - curious if any recently families can share their experience.

My experience was that it was extremely difficult to meet other families or make connections in class or outside, through school. Everyone in Takoma park seems to meet through other activities like after care, soccer or cubs/brownies/Girl Scouts. It might be different if you join in kindergarten. We didn’t join in K and it was quite a shock to find that there isn’t much community around the schools. There is no PTA committee for welcoming new families, for example.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do they try to keep kids in the same cohort from year to year or is it a totally new class each year? Parents who have kids at the school- do your kids keep friendships year to year? Is there a sense of community amongst the parents or do people not really want to invest bc kids only together for a year?

Bumping up this question - curious if any recently families can share their experience.

My experience was that it was extremely difficult to meet other families or make connections in class or outside, through school. Everyone in Takoma park seems to meet through other activities like after care, soccer or cubs/brownies/Girl Scouts. It might be different if you join in kindergarten. We didn’t join in K and it was quite a shock to find that there isn’t much community around the schools. There is no PTA committee for welcoming new families, for example.

My kids had a few kids from our neighborhood, but they were also very social and always made 2-to 3 new friends from class each year. I don't consider myself an extrovert, but I never had a problem meeting other parents. In fact, I became good friends with several parents I met because of my kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What does this mean?

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone know how a focus school is determined? What’s the FARMS rate cutoff? Does a school have to hit a certain FARMS metric for a certain number of years before the designation is changed?

I don't know the exact cutoff, but all of the focus schools are listed in the chart on page 3 here, so it can probably be extrapolated, if someone wants to take the time.

https://gis.mcpsmd.org/cipmasterpdfs/CIP25_Chapter3.pdf

The class size for focus schools is only for k to 2. My kid is in a focus school in 3rd grade and their class has 25 plus kids. The focus status does mean more staffing and paras.

I believe the cut off for focus is around 50-60 percent Farms

https://ww2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/budget/archiveDetail.aspx?id=125&year=2016&order=39&keywords=

True, this only effects K-2 but since we're talking about TPES, which is K-2, does it matter?

Also, 50%-60% is well above what is required to be designated as Title 1, let alone a focus school. Focus is much lower like 30% or higher, but below title 1. In fact, TPES was around 30% farms when it was a focus school.

MCPS has the ability to choose how to use its Title I funds, and chooses to designate the absolutely neediest schools as "title I" while designating others as "Focus."

Given the size of MCPS, and the residential segregation that led to concentrated poverty, there are schools with functionally 100% FARMS. So, you have a situation where a specific school would be Title I in a different district, but is "only" Focus in MCPS. I've had kids in those schools, and the struggle is that the neediest kids in the school are every bit as traumatized and in need of support as the neediest kids in a Title I school but the school doesn't get the appropriate resources for those kids.

I thought title 1 was a federal designation so the threshold is determined at the federal level. It's usually over 70%

Regardless, TPES wasn't a Title 1 school. It was a focus school which is something MCPS defines, and it no longer qualifies for this status since it's moderately low-FARMS.

Not for long.

There's a poster who likes to say that busing is coming to MCPS so I guess he's saying that it won't be low farms for long if they move kids around.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What does this mean?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone know how a focus school is determined? What’s the FARMS rate cutoff? Does a school have to hit a certain FARMS metric for a certain number of years before the designation is changed?

I don't know the exact cutoff, but all of the focus schools are listed in the chart on page 3 here, so it can probably be extrapolated, if someone wants to take the time.

https://gis.mcpsmd.org/cipmasterpdfs/CIP25_Chapter3.pdf

The class size for focus schools is only for k to 2. My kid is in a focus school in 3rd grade and their class has 25 plus kids. The focus status does mean more staffing and paras.

I believe the cut off for focus is around 50-60 percent Farms

https://ww2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/budget/archiveDetail.aspx?id=125&year=2016&order=39&keywords=

True, this only effects K-2 but since we're talking about TPES, which is K-2, does it matter?

Also, 50%-60% is well above what is required to be designated as Title 1, let alone a focus school. Focus is much lower like 30% or higher, but below title 1. In fact, TPES was around 30% farms when it was a focus school.

MCPS has the ability to choose how to use its Title I funds, and chooses to designate the absolutely neediest schools as "title I" while designating others as "Focus."

Given the size of MCPS, and the residential segregation that led to concentrated poverty, there are schools with functionally 100% FARMS. So, you have a situation where a specific school would be Title I in a different district, but is "only" Focus in MCPS. I've had kids in those schools, and the struggle is that the neediest kids in the school are every bit as traumatized and in need of support as the neediest kids in a Title I school but the school doesn't get the appropriate resources for those kids.

I thought title 1 was a federal designation so the threshold is determined at the federal level. It's usually over 70%

Regardless, TPES wasn't a Title 1 school. It was a focus school which is something MCPS defines, and it no longer qualifies for this status since it's moderately low-FARMS.

Not for long.

There's a poster who likes to say that busing is coming to MCPS so I guess he's saying that it won't be low farms for long if they move kids around.

Posting nonsense makes them believe they're owning the libs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do they try to keep kids in the same cohort from year to year or is it a totally new class each year? Parents who have kids at the school- do your kids keep friendships year to year? Is there a sense of community amongst the parents or do people not really want to invest bc kids only together for a year?

Bumping up this question - curious if any recently families can share their experience.

My experience was that it was extremely difficult to meet other families or make connections in class or outside, through school. Everyone in Takoma park seems to meet through other activities like after care, soccer or cubs/brownies/Girl Scouts. It might be different if you join in kindergarten. We didn’t join in K and it was quite a shock to find that there isn’t much community around the schools. There is no PTA committee for welcoming new families, for example.

Do *any* MCPS ES have welcome committees? Is that even a thing in this area?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do they try to keep kids in the same cohort from year to year or is it a totally new class each year? Parents who have kids at the school- do your kids keep friendships year to year? Is there a sense of community amongst the parents or do people not really want to invest bc kids only together for a year?

Bumping up this question - curious if any recently families can share their experience.

My experience was that it was extremely difficult to meet other families or make connections in class or outside, through school. Everyone in Takoma park seems to meet through other activities like after care, soccer or cubs/brownies/Girl Scouts. It might be different if you join in kindergarten. We didn’t join in K and it was quite a shock to find that there isn’t much community around the schools. There is no PTA committee for welcoming new families, for example.

Do *any* MCPS ES have welcome committees? Is that even a thing in this area?

I don’t have experience of any other MCPS schools so I don’t know, but it is common in DCPS and DC charters.

[Anonymous]

Most years my daughter was in a class with a completely new group of kids except for two or three from the previous year(s). The lunchroom and recess can be loud, but I'm not sure if it is louder than other elementary schools. There are many events at the school throughout the year and the PTA meetings are often well attended. There are after school clubs the kids can join, but the cost and timing can be a barrier to some families.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My understanding is there are 9 classes of 25+ kids per class. I’m trying to wrap my head around how things function as a school that big! Is it easy for kids to make friends? Does the staff know the kids names? Are lunch/recess overwhelming? It might work great(?), but I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around it all!

Like clockwork!

The size of the school is no big deal. In fact, I feel it's more of a benefit.

It’s no big deal that kids get shuffled into new classes where they only know 1-2 kids every year? That the lunchroom is chaotic since there are so many kids? That there are only a few adults supervising a large number of students at recess? I’m willing to believe that there are benefits to a larger school for older grades when there could be more specialized course offerings, for example. Here I am not seeing a benefit. I would love to hear more.

You do realize it's pretty much the same at every single school. Like if you have fewer classes per grade, you would probably just create great bands to do lunch and recess together. So you would still have about the same number of kids at lunch and recess at the same time

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My understanding is there are 9 classes of 25+ kids per class. I’m trying to wrap my head around how things function as a school that big! Is it easy for kids to make friends? Does the staff know the kids names? Are lunch/recess overwhelming? It might work great(?), but I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around it all!

Like clockwork!

The size of the school is no big deal. In fact, I feel it's more of a benefit.

It’s no big deal that kids get shuffled into new classes where they only know 1-2 kids every year? That the lunchroom is chaotic since there are so many kids? That there are only a few adults supervising a large number of students at recess? I’m willing to believe that there are benefits to a larger school for older grades when there could be more specialized course offerings, for example. Here I am not seeing a benefit. I would love to hear more.

You do realize it's pretty much the same at every single school. Like if you have fewer classes per grade, you would probably just create great bands to do lunch and recess together. So you would still have about the same number of kids at lunch and recess at the same time

Except these ‘bands’ change every year. PP, there are some very big downsides to being in large elementary schools and not really an upside. My kids had 240 in their grade at TPES and Piney Branch. If I’d had a chance to send them to a smaller school I would have. Ironically we moved here for the schools but I didn’t realize just how big they were. My kid suffered for it as they didn’t start in K and were used to a very close school community. I doubt the principal ever knew who either of mine were, for example.

[Anonymous]

Do most area public schools really have 240+ kids together at lunch at recess?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My understanding is there are 9 classes of 25+ kids per class. I’m trying to wrap my head around how things function as a school that big! Is it easy for kids to make friends? Does the staff know the kids names? Are lunch/recess overwhelming? It might work great(?), but I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around it all!

Like clockwork!

The size of the school is no big deal. In fact, I feel it's more of a benefit.

It’s no big deal that kids get shuffled into new classes where they only know 1-2 kids every year? That the lunchroom is chaotic since there are so many kids? That there are only a few adults supervising a large number of students at recess? I’m willing to believe that there are benefits to a larger school for older grades when there could be more specialized course offerings, for example. Here I am not seeing a benefit. I would love to hear more.

You do realize it's pretty much the same at every single school. Like if you have fewer classes per grade, you would probably just create great bands to do lunch and recess together. So you would still have about the same number of kids at lunch and recess at the same time

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My understanding is there are 9 classes of 25+ kids per class. I’m trying to wrap my head around how things function as a school that big! Is it easy for kids to make friends? Does the staff know the kids names? Are lunch/recess overwhelming? It might work great(?), but I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around it all!

Like clockwork!

The size of the school is no big deal. In fact, I feel it's more of a benefit.

It’s no big deal that kids get shuffled into new classes where they only know 1-2 kids every year? That the lunchroom is chaotic since there are so many kids? That there are only a few adults supervising a large number of students at recess? I’m willing to believe that there are benefits to a larger school for older grades when there could be more specialized course offerings, for example. Here I am not seeing a benefit. I would love to hear more.

You do realize it's pretty much the same at every single school. Like if you have fewer classes per grade, you would probably just create great bands to do lunch and recess together. So you would still have about the same number of kids at lunch and recess at the same time

Except these ‘bands’ change every year. PP, there are some very big downsides to being in large elementary schools and not really an upside. My kids had 240 in their grade at TPES and Piney Branch. If I’d had a chance to send them to a smaller school I would have. Ironically we moved here for the schools but I didn’t realize just how big they were. My kid suffered for it as they didn’t start in K and were used to a very close school community. I doubt the principal ever knew who either of mine were, for example.

There are about 600 kids at Takoma elementary and 600 kids at piney Branch. I realize it might be different from where you are from, but in this area that's pretty much the norm. I don't think there's a lot of elementary schools that have fewer than 400 kids unless it's a very special program

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do most area public schools really have 240+ kids together at lunch at recess?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My understanding is there are 9 classes of 25+ kids per class. I’m trying to wrap my head around how things function as a school that big! Is it easy for kids to make friends? Does the staff know the kids names? Are lunch/recess overwhelming? It might work great(?), but I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around it all!

Like clockwork!

The size of the school is no big deal. In fact, I feel it's more of a benefit.

It’s no big deal that kids get shuffled into new classes where they only know 1-2 kids every year? That the lunchroom is chaotic since there are so many kids? That there are only a few adults supervising a large number of students at recess? I’m willing to believe that there are benefits to a larger school for older grades when there could be more specialized course offerings, for example. Here I am not seeing a benefit. I would love to hear more.

You do realize it's pretty much the same at every single school. Like if you have fewer classes per grade, you would probably just create great bands to do lunch and recess together. So you would still have about the same number of kids at lunch and recess at the same time

I don't really know how every single school does recess and lunch. They're just isn't usually enough time in the day or staffing to give each grade its own lunch unless a grade is really big.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do most area public schools really have 240+ kids together at lunch at recess?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My understanding is there are 9 classes of 25+ kids per class. I’m trying to wrap my head around how things function as a school that big! Is it easy for kids to make friends? Does the staff know the kids names? Are lunch/recess overwhelming? It might work great(?), but I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around it all!

Like clockwork!

The size of the school is no big deal. In fact, I feel it's more of a benefit.

It’s no big deal that kids get shuffled into new classes where they only know 1-2 kids every year? That the lunchroom is chaotic since there are so many kids? That there are only a few adults supervising a large number of students at recess? I’m willing to believe that there are benefits to a larger school for older grades when there could be more specialized course offerings, for example. Here I am not seeing a benefit. I would love to hear more.

You do realize it's pretty much the same at every single school. Like if you have fewer classes per grade, you would probably just create great bands to do lunch and recess together. So you would still have about the same number of kids at lunch and recess at the same time

I don't really know how every single school does recess and lunch. They're just isn't usually enough time in the day or staffing to give each grade its own lunch unless a grade is really big.

These schools are well run and manage things like multiple lunches effortlessly. These things are much simpler at ES than a high schools with 2000-3000+ students.

[Anonymous]

Most other area elementary schools are K-5 and have similar enrollment to TPES which only serves K-2.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My understanding is there are 9 classes of 25+ kids per class. I’m trying to wrap my head around how things function as a school that big! Is it easy for kids to make friends? Does the staff know the kids names? Are lunch/recess overwhelming? It might work great(?), but I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around it all!

Like clockwork!

The size of the school is no big deal. In fact, I feel it's more of a benefit.

It’s no big deal that kids get shuffled into new classes where they only know 1-2 kids every year? That the lunchroom is chaotic since there are so many kids? That there are only a few adults supervising a large number of students at recess? I’m willing to believe that there are benefits to a larger school for older grades when there could be more specialized course offerings, for example. Here I am not seeing a benefit. I would love to hear more.

You do realize it's pretty much the same at every single school. Like if you have fewer classes per grade, you would probably just create great bands to do lunch and recess together. So you would still have about the same number of kids at lunch and recess at the same time

Except these ‘bands’ change every year. PP, there are some very big downsides to being in large elementary schools and not really an upside. My kids had 240 in their grade at TPES and Piney Branch. If I’d had a chance to send them to a smaller school I would have. Ironically we moved here for the schools but I didn’t realize just how big they were. My kid suffered for it as they didn’t start in K and were used to a very close school community. I doubt the principal ever knew who either of mine were, for example.

There are about 600 kids at Takoma elementary and 600 kids at piney Branch. I realize it might be different from where you are from, but in this area that's pretty much the norm. I don't think there's a lot of elementary schools that have fewer than 400 kids unless it's a very special program