If you could live anywhere in MOCO, where would you send your kids?

[Anonymous]

This thread seems to have been overtaken by the very prolific poster who hates MCPS and Curriculum 2.0. If this board is any gauge, parents who believe their kids to be "advanced" are the most aggrieved; apparently now little Ava who was taught to read at 3yo and Jack who was redshirted so that he would sit perfectly still in K won't be able to take those calculus classes in grade 2.

Personally, I don't really get it, personally, as the parent of a child whose entry to MCPS coincided with the adoption of 2.0. Maybe what preceded it was better, I don't know. But my child has had a first-rate experience with terrific teachers in MCPS so far. My sense is that my child's classmates and their families were reasonably satisfied too, and most of them appear to have the resources to avail themselves of other options. No knocks on HoCo, I'm sure that's lovely too, but no family with working parents would happily choose a 2 hour commute over a 25 minute one, particularly when the short commute comes with some of the best rated schools in the country.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This thread seems to have been overtaken by the very prolific poster who hates MCPS and Curriculum 2.0. If this board is any gauge, parents who believe their kids to be "advanced" are the most aggrieved; apparently now little Ava who was taught to read at 3yo and Jack who was redshirted so that he would sit perfectly still in K won't be able to take those calculus classes in grade 2.

Personally, I don't really get it, personally, as the parent of a child whose entry to MCPS coincided with the adoption of 2.0. Maybe what preceded it was better, I don't know. But my child has had a first-rate experience with terrific teachers in MCPS so far. My sense is that my child's classmates and their families were reasonably satisfied too, and most of them appear to have the resources to avail themselves of other options. No knocks on HoCo, I'm sure that's lovely too, but no family with working parents would happily choose a 2 hour commute over a 25 minute one, particularly when the short commute comes with some of the best rated schools in the country.

I know the MCPS trolls would advocate a so-so education over a slightly longer commute and a darn good education. Union troll: how me why Maryland is wrong in placing MCPS performance solidly in the middle and not at the top.

Parents look at the actual numbers and make up your minds.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I'd suggest looking in the Sligo Creek Elementary area - right around downtown Silver Spring. We were also DC people, but as the kids got older, needed more space and wanted public schools through high school that we would send our kids to. DTSS is right by the SS Metro, great public transit, lots of restaurants/theaters/shops, diverse, good schools, tons of parks and right next to Sligo Creek which has a great trail, lots of people like us who are more city people, etc. We really like it and our kids love Sligo Creek Elem.

Wouldn't move to MoCo ..... it it was an option. MoCo and other urban districts are moving towards a curriculum geared towards the lower socioeconomic student. Most students from middle class homes tend to be bored in these classes. Think about the future and move to a non-urban district. Just my 2 cents!

OP said close-in, so I presume she values the benefits of being close to DC enough that your post won't make her move out past Montgomery County. Where are you suggesting she move anyway if in Md but not in moco?

My suggestion is that OP carefully think if the education of her children or closeness to DC matters most. The focus of urban schools is not the child from a middle class family. Even the "W" schools in MoCo are moving in that direction. I love the Takoma Park area but the declining schools made me rethink. Unions controlling real estate taxes seems to be the beginning of out of control spending on schools with little to show for the middle class taxpayer's child.

HoCo is much friendlier, teachers are less full of themselves, and education is good.

Well it's not like your choice is "move to Howard County and have fantastic schools but a two-hour commute each way" or "move to MOCO and have shitty schools and a reasonable commute". MOCO schools are among the best in the country. I don't know a thing about Howard County schools, but they would have to be absolutely spectacular beyond reason to make me want to spend an additional hour on commuting each way (so two fewer hours actually spent with my children each day) and to sacrifice what I think are the benefits of living in a less suburban area.

I'm not sure what you mean by Howard County being much "friendlier" and I doubt you have any evidence to prove that other than your own assumptions. I've found my neighbors in DTSS to be very friendly. And same with teachers being "less full of themselves" - what a bizarre argument for your point.

My kids are both at Sligo Creek and really like it. I know about what people dislike about curiculum 2.0, and fortunately, most middle-class people are going to have the time and money to make sure their kids are happy and learning whereever they are. I'll take my kid's pretty good education and live in downtown Silver Spring. I'm sure there are people who want different things out of life that are very happy in Howard County, and that's great. But if OP wants close-in, Howard County isn't going to do it. And it doesn't mean she doesn't value a quality education for her children.

OP: If you are one of those "most middle-class people are going to have the time and money to make sure their kids are happy and learning whereever they are," then by all means move to MoCo. On the other hand if you want a solid education from a school system that doesn't spend on promoting itself look at HoCo. Look at the school systems and compare them.

which one spends millions on PR?
which one has options for gifted students?
which one has a solid curriculum?
which one has differentiated instruction?
do you believe differentiated instruction can serve your children?
look at the superintendents--see if their philosophy is acceptable to you.

Then make a choice. Don't take my word for the quality of education--make your own decision. MoCo schools are not among the best in the country. They were once. Not anymore. Look at the Maryland Education department report and you will see they are not even the best in Maryland.

Fair questions any parent should ask. The poster who claimed MCPS schools are the best in the country--where is the data to backup your claim?

I have my own question---if MCPS schools are good and safe why does the superintendent Star need bodyguards? Are your schools that bad?

OP--I think you should answer those questions for yourself as the poster suggests and the decide if MoCo is worth moving to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This thread seems to have been overtaken by the very prolific poster who hates MCPS and Curriculum 2.0. If this board is any gauge, parents who believe their kids to be "advanced" are the most aggrieved; apparently now little Ava who was taught to read at 3yo and Jack who was redshirted so that he would sit perfectly still in K won't be able to take those calculus classes in grade 2.

Personally, I don't really get it, personally, as the parent of a child whose entry to MCPS coincided with the adoption of 2.0. Maybe what preceded it was better, I don't know. But my child has had a first-rate experience with terrific teachers in MCPS so far. My sense is that my child's classmates and their families were reasonably satisfied too, and most of them appear to have the resources to avail themselves of other options. No knocks on HoCo, I'm sure that's lovely too, but no family with working parents would happily choose a 2 hour commute over a 25 minute one, particularly when the short commute comes with some of the best rated schools in the country.


I know the MCPS trolls would advocate a so-so education over a slightly longer commute and a darn good education. Union troll: how me why Maryland is wrong in placing MCPS performance solidly in the middle and not at the top.

Parents look at the actual numbers and make up your minds.

Seriously, do you really think anyone who doesn't want to move to Howard County... whereever that may be... is a troll or a representative of MCPS? I can assure you, I am neither and I don't have any union ties or even a terribly positive view of teachers' unions. I do think my child has had 3 terrific teachers and has made huge strides in terms of academic and social/emotional development. You seem a little unhinged, PP. And btw, Howard County is not a "slightly longer commute" as compared to Bethesda, Chevy Chase or Silver Spring. I can get from my office in Dupont Circle to my child's school in 20 minutes most of the time, which it makes it possible for me to volunteer and attend activities, as well as have more time with my family every day. I can't even imagine how people who live in Howard County manage to do these things if they work in DC. I've never actually met any other parents who live in Howard County and works in DC, otherwise I might inquire.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I'd suggest looking in the Sligo Creek Elementary area - right around downtown Silver Spring. We were also DC people, but as the kids got older, needed more space and wanted public schools through high school that we would send our kids to. DTSS is right by the SS Metro, great public transit, lots of restaurants/theaters/shops, diverse, good schools, tons of parks and right next to Sligo Creek which has a great trail, lots of people like us who are more city people, etc. We really like it and our kids love Sligo Creek Elem.

Wouldn't move to MoCo ..... it it was an option. MoCo and other urban districts are moving towards a curriculum geared towards the lower socioeconomic student. Most students from middle class homes tend to be bored in these classes. Think about the future and move to a non-urban district. Just my 2 cents!

OP said close-in, so I presume she values the benefits of being close to DC enough that your post won't make her move out past Montgomery County. Where are you suggesting she move anyway if in Md but not in moco?

My suggestion is that OP carefully think if the education of her children or closeness to DC matters most. The focus of urban schools is not the child from a middle class family. Even the "W" schools in MoCo are moving in that direction. I love the Takoma Park area but the declining schools made me rethink. Unions controlling real estate taxes seems to be the beginning of out of control spending on schools with little to show for the middle class taxpayer's child.

HoCo is much friendlier, teachers are less full of themselves, and education is good.

There only one poster I know who post in rhetorical questions....


Well it's not like your choice is "move to Howard County and have fantastic schools but a two-hour commute each way" or "move to MOCO and have shitty schools and a reasonable commute". MOCO schools are among the best in the country. I don't know a thing about Howard County schools, but they would have to be absolutely spectacular beyond reason to make me want to spend an additional hour on commuting each way (so two fewer hours actually spent with my children each day) and to sacrifice what I think are the benefits of living in a less suburban area.

I'm not sure what you mean by Howard County being much "friendlier" and I doubt you have any evidence to prove that other than your own assumptions. I've found my neighbors in DTSS to be very friendly. And same with teachers being "less full of themselves" - what a bizarre argument for your point.

My kids are both at Sligo Creek and really like it. I know about what people dislike about curiculum 2.0, and fortunately, most middle-class people are going to have the time and money to make sure their kids are happy and learning whereever they are. I'll take my kid's pretty good education and live in downtown Silver Spring. I'm sure there are people who want different things out of life that are very happy in Howard County, and that's great. But if OP wants close-in, Howard County isn't going to do it. And it doesn't mean she doesn't value a quality education for her children.

OP: If you are one of those "most middle-class people are going to have the time and money to make sure their kids are happy and learning whereever they are," then by all means move to MoCo. On the other hand if you want a solid education from a school system that doesn't spend on promoting itself look at HoCo. Look at the school systems and compare them.

which one spends millions on PR?
which one has options for gifted students?
which one has a solid curriculum?
which one has differentiated instruction?
do you believe differentiated instruction can serve your children?
look at the superintendents--see if their philosophy is acceptable to you.

Then make a choice. Don't take my word for the quality of education--make your own decision. MoCo schools are not among the best in the country. They were once. Not anymore. Look at the Maryland Education department report and you will see they are not even the best in Maryland.

Fair questions any parent should ask. The poster who claimed MCPS schools are the best in the country--where is the data to backup your claim?

I have my own question---if MCPS schools are good and safe why does the superintendent Star need bodyguards? Are your schools that bad?

OP--I think you should answer those questions for yourself as the poster suggests and the decide if MoCo is worth moving to.

[Anonymous]

Fair questions any parent should ask. The poster who claimed MCPS schools are the best in the country--where is the data to backup your claim?

I have my own question---if MCPS schools are good and safe why does the superintendent Star need bodyguards? Are your schools that bad?

OP--I think you should answer those questions for yourself as the poster suggests and the decide if MoCo is worth moving to.


There only one poster I know who post in rhetorical questions....

[Anonymous]

The anti-union troll doesn't even have kids in MoCo schools - she sends them to private schools because she "wouldn't send my dog to public school." This came out on a thread a few weeks ago (http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/60/237643.page). Also, on the same thread she argue that teachers barely work for their pay.

Basically, she hates the unions because they are standing in the way of her goal of paying MoCo teachers cr@p so she can have lower taxes because otherwise she's in deep doo-doo for paying for that Chevy Suburban and McMansion.

She's a real charmer, that one. (PS, I have no dog in this fight - not a teacher, and certainly not a member of the teacher's union.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Another TP resident who doesn't get the link with Langley Park. Langley Park is in a whole 'nother school district, PG. I suppose you might think they're linked if you live way up Carroll, but in that case you're in a small minority because the rest of us TPers don't live there. Like others, I drive through Langley Park maybe once every 3 months on my way to drop off stiff at Value Village. But for OP, the takeaway is:

TP = MoCo school system
LP = PG school system

The only difference between LP and TP is the school district.

Only if you're a tea bagger and see everything through red-colored glasses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The anti-union troll doesn't even have kids in MoCo schools - she sends them to private schools because she "wouldn't send my dog to public school." This came out on a thread a few weeks ago (http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/60/237643.page). Also, on the same thread she argue that teachers barely work for their pay.

Basically, she hates the unions because they are standing in the way of her goal of paying MoCo teachers cr@p so she can have lower taxes because otherwise she's in deep doo-doo for paying for that Chevy Suburban and McMansion.

She's a real charmer, that one. (PS, I have no dog in this fight - not a teacher, and certainly not a member of the teacher's union.)

Ummm... I'm the private school parent that wouldn't send my dog to MCPS but I'm not the poster of any of the other stuff that you claim. Nor do I drive a Suburban or live in a McMansion. Now, go back to fanning yourself on your porch in Takoma Park.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The anti-union troll doesn't even have kids in MoCo schools - she sends them to private schools because she "wouldn't send my dog to public school." This came out on a thread a few weeks ago (http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/60/237643.page). Also, on the same thread she argue that teachers barely work for their pay.

Basically, she hates the unions because they are standing in the way of her goal of paying MoCo teachers cr@p so she can have lower taxes because otherwise she's in deep doo-doo for paying for that Chevy Suburban and McMansion.

She's a real charmer, that one. (PS, I have no dog in this fight - not a teacher, and certainly not a member of the teacher's union.)

Ummm... I'm the private school parent that wouldn't send my dog to MCPS but I'm not the poster of any of the other stuff that you claim. Nor do I drive a Suburban or live in a McMansion. Now, go back to fanning yourself on your porch in Takoma Park.

Somehow, though, you totally inspire the following image: a fake blond bob and a pointy, unsexy little ass, driving your Excursion (OK, maybe not a Suburban) around the exurbs in a rage while listening to Rush's show.

And you're dead wrong about me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Ummm... I'm the private school parent that wouldn't send my dog to MCPS but I'm not the poster of any of the other stuff that you claim. Nor do I drive a Suburban or live in a McMansion. Now, go back to fanning yourself on your porch in Takoma Park.

PS, what is your problem, then? Why are you always lurking on MCPS threads, telling us MCPS teachers suck (yes, that was you), that we should cut their salaries, and bashing a district you have no personal experience with? Seems very weird.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The anti-union troll doesn't even have kids in MoCo schools - she sends them to private schools because she "wouldn't send my dog to public school." This came out on a thread a few weeks ago (http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/60/237643.page). Also, on the same thread she argue that teachers barely work for their pay.

Basically, she hates the unions because they are standing in the way of her goal of paying MoCo teachers cr@p so she can have lower taxes because otherwise she's in deep doo-doo for paying for that Chevy Suburban and McMansion.

She's a real charmer, that one. (PS, I have no dog in this fight - not a teacher, and certainly not a member of the teacher's union.)

Ummm... I'm the private school parent that wouldn't send my dog to MCPS but I'm not the poster of any of the other stuff that you claim. Nor do I drive a Suburban or live in a McMansion. Now, go back to fanning yourself on your porch in Takoma Park.

Somehow, though, you totally inspire the following image: a fake blond bob and a pointy, unsexy little ass, driving your Excursion (OK, maybe not a Suburban) around the exurbs in a rage while listening to Rush's show.

And you're dead wrong about me.

No fake blond, natural brown, wish I had a little ass but it's pretty average size, I drive an Acura MDX and live in Cabin John. Never listen to Rush and no rage at all and I voted for Obama.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Ummm... I'm the private school parent that wouldn't send my dog to MCPS but I'm not the poster of any of the other stuff that you claim. Nor do I drive a Suburban or live in a McMansion. Now, go back to fanning yourself on your porch in Takoma Park.

PS, what is your problem, then? Why are you always lurking on MCPS threads, telling us MCPS teachers suck (yes, that was you), that we should cut their salaries, and bashing a district you have no personal experience with? Seems very weird.

Just because I don't send my kids doesn't mean I don't have experience with the schools. I'm not lurking. I'm actively participating, much to your chagrin.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Ummm... I'm the private school parent that wouldn't send my dog to MCPS but I'm not the poster of any of the other stuff that you claim. Nor do I drive a Suburban or live in a McMansion. Now, go back to fanning yourself on your porch in Takoma Park.

PS, what is your problem, then? Why are you always lurking on MCPS threads, telling us MCPS teachers suck (yes, that was you), that we should cut their salaries, and bashing a district you have no personal experience with? Seems very weird.

Just because I don't send my kids doesn't mean I don't have experience with the schools. I'm not lurking. I'm actively participating, much to your chagrin.

Actively participating ==>> even more unhinged. Seriously, if you don't want people to think you're psychotic, you should find another hobby that actually concerns you. You don't have a dog in this fight.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Ummm... I'm the private school parent that wouldn't send my dog to MCPS but I'm not the poster of any of the other stuff that you claim. Nor do I drive a Suburban or live in a McMansion. Now, go back to fanning yourself on your porch in Takoma Park.

PS, what is your problem, then? Why are you always lurking on MCPS threads, telling us MCPS teachers suck (yes, that was you), that we should cut their salaries, and bashing a district you have no personal experience with? Seems very weird.

Just because I don't send my kids doesn't mean I don't have experience with the schools. I'm not lurking. I'm actively participating, much to your chagrin.

Actively participating ==>> even more unhinged. Seriously, if you don't want people to think you're psychotic, you should find another hobby that actually concerns you. You don't have a dog in this fight.

I pay taxes and I vote... I have a dog in the fight.