Changes in MCPS in the last 15 years

[Anonymous]

I hate to break it to people but charters are not the rosy picture that it seems. Many of them steal money via their powerful connections, a la J.C. Hayward. Many of them close despite poor performance ratings while the CFOs and COOs ride off into the sunset. The money then disappears into thin air instead of the local/federal gov't holding the organization accountable. What's even more frustrating about charters is the lack of transparency and charter schools being the latest scam for billionaires who get tax credits and incentives off the backs of poor and working-class citizens.

As we have learned via multiple news sources: Washington Post, NY Times, Baltimore Sun, LA Times, Chicago Tribune charter school lotteries are often rigged by who you know. The lottery is not a "true lottery" in any sense. So, yes let's bring instability and a hunger game school system to MoCo.

[Anonymous]

I wonder how many school districts the size of MCPS don’t have charters. We may be an outlier. Open/close charters to deal with demographic shifts. Take some pressure off our traditional schools. Let the charters be incubators for innovation in education.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I hate to break it to people but charters are not the rosy picture that it seems. Many of them steal money via their powerful connections, a la J.C. Hayward. Many of them close despite poor performance ratings while the CFOs and COOs ride off into the sunset. The money then disappears into thin air instead of the local/federal gov't holding the organization accountable. What's even more frustrating about charters is the lack of transparency and charter schools being the latest scam for billionaires who get tax credits and incentives off the backs of poor and working-class citizens.

As we have learned via multiple news sources: Washington Post, NY Times, Baltimore Sun, LA Times, Chicago Tribune charter school lotteries are often rigged by who you know. The lottery is not a "true lottery" in any sense. So, yes let's bring instability and a hunger game school system to MoCo.

Non-profits with oversight. They’re not all bad. But thanks for the rosy outlook.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hate to break it to people but charters are not the rosy picture that it seems. Many of them steal money via their powerful connections, a la J.C. Hayward. Many of them close despite poor performance ratings while the CFOs and COOs ride off into the sunset. The money then disappears into thin air instead of the local/federal gov't holding the organization accountable. What's even more frustrating about charters is the lack of transparency and charter schools being the latest scam for billionaires who get tax credits and incentives off the backs of poor and working-class citizens.

As we have learned via multiple news sources: Washington Post, NY Times, Baltimore Sun, LA Times, Chicago Tribune charter school lotteries are often rigged by who you know. The lottery is not a "true lottery" in any sense. So, yes let's bring instability and a hunger game school system to MoCo.

Non-profits with oversight. They’re not all bad. But thanks for the rosy outlook.

Post links with the oversight that you suggest. More often than not DCPS has to re-section students from charter school closures and to an available public school seat for those children. There is a thread currently on the DC schools forum on a recent charter school closure.

[Anonymous]

Look, at some point the county is going to stop having funds to keep building additions and opening new schools. Why not let charter schools take on some of that burden?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wonder how many school districts the size of MCPS don’t have charters. We may be an outlier. Open/close charters to deal with demographic shifts. Take some pressure off our traditional schools. Let the charters be incubators for innovation in education.

I'm not sure I would trust a charter for profit to be the innovator for my children's education. Many times its a starry-eyed millenial without educational experience trying to wave a few trinkets, buzz words and sell a "wolf ticket". No, thank you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I moved here several years ago, found this forum while doing a google search about something 4 years ago. I went back several pages in the MD school forum, and read posts from pre 2.0. People didn't seem happy back then, either. I'm not defending 2.0. There were certainly problems with it, and I'm glad they are changing it. But, I don't think the problem started with 2.0.

+2, people complain because they can.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wonder how many school districts the size of MCPS don’t have charters. We may be an outlier. Open/close charters to deal with demographic shifts. Take some pressure off our traditional schools. Let the charters be incubators for innovation in education.

Take funding away from traditional public schools but are able to counsel challenging students out and back to public. Usually it is lower income kids who get left behind at low performing schools do to transportation issues or parents who are not able to navigate choices.

[Anonymous]

I believe the charters in DC now educate almost half the students. And they’ve seen improvements in test scores in traditional public and the charters. Huge success, I would say.

MoCo is changing and maybe what always worked historically doesn’t work today.

[Anonymous]

Imagine if this thread were Changes in DCPS over the last 15 years???!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Look, at some point the county is going to stop having funds to keep building additions and opening new schools. Why not let charter schools take on some of that burden?

Why?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Based on the descriptions here, DC ES are much better! Kids have PE more than once a week. They also get music and art. At my kids current charter, kids have PE 2-3 times a week, plus theater/art depending on the grade. Classes sizes are no more than 20 kids. DC school also offer free Pre-K. Reallyl glad we decided not to move to MC.

And in which PART of DC is this school located?

Will you be staying in the area for MS and HS?

Here's the thing. . . . While an ES may be wonderful by your standards, the HS isn't always so great. This is why those with means end up paying for private.

NP. I don't think it is useful to start a DC vs MCPS sub-thread here. On the whole, DCPS is dealing with many of the same issues as MCPS, including demographic shifts in the overall population, increased numbers of ELLs, and resegregations of public schools.

PP seems happy with their DCPS charter. Great! I'm happy with my MCPS public + gifted programs. PP was willing to deal with the charter lottery, which I wasn't particularly interested in tackling. I was willing to help my kids navigate the gifted testing system, which maybe other folks would like to avoid.

It's not a bad thing for different families to be happy in neighboring school districts, but the overall challenges that both districts are facing are pretty similar.

dC is not a growing sanctuary city for illegal Hispanics and their offspring like Fairfax, Arlington, and especially Montgomery County are. Not even close in numbers or acceleration. If anything deceleration once many left Adams Morgan and Columbia Heights. And they’re not moving to CASA de Anacostia.

For what it is worth, the increase in the Hispanic population in Maryland and in DC is pretty much identical between 2010 and 2017 (roughly two percent).

CARECEN plays the same role in DC that Casa de Maryland plays in Montgomery County, by the way. http://carecendc.org/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Who has right to authosize. charter Schools? County council or BOE? Cannot wait to have a school like KIPP to open in MC.

The BOE does, and there is already a process for this. If you want to start a charter school, go ahead and apply:

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/uploadedFiles/departments/deputy/charterschools/2011/C%202019%20Charter%20Schools%20Application%20(2).pdf

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I believe the charters in DC now educate almost half the students. And they’ve seen improvements in test scores in traditional public and the charters. Huge success, I would say.

MoCo is changing and maybe what always worked historically doesn’t work today.

Philly has also seen benefits from charter schools.

Charters or not, MCPS needs to undergo some major changes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Based on the descriptions here, DC ES are much better! Kids have PE more than once a week. They also get music and art. At my kids current charter, kids have PE 2-3 times a week, plus theater/art depending on the grade. Classes sizes are no more than 20 kids. DC school also offer free Pre-K. Reallyl glad we decided not to move to MC.

And in which PART of DC is this school located?

Will you be staying in the area for MS and HS?

Here's the thing. . . . While an ES may be wonderful by your standards, the HS isn't always so great. This is why those with means end up paying for private.

NP. I don't think it is useful to start a DC vs MCPS sub-thread here. On the whole, DCPS is dealing with many of the same issues as MCPS, including demographic shifts in the overall population, increased numbers of ELLs, and resegregations of public schools.

PP seems happy with their DCPS charter. Great! I'm happy with my MCPS public + gifted programs. PP was willing to deal with the charter lottery, which I wasn't particularly interested in tackling. I was willing to help my kids navigate the gifted testing system, which maybe other folks would like to avoid.

It's not a bad thing for different families to be happy in neighboring school districts, but the overall challenges that both districts are facing are pretty similar.

dC is not a growing sanctuary city for illegal Hispanics and their offspring like Fairfax, Arlington, and especially Montgomery County are. Not even close in numbers or acceleration. If anything deceleration once many left Adams Morgan and Columbia Heights. And they’re not moving to CASA de Anacostia.

For what it is worth, the increase in the Hispanic population in Maryland and in DC is pretty much identical between 2010 and 2017 (roughly two percent).

CARECEN plays the same role in DC that Casa de Maryland plays in Montgomery County, by the way. http://carecendc.org/

How can any data regarding numbers of illegal immigrants be believed? It's impossible to get a true number. And, obviously any data from CARECEN is going to be biased. They have an agenda.