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[quote=Anonymous]Odd post, PP.  I work in MCPS as a non-school based (I move around to several schools, including VMES) professional employee, and I wouldn't describe the school as dirty.  They just received an addition that increased the school size by about 50%--before that, they had to deal with almost 20 portables, I think.  So much of the building is barely a year old.  There is a school-based health center which is open to all families, regardless of income.  If you are not on medical assistance, you can still sign up and go through your insurance for payment.

For safety issues, I think the PP is wrong.  The doors are ALWAYS locked, except for the gym in the morning so that parents can drop off students to the before care program (Global).  If I don't have my swipe key, I have to buzz in at the main door, and the secretaries check the security cameras to let me in.  Nobody can just walk in.

There is a new principal this year, so the school is adjusting.  The former principal was very popular, but the new one seems good too.  Right now, K classes are sitting at 18-20 students, due to increased enrollment at the beginning of the school year.  It's tough because the Title I K classes are "capped" at 18, but in order to get an allocation for an additional class once the school year has started, ALL classes must be above 18.  The new principal has expressed an interest in addressing this issue, to keep class sizes small.  Hopefully we will see that in the next school year.  There are 6 K classes this year, and presumably there will be 5 2nd grade classes next year.

I can speak personally that due to the school's high ESOL population, there is a lot of collaboration among teachers.  Most classrooms have two teachers working together for part of the day (an ESOL teacher and classroom teacher), and in K and 1st, paras are assigned to classes for large chunks of the day as well.  This means multiple adults working with kids, so a lot of small group instruction.

The PTA is active, especially for a Title I school.  As PP mentioned, there are lots of "nights," although I have never had the opportunity to attend any.  My oldest is still a year away from kindergarten and we live upcounty, but I will be honest and say that we are considering applying for a COSA to attend VMES.[/quote]

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