Reply to Alexandria City: Maury ES vs Mount Vernon Community School?

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Reply to "Alexandria City: Maury ES vs Mount Vernon Community School?"

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[quote=Anonymous]OP, a search of DCUM will show you all of the previous knock down, drag out fights over this. People have strong feelings about ACPS.

ACPS schools will always have lower test scores than a predominantly high income neighborhood where no one learning English as a second language.

There are some folks who are convinced that white middle class kids "lose" in school districts like this, because they aren't challenged enough. An examination of the subgroups being tested shows that white middle class students at these schools do not score lower than their counterparts in more homogeneous districts.

We are white middle class, and we don't feel this is the case. Our children receive challenging work from their teachers, appropriate for their academic level. Those in their class that need remediation receive instruction appropriate for their level. The edu-speak term for this is differentiation. ACPS schools receive federal funding under Title I due to the percentage of low-income families. This money is used to pay for reading specialists, math specialists, ELL teachers, etc. These extra resource teachers translate into my kids getting a low student-to-teacher ratio, and in my experience my kids get enough individualized attention from their classroom teachers. Looking into the future, we see a rigorous selection of courses at the high school level, with kids that are focused on going to college able to get accepted to many great institutions. Are there also kids that drop out, or coast through four years with the bare minimum of effort? Sure, but kids that want to will get tons of support if they want to make college a goal, regardless of background, country of origin, or income level, and my kids will get to be surrounded by that diversity, in all its complexity.

My kids attend a school with over 60 countries represented. That's not something that shows up on test scores, but I think it's a gift I can give my children.

So, this is the reality. If you are just looking at test scores, you will think ACPS is bad. You point out that you have spoken to parents who say "it's not as bad as everyone says" and "it's been good for my child." This is also a reality. It's my reality, and the reality of many other concerned, committed parents who are in ACPS.

There are parents who are also very unhappy with ACPS. Some of them have direct knowledge/experience, some don't. If you read DCUM, you'll find there are parents who are unhappy with Montgomery County's new 2.0 curriculum. Some MoCo parents may ultimately decide they are fed up with MoCo and go elsewhere. Other parents may also decide that MoCo is still a good school district. I'm not prepared to declare that one is definitively "right" or "wrong" on that argument. Both sides have different priorities that they consider when weighing the merits of the school system.

Where am I going with this? There is no one "right" answer. There is what works for your family. You like Del Ray for all the reasons you listed? There's a good bet that you'll like either Maury or Mt. Vernon. I URGE you to tour the schools and talk to parents that have kids that are currently enrolled. Mt. Vernon's dual language and intersession are unique/different features, and you should make sure you are speaking with people with direct, recent knowledge, rather than an anonymous message board.

You can also talk to other parents who live in Del Ray who have decided to send their child to private school, and get a sense of what led them to that decision.

No matter what you decide, OP, know that your kid is going to get a positive school experience, because you are clearly an involved parent who cares about DC's education. At the end of the day, that is the single biggest factor in your child's scholastic success.
Good luck![/quote]

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