Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a child with SN who attends CCES. I find it surprising that PP describes the general ed classrooms as being all mixed together across ability levels. Maybe PP doesn't realize, but CCES classrooms are pretty awful about grouping all of the kids with IEPs together and not letting them truly be mainstreamed. I am glad my child is in a general ed classroom, but I want DC to benefit from working with peers at all ability levels - including those who regularly outperform DC and can thereby challenge DC to push to higher goals. It doesn't really happen when they're all in a small group together and not interacting much with everyone else.

Overall, I am not that impressed with the teachers - especially the special ed teachers. Every year my DC is assigned to a teacher who has literally just graduated from UMD - zero actual experience. And zero continuity because they're moved on to something else the next year. The admins don't impress me either and I am disappointed that the principal has never attended an IEP meeting or expressed any interest in helping my DC through the last 18 months (which were awful for everyone, but even worse for kids who were missing out on their services).

Good points: the building is lovely, the specials teachers (art, music, etc.) are all wonderful, and the kids are warm and welcoming to one another. My DC is quite happy, despite all of my complaining about the academic issues.

+1 on special Ed being terrible at CCES. My DC had one of those first year inexperienced and dumb teachers. He used to email me and complain that my child was lazy and unmotivated because I was providing supports at home on homework - supports that were prescribed in the neuropsych report he never read.

Special Ed is bad at CCES because of the negative leadership of Principal Smith. You’re lucky she’s never attended a meeting - she only makes it worse.

Anonymous wrote:I have a child with SN who attends CCES. I find it surprising that PP describes the general ed classrooms as being all mixed together across ability levels. Maybe PP doesn't realize, but CCES classrooms are pretty awful about grouping all of the kids with IEPs together and not letting them truly be mainstreamed. I am glad my child is in a general ed classroom, but I want DC to benefit from working with peers at all ability levels - including those who regularly outperform DC and can thereby challenge DC to push to higher goals. It doesn't really happen when they're all in a small group together and not interacting much with everyone else.

Overall, I am not that impressed with the teachers - especially the special ed teachers. Every year my DC is assigned to a teacher who has literally just graduated from UMD - zero actual experience. And zero continuity because they're moved on to something else the next year. The admins don't impress me either and I am disappointed that the principal has never attended an IEP meeting or expressed any interest in helping my DC through the last 18 months (which were awful for everyone, but even worse for kids who were missing out on their services).

Good points: the building is lovely, the specials teachers (art, music, etc.) are all wonderful, and the kids are warm and welcoming to one another. My DC is quite happy, despite all of my complaining about the academic issues.

Anonymous wrote:CCES is an awesome school. People have posted a lot already, so I’ll just endorse.

Anonymous wrote:It’s a great school, do not hesitate to send your kids. I actually like the principal — I think she’s funny and warm and honest, and hires good teachers. I agree she is not Covid cautious, nor is the AP. I think the PTA is actually not that active compared to some other schools in the county, but some of that is Covid-related. PP is right that they don’t do ELC for the high performing non-CES students, but some of the magic of the CES curriculum comes from the wonderful teachers who teach at these programs, not necessarily from the curriculum itself, though it is an excellent curriculum. The school offers regular and compacted math to 4th and 5th graders.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid just graduated, and because she was in the CES, we can compare CCES to her previous elementary, and her friend's schools. Leaving aside that CES teachers were the best elementary school teachers my kids ever had (we loved them!)... The Principal is ditzy and not at all Covid-conscious, and compared to other Principals I've worked with (PTA stuff), not the most competent. However the school building is REALLY NICE compared to other MCPS elementary schools, with high ceilings, and a dedicated meditation room. They're not overcrowded like other schools, which makes a big difference to how they can spread out and use their space. Less student per sq ft reduces the amount of noise and stress in the building. The outdoor space is lovely, they even have an exercise track and flowered garden. The surrounding neighborhood is really cute.

The standard curriculum is the one MCPS uses in every school, and in my opinion, very slow. No public or private elementary has ever had an excellent curriculum, in my experience. It's really hard to reach all students at that age, since there's no tracking, so they need to go slow. The extra-curriculars are interesting. My daughter took Latin one year and quite liked it.

This. Except I wouldn't say she's ditzy. She's very calculated and I think the other posts were spot on about the vanity, pettiness, and cruelty towards certain students. I would avoid if you could but it sounds like you can't. The whole admin is a mess but some of the teachers are great while others are terrible like most schools. Am involved with the PTA too and it's a great group of families.

Anonymous wrote:My kid just graduated, and because she was in the CES, we can compare CCES to her previous elementary, and her friend's schools. Leaving aside that CES teachers were the best elementary school teachers my kids ever had (we loved them!)... The Principal is ditzy and not at all Covid-conscious, and compared to other Principals I've worked with (PTA stuff), not the most competent. However the school building is REALLY NICE compared to other MCPS elementary schools, with high ceilings, and a dedicated meditation room. They're not overcrowded like other schools, which makes a big difference to how they can spread out and use their space. Less student per sq ft reduces the amount of noise and stress in the building. The outdoor space is lovely, they even have an exercise track and flowered garden. The surrounding neighborhood is really cute.

The standard curriculum is the one MCPS uses in every school, and in my opinion, very slow. No public or private elementary has ever had an excellent curriculum, in my experience. It's really hard to reach all students at that age, since there's no tracking, so they need to go slow. The extra-curriculars are interesting. My daughter took Latin one year and quite liked it.