The PTA at CCES is quite inactive and this is particularly true when compared to other cluster elementary schools. As noted by others, there is also a lack of parent participation in the school, and again, hugely different from other schools. All of this seems to be part of the design of the current Principal who distrusts parents and wants to keep them in the dark as much as possible (last year she changed teacher assignments mid-year without providing any notice to kids or parents, just as one example). Parents seem to be pretty complacent on the whole, and the lack of an active PTA does not help. I think the bottom line is that there is little question the school could be much better, and from all accounts, used to be.

I also will say that my child's teacher has been very good about finding ways to keep the kid challenged and engaged.

I think the comments about the PTA are very interesting. I think the PTA is fairly active and very supportive of the school, but in a different way than was true for RHPS (which has the k-2 grades). I recall being told at some point in the transition from RHPS to CCES that CCES did not want parents in the classroom (except for things like the halloween party). I don't recall who told me that, but it seems consistent with my experience and like a reasonable decision for a 3-6 school.

Maybe others disagree as to whether that is a conscious, consistent decision by CCES, or, if it is, whether it is ideal.

PP, sorry you feel your children are not being challenged. Have you approached the teachers about this? When I felt our DC was not being challenged in a non-HGC classroom, the teacher excused DC from some of the regular work and assigned more challenging projects instead. The teacher also modified some homework requirements to better fit my DC. Teacher also did some out of grade level reading testing on my DC which showed how far ahead DC really was. Also, I have always found both teachers and the principal to be receptive to discussion about placement. If your DC is not challenged in math, get the pre-assessment data next fall and have a discussion about acceleration. Sometimes the school can err on the side of caution, particularly in situations where a kid knows 60% of the upcoming year of math. The administration might choose not to accelerate that child unless the parent wants it.

Your perception of the PTA is interesting. We also came from a DC school and notice quite a difference in PTA activity, but this is because of a huge systemic difference between DC and MoCo schools. In our DC school, the PTA was constantly raising money (upwards of $150K/yer) so it could hire extra teachers -- aides for the classroom, music and art teachers, etc. This is not permitted in MoCo. In addition, the overall academics are far better and systematized than they were in DC, so there isn't the same sense in the PTA/parents about the need for oversight of the academic program at school.

At CCES, the PTA does raise some money, mostly for extra smart boards for classrooms. The PTA organizes after school classes and helps with programs like the Book Fair, International Night, Bingo, etc., which are usually well-attended.

In addition, many parents choose to help out by working in the school during the day in the classrooms, or library, etc.

When important issues have arisen, such as the concerns about the 6th grade academic program and whether the 6th graders would be moved to Westland, the PTA has moved into higher gear, organizing meetings and surveys and other activities. The PTA, at the behest of the parents, successfully fought off the Superintendent's move to put all 6th graders at Westland and instead a new middle school will be built.

If you still don't feel your children are challenged enough, perhaps you should look at some of the middle school magnet programs like Takoma and Eastern. Many kids from CCES (inside and outside the HGC) have gone on to these schools. (I'm assuming since you came from DC and are complaining about the HGC, that it is too late for your kids to apply to that.)

My kids are at CCES and before that were in a DC public school. Academically, it is more organized, the kids are tracked more closely and I think the basics are being covered. However, that's it. The PTA, while apparently very supportive of the teachers, is quite anemic (the teachers are excellent, I will say, and several have mentioned being very happy with PTA support--I guess the parents are happy to give, but not so much to show up). The parental involvement is just a fraction of what we experienced before and as a result there is little community feel. The "Center for Highly GT Kids" seems to be the only piece of the school that gets any fun/academic extracurricular projects and attention. For instance, after weeks of standardized testing, the "Center" program did a Rubic's Cube unit and then fielded a Rubik's Cube team to a local championship, but none of the non-Center kids were even invited to try out for it. Prior to a recent field trip to Philadelphia, the "Center" kids did a special unit on the relevant history, including researching individual delegates to the Constitutional Convention, whereas the other kids seem to have gotten no preparation. (Separate issue, but as far as I can tell, there are no positive externalities to having this program at the school and it makes the other --very smart-- kids feel they are "not GT" every day.)

I have no issues with the level of "discipline" or authority there--haven't experienced that as a problem. My kids are both doing well and are at advanced levels in math and reading. As far as the Principal goes, she does keep the place very organized, has managed to assemble great staff and even eliminate some problem staff. That said, she generally does not respond to emails and is not very approachable or open to ideas.

Even though my kids are doing well, in terms of report cards, I am starting to feel some despair about the the school and how my kids are coasting there, and are not especially challenged. I am wondering whether to go back to full time work in order to even begin to consider private school (and would that be a lot better, in terms of projects and writing and independent thought, assuming my kids get in -- would love feedback on that).

Anonymous wrote:We have had a good experience as well. I think the principal is ok, not great, but we've had great experiences with the teachers. I don't think there really is such a thing as "HGC math" but I think in the past they have accelerated kids at least 2 years ahead in math.

When I see complaints about CCES, they seem to be things that would be the same or worse at any MoCo school. I really would not expect my public elementary school to teach kids that questioning authority is more important than respecting adults.

Yes, it's those kids from the regular track who get accelerated 2 years in 5th grade whom I'm referring to as being included in "HGC math", because the bulk of the other kids 2 years ahead seemed to be the HGC kids. The regular track kids who are two years ahead in 5th grade are combined with the HGC kids who are also 2 years ahead. By then some of the HGC kids who started out 2 years ahead have accelerated to 3 years ahead and some HGC kids are still only 1 year ahead in math. There's no HGC math in the sense that the math in the HGC is pretty much the same as the regular curriculum but may be 2 years compacted into one or 3 years ahead (which is more than the normal acceleration available at most home schools).

Our experience has been quite mixed but on the whole pretty disappointed. This year in particular things seemed to have gotten worse, and we have found the Principal to be very difficult to deal with and overly defensive. There is very little parent volunteering, much less than at other schools, and there is lots of emphasis on discipline, more than seems warranted. The School District seems well aware of the problems but unsure of how to address them. Don't get me wrong there are lots of good teachers but if you don't have them, it can be a difficult haul. Upside is the Principal is probably getting close to retiring, and I think that would make a significant difference.

We have had a good experience as well. I think the principal is ok, not great, but we've had great experiences with the teachers. I don't think there really is such a thing as "HGC math" but I think in the past they have accelerated kids at least 2 years ahead in math.

When I see complaints about CCES, they seem to be things that would be the same or worse at any MoCo school. I really would not expect my public elementary school to teach kids that questioning authority is more important than respecting adults.

Anonymous wrote:They're big on authority there. Respecting adults is more important than teaching kids to think critically or question authority. Some people might like that type of school culture but we didn't. We didn't find it nurturing at all. Teach to the test. Class size info is on the MCPS website.

wow. this wasn't our experience at all. Loved the school. Will be sending our second there next year. Not so wild about the lower school (RHPS). Loved CCES. Loved that the principal was in charge and that the school was orderly/not chaotic. My DD never saw fights or overt bullying. Social bullying within girls circles started in 5/6th grade, but seemed to be just a few girls and many lovely parents helping their daughters negotiate/avoid it. Rules and consequences were clear. Great academics in the regular program and fabulous HGC center. Some kids from the regular side of school get accelerated into HGC math. HGC and regular track are mixed for specials, lunch, recess, etc. Found it not to be a school within a school. Don't know as much about 6th grade there -- think there is at least one not so great teacher, but 6th grade will disappear there when the new middle school is built in 2017-18.

Less "teaching to the test" than many other elementary schools. Sure the curriculums are set out and teachers follow them, use unit tests provided by the district and have to do MSA testing. But, we found the time set aside for MSA testing and practice to be far less than at other schools.

All teachers were approachable about problems, so it was "nurturing" in that sense. But, it is a 3-6 school, so the kids are old enough not to be "nurtured" like K-2 kids.

Principal is also approachable, but not always amenable to what parents want. We have found her to be straight forward about what she can do,, what she can't do and why, and what alternate solutions to our problem might be available.

They're big on authority there. Respecting adults is more important than teaching kids to think critically or question authority. Some people might like that type of school culture but we didn't. We didn't find it nurturing at all. Teach to the test. Class size info is on the MCPS website.

Would appreciate hearing from parents what they like and/or don't like about CCE? Thoughts on class sizes? Thanks!