Anonymous wrote:and I'm willing to have my taxes raised to provide it. That is all.

And then many of those in private/parochial school would come back and the numbers would be big again. Can't win.

Anonymous wrote:large class sizes and multiple of the same grades scare me. can you imagine being 5 and released into a schoolyard of 200 other kindergarteners?

For me this was one of those things that seemed scary to me ahead of time but didn't end up being scary at all for my sometimes-shy 5-year-old last year.

Anonymous wrote:So what are the "red zone" elementary schools in MoCo? And what does "red zone" mean exactly? My daughter enters Kindergarten next year - either Highland ES or Rock View ES.

The red zone and green zone descriptors were used by the previous superintendant and don't exist anymore. But people tend to describe the eastern side of the county with less affluent schools as red zone and the western, more affluent schools as green zone, and it's true that they try to keep class size a lot lower in the eastern side so there must be a list somewhere of which schools get smaller class sizes. I think Highland and Rock View would both be considered red zone under the old standard. We are at Oakland Terrace, also old red zone, and my son has 16 in 1st grade.

large class sizes and multiple of the same grades scare me. can you imagine being 5 and released into a schoolyard of 200 other kindergarteners?

So what are the "red zone" elementary schools in MoCo? And what does "red zone" mean exactly? My daughter enters Kindergarten next year - either Highland ES or Rock View ES.

We have small class sizes at greenwood in brookeville (around 19). Not a title 1 or focus school...just lucky I guess. No portables, not near capacity. Great school, nice families.

Agree OP. We are in a great high school but it is overcapacity and most of my DCs classes have the max of 34 kids. Some of the classrooms don't even have enough desks. Generally 34 has been okay because DC is in challenging classes so the kids are smart and well behaved. But not ideal if the class is less well behaved.

MCPS has a very bad history of accurately predicting class size. IT ALL RELATES TO DEVELOPMENT. If schools are above X percentage of capacity, then new development can not occur. So, MCPS has a clear incentive to underestimate so development can continue. And when the extra kids register, here come the trailers/pods for extra classrooms. There is simply put NO ONE accountable. No one in the planning department at MCPS will ever get fired for underestimating the number of kiddos coming up the pike. Also, there is VERY little planning between the Planning Department and MCPS. MCPS does not see the need. WTF? MCPS has been left on its own in its own little empire with no check or balance and exceedingly poor planning is the result. It is essentially beholden to none - it is nice to be KING.

So, if you want better planning for schools, tell the school board and the superintendent that you want to see joint planning with public involvement, so the impact of new development is clearly understood and factored into school construction. Also, MCPS needs to get much better than it has been in constructing schools using more modern criteria - building schools for the 1950s is not a gold standard. Maybe take a trip to see some great new schools in constrained environments like DC or NYC...

But wait till middle and high school. My DD in a "red zone" high school has 30 or more kids in most classes.

Simple solutions, have the county council stop accepting big $$ from builders who are building too much and increase the amount of $$ the builders are required to put towards the education fund or whatever they call it. Then get rid od the council, then get rid of the illegal kids so when the #s drop in those schools they can put those teachers in other schools that will be built. Then get rid of the teachers union and pay teachers based on performance alone.

My DD in Arlington 4th grade has 21 in her class.

Jamestown. FWIW.

10:04 here - it's actually not a Title 1 school although it's a "focus" or "red zone" school, being in Silver Spring. I agree that it does seem that reducing class sizes in the western part of the county would be a worthwhile goal. Although there are posters on here who say, when this topic comes up, that the class sizes don't bother them and their kids are doing just fine in big classes.

PP probably goes to a Title I school (nothing wrong with that--my kids do too). They have smaller class sizes, but might come with some other baggage too. But it would be nice if across the board, class sizes were smaller.

Or you could move to the eastern part of the county (and probably save a bundle on your mortgage!) My daughter has 16 in her K class and our elementary school is highly rated on the Great Schools site. You'd have to shop around, of course. Not all of the schools over here are great.

and I'm willing to have my taxes raised to provide it. That is all.