Definitely a bleeding heart liberal who has kids that recently graduated from MCPS and I worked in a different MCPS school. Yes, MCPS is a mess, as are all public schools. Not enough money, too much bureaucracy, to many kids with too many needs from age 3-HS and too much pressure on schools to do things that aren't teaching (feed, clothe, social work, health care, so much more), least restrictive environment helped kids to not be shut up in a basement doing nothing, but has made it tough for gen ed, behaviors have zero consequences at any age, and MCPS is leaderless. No consistency and all weakness

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids are in MCPS. In the Whitman cluster. One in middle and one in elementary. I read this board and it does not reflect my experience at all. "MCPS" may be a mess but my local schools have been great. I think it's big county and experiences vary but I have been pleased. I've looked at privates and have decided so far to stick with the Whitman cluster. Like many PPs, I think this board skews to disgruntled/haters. Talk to people in the places you are thinking of buying to get a real sense of the experience at specific MCPS schools, not the county in general.

The thing is... you are a parent. You are not in the schools and frankly, don't have a way to measure the type of work that kids (including yours) are doing, and how that compares to previous years. I am an AP teacher, and I can absolutely attest that the standards are being lowered across the board. Just because your child receives As, and passes AP exams (for example, the AP Lit exam has been so watered down that the pass rate is now above 70%) does not mean that the education they are receiving compares well to previous generations. Yes, I will say it again, this is a mediocre system.

LOL.
If the standards are lowered across the board, the AP passing rate wouldn't be above 70%, which is amongst the highest in the nation. Nationally, it is about 52% passing rate.
You have no idea of what you're talking about, troll. You're not fooling anyone except the oblivious ones, right-winger.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Moving to the area soon and had been thinking MoCo for the schools but this forum paints a bleak picture. Would any of you prefer a VA district to MCPS?

Don't go by DCUM. You will be better off talking to real people.

Half the people who post here are right-wing agitators who don't even live in the area. They're whole game is to play up negative stories and create fear and doubt. My kids are in MCPS and doing great. As long as you are an involved parent your children can do well, but if you expect the county to raise them for you probably not.

+100 these stories are exaggerations... MCPS is doing great

They intentionally confuse decline with changing demographics to mislead people. My kids are getting a much better education than I did 20+ years ago at a W. These opportunities exist for anyone who is interested.

Ha ha - I thought you said the complainers were the agitators who use the same words over and over. Yes, we know you think their education is better, and apparently it is, because yours seems to have been weak.

Yes, the W's were always overrated. Even now, it's not that they're any good but mostly that their gerrymandered boundaries were setup to exclude poors.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think you should move to Frederick or Howard County if commute is not an issue. The schools aren't as crowded, and it all doesn't seem a little crazy.

I have friends in Frederick. Our kids are only in elementary school so I can only compare that. One big difference is that Frederick does not have a language immersion program like MCPS does. The education level seems to be the same. There doesn't seem to be more troublemakers in either school district.

We were in MoCo and are now in Frederick. Only have experiences with elementary schools so far. Overall we have been happy with the quality of education in both districts. But we are realizing that MCPS offers much more in terms of enrichment, magnets, alternative programs, and so on. Also, this may just be more school-specific - but - our daughter has special needs, and we do feel MCPS had more resources, was able to give her more supports, really going above and beyond for her.

It may sound crazy, but we are seriously considering moving back to MoCo in a few years when younger kiddo starts kindergarten and older kiddo starts secondary (not just because of the schools, other reasons as well). We kinda regret leaving…

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids are in MCPS. In the Whitman cluster. One in middle and one in elementary. I read this board and it does not reflect my experience at all. "MCPS" may be a mess but my local schools have been great. I think it's big county and experiences vary but I have been pleased. I've looked at privates and have decided so far to stick with the Whitman cluster. Like many PPs, I think this board skews to disgruntled/haters. Talk to people in the places you are thinking of buying to get a real sense of the experience at specific MCPS schools, not the county in general.

The thing is... you are a parent. You are not in the schools and frankly, don't have a way to measure the type of work that kids (including yours) are doing, and how that compares to previous years. I am an AP teacher, and I can absolutely attest that the standards are being lowered across the board. Just because your child receives As, and passes AP exams (for example, the AP Lit exam has been so watered down that the pass rate is now above 70%) does not mean that the education they are receiving compares well to previous generations. Yes, I will say it again, this is a mediocre system.

Frankly you are not a teacher you are a troll.

MCPS is anything but "medicore". Anyone whose kids have gone through MCPS and gets to college their kid will call them and say college is so easy.... So screw off.
What is wrong in MCPS is the parents who are idiots. Banning books crowd.

OK - quiz me about my AP classes. But all I can say is that people should be screaming from the rooftops because if this is supposed to be a superior school district, our country is doomed. You apologists are either uneducated about the current state of public education (yes, even in MCPS) or are delusional.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Moving to the area soon and had been thinking MoCo for the schools but this forum paints a bleak picture. Would any of you prefer a VA district to MCPS?

Don't go by DCUM. You will be better off talking to real people.

Half the people who post here are right-wing agitators who don't even live in the area. They're whole game is to play up negative stories and create fear and doubt. My kids are in MCPS and doing great. As long as you are an involved parent your children can do well, but if you expect the county to raise them for you probably not.

+100 these stories are exaggerations... MCPS is doing great

They intentionally confuse decline with changing demographics to mislead people. My kids are getting a much better education than I did 20+ years ago at a W. These opportunities exist for anyone who is interested.

Ha ha - I thought you said the complainers were the agitators who use the same words over and over. Yes, we know you think their education is better, and apparently it is, because yours seems to have been weak.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids are in MCPS. In the Whitman cluster. One in middle and one in elementary. I read this board and it does not reflect my experience at all. "MCPS" may be a mess but my local schools have been great. I think it's big county and experiences vary but I have been pleased. I've looked at privates and have decided so far to stick with the Whitman cluster. Like many PPs, I think this board skews to disgruntled/haters. Talk to people in the places you are thinking of buying to get a real sense of the experience at specific MCPS schools, not the county in general.

The thing is... you are a parent. You are not in the schools and frankly, don't have a way to measure the type of work that kids (including yours) are doing, and how that compares to previous years. I am an AP teacher, and I can absolutely attest that the standards are being lowered across the board. Just because your child receives As, and passes AP exams (for example, the AP Lit exam has been so watered down that the pass rate is now above 70%) does not mean that the education they are receiving compares well to previous generations. Yes, I will say it again, this is a mediocre system.

Frankly you are not a teacher you are a troll.

MCPS is anything but "medicore". Anyone whose kids have gone through MCPS and gets to college their kid will call them and say college is so easy.... So screw off.
What is wrong in MCPS is the parents who are idiots. Banning books crowd.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Moving to the area soon and had been thinking MoCo for the schools but this forum paints a bleak picture. Would any of you prefer a VA district to MCPS?

Don't go by DCUM. You will be better off talking to real people.

Half the people who post here are right-wing agitators who don't even live in the area. They're whole game is to play up negative stories and create fear and doubt. My kids are in MCPS and doing great. As long as you are an involved parent your children can do well, but if you expect the county to raise them for you probably not.

What are you talking about? What is your evidence that "right-wing agitators" post here, and honestly, what would be the point? Are you the one who posts about how your children in a W cluster are receiving a better education than you did 30 years ago? The fact that some kids are "doing fine" in a mediocre school system is a pretty low bar.

DP. Because they say the same things, using the same words, anonymously on DCUM, as non-anonymously or semi-anonymously on social media. You would have to ask them what's the point.

Does that mean that "left-wing agitators" inhabit all of the other fora on DCUM? Because I see basically the same things on every topic.

Anonymous wrote:My kids are in MCPS. In the Whitman cluster. One in middle and one in elementary. I read this board and it does not reflect my experience at all. "MCPS" may be a mess but my local schools have been great. I think it's big county and experiences vary but I have been pleased. I've looked at privates and have decided so far to stick with the Whitman cluster. Like many PPs, I think this board skews to disgruntled/haters. Talk to people in the places you are thinking of buying to get a real sense of the experience at specific MCPS schools, not the county in general.

The thing is... you are a parent. You are not in the schools and frankly, don't have a way to measure the type of work that kids (including yours) are doing, and how that compares to previous years. I am an AP teacher, and I can absolutely attest that the standards are being lowered across the board. Just because your child receives As, and passes AP exams (for example, the AP Lit exam has been so watered down that the pass rate is now above 70%) does not mean that the education they are receiving compares well to previous generations. Yes, I will say it again, this is a mediocre system.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Moving to the area soon and had been thinking MoCo for the schools but this forum paints a bleak picture. Would any of you prefer a VA district to MCPS?

Don't go by DCUM. You will be better off talking to real people.

Half the people who post here are right-wing agitators who don't even live in the area. They're whole game is to play up negative stories and create fear and doubt. My kids are in MCPS and doing great. As long as you are an involved parent your children can do well, but if you expect the county to raise them for you probably not.

+100 these stories are exaggerations... MCPS is doing great

They intentionally confuse decline with changing demographics to mislead people. My kids are getting a much better education than I did 20+ years ago at a W. These opportunities exist for anyone who is interested.

But do they exist for anyone who is interested, anywhere they might be? The same level of opportunities? Is the system set up so that it wouldn't matter from an educational perspective if a family lived in Burtonsville, Takoma Park, Potomac, Barnesville or Gaithersburg?

Experience tells us this is where MCPS isn't doing great.

MCPS cannot make parents at all these schools value education. People who value education can and do go where the good schools are, often at great personal cost, and that is part of what fosters the environment which creates great schools.

Well, I live in the DCC and agree. The schools are excellent for any family that values education and encourage their children to make the most of it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Moving to the area soon and had been thinking MoCo for the schools but this forum paints a bleak picture. Would any of you prefer a VA district to MCPS?

Don't go by DCUM. You will be better off talking to real people.

Half the people who post here are right-wing agitators who don't even live in the area. They're whole game is to play up negative stories and create fear and doubt. My kids are in MCPS and doing great. As long as you are an involved parent your children can do well, but if you expect the county to raise them for you probably not.

+100 these stories are exaggerations... MCPS is doing great

They intentionally confuse decline with changing demographics to mislead people. My kids are getting a much better education than I did 20+ years ago at a W. These opportunities exist for anyone who is interested.

But do they exist for anyone who is interested, anywhere they might be? The same level of opportunities? Is the system set up so that it wouldn't matter from an educational perspective if a family lived in Burtonsville, Takoma Park, Potomac, Barnesville or Gaithersburg?

Experience tells us this is where MCPS isn't doing great.

Yes, the most sought after programs like IBs or STEM magnets are available countywide!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Moving to the area soon and had been thinking MoCo for the schools but this forum paints a bleak picture. Would any of you prefer a VA district to MCPS?

Don't go by DCUM. You will be better off talking to real people.

Half the people who post here are right-wing agitators who don't even live in the area. They're whole game is to play up negative stories and create fear and doubt. My kids are in MCPS and doing great. As long as you are an involved parent your children can do well, but if you expect the county to raise them for you probably not.

+100 these stories are exaggerations... MCPS is doing great

They intentionally confuse decline with changing demographics to mislead people. My kids are getting a much better education than I did 20+ years ago at a W. These opportunities exist for anyone who is interested.

But do they exist for anyone who is interested, anywhere they might be? The same level of opportunities? Is the system set up so that it wouldn't matter from an educational perspective if a family lived in Burtonsville, Takoma Park, Potomac, Barnesville or Gaithersburg?

Experience tells us this is where MCPS isn't doing great.

MCPS cannot make parents at all these schools value education. People who value education can and do go where the good schools are, often at great personal cost, and that is part of what fosters the environment which creates great schools.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Moving to the area soon and had been thinking MoCo for the schools but this forum paints a bleak picture. Would any of you prefer a VA district to MCPS?

Don't go by DCUM. You will be better off talking to real people.

Half the people who post here are right-wing agitators who don't even live in the area. They're whole game is to play up negative stories and create fear and doubt. My kids are in MCPS and doing great. As long as you are an involved parent your children can do well, but if you expect the county to raise them for you probably not.

+100 these stories are exaggerations... MCPS is doing great

They intentionally confuse decline with changing demographics to mislead people. My kids are getting a much better education than I did 20+ years ago at a W. These opportunities exist for anyone who is interested.

But do they exist for anyone who is interested, anywhere they might be? The same level of opportunities? Is the system set up so that it wouldn't matter from an educational perspective if a family lived in Burtonsville, Takoma Park, Potomac, Barnesville or Gaithersburg?

Experience tells us this is where MCPS isn't doing great.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Moving to the area soon and had been thinking MoCo for the schools but this forum paints a bleak picture. Would any of you prefer a VA district to MCPS?

Don't go by DCUM. You will be better off talking to real people.

Half the people who post here are right-wing agitators who don't even live in the area. They're whole game is to play up negative stories and create fear and doubt. My kids are in MCPS and doing great. As long as you are an involved parent your children can do well, but if you expect the county to raise them for you probably not.

+100 these stories are exaggerations... MCPS is doing great

They intentionally confuse decline with changing demographics to mislead people. My kids are getting a much better education than I did 20+ years ago at a W. These opportunities exist for anyone who is interested.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Moving to the area soon and had been thinking MoCo for the schools but this forum paints a bleak picture. Would any of you prefer a VA district to MCPS?

Don't go by DCUM. You will be better off talking to real people.

Half the people who post here are right-wing agitators who don't even live in the area. They're whole game is to play up negative stories and create fear and doubt. My kids are in MCPS and doing great. As long as you are an involved parent your children can do well, but if you expect the county to raise them for you probably not.

+100 these stories are exaggerations... MCPS is doing great