Anonymous wrote:Thanks PP. Although we are not FARMS, nor ESOL, I am concerned about large testing gaps between the groups. I am primarily concerned with how the gaps will affect the social environment and whether those gaps are closed in middle school and what the community and BOE is doing to help close the gap.

We are an AA family at a close in Silver Spring school. We love the school, and have seen no problems in the social environment. Keep in mind that, for close in Silver Spring schools, the statistics for black students will include significant numbers of ESOL students from Ethiopia, Nigeria, Mali, etc. These are great kids, they just have a few more hurdles to overcome.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We went from JLKM, to a well regarded DC Charter (not immersion), and then to MCPS in 6th. I have no regrets about the move, and would absolutely do it again. The MCPS system is far better organized, the curriculum is both more logical and more rigorous, and there's twice as much PE and twice as much arts in our MCPS middle school relative to Deal or the charter we were in (note: there are a few MCPS middle schools set up with a block schedule that gives them even more arts). In addition, as a parent of child of color, we encountered racist low expectations over again in both DCPS and Charter, whereas in MCPS the expectations for him have been consistently high. Finally, at least in a close in a suburb, my commute is actually substantially shorter because instead of having to travel across town to drop kid off, he simply gets on the school bus.

PP, where are you in the MCPS system; do you mind naming the city. I did a a little research on the schools in Takoma Park and close-in Silver Spring and the scores were really not impressive for black and brown elementary kids. Some were just downright problematic.

Not the PP, but someone who lives in close-in SS. The lower scores at our neighborhood schools are correlated to ESOL and FARMS students. I can tell you as a parent that we and our neighbors are pleased with Highland View and Sligo Creek Elementary. Very active PTAs. Great families and neighborhoods. We all value the diversity of those schools.

Not PP either, and this is only one experience, but my black godson is doing great in MCPS (Wheaton area HS)--where he was constantly being suspended in DC. Things got even worse when his family moved to PG. For him MCPS has been a godsend, seriously.

If you know you will eventually move, I would lean toward doing it sooner rather than later. There are language immersion programs you could transfer into, assuming your child would have the required proficiency which it sounds like he/ she would. My understanding is that, while immersion programs for kindergarten are very competitive with a lottery system, by the time you get up to 2nd/ 3rd grade schools have a hard time filling any spots that may have been vacated due to the proficiency requirements at that point, so you'd likely have a decent chance of getting accepted.

However, if there's a chance that you would ultimately not move, as a PP suggested I would wait. If you're happy with your schools and commute, and could potentially be happy with the schools through high school, it might worth waiting it out longer.

Either way, I don't think you need to base your decision on 3rd grade testing. Parents can request testing every year after that, 3rd grade is just the initial baseline, so your child wouldn't necessarily miss out on great programs just because you transfer in after 3rd grade.

Anonymous wrote:Thanks PP. Although we are not FARMS, nor ESOL, I am concerned about large testing gaps between the groups. I am primarily concerned with how the gaps will affect the social environment and whether those gaps are closed in middle school and what the community and BOE is doing to help close the gap.

This is our first year in MCPS (Kindergarten), so I only have our brief experience. I can't speak to specifics at the BOE level, but there is a strong community and outreach to families with less resources. Transportation to evening events is coordinated, for example, for those who may not have cars. There were several local drives for coats/hats/mittens this winter, especially during the extreme cold snaps.

The close in SS neighborhoods, like Queen Annes, Indian Springs, Seven Oaks that feed into Highland View and Sligo Creek ES are really wonderful. Parents are very involved in the schools. Community events and informative and supportive neighborhood listservs. Both ES feed into SS International Middle School, which also has a very active parent community. They recently fought a schedule change that would have limited electives for most students, including ESOL students. Here's a link to an article about the situation:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/silver-spring-international-middle-school-to-remain-on-8-period-schedule/2014/02/10/5c0c2a2e-929a-11e3-b227-12a45d109e03_story.html

Thanks PP. Although we are not FARMS, nor ESOL, I am concerned about large testing gaps between the groups. I am primarily concerned with how the gaps will affect the social environment and whether those gaps are closed in middle school and what the community and BOE is doing to help close the gap.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We went from JLKM, to a well regarded DC Charter (not immersion), and then to MCPS in 6th. I have no regrets about the move, and would absolutely do it again. The MCPS system is far better organized, the curriculum is both more logical and more rigorous, and there's twice as much PE and twice as much arts in our MCPS middle school relative to Deal or the charter we were in (note: there are a few MCPS middle schools set up with a block schedule that gives them even more arts). In addition, as a parent of child of color, we encountered racist low expectations over again in both DCPS and Charter, whereas in MCPS the expectations for him have been consistently high. Finally, at least in a close in a suburb, my commute is actually substantially shorter because instead of having to travel across town to drop kid off, he simply gets on the school bus.

PP, where are you in the MCPS system; do you mind naming the city. I did a a little research on the schools in Takoma Park and close-in Silver Spring and the scores were really not impressive for black and brown elementary kids. Some were just downright problematic.

Not the PP, but someone who lives in close-in SS. The lower scores at our neighborhood schools are correlated to ESOL and FARMS students. I can tell you as a parent that we and our neighbors are pleased with Highland View and Sligo Creek Elementary. Very active PTAs. Great families and neighborhoods. We all value the diversity of those schools.