Anonymous
Post 07/30/2014 14:48     Subject: MCPS and Starr will probably need to change boundaries
Why not give those who qualify for affordable housing a voucher to attend a school of their choice. If they are willing to put up with longer commutes for their kids then they can sent them to school in Potomac
Anonymous
Post 07/30/2014 14:33     Subject: MCPS and Starr will probably need to change boundaries
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:To 18:01 - ha ha! I've posted that link before in other threads, and I'm the poster you are quoting. That scenario only works in small doses. Ie: put twenty kids whose moms receive housing vouchers in Bethesda instead of Wheaton or Silver Spring or Takoma Park or Germantown (where most vouchers are utilized in cheap rent areas with majority low income schools) and those kids will do better...because they are living in a nice neighborhood, enrolled in aftercare with those kids, going on play dates and to parties with those kids and (don't get mad at me now) observing stable two-parent families and the social norms of good neighborhoods. They thrive not simply because they go to school with these kids for six hours a day. Rather, they thrive because they are living in a good neighborhood surrounded by middle class people.


There ARE kids like this living in Bethesda, particularly downtown Bethesda and near NIH, where there are cheaper rentals, HOC units and military dependents.


There are few kids in these situations in Bethesda. Most of these kids live in the affordable housing clustered at the eastern end of MoCo, and that is by design. There are few if any affordable housing options at the western end of downcounty.
Anonymous
Post 07/30/2014 14:24     Subject: MCPS and Starr will probably need to change boundaries
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Can anyone comment on which practices used to address this issue are currently successful in other parts of the country?
Massive boundary changes seems unfair on those who (over)paid and busing is costly. How have other places attracted middle class families? Just wondering


Why is that unfair, specifically?

I think it is all about housing. In the town where my sister lives (and where I grew up), there is a wide variety of housing, from subsidized apartments to $1M+ houses. There are eight elementaries, one middle school, one high school. So the kids from Section 8 housing are attending the same schools as the ones with doctor/lawyer/professional parents.

Housing is very, very segregated by income in MoCo. This is the root of the problem. IMO[/quote

It was like that where I grew up, too, and it's like that in the Bethesda Chevy Chase cluster too (at least it is at the RHPS/NCC/BE/Westland/BCC schools where I have first-hand experience).
Anonymous
Post 07/30/2014 14:16     Subject: MCPS and Starr will probably need to change boundaries
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:They should divide the county in thirds. Bethesda/Rockville/Potomac in one third; the way out boonies (Clarksburg, Poolsville, Gaithersburg and that ilk) and The Other Area (Wheaton, Silver Spring and everywhere else). Works for me, and helps out with weather closings. Make it happen, Starr.


Could probably get more state aid that way too...
MoCo has over 220 schools. That is one of the largest (in # schools and # of square miles) counties in the country. Totally unwieldily. To make matters worst is has 3 demographic cohorts:
1) unskilled immigrants, low income, broken families, gov't dependent (increasing in numbers)
2) middle class, two-parent families, decent jobs, high taxes (getting squeezed - no handouts, no high income, decreasing in numbers)
3) upper middle class, two-parent families, high income jobs, v high taxes (can afford most housing and can afford to leave area/public schools, decreasing in numbers)


Why do you think the upper middle class is decreasing? Maybe as a % relative to low income group, but in absolute numbers they are increasing. Look at the "tear-downs" of perfectly fine middle class housing stock demanded by young upper income dual earners moving to MoCo from DC, or those who are trading up within the same desirable neighborhoods.
Anonymous
Post 07/30/2014 14:09     Subject: MCPS and Starr will probably need to change boundaries
Anonymous wrote:Lets say across the board all schools are equally accessible. Let's also agree that people in the W districts tend to have the means to afford private if need be. If W parents are dissatisfied with all access, would they move to private? And if they did, would a W school still be sought after?


Yes and yes. That's status quo now.
Anonymous
Post 07/30/2014 14:07     Subject: MCPS and Starr will probably need to change boundaries
Anonymous wrote:To 18:01 - ha ha! I've posted that link before in other threads, and I'm the poster you are quoting. That scenario only works in small doses. Ie: put twenty kids whose moms receive housing vouchers in Bethesda instead of Wheaton or Silver Spring or Takoma Park or Germantown (where most vouchers are utilized in cheap rent areas with majority low income schools) and those kids will do better...because they are living in a nice neighborhood, enrolled in aftercare with those kids, going on play dates and to parties with those kids and (don't get mad at me now) observing stable two-parent families and the social norms of good neighborhoods. They thrive not simply because they go to school with these kids for six hours a day. Rather, they thrive because they are living in a good neighborhood surrounded by middle class people.


There ARE kids like this living in Bethesda, particularly downtown Bethesda and near NIH, where there are cheaper rentals, HOC units and military dependents.
Anonymous
Post 07/30/2014 13:29     Subject: MCPS and Starr will probably need to change boundaries
Anonymous wrote:The best models that can demonstrate results for low income students include intensive holistic services for the student and family. The low performing schools need way more than the badic title I resources. If Johnny isn't doing well at Kennedy because he's hanging out with troubled kids and getting in trouble with the cops and living with Grandma because mom split or is an addict and no one knows where dad is OR he's living with mom but she can't pay the bills so he needs to make some cash and her BF is slapping him around so he prefers to couch surf OR he doesn't have a doctor and he ran out of his asthma inhaler and can't afford glasses, etc. then bussing Johnny to Whitman won't make him do better in school.

And what about the elephant in the room: minority boys who have not been properly coded in elementary school and thus haven't received the necessary supports to succeed in school. These kids are screwed because the principals will not code a minority boy. This is practically MCPS policy, and it's a crime.


What do you mean by coded? Do you mean identified as having these issues? (So that the teachers and school community can provide extra help, counseling, etc.?)
Anonymous
Post 07/29/2014 12:01     Subject: MCPS and Starr will probably need to change boundaries
Anonymous wrote:What? they are swapping Wheaton and Churchill???? I don't want my daughter going to Wheaton!!

Don't worry, the Churchill PTA will send out a blast email mobilizing the troops any minute now.
Anonymous
Post 07/29/2014 08:44     Subject: Re:MCPS and Starr will probably need to change boundaries
The question is whether they will change if half of Wheaton traded places with half of churchill. Will the scores be the same?


There is no evidence that it will. In fact, the research shows that the improvements for lower performing students moving into an environment with highly performing peers only works only if the ratios of lower performers are low. Half and half just create divisions within schools and the school resources can't be allocated rationally.

So it won't work BUT it will get people up arms and divert attention away from the real lack of instructional quality, messed up curriculum, and mismanagement of the school system that feeds the lower scores in the first place. Sounds like a perfect MCPS plan! To the buses, now!
Anonymous
Post 07/28/2014 23:02     Subject: MCPS and Starr will probably need to change boundaries
Anonymous wrote:What? they are swapping Wheaton and Churchill???? I don't want my daughter going to Wheaton!!


This is a joke right? Because PP was being hypothetical
Anonymous
Post 07/28/2014 22:22     Subject: MCPS and Starr will probably need to change boundaries
What? they are swapping Wheaton and Churchill???? I don't want my daughter going to Wheaton!!
Anonymous
Post 07/28/2014 20:41     Subject: MCPS and Starr will probably need to change boundaries
The question is whether they will change if half of Wheaton traded places with half of churchill. Will the scores be the same?
Anonymous
Post 07/28/2014 15:52     Subject: Re:MCPS and Starr will probably need to change boundaries
Anonymous wrote:I don't understand the enraged poster's position. If she is an involved parent and supplementing her kids education like every other parent in the higher performing schools then her kid should be performing fine. If she's capable of posting on DCUM she's capable of supplementing. Why should she be rezoned into a better school system even if she didn't pay higher housing costs? Her kids aren't part of the achievement gap.


It's quite possible that her kids aren't doing as well so she places the blame on unbequal schools. If they swapped the kids between Wheaton and Churchill and kept everything else the same I seriously doubt the scores of the kids would change.
Anonymous
Post 07/28/2014 15:29     Subject: Re:MCPS and Starr will probably need to change boundaries
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Money is power. Money is protection. But there are still problems in the wealthy schools. There may not be gang-related incidents, but Johnny's daddy is conveniently overlooking the fact that Johnny cheated on his final exam and shares the same values as Madoff.


I would much rather my child sit next to a cheater than a gang banger with a gun. One is a bad influence that could get him expelled the other is a bad influence that could get him killed.

Your argument that all crime is the same just isn't credible. I doubt you believe your own position either. If you could bus into a safer school system, you would be the first in line. Its also clear that you harbor resentment for others that have more wealth than you. You just will not get anywhere with entitled rage.


How do you know what my background is? entitled rage? I find that when others point out certain "flaws" in posts, it's just a self-loathing b/c a poster hit a nerve.

Simply because I am pointing out the blatant racism on this thread doesn't mean I'm "poor" and jealous of those in Bethesda or Chevy Chase. In fact, I am quite content where I live and many would agree it's a lovely area. Furthermore, if there's a forced demographic shift in schools, let's see where the entitled folks of Bethesda flee.

Kids are not getting killed on a daily basis by gang bangers selling their drugs in the "low performing" schools - lol! Again, this is where people's perceptions are off - and btw, you're included in that mix.

I do welcome this shift in demographics, however, as I'd certainly love to see how the elitists handle having little Lulu in class with some underprivileged student from a downcounty school. God forbid that should happen!



Does your shoulder get sore from that BIG chip on it?
Ouch.
Anonymous
Post 07/19/2014 16:38     Subject: MCPS and Starr will probably need to change boundaries
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:The shooting post does not have anything to do with the point of this thread


Yes, it does.

in terms of perceptions

same with schools
a bomb threat at Northwest and Northwood - newsworthy

bomb threat at BCC - huh?

Yet all three schools had scares.

So while SS may have more crime, the crime hits the news b/c it can. There's no bubble protecting SS.

Money is power. Money is protection. But there are still problems in the wealthy schools. There may not be gang-related incidents, but Johnny's daddy is conveniently overlooking the fact that Johnny cheated on his final exam and shares the same values as Madoff.

So take your pick. This is where the county is heading - a two-tiered system with no middle class to support the top or the bottom.


Usually, it's the other way around. Cheating at Churchill makes the news. Robbing, cheating and stealing at a DCC school goes unreported. Not saying that's good, but it's the reality.