Anonymous wrote:I realize that I'm posting on the Maryland Public Schools forum, so many of you will be biased, but -

Someone posted that DC schools, even the west of the park and charter schools, are not as good as Maryland schools. My children are too young to be in school yet, and I'm not sure where we'll live, but I had the impression that some of the DC charters, like LAMB and Yu Ying, were on par with some of the best Maryland schools.

Have I gotten misinformation? Or are some of the people posting here just misinformed or unaware of these charter schools? I'm trying to be objective here, and I have no stake in either side, but most of the parents that I know whose kids are at the best DC charters seem to be some of the smartest people around, with "resources" to go elsewhere, and I was assuming that the top DC charters could actually be better than some Maryland public schools, such as those around Silver Spring.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP here. All our third graders are doing the same math, there are no acceleration materials. I don't know whether they are available through the county or not so I can't settle that argument. For sure they are not available at our ES.

I think it depends on the school. My 1st, 4th & 5th grader are in advanced math and reading even with 2.0. I feel they are more appropriately challenged this year than in years past.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not everyone is having the same experience under 2.0 since implementation is being handled differently at different schools. I get tired of posters who think their experience is true throughout the county. In our east of the county ES, there has been a huge amount of dissatisfaction this year. All the parents are concerned with how it's been rolled out. And there's no need to attack me for that statement, I'm just stating my experience.

Then you need to speak to your principal. He/she is 100% responsible for what you have described. All schools have been afforded the same resources to implement the curriculum, and many are doing an exceptional job.

Anonymous wrote:From what I understand 'Curriculum 2.0' is MCPS' changes to the curriculum which includes the Common Core. The Common Core is everywhere, it's a nationwide movement that 40/50 states have adopted so far.

The premise of the Common Core is a good thing, if implemented correctly it emphasizes teaching for understanding and a move away from test-based and mile wide inch deep instruction. It may take some time to work out the kinks though but I'm sure by the time OP's kids are in school it will be fine.

In terms of instruction, I'm not sure about MCPS but a lot of schools switch classes for math. So one 3rd grade teacher will teach the kids who need more hands-on skill instruction and the other teacher will teach more hands-on but accelerated math. Hopefully MCPS will adopt a model like that.

5 years from now, the kids in K now will be well off because they will have solid number sense which in turn will lead to better math understanding in higher level math. Also, all the parents complaining about their gifted kids, there is track for taking algebra earlier. Just remember, some kids developmentally aren't ready for algebra in 7th grade and if they don't have a firm understanding of concepts they will struggle in trigonometry and calculus.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not everyone is having the same experience under 2.0 since implementation is being handled differently at different schools. I get tired of posters who think their experience is true throughout the county. In our east of the county ES, there has been a huge amount of dissatisfaction this year. All the parents are concerned with how it's been rolled out. And there's no need to attack me for that statement, I'm just stating my experience.

Then you need to speak to your principal. He/she is 100% responsible for what you have described. All schools have been afforded the same resources to implement the curriculum, and many are doing an exceptional job.

Anonymous wrote:Not everyone is having the same experience under 2.0 since implementation is being handled differently at different schools. I get tired of posters who think their experience is true throughout the county. In our east of the county ES, there has been a huge amount of dissatisfaction this year. All the parents are concerned with how it's been rolled out. And there's no need to attack me for that statement, I'm just stating my experience.

Anonymous wrote:Look OP, there is some small proportion of parents who are furious, literally up in arms about 2.0. You can see some of the commentary on this thread and lots on this board. As you see from the PPs, they disparage anyone who disagrees with their apocalyptic view of 2.0 and MCPS as unconcerned about their child's education and/or simply parenting a dunce (excuse me, "the weakest students.") Very classy by the way, PP, despite the fact that it happens not to be true.

I have no way to estimate whether this hysteria is shared by 2 percent or 20 percent. But I know from the fact that I spend a lot of time at my third grader's school that the outrage is not shared by the vast majority of parents. That's not to say everyone loves 2.0, not by a long shot, or everything else about the MCPS system. But my anecdotal experience as the parent of a kid who has been part of the 2.0 roll-out from the start is that we like, respect and trust the teachers and schools for the most part, and have found them responsive to our children's educational needs.

And my point about making the decision about where to buy over when your child may be able to take algebra was not to suggest that schools are unimportant to anyone's house buying decision -- but that the timing of algebra availability really isn't the best metric by which to assess school quality. I live in MoCo because I do "prioritize a better school system over other aspects" - whatever I may or may not like about 2.0 hasn't persuaded me that DCPS is a preferable option.

Anonymous wrote:Look OP, there is some small proportion of parents who are furious, literally up in arms about 2.0. You can see some of the commentary on this thread and lots on this board. As you see from the PPs, they disparage anyone who disagrees with their apocalyptic view of 2.0 and MCPS as unconcerned about their child's education and/or simply parenting a dunce (excuse me, "the weakest students.") Very classy by the way, PP, despite the fact that it happens not to be true.

I have no way to estimate whether this hysteria is shared by 2 percent or 20 percent. But I know from the fact that I spend a lot of time at my third grader's school that the outrage is not shared by the vast majority of parents. That's not to say everyone loves 2.0, not by a long shot, or everything else about the MCPS system. But my anecdotal experience as the parent of a kid who has been part of the 2.0 roll-out from the start is that we like, respect and trust the teachers and schools for the most part, and have found them responsive to our children's educational needs.

And my point about making the decision about where to buy over when your child may be able to take algebra was not to suggest that schools are unimportant to anyone's house buying decision -- but that the timing of algebra availability really isn't the best metric by which to assess school quality. I live in MoCo because I do "prioritize a better school system over other aspects" - whatever I may or may not like about 2.0 hasn't persuaded me that DCPS is a preferable option.

Anonymous wrote:NP here. All our third graders are doing the same math, there are no acceleration materials. I don't know whether they are available through the county or not so I can't settle that argument. For sure they are not available at our ES.

Anonymous wrote:NP here. All our third graders are doing the same math, there are no acceleration materials. I don't know whether they are available through the county or not so I can't settle that argument. For sure they are not available at our ES.