Anonymous
Post 07/24/2013 21:46     Subject: Private school b/c of 2.0? Post here.
I don't live in MoCo, but have a friend who does. Her older child was in private due to some SN issues, but her younger was in public. She pulled the younger boy for public after second grade specifically because of 2.0.
Anonymous
Post 07/24/2013 21:42     Subject: Private school b/c of 2.0? Post here.
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Trying to get your kids into HGC is also a way to mitigate any curriculum 2.0 ill effects. Even is the curriculum is not accelerated in HGC at least it is enriched.


MoCo has a very small GT program given the large student body it seeks to serve.
It's overcapacity as it is, blackbox app process, and serves a smaller percentage of students than Fairfax or Arlington GT programs can and do. One quality-of-life downside, the 1 hour one-way bus ride or you drive it/car pool in rush hour.


Yes, the MoCo HGC centers for 4th/5th grades are great...and it's not necessarily so that there's a one-hour bus ride...it depends where you live and where the HGC school is ; my DS just completed 5th at an HCG and his bus ride was 10 minutes. The school was not in our immediate neighborhood, but near enough.

IMO the downside of the HGCs is that after 2 yrs there, the kids make friends with their peers/classmates, but for 6th grade - middle school - the kids in the HGC classes end up going to many different schools - various magnets, back to the home school, some choose private, etc.


So in other words, only a very small portion of gifted students are challenged, and possibly only for 2 yrs. And oh yes, the commute to silver spring, etc is contingent on where you live....and can definitely be a painful rush hour drive or bus ride.
Anonymous
Post 07/24/2013 12:57     Subject: Private school b/c of 2.0? Post here.
I am leery of the assumption that private is better than public...

MCPS teachers have to be really well qualified to be working in MCPS...

How can you compare the curriculum that is taught with curriculum 2.0...if you have not experienced both...besides its and apple to oranges comparison...

Go to public school first...observe the class, how your kid interacts...before you make a decision..
Anonymous
Post 07/24/2013 07:29     Subject: Re:Private school b/c of 2.0? Post here.
Anonymous wrote:When we started the private, there were a lot of other kids starting in 1st grade at the same time - they were making the jump from public because of 2.0. For 2nd and 3rd - we gained more such public transports each year...


Specifics, please. Which private school? Which public schools? How much is "a lot"? How much is "more"? Did their parents tell you, "We switched from public to private because of Curriculum 2.0?" Or, if not, on what do you base your statement that they switched because of 2.0?
Anonymous
Post 07/23/2013 22:20     Subject: Re:Private school b/c of 2.0? Post here.
We had planned on going with public starting in 1st grade, our local public principal recommended we stay at our preschool's K program because she felt our child would be better served there for that year. Then, 2.0 was implemented with our child's grade as the 'leading edge' (guinea pigs!) It would have been a horrible match for our child so we ended up going private. When we started the private, there were a lot of other kids starting in 1st grade at the same time - they were making the jump from public because of 2.0. For 2nd and 3rd - we gained more such public transports each year...
Anonymous
Post 06/17/2013 19:36     Subject: Private school b/c of 2.0? Post here.
Anonymous wrote:
Plus I thought they put the GT programs in schools with capacity and then the test scores go up nicely.


Should they put the GT programs in schools that are already over capacity?
Anonymous
Post 06/17/2013 19:33     Subject: Private school b/c of 2.0? Post here.
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Trying to get your kids into HGC is also a way to mitigate any curriculum 2.0 ill effects. Even is the curriculum is not accelerated in HGC at least it is enriched.


MoCo has a very small GT program given the large student body it seeks to serve.
It's overcapacity as it is, blackbox app process, and serves a smaller percentage of students than Fairfax or Arlington GT programs can and do. One quality-of-life downside, the 1 hour one-way bus ride or you drive it/car pool in rush hour.


But the student population is going up. And now MoCo is proposing to allow "smart growth tandem houses" in backyards! Bring in your relatives, cousins, nieces, nephews! Shouldn't the program and budget grow then? Or just become more selective?
Plus I thought they put the GT programs in schools with capacity and then the test scores go up nicely.
Anonymous
Post 06/17/2013 19:24     Subject: Private school b/c of 2.0? Post here.
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Trying to get your kids into HGC is also a way to mitigate any curriculum 2.0 ill effects. Even is the curriculum is not accelerated in HGC at least it is enriched.


MoCo has a very small GT program given the large student body it seeks to serve.
It's overcapacity as it is, blackbox app process, and serves a smaller percentage of students than Fairfax or Arlington GT programs can and do. One quality-of-life downside, the 1 hour one-way bus ride or you drive it/car pool in rush hour.


Yes, the MoCo HGC centers for 4th/5th grades are great...and it's not necessarily so that there's a one-hour bus ride...it depends where you live and where the HGC school is ; my DS just completed 5th at an HCG and his bus ride was 10 minutes. The school was not in our immediate neighborhood, but near enough.

IMO the downside of the HGCs is that after 2 yrs there, the kids make friends with their peers/classmates, but for 6th grade - middle school - the kids in the HGC classes end up going to many different schools - various magnets, back to the home school, some choose private, etc.
Anonymous
Post 06/17/2013 10:29     Subject: Private school b/c of 2.0? Post here.
Anonymous wrote:Trying to get your kids into HGC is also a way to mitigate any curriculum 2.0 ill effects. Even is the curriculum is not accelerated in HGC at least it is enriched.


MoCo has a very small GT program given the large student body it seeks to serve.
It's overcapacity as it is, blackbox app process, and serves a smaller percentage of students than Fairfax or Arlington GT programs can and do. One quality-of-life downside, the 1 hour one-way bus ride or you drive it/car pool in rush hour.
Anonymous
Post 06/17/2013 10:05     Subject: Private school b/c of 2.0? Post here.
Trying to get your kids into HGC is also a way to mitigate any curriculum 2.0 ill effects. Even is the curriculum is not accelerated in HGC at least it is enriched.
Anonymous
Post 06/16/2013 12:53     Subject: Re:Private school b/c of 2.0? Post here.
We switched from private to public.

Smart teachers know how to handle curriculum.

Furthermore, there are bad teachers everywhere. So why should I pay a bad teacher to "instruct" my child?


Anonymous wrote:NP here. I am switching to private school but 2.0 isn't the main reason it just made it easier to switch. I have a child with ADHD and it has felt like a struggle to get the needed support. Now it may have been the same pre-2.0 but it definitely feels harder to show my child isn't on grade level much less areas where DC should get enrichment. Before the worry was MCPS kids were being accelerated 2 years ahead and most private school weren't doing that so your kid could be behind coming back into the system. Now that things have slowed down for everyone under 2.0, I'm not worried about the transition back into public schools if we go that route later.

So anyway, as much as people may moan, I don't think after someone has spent his/her limit to live in the best cluster they could afford in MoCo, they will find an extra 100-300K lying around for private school. More likely is you won't move to MCPS, or worry about 2.0 and underspend to have a private school option, or 2.0 isn't the only reason but it helped the argument for what you wanted to do anyway.
Anonymous
Post 06/16/2013 12:51     Subject: Re:Private school b/c of 2.0? Post here.
Anonymous wrote:My DH is an elementary school teacher. He HATES 2.0 at the lower grades and we are now looking at private/catholic schools for our daughter for kindergarten next year.


Part of the problem with 2.0 is that many teachers aren't smart enough to figure it out.

bottom line - 2.0 is IB-based, which means the focus is on critical thinking. It's a rare find to discover an intellectual who loves working with small children and who's gifted at scaffolding. So when teachers complain, they can't wrap their heads around the gray areas.

More teachers should be trained in PYP and MYP, as they are fabulous philosophical frameworks that help many to grasp such abstract thinking methods.

And I'm a teacher, by the way.
Anonymous
Post 06/15/2013 08:44     Subject: Re:Private school b/c of 2.0? Post here.
NP here. I am switching to private school but 2.0 isn't the main reason it just made it easier to switch. I have a child with ADHD and it has felt like a struggle to get the needed support. Now it may have been the same pre-2.0 but it definitely feels harder to show my child isn't on grade level much less areas where DC should get enrichment. Before the worry was MCPS kids were being accelerated 2 years ahead and most private school weren't doing that so your kid could be behind coming back into the system. Now that things have slowed down for everyone under 2.0, I'm not worried about the transition back into public schools if we go that route later.

So anyway, as much as people may moan, I don't think after someone has spent his/her limit to live in the best cluster they could afford in MoCo, they will find an extra 100-300K lying around for private school. More likely is you won't move to MCPS, or worry about 2.0 and underspend to have a private school option, or 2.0 isn't the only reason but it helped the argument for what you wanted to do anyway.
Anonymous
Post 06/14/2013 13:09     Subject: Re:Private school b/c of 2.0? Post here.
My DH is an elementary school teacher. He HATES 2.0 at the lower grades and we are now looking at private/catholic schools for our daughter for kindergarten next year.
Anonymous
Post 06/06/2013 22:26     Subject: Private school b/c of 2.0? Post here.
FWIW, we decided to stay in DC and do private instead of buying in Bethesda this year. Don't care for the experimentation.