Best kept secret in PG County... Berwyn Heights

Because everyone is over on the forum on DC public schools, where their kids are secretly enrolled!

Add Accokeek....many new and diverse families have been there. It also has the highest income in PG.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:some of us are white, live in nice areas, and it's PG.

What areas in pg would that be?

Pretty much anywhere not directly bordering southeast dc. Some nice areas include Laurel, Bowie, Hyattsville, Fort Washington, Clinton, Brandywine, Lanham-Seabrook, Cheverly, University Park, Upper Marlboro, and I'm probably missing a bunch. MOST of the county is really nice.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: Sometimes I feel like a PG evangelist b/c I truly don't understand why more people DON'T want to live here. Love the relative affordability, the inner beltway neighborhoods, the old houses, the cool left-wing history being lived in out today in Greenbelt.

People don't want to live in PG county because of the terrible schools, the crime, and because of the dysfunctional. corrupt left wing local government.

There are nice areas in PG County also. People want to keep shouting how terrible PG County is but after living here for over five years it's really no worse than any other county around here in my opinion. There are ghetto areas in Fairfax, Moco, and PG County. My husband works with reforming criminals and the gang population and he has a ton of clients that live our in Fairfax county, so don't be so quick to stereotype.

PG County does have some beautiful neighborhoods also and it's rapidly growing. Personally I feel it's a great investment with all the development coming here. Not all of the schools are bad and with the new superintendent I have a lot of hope that the school system will turn for the best. And yeah I do think more white people will be forced to live out here because it's the only affordable county in the area right now.

Anonymous wrote:some of us are white, live in nice areas, and it's PG.

What areas in pg would that be?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For most of the time, I ignored DCUM because of the anti-PG and racist bias that often appears. I prefer to find out most of my information thought local list serves. Now that I don't have to wade through mounds of MoCo/Nova posts I check this forum occasionally.

PP what list serves do you subscribe to?

Does anyone know about any county-wide organizations for parents? I feel like if all of the interested parents in the county came together they could get a lot more done.

Seconded! What are some good PG parent listservs? I'm on pgparents but that is super low traffic.

Anonymous wrote:For most of the time, I ignored DCUM because of the anti-PG and racist bias that often appears. I prefer to find out most of my information thought local list serves. Now that I don't have to wade through mounds of MoCo/Nova posts I check this forum occasionally.

PP what list serves do you subscribe to?

Does anyone know about any county-wide organizations for parents? I feel like if all of the interested parents in the county came together they could get a lot more done.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
A lot of what needs fixing is not going to be tackled here. It's going to be tackled at the PTA level and the county level, and I believe many of us are invested in doing that work.

Future parent here. My local elementary has very poor parental involvement and from what I have been told a PTA that keeps fizzing out. What are we to do? I have met the new CEO, took time off of work to meet my school board representative, and had telephone conversations with the school principal. I offered to take off of work to volunteer. No one has taken me up on my offer to volunteer. I even have a PG student as an intern. I am sitting at home now on furlough cleaning my house. This time could have been shared with the school system.

I am going to write another letter to Dr. Maxwell and follow it by calling into the school board meeting. Funny thing, my local high school has an certain focus and I have worked in that field for 25 years. Do iI need to take my talents, offers of freen help, and kid to another school system?

Hi there. I'm the parent of the middle schooler you're responding to. Here's the thing. If the PTA fizzles, this is your opportunity to start from scratch and really get something solid going, if you have the energy. Why is the parental involvement close to nil? Is it genuine lack of interest? Is it a language barrier? Is it work schedules? Top-down involvement isn't going to get the parents involved. Good old fashioned grassroots organizing can. It's a lot of work, but it's possible. Are there parents that pick up from school at the end of the day? Talk to them as a starting point. Is there aftercare at the school? Talk to those folks. Part of organizing is understanding that your issues may not be other people's issues, but learning where common interest lies.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: Sometimes I feel like a PG evangelist b/c I truly don't understand why more people DON'T want to live here. Love the relative affordability, the inner beltway neighborhoods, the old houses, the cool left-wing history being lived in out today in Greenbelt.

People don't want to live in PG county because of the terrible schools, the crime, and because of the dysfunctional. corrupt left wing local government.

I'm still very confused. There are LOTS of people living in PG. Lots and lots of people. So it seems obvious that people do want to live in PG. If people didn't want to live there, the population would be low.

What's to be confused about? Lots of people live there because it is cheaper. To get the same size house and same commute you will pay more elsewhere. That's what you can get if you are willing to put up with terrible schools, more crime, and a corrupt dysfunctional local government. Lots of people are willing to make that trade, or have no choice.

I am confused because she said there are no people in PG. I am wondering if she is blind or not, because she is wrong. There are lots of people in PG.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
A lot of what needs fixing is not going to be tackled here. It's going to be tackled at the PTA level and the county level, and I believe many of us are invested in doing that work.

Future parent here. My local elementary has very poor parental involvement and from what I have been told a PTA that keeps fizzing out. What are we to do? I have met the new CEO, took time off of work to meet my school board representative, and had telephone conversations with the school principal. I offered to take off of work to volunteer. No one has taken me up on my offer to volunteer. I even have a PG student as an intern. I am sitting at home now on furlough cleaning my house. This time could have been shared with the school system.

I am going to write another letter to Dr. Maxwell and follow it by calling into the school board meeting. Funny thing, my local high school has an certain focus and I have worked in that field for 25 years. Do iI need to take my talents, offers of freen help, and kid to another school system?

You are an interloper, threatening their little power bases, asking questions instead of blindly accepting their authority. You don't serve their interests. They don't want you, and if you force yourself on them they will resist and resent you.

Such is the reality.

Anonymous wrote:
A lot of what needs fixing is not going to be tackled here. It's going to be tackled at the PTA level and the county level, and I believe many of us are invested in doing that work.

Future parent here. My local elementary has very poor parental involvement and from what I have been told a PTA that keeps fizzing out. What are we to do? I have met the new CEO, took time off of work to meet my school board representative, and had telephone conversations with the school principal. I offered to take off of work to volunteer. No one has taken me up on my offer to volunteer. I even have a PG student as an intern. I am sitting at home now on furlough cleaning my house. This time could have been shared with the school system.

I am going to write another letter to Dr. Maxwell and follow it by calling into the school board meeting. Funny thing, my local high school has an certain focus and I have worked in that field for 25 years. Do iI need to take my talents, offers of freen help, and kid to another school system?

some of us are white, live in nice areas, and it's PG.

I have a middle schooler in PGCPS.

I have to say, I have been impressed with the way the school handled a recent issue. Also, his curriculum is challenging, and his classes are interesting to him. Is it perfect? Not by a long shot. But, I believe he is getting a more-than-decent education.

So, we're out here.

A lot of what needs fixing is not going to be tackled here. It's going to be tackled at the PTA level and the county level, and I believe many of us are invested in doing that work.

Kill my iphone please.