I’m not sure why people are screaming that Focus schools and Title ones schools have different enriching experiences than other MCPS schools. Your schools receive lots of county, state and federal money just for high FARMS and ESOL populations. The problem is not the money the problem is how your principal or ILT staff allocating funds. The other issue is PTA, if you want a successful PTA get involved. Schools don’t change over night. Call the head quarters of MCPS PTA and figure out how you can be effective in your PTA dealings. There are also national PTA conferences that you can attend.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD is now in 8th grade. When she was in elementary school at a Focus school, the 4th grade wnet to St Mary's. In 5th grade, they did not go to Philadelphia though. They went to Baltimore instead. I believe it was less expensive than Philadelphia.
I usually paid for DD's trips in ES, and then sent money to cover one additional child. Many parents did the same thing, and it seemed to work out.

This doesn’t work as well at more ‘lower-income’ schools. This is why the FARMS percentage at a school matters. There just are not enough parents at the school who can send in ‘extra’ money.

This may also be a difference between the FOCUS schools that have more of a mix and the Title I schools that have even higher levels of kids/families in poverty. But Title I schools might be able to team up with another school with more families willing to pay for an extra kid than there is need for at the partner school.

Anonymous wrote:DD is now in 8th grade. When she was in elementary school at a Focus school, the 4th grade wnet to St Mary's. In 5th grade, they did not go to Philadelphia though. They went to Baltimore instead. I believe it was less expensive than Philadelphia.
I usually paid for DD's trips in ES, and then sent money to cover one additional child. Many parents did the same thing, and it seemed to work out.

This doesn’t work as well at more ‘lower-income’ schools. This is why the FARMS percentage at a school matters. There just are not enough parents at the school who can send in ‘extra’ money.

DD is now in 8th grade. When she was in elementary school at a Focus school, the 4th grade wnet to St Mary's. In 5th grade, they did not go to Philadelphia though. They went to Baltimore instead. I believe it was less expensive than Philadelphia.
I usually paid for DD's trips in ES, and then sent money to cover one additional child. Many parents did the same thing, and it seemed to work out.

We just got notice that the cost for St. Mary's City for my DC's fourth grade class will be $40/person (same cost for children and chaperones).

Our 5th graders fundraise all year for the Philadelphia trip. Mostly bake sales at school and PTA events. I think they also receive some PTA funds. Not sure about the St Mary’s trip. I think MCPS could have a better system for encouraging PTAs to team up/partner/spread the wealth for this kind of thing. I have heard it’s a great trip, though I haven’t heard whether my 4th grader will be going this year.

Can you share more information about where your school went for their Chesapeake Bay Nature trip? Thanks

Our focus school opted not to go to St Mary's 2 years ago when my DD was in 4th. They did the Chesapeake Bay nature trip, and did not want to ask parents for multiple bus fares.

Thanks for the link! It looks like the tour cost itself is reasonable ($6/student at a reduced rate). I guess the high price tag I've heard about must be to cover the cost of the tour bus rental.

https://hsmcdigshistory.org/programs-tours/tours/school-tours/

Good luck PP. please report back if you are successful. Out Focus school does not go to St.Mary’s. Some parents got together on their own and planned a group trip instead.

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone know how to find out how much a field trip to St. Mary's costs, per student? The 4th graders at my child's Title 1 school don't go to St. Mary's. The PTA is looking into whether it's something we could fundraise for and it would be helpful to know how much the trip costs per student. It sounds like many school's PTAs help cover some of the costs. That wouldn't be an option for our PTA unfortunately, so we're hoping the greater community might help out.

Try their website! I think they do specific tours of groups. Let me see if I can find the link.

Does anyone know how to find out how much a field trip to St. Mary's costs, per student? The 4th graders at my child's Title 1 school don't go to St. Mary's. The PTA is looking into whether it's something we could fundraise for and it would be helpful to know how much the trip costs per student. It sounds like many school's PTAs help cover some of the costs. That wouldn't be an option for our PTA unfortunately, so we're hoping the greater community might help out.

So I went last year with my DC's 4th grade class as a parent chaperone. It was an excellent trip (well described by a poster on page 1 above).

I think it cost each kid something like $35 each, maybe $45 I can't remember. That didn't cover lunch but it did cover entry fee and coach.

Its a long ride - 2 hours each way.

Anonymous wrote:Oak View does not. Also, Some schools do a 5th grade trip to Philadelphia and others only go to Mt Vernon. Which is a fine place to visit but it’s not as enriching as an entire day in Philadelphia.

I think it’s scandalous that the county allows this kind of disparity in school experiences. They need to make it possible for all 4th and 5th graders to go on such trips.

Pinecrest goes to Philadelphia, there's an option to make a donation with payment for your child. At least when my DC was in 5th there was a strong fear donations wouldn't be high enough and the trip would be cancelled. I'd think the same thing happens every year. They won't do it if they can't take everyone.

It's more than just MCPS that does the 4th grade St. Mary's trip, it's many counties.

Jackson Road didn’t go this year. I’m not sure if they went in previous years.