Anonymous
Post 08/24/2018 11:30     Subject: Is it common to have 30+ kids in class in MCPS ES?
Scrap PE classes and subdivide the gymnasiums into 4 classrooms. All the kids play soccer anyway, right?

Serve the first lunch at 9:50 AM and use those classrooms then. The teachers can keep floating all day. In fact, make each class take turns serving another. That way you can fire the cafeteria workers AND free up another classroom.

Use the principal’s office, health suite, and janitorial closets as classrooms instead. Oh, and that den of inequity, the teachers’ lounge should be throughly sage smudged and turned into at least two instructional spaces.

Anonymous
Post 08/24/2018 11:10     Subject: Is it common to have 30+ kids in class in MCPS ES?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:

Bethesda and Somerset most certainly are not. There is no place to put portables at those two schools.


Says you, or says MCPS? Says you, I infer.


Feel free to offer your plan of where they can put portables. Because smarter minds than you who have actually been to the school have already concluded that there is no place to put them.
Anonymous
Post 08/24/2018 11:09     Subject: Is it common to have 30+ kids in class in MCPS ES?
Anonymous wrote:

Bethesda and Somerset most certainly are not. There is no place to put portables at those two schools.


Says you, or says MCPS? Says you, I infer.
Anonymous
Post 08/24/2018 10:59     Subject: Is it common to have 30+ kids in class in MCPS ES?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:

Many schools are overcapacity, with no available additional classrooms and no room on site for additional portables, like my kids' school. And the MoCo Council approved more residential development and just put a "placeholder" in the budget that gives MoCo 6 years to figure out what to do to add more capacity. So yes, then you see 30+ kids in a classroom.


Could you please name two schools that are over capacity and do not have space for more portables?


I can name 4. Bethesda Elementary, Somerset Elementary, Judith Resnik ES, Burnt Mills ES


Is it your assessment that there is no space for more portables, or MCPS's assessment?


MCPS. Read and learn. http://www.theseventhstate.com/?p=10222


That's about placeholders. It doesn't say anything about portables.

Burnt Mill ES is on 15.1 acres.


Bethesda and Somerset most certainly are not. There is no place to put portables at those two schools.
Anonymous
Post 08/24/2018 10:54     Subject: Is it common to have 30+ kids in class in MCPS ES?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:

Many schools are overcapacity, with no available additional classrooms and no room on site for additional portables, like my kids' school. And the MoCo Council approved more residential development and just put a "placeholder" in the budget that gives MoCo 6 years to figure out what to do to add more capacity. So yes, then you see 30+ kids in a classroom.


Could you please name two schools that are over capacity and do not have space for more portables?


I can name 4. Bethesda Elementary, Somerset Elementary, Judith Resnik ES, Burnt Mills ES


Is it your assessment that there is no space for more portables, or MCPS's assessment?


MCPS. Read and learn. http://www.theseventhstate.com/?p=10222


That's about placeholders. It doesn't say anything about portables.

Burnt Mill ES is on 15.1 acres.
Anonymous
Post 08/24/2018 10:49     Subject: Is it common to have 30+ kids in class in MCPS ES?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:

Many schools are overcapacity, with no available additional classrooms and no room on site for additional portables, like my kids' school. And the MoCo Council approved more residential development and just put a "placeholder" in the budget that gives MoCo 6 years to figure out what to do to add more capacity. So yes, then you see 30+ kids in a classroom.


Could you please name two schools that are over capacity and do not have space for more portables?


I can name 4. Bethesda Elementary, Somerset Elementary, Judith Resnik ES, Burnt Mills ES


Is it your assessment that there is no space for more portables, or MCPS's assessment?


MCPS. Read and learn. http://www.theseventhstate.com/?p=10222
Anonymous
Post 08/24/2018 10:39     Subject: Is it common to have 30+ kids in class in MCPS ES?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:

Many schools are overcapacity, with no available additional classrooms and no room on site for additional portables, like my kids' school. And the MoCo Council approved more residential development and just put a "placeholder" in the budget that gives MoCo 6 years to figure out what to do to add more capacity. So yes, then you see 30+ kids in a classroom.


Could you please name two schools that are over capacity and do not have space for more portables?


I can name 4. Bethesda Elementary, Somerset Elementary, Judith Resnik ES, Burnt Mills ES


Is it your assessment that there is no space for more portables, or MCPS's assessment?
Anonymous
Post 08/24/2018 10:35     Subject: Is it common to have 30+ kids in class in MCPS ES?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:

Many schools are overcapacity, with no available additional classrooms and no room on site for additional portables, like my kids' school. And the MoCo Council approved more residential development and just put a "placeholder" in the budget that gives MoCo 6 years to figure out what to do to add more capacity. So yes, then you see 30+ kids in a classroom.


Could you please name two schools that are over capacity and do not have space for more portables?


I can name 4. Bethesda Elementary, Somerset Elementary, Judith Resnik ES, Burnt Mills ES
Anonymous
Post 08/24/2018 10:16     Subject: Is it common to have 30+ kids in class in MCPS ES?
Anonymous wrote:

Many schools are overcapacity, with no available additional classrooms and no room on site for additional portables, like my kids' school. And the MoCo Council approved more residential development and just put a "placeholder" in the budget that gives MoCo 6 years to figure out what to do to add more capacity. So yes, then you see 30+ kids in a classroom.


Could you please name two schools that are over capacity and do not have space for more portables?
Anonymous
Post 08/24/2018 10:16     Subject: Is it common to have 30+ kids in class in MCPS ES?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Not in Title I or Focus schools. Everybody else, common in 3th or 5th, not the lower grades. Ours is a big/overcrowded school, and that is the norm, not the exception. But, usually not until mid-year, not at the start of the year!

Let me guess, one of the many new Principals who does what MCPS tells them and doesn't know how to finesse the system to get what they need?


You can’t finesse the salary and benefits for another certified teacher.


You can do a better job of advocating that you need another teacher based on enrollment numbers. Our principal was very open with us that we were near the cut off for another teacher based on class size. She said she was doing what she could, but was also encouraging people to register ASAP so the numbers were as high as possible to help make the case.

I am not sure all principals would be attuned to playing the game as well.
Anonymous
Post 08/24/2018 10:14     Subject: Is it common to have 30+ kids in class in MCPS ES?
Anonymous wrote:Yes, you can, and the good ones do (lived through it). Get a teacher for a grade rather than a reading initiative teacher. But really, it's all a numbers game. If they are above 30 by March, nbd. No school should start the year with those kids of numbers. I would be on the phone with Board of Ed member and writing to Dr Smith and Dr Zuckerman with every Board member copied about how the large class size is unacceptable.

UNLESS your school is already overcapacity, there are no available additional classrooms, and there is no room on the site for additional portables. That would be the ONLY excuse acceptable, and MCPS had better have a plan in place to address it by the next year, or I would make myself the biggest PITA they've ever seen.

Agree with OP who said they are disappointed they moved here for the schools that are supposed to be so good only to find out they are not. Overcrowding, disastrous curriculum, abuse, lack of discipline, etc., etc.


Many schools are overcapacity, with no available additional classrooms and no room on site for additional portables, like my kids' school. And the MoCo Council approved more residential development and just put a "placeholder" in the budget that gives MoCo 6 years to figure out what to do to add more capacity. So yes, then you see 30+ kids in a classroom.
Anonymous
Post 08/24/2018 10:09     Subject: Is it common to have 30+ kids in class in MCPS ES?
Yes, you can, and the good ones do (lived through it). Get a teacher for a grade rather than a reading initiative teacher. But really, it's all a numbers game. If they are above 30 by March, nbd. No school should start the year with those kids of numbers. I would be on the phone with Board of Ed member and writing to Dr Smith and Dr Zuckerman with every Board member copied about how the large class size is unacceptable.

UNLESS your school is already overcapacity, there are no available additional classrooms, and there is no room on the site for additional portables. That would be the ONLY excuse acceptable, and MCPS had better have a plan in place to address it by the next year, or I would make myself the biggest PITA they've ever seen.

Agree with OP who said they are disappointed they moved here for the schools that are supposed to be so good only to find out they are not. Overcrowding, disastrous curriculum, abuse, lack of discipline, etc., etc.
Anonymous
Post 08/24/2018 09:49     Subject: Is it common to have 30+ kids in class in MCPS ES?
Anonymous wrote:Not in Title I or Focus schools. Everybody else, common in 3th or 5th, not the lower grades. Ours is a big/overcrowded school, and that is the norm, not the exception. But, usually not until mid-year, not at the start of the year!

Let me guess, one of the many new Principals who does what MCPS tells them and doesn't know how to finesse the system to get what they need?


You can’t finesse the salary and benefits for another certified teacher.
Anonymous
Post 08/24/2018 09:32     Subject: Is it common to have 30+ kids in class in MCPS ES?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:MCPS is bad because there's too much testing. Also because they got rid of testing.

MCPS is bad because there's too much reading and math instruction. Also because there isn't enough reading and math instruction.

MCPS is bad because individual schools don't have enough freedom for their own policies and practices. Also because they have too much freedom for their own policies and practices.

Anything else?


I think it's completely legitimate to complain about having more than 30 students in a classroom with one teacher... you know, the point of the original post. No one is going to argue the other side of that.


+1 OP, to answer your question, my kids' elementary school has classes of 30ish in 4th and 5th grade. Too much!
Anonymous
Post 08/24/2018 09:22     Subject: Is it common to have 30+ kids in class in MCPS ES?
Anonymous wrote:MCPS is bad because there's too much testing. Also because they got rid of testing.

MCPS is bad because there's too much reading and math instruction. Also because there isn't enough reading and math instruction.

MCPS is bad because individual schools don't have enough freedom for their own policies and practices. Also because they have too much freedom for their own policies and practices.

Anything else?


I think it's completely legitimate to complain about having more than 30 students in a classroom with one teacher... you know, the point of the original post. No one is going to argue the other side of that.