Anonymous wrote:My nephew attends a Charter School in Arizona and is having a phenomenal experience. My sister in law teaches at a Charter in a different state and says it’s been much better than public. Too much red tape in public schools makes it so hard for teachers to retain autonomy.

My daughter attends an MCPS high school and is having a phenomenal experience.

There, now we have two anecdotes.

Anonymous wrote:

That’s not the whole story, and you know it. Parkland/Argyle/Loiderman are really meant to be choices for the kids who live in that area. My kid applied to Loiderman and didn’t even get Wait Listed. They’re not taking many kids county wide.

Current Grade 5 students who reside within the geographic boundaries of Argyle, Loiederman, and Parkland will attend one of the three MSMC schools in Grade 6. In the fall of Grade 5, in-Consortium students and their parents will participate in the Choice process, and will rank in order their choice of MSMC schools. In-Consortium students who have siblings attending MSMC schools are guaranteed assignment to the same MSMC school if the parent completes the sibling link section on the Choice form.

All Grade 5 students who reside in Montgomery County and outside the MSMC geographic boundaries are invited to apply to the three MSMC schools. In the fall of Grade 5, interested out-of-Consortium students and their parents may participate in the Choice process.

Montgomery County Public Schools considers a variety of factors when assigning students to MSMC schools. These factors include the number of available seats, rank order of choices, sibling preference, socioeconomic status, and gender.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nope, no Charter Schools in MCPS unfortunately. Parents have no choice for their kids.

Sure they do -- magnets, or move elsewhere in MoCo.

I don't want MoCo to be like the DC model, where more than half of kids are in charter schools. It's basically DCPS saying that they are so incompetent at providing education that they need to outsource it to charter schools.

Such a privileged comment. Do you really think it's easy for lower and middle class families to up and move? We are at a Focus school, and would move in a heartbeat if we could. Just not possible for everyone. That's not a 'choice'. Montgomery County is expensive.

Magnets? Four MS Magnets is a choice? Something like less than 500 students have that option. That's not a choice. That's a joke.

11 middle schools.

Clemente
Eastern
MLK
Takoma Park
Argyle
Loiderman
Parkland
Hoover
Gaithersburg
SSIMS
Westland

A more realistic post is how many seats exactly are open to kids all across the county?

Maybe 400 for the test-in Magnets? No idea how many for the lottery magnets.

Definitely a low percentage of students overall.

My nephew attends a Charter School in Arizona and is having a phenomenal experience. My sister in law teaches at a Charter in a different state and says it’s been much better than public. Too much red tape in public schools makes it so hard for teachers to retain autonomy.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nope, no Charter Schools in MCPS unfortunately. Parents have no choice for their kids.

Sure they do -- magnets, or move elsewhere in MoCo.

I don't want MoCo to be like the DC model, where more than half of kids are in charter schools. It's basically DCPS saying that they are so incompetent at providing education that they need to outsource it to charter schools.

Such a privileged comment. Do you really think it's easy for lower and middle class families to up and move? We are at a Focus school, and would move in a heartbeat if we could. Just not possible for everyone. That's not a 'choice'. Montgomery County is expensive.

Magnets? Four MS Magnets is a choice? Something like less than 500 students have that option. That's not a choice. That's a joke.

11 middle schools.

Clemente
Eastern
MLK
Takoma Park
Argyle
Loiderman
Parkland
Hoover
Gaithersburg
SSIMS
Westland

That’s not the whole story, and you know it. Parkland/Argyle/Loiderman are really meant to be choices for the kids who live in that area. My kid applied to Loiderman and didn’t even get Wait Listed. They’re not taking many kids county wide.

A sample of 1 is not exactly evidence. I know a bunch kids from my neighborhood (not in the actual area) who have attended all three of the magnets..mostly Parkland but 1 each of the others. Parkland is a popular alternative to TP for middle either because a kid did not get a spot or because it is closer.

Anonymous wrote:I'll pass on the mismanagement of funds, lack of oversight, high turnover and high dysfunction of the charter world that has made the public education systems in Louisiana, San Francisco, and D.C. a hot mess with the "lottery choice". I also don't like knowing that many of the wealthy sit on the board of these charters thereby deciding what the masses learn.

How can you even type that with a straight face? I’m guessing it’s sarcasm?

There is PLENTY of find mismanagement in MCPS. So many useless initiatives that cost millions of dollars and have little benefit to the students. High turnover? Our schools have had plenty of turnover. Dysfunction? Don’t even get me started on MCPS dysfunction.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nope, no Charter Schools in MCPS unfortunately. Parents have no choice for their kids.

Sure they do -- magnets, or move elsewhere in MoCo.

I don't want MoCo to be like the DC model, where more than half of kids are in charter schools. It's basically DCPS saying that they are so incompetent at providing education that they need to outsource it to charter schools.

Such a privileged comment. Do you really think it's easy for lower and middle class families to up and move? We are at a Focus school, and would move in a heartbeat if we could. Just not possible for everyone. That's not a 'choice'. Montgomery County is expensive.

Magnets? Four MS Magnets is a choice? Something like less than 500 students have that option. That's not a choice. That's a joke.

11 middle schools.

Clemente
Eastern
MLK
Takoma Park
Argyle
Loiderman
Parkland
Hoover
Gaithersburg
SSIMS
Westland

That’s not the whole story, and you know it. Parkland/Argyle/Loiderman are really meant to be choices for the kids who live in that area. My kid applied to Loiderman and didn’t even get Wait Listed. They’re not taking many kids county wide.

It sounds like people are arguing "charter school will make the public school look bad"? - whose's fault then: charter schools just take money and do nothing good? public school test score tank because they lose good students ?

Union has prevented this topic at the county and state level for years. It would tank MCPS test and SAT scores.

Anonymous wrote:Wow, just finished our private school application process and 50% of applicants are from Montgomery County, up from 30% each of the last years. Not sure how the admit pool will look but that’s the trend.

Where is your info from?

Wow, just finished our private school application process and 50% of applicants are from Montgomery County, up from 30% each of the last years. Not sure how the admit pool will look but that’s the trend.

Anonymous wrote:I'll pass on the mismanagement of funds, lack of oversight, high turnover and high dysfunction of the charter world that has made the public education systems in Louisiana, San Francisco, and D.C. a hot mess with the "lottery choice". I also don't like knowing that many of the wealthy sit on the board of these charters thereby deciding what the masses learn.

And don't forget the profits to be made!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nope, no Charter Schools in MCPS unfortunately. Parents have no choice for their kids.

Sure they do -- magnets, or move elsewhere in MoCo.

I don't want MoCo to be like the DC model, where more than half of kids are in charter schools. It's basically DCPS saying that they are so incompetent at providing education that they need to outsource it to charter schools.

Such a privileged comment. Do you really think it's easy for lower and middle class families to up and move? We are at a Focus school, and would move in a heartbeat if we could. Just not possible for everyone. That's not a 'choice'. Montgomery County is expensive.

Magnets? Four MS Magnets is a choice? Something like less than 500 students have that option. That's not a choice. That's a joke.

11 middle schools.

Clemente
Eastern
MLK
Takoma Park
Argyle
Loiderman
Parkland
Hoover
Gaithersburg
SSIMS
Westland

I'll pass on the mismanagement of funds, lack of oversight, high turnover and high dysfunction of the charter world that has made the public education systems in Louisiana, San Francisco, and D.C. a hot mess with the "lottery choice". I also don't like knowing that many of the wealthy sit on the board of these charters thereby deciding what the masses learn.

Moco should spend the additional money on teaching English to illiterate parents and providing them parenting classes each year; this is beyond cultural and with zero assimilation it won’t get better.
You can’t just bring in the third world into a fully developed society and do nothing.

Did anyone here check out the new county study: el Salvadorans are 14% of each years immigrants in MOCo.