Anonymous wrote:MCPS is still great for top students. But if you are not in that top 10 percent that can take advantage of all the classes and opportunities, it has definitely gone downhill. MCPS and principals made some choices.

It WAS great for top students. If you see some of the discussions in the threads about the regional model, most of the supporters say that the focus shouldn't be on the small subset of high performing students but the majority of the students who may not have access to upper level classes. Where basically they are saying they are okay if these new programs are the same as a regular honors class currently offered at another school.

And for my own kids we see the change when our kid's school got a new principal who kind of us about this whole new initiative. Where the focus is on the lower performing students and the curriculum and tracks for all are slowed down. Not even for the ones in the same school but instruction within the school year (not the end of the school year) stops because the class is ahead of the rest of the school system with the curriculum.

I posted above that I don't think MCPS is a horrible school system. But families do need to make sure to do extra if they want to keep their students at a certain level. In some ways it's always been like this. But I think more recently it's been treated as unfair or wrong that some students are higher performing then others. Or if they are, they're one dimensional and only focused on studying.

It's true that MCPS is better than some other districts, but it's been declining. Yet, our taxes keep going up.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree that the size of the county is a major contributing factor to why people are so dissatisfied. There’s so much diversity of backgrounds and viewpoints and it’s extremely difficult (impossible, really) to come up with a solution that meets the needs of everyone. The leadership not being great just makes things worse. We also have an extremely high striver/entitled population in the close to DC suburbs which also cranks up the complaints. Friends in New England suburbs have had such a different experience for their children in public school and I regret getting stuck (work) in this area. Ready to move on…

But most people are happy with MCPS IRL.
The loud minority on DCUM (about 10 of them) doesn't represent the vast majority of MCPS families.

Most of the parents I know IRL have complaints. They're usually not extreme, but especially after the abundance of snow days, calendar shuffles, etc. this past year, the mood I see is mixed rather than positive.

Everybody has a complaint, but research shows most parents are happy with MCPS.

A 2024 resident survey showed that the percentage of residents rating k-12 education in MoCo went down from 82% in 2018 to 68% in 2024. Let's assume this is reflective of attitudes among current MCPS parents (the survey was of residents so this might also be reflective of people whose MCPS experiences are not current). If we assume that, you are correct that "most parents are happy with MCPS". However, it would appear that a large and increasing minority of parents do not think MCPS is good, much less excellent. MCPS should stop dismissing people who have concerns as "privileged" (the irony is they also ignore unprivileged people).

+1

While it's true the majority still approves of MCPS, that majority is decreasing rapidly, which confirms that the system is in fact in decline. It just hasn't reached rock bottom yet.

We were done with MCPS 4 years ago. I understand why parents are giving a poor report card to MCPS and I wholeheartedly agree with them. However, MCPS was substandard even when it was doing well 25 years ago. Its just that it has become worse now.

I am comparing it entirely to the third world education system that educated me in my country of origin. In terms of facilities and resources, MCPS was pretty great from my immigrant view point. But in terms of education, curriculum, assessment, rigor, discipline, length of school year etc, MCPS was shockingly bad.

We were willing to spend money on private schools but the quality of education (especially in STEM) and the quality of teachers was far inferior to MCPS. Of course, private schools may get you network and connections etc...I don't know if that would have mattered to brown skinned immigrant children.

The real problem in MCPS is its administration and policies. And that creates a toxicity that permeates to the day to day environment in all schools.

We put all of our time, effort and resources - to not only educate our kids at home after they came back from school for their academic and intellectual advancement...BUT...to also mitigate the negative impact of what the MCPS administration and policies were doing to the education of our children.

My children had a lovely time in MCPS. Their teachers and classmates were awesome. But, we did our own supplementing to engineer a great experience, environment and outcome for them. It did not happen automagically. We loved being in MCPS, but I was also actively snow-plowing the academic path for my kids, so they did not get negatively impacted by MCPS.

MoCo has an approx. population of 1 million + (1,000,000+) residents.

Let's say about 4 ppl represented per household, approx. 3000.

3,000/1,000,000 = .003

So 0.3 percent of households in MoCo

OMG

"Of the 6,000 households that received the invitations to participate, 761 completed the survey, providing an overall
response rate of 13%. The response rate was calculated using AAPOR’s response rate #2 for mailed surveys of
unnamed persons.²"

From the link provided above, to the "research". How much did this cost????

"A 2024 resident survey"

One (1) survey. Wow, that is such exceptional "research"!

I never even saw it, much less had the time to sit down and complete it.

A decent response rate for a survey is 10-25%, with 30% being amazing.

So much more. But dang, "research!"

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree that the size of the county is a major contributing factor to why people are so dissatisfied. There’s so much diversity of backgrounds and viewpoints and it’s extremely difficult (impossible, really) to come up with a solution that meets the needs of everyone. The leadership not being great just makes things worse. We also have an extremely high striver/entitled population in the close to DC suburbs which also cranks up the complaints. Friends in New England suburbs have had such a different experience for their children in public school and I regret getting stuck (work) in this area. Ready to move on…

But most people are happy with MCPS IRL.
The loud minority on DCUM (about 10 of them) doesn't represent the vast majority of MCPS families.

Most of the parents I know IRL have complaints. They're usually not extreme, but especially after the abundance of snow days, calendar shuffles, etc. this past year, the mood I see is mixed rather than positive.

Everybody has a complaint, but research shows most parents are happy with MCPS.

A 2024 resident survey showed that the percentage of residents rating k-12 education in MoCo went down from 82% in 2018 to 68% in 2024. Let's assume this is reflective of attitudes among current MCPS parents (the survey was of residents so this might also be reflective of people whose MCPS experiences are not current). If we assume that, you are correct that "most parents are happy with MCPS". However, it would appear that a large and increasing minority of parents do not think MCPS is good, much less excellent. MCPS should stop dismissing people who have concerns as "privileged" (the irony is they also ignore unprivileged people).

Isn't 68% a majority? Also, that was after the Biederlman (spelling?) scandal, so it did affect the result.

Reading is fundamental

A 2024 resident survey showed that the percentage of residents rating k-12 education in MoCo went down from 82% in 2018 to 68% in 2024. Let's assume this is reflective of attitudes among current MCPS parents (the survey was of residents so this might also be reflective of people whose MCPS experiences are not current). If we assume that, you are correct that "most parents are happy with MCPS". However, it would appear that a large and increasing minority of parents do not think MCPS is good, much less excellent. MCPS should stop dismissing people who have concerns as "privileged" (the irony is they also ignore unprivileged people).

What are arguing about???

MCPS is still great for top students. But if you are not in that top 10 percent that can take advantage of all the classes and opportunities, it has definitely gone downhill. MCPS and principals made some choices.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree that the size of the county is a major contributing factor to why people are so dissatisfied. There’s so much diversity of backgrounds and viewpoints and it’s extremely difficult (impossible, really) to come up with a solution that meets the needs of everyone. The leadership not being great just makes things worse. We also have an extremely high striver/entitled population in the close to DC suburbs which also cranks up the complaints. Friends in New England suburbs have had such a different experience for their children in public school and I regret getting stuck (work) in this area. Ready to move on…

But most people are happy with MCPS IRL.
The loud minority on DCUM (about 10 of them) doesn't represent the vast majority of MCPS families.

Most of the parents I know IRL have complaints. They're usually not extreme, but especially after the abundance of snow days, calendar shuffles, etc. this past year, the mood I see is mixed rather than positive.

Everybody has a complaint, but research shows most parents are happy with MCPS.

A 2024 resident survey showed that the percentage of residents rating k-12 education in MoCo went down from 82% in 2018 to 68% in 2024. Let's assume this is reflective of attitudes among current MCPS parents (the survey was of residents so this might also be reflective of people whose MCPS experiences are not current). If we assume that, you are correct that "most parents are happy with MCPS". However, it would appear that a large and increasing minority of parents do not think MCPS is good, much less excellent. MCPS should stop dismissing people who have concerns as "privileged" (the irony is they also ignore unprivileged people).

Isn't 68% a majority? Also, that was after the Biederlman (spelling?) scandal, so it did affect the result.

You seem to think it is reasonable to view that scandal as an isolated issue. Many of us watching it were not just appalled that one superindendent protected her buddy, but that there are numerous examples like it of people in MCPS "failing up". At the time, McKnight's defenders suggested this is an issue that preceded her and therefore wasn't her fault, and that's the constant refrain we hear from Taylor every time something goes wrong. There is a fundamental rot in MCPS and no culture of honesty or accountability around it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree that the size of the county is a major contributing factor to why people are so dissatisfied. There’s so much diversity of backgrounds and viewpoints and it’s extremely difficult (impossible, really) to come up with a solution that meets the needs of everyone. The leadership not being great just makes things worse. We also have an extremely high striver/entitled population in the close to DC suburbs which also cranks up the complaints. Friends in New England suburbs have had such a different experience for their children in public school and I regret getting stuck (work) in this area. Ready to move on…

But most people are happy with MCPS IRL.
The loud minority on DCUM (about 10 of them) doesn't represent the vast majority of MCPS families.

Most of the parents I know IRL have complaints. They're usually not extreme, but especially after the abundance of snow days, calendar shuffles, etc. this past year, the mood I see is mixed rather than positive.

Everybody has a complaint, but research shows most parents are happy with MCPS.

A 2024 resident survey showed that the percentage of residents rating k-12 education in MoCo went down from 82% in 2018 to 68% in 2024. Let's assume this is reflective of attitudes among current MCPS parents (the survey was of residents so this might also be reflective of people whose MCPS experiences are not current). If we assume that, you are correct that "most parents are happy with MCPS". However, it would appear that a large and increasing minority of parents do not think MCPS is good, much less excellent. MCPS should stop dismissing people who have concerns as "privileged" (the irony is they also ignore unprivileged people).

Isn't 68% a majority? Also, that was after the Biederlman (spelling?) scandal, so it did affect the result.

Reading is fundamental

A 2024 resident survey showed that the percentage of residents rating k-12 education in MoCo went down from 82% in 2018 to 68% in 2024. Let's assume this is reflective of attitudes among current MCPS parents (the survey was of residents so this might also be reflective of people whose MCPS experiences are not current). If we assume that, you are correct that "most parents are happy with MCPS". However, it would appear that a large and increasing minority of parents do not think MCPS is good, much less excellent. MCPS should stop dismissing people who have concerns as "privileged" (the irony is they also ignore unprivileged people).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree that the size of the county is a major contributing factor to why people are so dissatisfied. There’s so much diversity of backgrounds and viewpoints and it’s extremely difficult (impossible, really) to come up with a solution that meets the needs of everyone. The leadership not being great just makes things worse. We also have an extremely high striver/entitled population in the close to DC suburbs which also cranks up the complaints. Friends in New England suburbs have had such a different experience for their children in public school and I regret getting stuck (work) in this area. Ready to move on…

But most people are happy with MCPS IRL.
The loud minority on DCUM (about 10 of them) doesn't represent the vast majority of MCPS families.

Most of the parents I know IRL have complaints. They're usually not extreme, but especially after the abundance of snow days, calendar shuffles, etc. this past year, the mood I see is mixed rather than positive.

Everybody has a complaint, but research shows most parents are happy with MCPS.

A 2024 resident survey showed that the percentage of residents rating k-12 education in MoCo went down from 82% in 2018 to 68% in 2024. Let's assume this is reflective of attitudes among current MCPS parents (the survey was of residents so this might also be reflective of people whose MCPS experiences are not current). If we assume that, you are correct that "most parents are happy with MCPS". However, it would appear that a large and increasing minority of parents do not think MCPS is good, much less excellent. MCPS should stop dismissing people who have concerns as "privileged" (the irony is they also ignore unprivileged people).

Isn't 68% a majority? Also, that was after the Biederlman (spelling?) scandal, so it did affect the result.

A majority of residents doesn't tell you anything about parents.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree that the size of the county is a major contributing factor to why people are so dissatisfied. There’s so much diversity of backgrounds and viewpoints and it’s extremely difficult (impossible, really) to come up with a solution that meets the needs of everyone. The leadership not being great just makes things worse. We also have an extremely high striver/entitled population in the close to DC suburbs which also cranks up the complaints. Friends in New England suburbs have had such a different experience for their children in public school and I regret getting stuck (work) in this area. Ready to move on…

But most people are happy with MCPS IRL.
The loud minority on DCUM (about 10 of them) doesn't represent the vast majority of MCPS families.

Most of the parents I know IRL have complaints. They're usually not extreme, but especially after the abundance of snow days, calendar shuffles, etc. this past year, the mood I see is mixed rather than positive.

Everybody has a complaint, but research shows most parents are happy with MCPS.

A 2024 resident survey showed that the percentage of residents rating k-12 education in MoCo went down from 82% in 2018 to 68% in 2024. Let's assume this is reflective of attitudes among current MCPS parents (the survey was of residents so this might also be reflective of people whose MCPS experiences are not current). If we assume that, you are correct that "most parents are happy with MCPS". However, it would appear that a large and increasing minority of parents do not think MCPS is good, much less excellent. MCPS should stop dismissing people who have concerns as "privileged" (the irony is they also ignore unprivileged people).

Isn't 68% a majority? Also, that was after the Biederlman (spelling?) scandal, so it did affect the result.

here is the link to the survey, see page 25: https://montgomeryperspective.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/The-NCS-Full-Report-Montgomery-County-MD-2024.pdf

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree that the size of the county is a major contributing factor to why people are so dissatisfied. There’s so much diversity of backgrounds and viewpoints and it’s extremely difficult (impossible, really) to come up with a solution that meets the needs of everyone. The leadership not being great just makes things worse. We also have an extremely high striver/entitled population in the close to DC suburbs which also cranks up the complaints. Friends in New England suburbs have had such a different experience for their children in public school and I regret getting stuck (work) in this area. Ready to move on…

But most people are happy with MCPS IRL.
The loud minority on DCUM (about 10 of them) doesn't represent the vast majority of MCPS families.

Most of the parents I know IRL have complaints. They're usually not extreme, but especially after the abundance of snow days, calendar shuffles, etc. this past year, the mood I see is mixed rather than positive.

Everybody has a complaint, but research shows most parents are happy with MCPS.

A 2024 resident survey showed that the percentage of residents rating k-12 education in MoCo went down from 82% in 2018 to 68% in 2024. Let's assume this is reflective of attitudes among current MCPS parents (the survey was of residents so this might also be reflective of people whose MCPS experiences are not current). If we assume that, you are correct that "most parents are happy with MCPS". However, it would appear that a large and increasing minority of parents do not think MCPS is good, much less excellent. MCPS should stop dismissing people who have concerns as "privileged" (the irony is they also ignore unprivileged people).