Anonymous wrote:Hell, no!!!!

I am sending all my peeps to HoCo now. (Since Clarksburg got shat upon with the boundary redistribution!!)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Focus and Title 1 schools have significantly smaller class sizes. If you're involved in your child's education, they'll do well at any school and likely better in a school where they can occasionally get individual attention. The myth of good and bad schools is based on test averages, not individual outcomes.

To be honest though those lower ratios evaporate by 3rd grade. The smaller class benefit in the early years is offset on teachers that have to fill in huge gaps for many kids who are below grade level. Behavior starts getting bad around 4th and 5th grade. I have volunteered in a FOCUS school and there are more negatives than people care to admit. I do agree though that if you supplement your kid can do fine. Elementary school is about reading, writing and math. Any educated parent can fill in gaps and keep kids working about grade level.

There is LOTS of supplementing, enrichment and prep going on among the more well off in Focus schools. Its weird though because everyone does it and talks quietly among friends about which workbooks or online programs to use but its sort of a taboo. The same people supplementing like crazy and ordering the books on Amazon to prep for the CoGat will publicly make snide comments about prepping.

Actually, the ratios don't evaporate by 3rd grade, but if that's what you need to tell yourself...

At our school they did change in 3rd.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No.

MCPS ES is not a big issue from KG to 1st grade. Then the same stuff get repeated from 2nd to 3rd grade. The ball is dropped in 4-5 grade. MS is a shit show. Kids do terribly in HS as compared to better school districts.

Source? Schools you were at?

Anonymous wrote:No.

MCPS ES is not a big issue from KG to 1st grade. Then the same stuff get repeated from 2nd to 3rd grade. The ball is dropped in 4-5 grade. MS is a shit show. Kids do terribly in HS as compared to better school districts.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Focus and Title 1 schools have significantly smaller class sizes. If you're involved in your child's education, they'll do well at any school and likely better in a school where they can occasionally get individual attention. The myth of good and bad schools is based on test averages, not individual outcomes.

To be honest though those lower ratios evaporate by 3rd grade. The smaller class benefit in the early years is offset on teachers that have to fill in huge gaps for many kids who are below grade level. Behavior starts getting bad around 4th and 5th grade. I have volunteered in a FOCUS school and there are more negatives than people care to admit. I do agree though that if you supplement your kid can do fine. Elementary school is about reading, writing and math. Any educated parent can fill in gaps and keep kids working about grade level.

There is LOTS of supplementing, enrichment and prep going on among the more well off in Focus schools. Its weird though because everyone does it and talks quietly among friends about which workbooks or online programs to use but its sort of a taboo. The same people supplementing like crazy and ordering the books on Amazon to prep for the CoGat will publicly make snide comments about prepping.

Actually, the ratios don't evaporate by 3rd grade, but if that's what you need to tell yourself...

At our school they did change in 3rd.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Focus and Title 1 schools have significantly smaller class sizes. If you're involved in your child's education, they'll do well at any school and likely better in a school where they can occasionally get individual attention. The myth of good and bad schools is based on test averages, not individual outcomes.

To be honest though those lower ratios evaporate by 3rd grade. The smaller class benefit in the early years is offset on teachers that have to fill in huge gaps for many kids who are below grade level. Behavior starts getting bad around 4th and 5th grade. I have volunteered in a FOCUS school and there are more negatives than people care to admit. I do agree though that if you supplement your kid can do fine. Elementary school is about reading, writing and math. Any educated parent can fill in gaps and keep kids working about grade level.

There is LOTS of supplementing, enrichment and prep going on among the more well off in Focus schools. Its weird though because everyone does it and talks quietly among friends about which workbooks or online programs to use but its sort of a taboo. The same people supplementing like crazy and ordering the books on Amazon to prep for the CoGat will publicly make snide comments about prepping.

Actually, the ratios don't evaporate by 3rd grade, but if that's what you need to tell yourself...

Anonymous wrote:Our oldest child will be starting Oakland Terrace ES. We are beyond thrilled that our child will be attending a bilingual school. We did not have to deal with the lottery this way. Other parents in the neighborhood love this school, though their kids were in it prior to the bilingual program.

We are teachers (new to MontCo) and researched the h*ll out of schools before purchasing our home.

Anonymous wrote:

Focus and Title 1 schools have significantly smaller class sizes. If you're involved in your child's education, they'll do well at any school and likely better in a school where they can occasionally get individual attention. The myth of good and bad schools is based on test averages, not individual outcomes.

To be honest though those lower ratios evaporate by 3rd grade. The smaller class benefit in the early years is offset on teachers that have to fill in huge gaps for many kids who are below grade level. Behavior starts getting bad around 4th and 5th grade. I have volunteered in a FOCUS school and there are more negatives than people care to admit. I do agree though that if you supplement your kid can do fine. Elementary school is about reading, writing and math. Any educated parent can fill in gaps and keep kids working about grade level.

There is LOTS of supplementing, enrichment and prep going on among the more well off in Focus schools. Its weird though because everyone does it and talks quietly among friends about which workbooks or online programs to use but its sort of a taboo. The same people supplementing like crazy and ordering the books on Amazon to prep for the CoGat will publicly make snide comments about prepping.

Anonymous wrote:

Focus and Title 1 schools have significantly smaller class sizes. If you're involved in your child's education, they'll do well at any school and likely better in a school where they can occasionally get individual attention. The myth of good and bad schools is based on test averages, not individual outcomes.

To be honest though those lower ratios evaporate by 3rd grade. The smaller class benefit in the early years is offset on teachers that have to fill in huge gaps for many kids who are below grade level. Behavior starts getting bad around 4th and 5th grade. I have volunteered in a FOCUS school and there are more negatives than people care to admit. I do agree though that if you supplement your kid can do fine. Elementary school is about reading, writing and math. Any educated parent can fill in gaps and keep kids working about grade level.

There is LOTS of supplementing, enrichment and prep going on among the more well off in Focus schools. Its weird though because everyone does it and talks quietly among friends about which workbooks or online programs to use but its sort of a taboo. The same people supplementing like crazy and ordering the books on Amazon to prep for the CoGat will publicly make snide comments about prepping.

Focus and Title 1 schools have significantly smaller class sizes. If you're involved in your child's education, they'll do well at any school and likely better in a school where they can occasionally get individual attention. The myth of good and bad schools is based on test averages, not individual outcomes.

Anonymous wrote:We also love it. We live in Takoma. Our kids went through the TPES STEM magnet and had math enrichment starting in first. Both went through CES before it was CES and local. One is in Blair SMCS and our youngest is currently at the TPMS STEM magnet.