Prince George's County (District Heights: renting, house, middle schools)

[1973 Forced Busing]

Maybe we can get you a third arm for your birthday. The two you have must be worn out from patting yourself on the back so much!

[truthhurts]

Originally Posted by fishfister

Dude,
You are my hero! You are black and can state all of the above with little racial backlash. I live in a majority black neighborhood and talk to parents and their children as well as watching what becomes of most of them after school. Most have very little career guidance - most of this is a responsibility of the parents.
PG schools have a policy of pushing the kids through and few are held back to repeat a grade. This serves none other than the coffers of the school administration when it comes to their report cards.

We are agree on this point Fish. Schooling is a two part agenda and in fact i believe the most important component in PGC is the parent piece. Unlike inner city areas that are rought with terrible funding PGC has the funding, but is still lacking the parental involvement piece.

Just a bit of background i moved from a predomintely affluent area with high performing schools to PGC. My mother was very active in the PTA in the other school district and was totally shocked at the lack of interest most parents within the county showed in the PGC PTA. I'll never forget how she would constantly complain about being the only black parent to show up for Parent Teacher nights.

Now, while many think this is a "black issue" it is more of an economic issue, that ties into the economic dynamics of most black families in PGC. Parents, that are educated, are usually more likely to be involved in the education of their children. Now, clearly that's not always true, but more often than not. Parents that are uneducated are less likely to be invovled in their childrens academic lives, while again that's not 100% true it is much more likely. To note many of the children were working class and some from very poor families both black and white (the majority obviously being black). Most of the parents that showed up were the parents that were from the more affluent areas and at that time most of them happend to be white. I also noticed that in high school many of the more affluent kids attended Private Schools, so the high schools were packed full of a majority poor and working class children and if you were affluent and did not get into ERHS Science and Tech program you were most likely in a private high school.

Now in reference to what you're saying I tend to agree. The black poor and lower middle class, which is the majority of PGC do not seem to value education and sadly to say since there children make up the majority of the Public School Students that awful attitude seems to rub off on a lot of the weaker willed smaller majority of middle and upper middle class students that attend the public schools.

I guess the question people have been asking is how do you fix that culture and make them understand that their responsible. I mean the folly is that these same parents are the one's that will call a teacher racist when their child does receive a grade he/she deserves, but at the same token expect the school system to be the only one providing an active educational experience.

I think they should make PTA meetings mandatory and a parent must attend at least 80% for theirto pass on to the next grade. They should also redistrict the schools and build more of them. PGC needs to attempt to get the same quality of certified teachers Montgomery and other counties have. They should also stop busing and use the additional tax payer dollars to attract those better qualified teachers.

I also think PGC should perhaps allow competition amongst its public schools via its private schools. They also could form county wide public school partnerships with major fortune 500 companies, because its a majority black county they could force a lot of companies to provide training to high school students to avoid being labeld "racist" and uncaring(Use the Jesse Jackson tactics to help better the education). They could also provide mandatory pre-school and head start programs for all children. I'd also advise for year round schooling from grades 1-8, so that these students are not extremely far behind once high school starts. Most of what i've mentioned are things the county government can do to incentivise parents to become more active, but in the end its a choice and parents need to make the right choices.

I also think there is a culture problem that needs to be addressed. For instance the getting good grades is "acting white" stuff. It seems that this pseudo non authentic black culture comes to light around 5-8 grades and these children start laching on to all of these negative ideas that they believe describes "black culture" and indentifies them within society. I think a lot of the "militant" parents help keep this "redneck culture" going amongst blacks.

[lscalder]

Turthhurts: What county or city in NY do you live. You love to post about Md or our counties but are yet to post information about your city or county. I do hope you live in one of the most Affulent areas in Ny with little to xero crimes or with the best school in NY becuase you love to display post/articles about the poor and poor counties or cities in MAryland. So why not mention the county or city in which you reside.

[truthhurts]

Originally Posted by lscalder

Turthhurts: What county or city in NY do you live. You love to post about Md or our counties but are yet to post information about your city or county. I do hope you live in one of the most Affulent areas in Ny with little to xero crimes or with the best school in NY becuase you love to display post/articles about the poor and poor counties or cities in MAryland. So why not mention the county or city in which you reside.

Because Iscalder I do and that would be declasse' to go around touting how nice and great my area is. It is of no benefit to anyone on this board how nice my local neighborhood is or how many wealthy people live in my neighborhood or how great the schools systems are. Nor is it any benefit to post this information where i live, because unlike Maryland it goes without saying. My interest is sparked because i have close relatives, that reside in the state and against my informed information they choose to buy within the one of the counties. After reading a lot of uninformed information on this board it prompted me to do a little research, so i figured i'd do a service to all outsiders wanting information and insiders who seem not to know this information.

Iscalder where have I posted the "Poor Counties" or "Cities of Maryland?"..could you please so me where i posted that information?

Did you mean wealthies, becuase clearly i did post that information?

Maryland also offers a rarity in which i can compare black and white high income earners.....not to mention it is the wealthiest state in the country largely do to this factor.

[lscalder]

Truthhurts: I have always mention in my posting that I do appreciate your data but when you do provide facts it do mention poor,wealthy,low income,upper class which is fair. Now since you post comments about counties in Maryland and you do make your own judgements. I have read other posting where us maryland residents on the forum are interest in knowing where in Ny do you resides. I am not saying you are not a fair person. You live in another state right now and are making judgements about the state I live in right now. I know their are other posters who would also like to know what city or county do you reside in. Thats the only question I ask. I have families who live in Tenn,Georgia,Conn,Florida and other state but I am not going to go to their forum since I do not live in the state and state posting about where people should live and where they should not live. I do appreciate your number data and I know others who are moving to MD do as well. If you like to judge others,state it seems to me you do not want any one to judge your city,county.

You do not want to go around and tout about how nice your area of resident is but you want to go around and find articles,data about someone else city or county. Well I guess you are declassing other people county or city then but just as long as its not yours.

[TuborgP]

It is within the norm of human discourse for folk to have opinions on topics that do and don't directly impact them. I have heard it said that nations even invade other nations to help save them without being invited. That being said Washington DC is the nations capital and everything that happens in the DC metropolitan area is of vital concern to all Americans. We can't isolate ourselves from the scrutiny of academia for we are in a test tube to be studied and evaluated. Iscalder you are a great cheerleader for the county and many a time have stated absolute superlatives about the county declaring it the best on the east coast or in the nation in certain areas. When you are the best expect others to want to study , understand and articulate.

[kjg1963]

Well said TuborgP. I don't think any forum should be exclusive. Truthhurts has taken an interest in our area. I can't see how this is a negative in any way. He/She is trying to understand an area that apparently is known to them. I'm flattered that our little corner of the world is being discussed by "outsiders."

[lscalder]

Tuborgp: Please find the statement where I mention that Pg county is the best county on the entire east coast. Let me correct you, I have mention that the national Harbor will be one of the best if not the best development on the entire east coast for the simple fact their is nothing like the national harbor on the entire East Coast, which is a fact.

Now I have made statements more then once in which I have told Truthhurts that I do appreciate his/her facts. I love facts. I see you did not learn anything from Truthhurts fact because if did you will see Pg play a hugh role in maryland. Pg county is the second wealthiest county in Maryland so i am proud of that. Now I see you have never made a comment to other posters who have mention how they love their county. Only when i post I love living in Pg county then its an issue. If you take away Pg county, Maryland will no longer be as wealthy. The county will no longer be rank as high as it is rank now. Pg county have the 2nd highest numbers of Affulent families behind Mongomery county. I see people bash the school in Pg county but yet they forget that in every county in Maryland if you are a lower income family living in a lower income area your child will attend one of the lower performance school in that county. My son will attend Mattaponi Elementary school which can compete with the most Affulent area schools in Montgomery county or other surrounding county affulent community school.

Truthhurts: Can you compare Mattaponi Elementary which is a part Marlton in upper marlboro to its compatable affulent areas in other county. So if the average income in Mattaponi is 90k per household can you compare it to other county area school that is also 90k average per household, jsut to make it fair and also other county lower income areas. So people can see its not the county per say its the area. I do like your data and I do believe your data are the truth. I do not know you but I do not think you will change the numbers, I think you will post the data as is. I want to show people that you can live in Pg county and your child can attend an good school and get the same education as the other Affulent children in other county.

[truthhurts]

Here's the school information SchoolMatters

This is all based on test scores for Reading and Math i'll just list the Top 10 in the county and their performance and Location

Reading
1. Whitehall Elementary School, Bowie, MD 90.5%
2. Tulip Grove Elementary School, Bowie, MD 90.3%
3. Heather Hills Elementary School, Bowie, MD 89.5%
4. Glenarden Woods Elementary, Glenarden, MD 88.5%
5. Bond Mill Elementary School, Laurel, MD 85.8%

12. Mattaponi Elementary School Upper Marlboro, MD 82.4%

Math
1. Whitehall Elementary School, Bowie, MD 95.0%
2. Tulip Grove Elementary School, Bowie, MD 90.7%
3. Glenarden Woods Elementary, Glenarden, MD 89.6%
4. Heather Hills Elementary School, Bowie, MD 89.1%
5. Rockledge Elementary School, Bowie, MD 87.7%

15. Mattaponi Elementary School, Upper Marlboro, MD 81.2%

Worst Schools in the Prince George's County
1. Edgar Allan Poe/Shadyside Elementary School, Suitland, MD 21.4% Reading and 22.2% Math
2. Benjamin D. Foulois Elementary School, Morningside, MD 44.6% Reading and 46.5% Math
3. Thomas Claggett Elementary School, District Heights, MD 46.7% Reading and 46.1% Math

Montgomery County Schools

Reading
1.Seven Locks Elementary School, Bethesda, MD 100%
2. Cold Spring Elementary School, Potomac, MD 99.3%
3. Travilah Elementary School, Gaithersburg, MD 99.2%

Math
1. Cold Spring Elementary School, Potomac, MD 99.6%
2. Wayside Elementary School, Potomac, MD 99.4%
3. Bannockburn Elementary School, Bethesda, MD 98.3%

Worst Montgomery County Schools
1. Brookhaven Elementary School, Rockville, MD Reading 67.1% and Math 77.3%
2. Oak View Elementary School, Silver Spring, MD Reading 67.6% and Math 76.0%
3. Twinbrook Elementary School, Rockville, MD Reading 69.1% and Math 73.6%

[emsgoof]

Yay... more test scores that don't tell the whole story of the school...
Whatever happened to parents actually going to the school and meeting the staff to find out if they liked the school or not? Are they that lazy now?