MCPS parents share thoughts ahead of first day of school

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. (DC News Now) – Tuesday marks Montgomery County Public Schools’ (MCPS) first day back at school, and both students and parents are getting prepared for the big day.

Parents DC News Now spoke with Monday said they’re feeling good as they gear up for another school year — but along with that optimism, they still have some concerns.

“We have two children,” MCPS parent Dan Maisel said. “They are rising second graders.”

Dan and Natalie Maisel’s children will be starting at Wyngate Elementary School on Tuesday after switching from Ashburton Elementary School.

“We’re feeling pretty good going into a class size of 20 or 21 after we were at Ashburton for the last two years, and it was 27, 28, maybe even 29 kids per class,” Dan Maisel said.

The Maisels say though they are optimistic, they still have concerns after they say one of their children wasn’t adequately supported at her previous school.

“I was nervous,” Natalie Maisel said, “and I would not have felt good about sending my child back to MCPS if we didn’t have this move.”

Rami Kandel’s daughter is a rising junior at Winston Churchill High School.

“We’re all very excited,” Kandel said. “Time to get back to work, back to a routine, all that good stuff.”

Kandel says there’s still a lot of work that must be done within MCPS, but he’s confident the right leader is at the helm.

“I’m an optimistic person in general,” he said, “and I’m cautiously optimistic that Dr. Taylor has the school system headed in the right direction.”

Kandel says that though many changes need to be made, it’s imperative that MCPS doesn’t lose focus on the main goal for this school year.

“Get them ready,” he said, “Make sure they have a good fundamental base so when they go into the working world or they go into college, they’re really ready to roll.”