Initial boundary options for Woodward study area are up

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do all county-based school systems around the country do this? Try to make everything equal among all schools in a county? I mean, technically, the schools are teaching the same curriculum, and in theory, the teachers are no better or worse in certain schools, regardless of demographics. While I understand the concern over having some schools with higher FARMs rates, I don't understand artificially modifying boundaries and forcing kids to travel half way across the county in the name trying to achieve equal demographic and socioeconomic distribution. Kids should go to school in or close to their community. Tilden MS is less than 1/2 mile from Farmland ES, and Woodward is probably a mile away, but you're proposing busing those students 30+ minutes to Parkland and Kennedy to attend school with kids who live no where near them?

They could address some of this by providing enough differential funding to schools with populations of more highly heterogeneous academic need. Enough to ensure that no student's options for classes, extracurriculars, etc., are different at one school than they would be at another. If they start with the assumptions that students of all backgrounds have similar distribution of capability but that there are background-associated needs for differential supports to bring that capability to fruition, the need to ensure certain demographic homogeneity becomes less exigent with that approach (not that diversity should be avoided), and the system can reap cost savings (which can support a portion of the needed funding) & other community benefits associated with geographic proximity.

That would require "rich" schools to accept considerably greater funding differentials than currently exist, however, and, likely, higher tax rates overall both to bring the same breadth & level of non-magnet classes to all schools and to ensure that the burden of teaching to heterogeneous classroom populations is met by a commensurately low student-to-teacher ratio. It better would address the achievement deficit, however, and not just achievement gaps.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I gotta say that, so far, I like how MCPS is sharing info up front, so people can mull it over and consider what it means for them and their community.

Pre-pandemic, the idea of redrawing boundaries generated a lot of anxiety and controversy.

Based on this thread, today, I'd say there is interest and maybe some concern, but not a lot of anxiety or a sense of deep unfairness among most commenters. Maybe that's coming, as one or more options seem like the favored ones, but so far people seem to be taking the prospective changes pretty well.

To be honest, I am anxious. My house is currently zoned WJ. A rezone to Kennedy would have a negative effect on my house value. That makes me very nervous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I gotta say that, so far, I like how MCPS is sharing info up front, so people can mull it over and consider what it means for them and their community.

Pre-pandemic, the idea of redrawing boundaries generated a lot of anxiety and controversy.

Based on this thread, today, I'd say there is interest and maybe some concern, but not a lot of anxiety or a sense of deep unfairness among most commenters. Maybe that's coming, as one or more options seem like the favored ones, but so far people seem to be taking the prospective changes pretty well.

To be honest, I am anxious. My house is currently zoned WJ. A rezone to Kennedy would have a negative effect on my house value. That makes me very nervous.

Respectfully property values cannot and should not be a consideration for MCPS, however.

[Anonymous]

Just reminding everyone that every option is going to have people within walking distance of one school sent to a different school further away, and neighbors on neighboring streets zoned to different schools. That's inevitable due to the geography of where schools are located and the nature of boundaries. It is true of some people now and will be true of different people in different options. The fact that it is true of you personally in one or another of the options does not make that option any worse than the others. Feel free to complain that you personally don't like it, but please try to restrain yourself on the "this is a terrible option because my family happens to be the ones close to X school who have to take a bus somewhere further away."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I gotta say that, so far, I like how MCPS is sharing info up front, so people can mull it over and consider what it means for them and their community.

Pre-pandemic, the idea of redrawing boundaries generated a lot of anxiety and controversy.

Based on this thread, today, I'd say there is interest and maybe some concern, but not a lot of anxiety or a sense of deep unfairness among most commenters. Maybe that's coming, as one or more options seem like the favored ones, but so far people seem to be taking the prospective changes pretty well.

To be honest, I am anxious. My house is currently zoned WJ. A rezone to Kennedy would have a negative effect on my house value. That makes me very nervous.

Respectfully property values cannot and should not be a consideration for MCPS, however.

But they can be a consideration for anyone who wants to get elected/reelected.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I gotta say that, so far, I like how MCPS is sharing info up front, so people can mull it over and consider what it means for them and their community.

Pre-pandemic, the idea of redrawing boundaries generated a lot of anxiety and controversy.

Based on this thread, today, I'd say there is interest and maybe some concern, but not a lot of anxiety or a sense of deep unfairness among most commenters. Maybe that's coming, as one or more options seem like the favored ones, but so far people seem to be taking the prospective changes pretty well.

To be honest, I am anxious. My house is currently zoned WJ. A rezone to Kennedy would have a negative effect on my house value. That makes me very nervous.

Respectfully property values cannot and should not be a consideration for MCPS, however.

But they can be a consideration for anyone who wants to get elected/reelected.

Ugh

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I gotta say that, so far, I like how MCPS is sharing info up front, so people can mull it over and consider what it means for them and their community.

Pre-pandemic, the idea of redrawing boundaries generated a lot of anxiety and controversy.

Based on this thread, today, I'd say there is interest and maybe some concern, but not a lot of anxiety or a sense of deep unfairness among most commenters. Maybe that's coming, as one or more options seem like the favored ones, but so far people seem to be taking the prospective changes pretty well.

To be honest, I am anxious. My house is currently zoned WJ. A rezone to Kennedy would have a negative effect on my house value. That makes me very nervous.

Respectfully property values cannot and should not be a consideration for MCPS, however.

But they can be a consideration for anyone who wants to get elected/reelected.

Exactly. Not clear that even left wing voters want their kids to be the subject of ill-thought out utopian social engineering experiments.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I gotta say that, so far, I like how MCPS is sharing info up front, so people can mull it over and consider what it means for them and their community.

Pre-pandemic, the idea of redrawing boundaries generated a lot of anxiety and controversy.

Based on this thread, today, I'd say there is interest and maybe some concern, but not a lot of anxiety or a sense of deep unfairness among most commenters. Maybe that's coming, as one or more options seem like the favored ones, but so far people seem to be taking the prospective changes pretty well.

To be honest, I am anxious. My house is currently zoned WJ. A rezone to Kennedy would have a negative effect on my house value. That makes me very nervous.

Respectfully property values cannot and should not be a consideration for MCPS, however.

But they can be a consideration for anyone who wants to get elected/reelected.

Exactly. Not clear that even left wing voters want their kids to be the subject of ill-thought out utopian social engineering experiments.

It'll expose the hypocrisy of the DEI crowd. All for it until "their" house gets rezoned so their kids have to go to school with the poors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I cannot make heads or tails of these options. Clearly need to get to one of the boundary meetings cause it's hard to see the before and after of each option.

The interactive map is actually really helpful once you get the hang of it. You can put up the layer for current HS or MS boundaries and then toggle each of the new options on and off one by one. You can also click on any address and it will tell you the MS and HS for all 4 options: https://maulfoster.maps.arcgis.com/apps/instant/basic/index.html?appid=03a8d9fa2f3e4d30938bd4868af3d0cc

Ok. Thank you! This helped.

Option 3 has some wild consequences, particularly for Kennedy. How on earth would MCPS explain the logic of that boundary?

Kennedy is the weakest dcc school. You can lottery to another school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I gotta say that, so far, I like how MCPS is sharing info up front, so people can mull it over and consider what it means for them and their community.

Pre-pandemic, the idea of redrawing boundaries generated a lot of anxiety and controversy.

Based on this thread, today, I'd say there is interest and maybe some concern, but not a lot of anxiety or a sense of deep unfairness among most commenters. Maybe that's coming, as one or more options seem like the favored ones, but so far people seem to be taking the prospective changes pretty well.

To be honest, I am anxious. My house is currently zoned WJ. A rezone to Kennedy would have a negative effect on my house value. That makes me very nervous.

Respectfully property values cannot and should not be a consideration for MCPS, however.

But they can be a consideration for anyone who wants to get elected/reelected.

Exactly. Not clear that even left wing voters want their kids to be the subject of ill-thought out utopian social engineering experiments.

This is such a wild description of "having kids go to a different high school."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I cannot make heads or tails of these options. Clearly need to get to one of the boundary meetings cause it's hard to see the before and after of each option.

The interactive map is actually really helpful once you get the hang of it. You can put up the layer for current HS or MS boundaries and then toggle each of the new options on and off one by one. You can also click on any address and it will tell you the MS and HS for all 4 options: https://maulfoster.maps.arcgis.com/apps/instant/basic/index.html?appid=03a8d9fa2f3e4d30938bd4868af3d0cc

Ok. Thank you! This helped.

Option 3 has some wild consequences, particularly for Kennedy. How on earth would MCPS explain the logic of that boundary?

Kennedy is the weakest dcc school. You can lottery to another school.

If you're looking to provide feedback, ask MCPS if they have run the budget impact on busing and the costs of Option 3, not to mention impact on after school activities due to longer commutes and higher likely congestion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just reminding everyone that every option is going to have people within walking distance of one school sent to a different school further away, and neighbors on neighboring streets zoned to different schools. That's inevitable due to the geography of where schools are located and the nature of boundaries. It is true of some people now and will be true of different people in different options. The fact that it is true of you personally in one or another of the options does not make that option any worse than the others. Feel free to complain that you personally don't like it, but please try to restrain yourself on the "this is a terrible option because my family happens to be the ones close to X school who have to take a bus somewhere further away."

Option 3 disregards the walk zones though. And that is supposed to be a factor. It also leaves several schools overpopulated and some underpopulated.

[Anonymous]

Cool, cool. None of these options changes where we’re zoned so I guess I go by who my kids classmates will be…/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Cool, cool. None of these options changes where we’re zoned so I guess I go by who my kids classmates will be…/

What neighborhood are you in?

[Anonymous]

It wouldn’t ignore Walkzone for TOK. They would be going to Einstein instead of WJ. Einstein is much closer than WJ.