Is t this just going to overcrowd Whitman? Since zero will leave and 400 join? |
It depends, will 400 families be willing to make the commute work? |
Both PPs are right. Remember too that they said the current 8th graders get to be grandfathered into their magnet programs, so there won't be any "savings" for the next couple years while the current magnet students finish their existing programs. Any new routes will be exactly that. New routes on top of the existing routes. |
There are people on the design team who have been trying so hard to push back by asking questions—not to stop the expansion of programs, but to try to do the expansion in a way that minimized some of the potential for increased inequities—and first they had an NDA and then they were characterized by a BOE member as not wanting things to improve for Black and Latino students. And now look at the result of the work. Uneven program offerings (design team warned about that), lack of transportation (design team warned about that), no real analysis of program demand (design team warned about that), and half the programs only exist because of random “industry” credentials that MCPS students don’t have a history of wanting to earn. |
Well and the current system doesn’t even give great coverage. Everyone I know drives their kid in the morning because the pick up point is at like 6:15 am in the opposite direction of where the school is. Heaven forbid they actually ask families what stops would be most convenient and designed efficient routes rather than just picking at random and hoping for the best. |
MCPS doesn't actually care about equity. So many of the decisions related to this program model reinforce the higher existing hierarchy. Motivated, resourced parents who are otherwise stuck at poor performing schools will us the programs to flee to better schools and they'll happily take on the burden of transporting their kids there to escape. |
So how is this different than current programs. If the high school "kid" doesn't make an effort, they don't receive extra services. That does not make it "inequitable." And you are forgetting that under the regional model, EVERY high school will have a special program, so the ones who "don't want to bother" with transportation can apply to their own school's program. |
Currently kids have long commutes, but they don't have to walk over an hour just to get to the bus that will take them to the program. For many kids this won't just be extra effort, it will make participating in the program they are interested in impossible. The kids who don't have families that can drive them will be disproportionately Black and Latino. Also quite likely the most motivated and well resourced students will flee high poverty schools for the wealthy schools leaving less demand for challenging courses at the high poverty schools. The motivated but less resourced students at the high poverty schools will lose out. |
So the kid with interest in STEM should apply for fashion design at the home school? |
As I said before: They claim the reason they're shaking everything up and spending millions of dollars on this new structure is to make it accessible to all students. If that's what you're going for, you can't just say "figure the transportation out yourself." (If you are going to say "figure it out yourself" and not care how many families that leaves behind, then you should just leave the current system the way it is. Turning everything upside-down and spending tons of money and energy, just to create a different but even more inaccessible system, is the worst of all worlds.) |
You are conveniently forgetting why these 6 regional magnets were created - to make it accessible for everyone. How is accessible if the parents have to drive them? |
So true. I forgot that part. If they decided to get these kids early to school, it means everyone in the neighborhood has to go earlier and as it is we start high school early when LCPS starts high school at 9am since kids stay up later in high school. Another scenario with Damascus HS and Laytonsville ES: Laytonsville ES to Damascus HS: 8.5 miles Damascus HS to Poolesville HS: 18 miles Laytonsville ES to Poolesville HS: 22 miles So instead of going directly to Poolesville which is 22 miles away, kid will travel 8.5 miles Damascus and then another 18.5 miles to Poolesville. I wonder how long that would take in these back roads with traffic. And this is also why Damascus should not be in Region 6. It does not even make sense. Similarly, Magruder kids coming to QO. I'm only mentioning schools that I know up county. I'm sure there are similar situations down county. How is it going to be possible if only high school stops are provided? Have they really thought this through? They need to have the transportation logistics in place before implementing it even if it means postponing by a year. Why the rush? |
| The whole regional model is deeply stupid. I am so glad that my youngest will be out of McPS by 2029. I assume that she won’t be greatly impacted because they won’t be able to do much with juniors/seniors and at that point she’ll just be taking AP and DE classes. I really am astounded that they are moving forward with such a radical change that seems deeply unpopular and does not seem well thought through. It took them a decade to get the plan in place and implemented just to add Woodward but they are gojng to throw this regional model together in a year? It’s insanity. |
No, they have been too busy creating endless powerpoint presentations with fake numbers |
If so they will predominantly be from BCC. The 3 DCC schools are quite far from Whitman. |