Is the quality of the Blair Magnet Program going down?

[Anonymous]

Not the pp but there is a correlation between "diversity" and crime but so what that's not what we are arguing here. Why let him/her put up this straw man for you all to waste time slaying

[Anonymous]

Is the correlation or association more robust between SES and crime? What is the definition of crime? Blue vs white collar?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is the correlation or association more robust between SES and crime? What is the definition of crime? Blue vs white collar?

Yes, it has more to do with income and education than race.

Poolesville has its share of burglaries and thefts. It's not like it's a crime free oasis or something.

[Anonymous]

To pull this thread back to its original question. Yes, the Blair principal left after ~4 years and a new one came in around June 2011. She is the old TPMS principal.

Yes, the number of Blair Intel semifinalists has been declining. make of it what you will.

The Poolesville environment and program is very different from the Blair program. You can visit the schools soon as they will be hosting open houses for their programs.

IMO one is much more conducive to learning. Then again, it may be a matter of taste.

I found the visits helpful and one school won hands down.

[Anonymous]

Realistically, though, who can move around the county so easily to pick which magnet their kids "might" be able to attend? What's the acceptance rate at each, anyway? I thought both were very hard to get into.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Realistically, though, who can move around the county so easily to pick which magnet their kids "might" be able to attend? What's the acceptance rate at each, anyway? I thought both were very hard to get into.

You don't have to move around. MCPS will move you around to certain programs.

Yes, they are hard to get into and benefit only certain kids. The local high school can often accommodate a child better. It is all a matter of best fit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Realistically, though, who can move around the county so easily to pick which magnet their kids "might" be able to attend? What's the acceptance rate at each, anyway? I thought both were very hard to get into.

You don't have to move around. MCPS will move you around to certain programs.

Yes, they are hard to get into and benefit only certain kids. The local high school can often accommodate a child better. It is all a matter of best fit.

I don't understand though. I thought you have to live upcounty to get into Poolesville STEM and down county to go to Blair. Are you saying a kid living in Silver Spring can somehow get into Poolesville?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Realistically, though, who can move around the county so easily to pick which magnet their kids "might" be able to attend? What's the acceptance rate at each, anyway? I thought both were very hard to get into.

You don't have to move around. MCPS will move you around to certain programs.

Yes, they are hard to get into and benefit only certain kids. The local high school can often accommodate a child better. It is all a matter of best fit.

I don't understand though. I thought you have to live upcounty to get into Poolesville STEM and down county to go to Blair. Are you saying a kid living in Silver Spring can somehow get into Poolesville?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Realistically, though, who can move around the county so easily to pick which magnet their kids "might" be able to attend? What's the acceptance rate at each, anyway? I thought both were very hard to get into.

You don't have to move around. MCPS will move you around to certain programs.

Yes, they are hard to get into and benefit only certain kids. The local high school can often accommodate a child better. It is all a matter of best fit.

I don't understand though. I thought you have to live upcounty to get into Poolesville STEM and down county to go to Blair. Are you saying a kid living in Silver Spring can somehow get into Poolesville?

Only into the Poolesville Global Ecology Program. Not into their other programs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Realistically, though, who can move around the county so easily to pick which magnet their kids "might" be able to attend? What's the acceptance rate at each, anyway? I thought both were very hard to get into.

You don't have to move around. MCPS will move you around to certain programs.

Yes, they are hard to get into and benefit only certain kids. The local high school can often accommodate a child better. It is all a matter of best fit.

I don't understand though. I thought you have to live upcounty to get into Poolesville STEM and down county to go to Blair. Are you saying a kid living in Silver Spring can somehow get into Poolesville?

From MCPS: The Global Ecology House is open to applicants from any high school cluster in the county. To be eligible, students must be enrolled in Algebra 1 or higher by Grade 8. Same for the Blair Magnet and I think the RM IB program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Realistically, though, who can move around the county so easily to pick which magnet their kids "might" be able to attend? What's the acceptance rate at each, anyway? I thought both were very hard to get into.

You don't have to move around. MCPS will move you around to certain programs.

Yes, they are hard to get into and benefit only certain kids. The local high school can often accommodate a child better. It is all a matter of best fit.

I don't understand though. I thought you have to live upcounty to get into Poolesville STEM and down county to go to Blair. Are you saying a kid living in Silver Spring can somehow get into Poolesville?

From MCPS: The Global Ecology House is open to applicants from any high school cluster in the county. To be eligible, students must be enrolled in Algebra 1 or higher by Grade 8. Same for the Blair Magnet and I think the RM IB program.

No its not the same for the Blair magnet... from MCPS website:

To apply to the Blair program, students must live in one of the following high school clusters:

Bethesda-Chevy Chase
Winston Churchill
Walter Johnson
Richard Montgomery
Rockville
Sherwood
Walt Whitman
Thomas S. Wootton
Northeast Consortium
Downcounty Consortium

To apply for the Science, Mathematics, Computer Science House at Poolesville High School, students must live in one of the following high school clusters:

Clarksburg
Damascus
Gaithersburg
Magruder
Northwest
Poolesville
Quince Orchard
Seneca Valley
Watkins Mill

[Anonymous]

Thank you, 13:35. Maybe now we can put this pointless thread to rest.

[Anonymous]

So basically what used to be a county wide magnet is now drawing from a smaller pool of potential students (mitigated by the population growth in the county of course). So it's not surprising that stats like the number of Intel semifinalists at Blair is lower since the students who historically would have been at Blair are now in two different programs.

But even that metric is questionable without a little more research. Even adding up the the two schools the number of semifinalists appear to be dropping a bit. Is this a real trend or a 1-2 year thing? What do the numbers look like on a county wide basis? Has the concentration shifted to other parts of the US? Is it because there are now STEM programs in other parts of the US where none existed before? Are smart kids choosing not to go to magnet programs but stay in their home schools as some of the regular high schools get stronger (e.g., BCC).

Another factor may be that by expanding the program to more kids it's diluted the strength a bit. Are the top 200 as smart as the top 100? Maybe they are.

I think most of this "discussion", setting aside the totally OT parts about crime, has been superficial. OP stated a claim, but has no thoughtful facts to back up her claim. OP, time to do a bit more research.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So basically what used to be a county wide magnet is now drawing from a smaller pool of potential students (mitigated by the population growth in the county of course). So it's not surprising that stats like the number of Intel semifinalists at Blair is lower since the students who historically would have been at Blair are now in two different programs.

But even that metric is questionable without a little more research. Even adding up the the two schools the number of semifinalists appear to be dropping a bit. Is this a real trend or a 1-2 year thing? What do the numbers look like on a county wide basis? Has the concentration shifted to other parts of the US? Is it because there are now STEM programs in other parts of the US where none existed before? Are smart kids choosing not to go to magnet programs but stay in their home schools as some of the regular high schools get stronger (e.g., BCC).

Another factor may be that by expanding the program to more kids it's diluted the strength a bit. Are the top 200 as smart as the top 100? Maybe they are.

I think most of this "discussion", setting aside the totally OT parts about crime, has been superficial. OP stated a claim, but has no thoughtful facts to back up her claim. OP, time to do a bit more research.

Wow, a poster who offers some actual insight and raises some good questions. This can't be the same thread.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So basically what used to be a county wide magnet is now drawing from a smaller pool of potential students (mitigated by the population growth in the county of course). So it's not surprising that stats like the number of Intel semifinalists at Blair is lower since the students who historically would have been at Blair are now in two different programs.

But even that metric is questionable without a little more research. Even adding up the the two schools the number of semifinalists appear to be dropping a bit. Is this a real trend or a 1-2 year thing? What do the numbers look like on a county wide basis? Has the concentration shifted to other parts of the US? Is it because there are now STEM programs in other parts of the US where none existed before? Are smart kids choosing not to go to magnet programs but stay in their home schools as some of the regular high schools get stronger (e.g., BCC).

Another factor may be that by expanding the program to more kids it's diluted the strength a bit. Are the top 200 as smart as the top 100? Maybe they are.

I think most of this "discussion", setting aside the totally OT parts about crime, has been superficial. OP stated a claim, but has no thoughtful facts to back up her claim. OP, time to do a bit more research.

Don't wish to compare the two programs.

But ... the argument you put forward has flaws. Not the least of which is that the Blair numbers have been going down while Poolesville has been in existence. Is it a short term trend or not? Hard to tell at this stage. One thing is for sure--you can visit both programs and decide which offers the best option to your child. End story. No need to put each other down.