Two paths to magnet program at Richard Montgomery High School
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Anonymous
Huh, then I agree with you. Why would anyone sacrifice to go to this IB program when there are many others in local schools? Also, I can't imagine colleges in Texas and California and Maine really noticing or caring about the difference between RM IB and Einstein IB, for example, when they get tens of thousands of applicants. |
Anonymous
| Question: when applying for colleges, do the local RMIB students get to put RMIB magnet on their college application? |
Anonymous
Yes they do. I attached a link to this thread in the first page. RM-cluster kids enter the "magnet" program in 11th grade and so when they graduate they are also magnet kids. RM administration uses magnet and IB interchangeably - not sure whether on purpose. |
Anonymous
RM and MCPS has not been making this clear on purpose. They want to keep the academically ahead student in the school for magnet fund, test score, academic awards, but does not have the commitment to keep the IB DP at magnet level. In previous years the 11th grade entrants used to be evaluated for qualification. Recently that practice has been dropped. So, there is not much difference between BCC IBDP and RM IBDP except for a few extra IB classes and bragging right (I do not feel that is enough to give up many other things that comes with attending a home school) in college app to say that you are in a magnet program. Local colleges (east coast) used to value RM IB program since the previous magnet coordinator had an excellent outreach with colleges. The new magnet coordinator is too inexperienced to be able to do that in the near term. The new DP coordinator, if she want to do that outreach, will take a few years to establish the connections. Time will tell how colleges will see RM vis-a-vis other IB schools in MCPS. |
Anonymous
Yes. And RMIB is recognized as a rigerous program in top colleges around the country because of their alumni. |
Anonymous
| As a non-RM cluster parent, when DC applied last year we were not informed about the increasing number of students entering the IB diploma program in 11th grade. The informational meetings for out-of-RM cluster parents before we applied strongly emphasized the cohort concept, that RMIB had a highly rigorous application process and was intended for highly gifted students who could not have their needs met at their home school (analogous to special ed students whose needs cannot be met at the home school). The issue is maintaining the integrity of the magnet cohort. It’s fine for 11th graders to decide to apply for the IB diploma, but they should not be considered part of the magnet cohort unless they have gone through the same or similar application process that the out-of-RM cluster students did. If RM had been more transparent about the changes occurring that affect the integrity of the magnet cohort and that thus affect the the degree to which the needs of these highly gifted students are being met, we would have leaned more toward our W school, which is across the street from our home. For us it was about the cohort, not necessarily the reputation of the RMIB program. Out-of-cluster RMIB students, who left their home schools and their friends to come from all over the county, might feel demoralized to find out that, once they are at RM, the RM diploma program (and, more importantly, the cohort) are open to many RM cluster students who express interest as sophomores. Sure, let these students go for the IB diploma (IB is intended for all students), but they shouldn’t be part of the magnet cohort (which is intended for highly gifted stjdents) without the same qualifications. The integrity of the cohort should be kept to meet the academic and social needs of these highly gifted students, whose needs (like those of special ed students) are often different from those of other students. |
Anonymous
| "The integrity of the magnet cohort" must be a fragile thing, if it can be destroyed by having non-magnet students in their classes. |
Anonymous
So you are advocating separate ib classes for non rm students? I can't help but remember similar threads when Blair got a new principal and magnet coordinator..and non magnet kids could take magnet classes. A huge disaster...the end if the magnet.. Don't worry! Your brilliant child will be fine. |
Anonymous
Do you have a magnet student? Do you understand what a magnet cohort means? Are you suggesting we should abolish magnet programs in MCPS? Snide remarks prohibits us from having an educated discussions. |
Anonymous
The difference is that although magnet electives in 11th and 12th grade are open to non magnet students, they can't accommodate more than a couple of these non magnet students. If there is one class on Thermodynamics, magnet students will take up most of those spots and non magnet students are admitted on a space available basis (assuming they have completed the prereqs). I am not sure how it works in RM but it does sound like there is less magnet cohort cohesion in 11th and 12th grade. One issue is that the 9th and 10th grade magnet IB curriculum and expectations are unusually rigorous and these students are entering 11th and 12th grade at a different level of preparation. So yes, I can see that there would be some concern about lower expectations and less rigor if you have less prepared students coming in. The teachers would have to change how they teach. I think there is less support in MCPS for magnet programs in general and the move over time will be for more integration into the regular school. Would agree with previous posters that this will make these programs less attractive for students who give up a lot to attend magnet programs. Some kids spend a couple of hours a day riding buses. My child was up until 2 in the morning finishing up homework- he gets a lot out of these programs but he has also put a lot of himself into them. He has really benefited from the MCPS magnet programs over the years. I encouraged him to apply initially because I thought he needed the additional intellectual challenge. What I did not appreciate at the time was how important the peer group has been for him emotionally and socially. This has been nearly as important as the intellectual and academic benefit he has received over the years. I am very grateful that MCPS was able to meet the needs of my child. He is nearly done with MCPS and I am not too worried about him but I do worry about all the highly gifted kids who need these special programs for all aspects of their personal development. MCPS is a large school system with large populations of special needs students. There is room in such a large system for programs that serve each of these student populations. |
Anonymous
Yes, I have a kid in a magnet program. Yes, I understand what a magnet cohort means. The kids in my kid's magnet program take academic classes with kids in the comprehensive program. Nothing bad has happened yet. You are suggesting that Richard Montgomery have separate IB classes for kids in the comprehensive program and in the magnet program. That's absurd. |
Anonymous
The PP was not suggesting anything you have quoted. The PP is suggesting that magnet IB and non-magnet IB in RM should be separated. Magnet IB always had RM-cluster students selected through application process. If RM/MCPS wants to make IBDP accessible to all RM students (without any restricting qualification process like the magnet students go through), that's a great idea. However, they should not be in the magnet program, since the main reason the magnet students leave their home school to go to RM is to get the focused educational acceleration and enrichment with a cohort of like-need students. The people who are proposing the magnet students being mixed with comprehensive students at RM, should clearly make a case for abolishing magnet program altogether and leave the magnet students in their own local school with the comprehensive students of their own neighborhood. Their should be no facade of a magnet education, if it is not provided in the way it was promised to the students and the parents. |
Anonymous
Which school and which program? |
Anonymous
NP, here. I also have a DC in a magnet program (not RM) but she has two friends at RM in 11th grade. One has expressed frustration at the fairness of letting non-magnet students join the program junior year. And I can understand that from the applicant's perspective. But she also said the regular students who join are highly motivated and capable and in no way change the character of the classes. I don't think the PP's comment is snide, it gets at the crux of the issue. It isn't fair that there's a back door to the program, but it is just. Surely the students who entered in 9th grade receive something in those two years that reward their effort and it would be wrong if local students who've also worked hard are locked out of the advanced classes at their own school. As a parent I'd like to believe I have a broader perspective than a HS student. I'll praise the student who gets into the magnet but I don't want anyone's fate sealed in 8th grade. And this isn't the last time our kids will see this, plenty of students don't step up until college or grad school and that doesn't say anything about their worth. Anyway, what do you hope to accomplish with this anonymous screed a couple days before the open house? Hopefully DCUM posts don't really sway anyone, but if they do, the likely outcome is you just scare off some desirable out-of-boundary applicants leaving more room for local kids to go in the front door. |
Anonymous
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My dd was accepted in RMIB and decided not to attend. From this thread, maybe it was a good choice. But the reason I was encouraging her to join was entirely because of the cohort concept. I liked the idea of a small community of 100 kids in the grade, all of whom she would know well by middle of freshman year. I like the idea that most or all of the kids she was in classes with would be working hard and pushing themselves the way she does. I liked the idea that the strong capabilities of her peers would push her to do even better. She is happy at her home school with middle school friends, but the experience is very different from what I thought the cohort would be.
If the idea of a strong, coherent cohort of very strong students is being lost in this transition, then that's a shame. I'm not sure there's much reason to encourage kids to attend if that's not an important part of the experience-- if the appeal is in the challenge of the courses, alone, most kids can get that with AP and community college classes in their home school, without the commute. |