TPMS Magnet Program Considerations in the Boundary Study

[Anonymous]

My understanding is that the SMAC program at Blair will continue, with eligibility narrowed based on student location. Would a similar change be expected for the TPMS Magnet program?

[Anonymous]

They have not made any decisions to change middle school programming at this stage.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My understanding is that the SMAC program at Blair will continue, with eligibility narrowed based on student location. Would a similar change be expected for the TPMS Magnet program?

Middle school programs will be considered next year. However, take a look at boundary options E, F, and G. You can see how MCPS delineated students who will be considered out of boundary once the new regions are formally approved. The handwriting is on the wall for the middle school magnet programs - they will follow the currently proposed construct of the high school magnet programs.

The key will be to ensure that there is a large enough allowed number of future magnet students to preserve the curriculum.

[Anonymous]

I think MS magnet will be just replicate the current TP/Eastern to all of the six regions. The question is that which MSs in the six regions get it...

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My understanding is that the SMAC program at Blair will continue, with eligibility narrowed based on student location. Would a similar change be expected for the TPMS Magnet program?

Middle school programs will be considered next year. However, take a look at boundary options E, F, and G. You can see how MCPS delineated students who will be considered out of boundary once the new regions are formally approved. The handwriting is on the wall for the middle school magnet programs - they will follow the currently proposed construct of the high school magnet programs.

The key will be to ensure that there is a large enough allowed number of future magnet students to preserve the curriculum.

[Anonymous]

My guess is they will get rid of middle school magnets (and middle school immersion) entirely in 2027, unless the MSDE math mandate gets repealed. MCPS has already said that this change is why they are waiting on making decisions about changes to MS magnet programs.

If MSDE goes ahead with its current plan to require all middle school math classes to be 60 minutes a day, middle schools will have to switch to a 6 period schedule, with only one elective. I think it will be a hard sell to kids to have to fill their only elective spot with a mandatory magnet class and have zero choice of electives until they get to high school, including no music or foreign language in middle school.

Maybe there will still be some kids who will want to do it and so they'll keep magnets going, but frankly I think MCPS would love to have an excuse like this to end them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My guess is they will get rid of middle school magnets (and middle school immersion) entirely in 2027, unless the MSDE math mandate gets repealed. MCPS has already said that this change is why they are waiting on making decisions about changes to MS magnet programs.

If MSDE goes ahead with its current plan to require all middle school math classes to be 60 minutes a day, middle schools will have to switch to a 6 period schedule, with only one elective. I think it will be a hard sell to kids to have to fill their only elective spot with a mandatory magnet class and have zero choice of electives until they get to high school, including no music or foreign language in middle school.

Maybe there will still be some kids who will want to do it and so they'll keep magnets going, but frankly I think MCPS would love to have an excuse like this to end them.

I agree that they would love the excuse to end them, and I would support it myself. I hate paying so much money for my kids’ academic peers to be shipped somewhere else, leaving my kids with a smaller cohort in the home school. So stupid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My guess is they will get rid of middle school magnets (and middle school immersion) entirely in 2027, unless the MSDE math mandate gets repealed. MCPS has already said that this change is why they are waiting on making decisions about changes to MS magnet programs.

If MSDE goes ahead with its current plan to require all middle school math classes to be 60 minutes a day, middle schools will have to switch to a 6 period schedule, with only one elective. I think it will be a hard sell to kids to have to fill their only elective spot with a mandatory magnet class and have zero choice of electives until they get to high school, including no music or foreign language in middle school.

Maybe there will still be some kids who will want to do it and so they'll keep magnets going, but frankly I think MCPS would love to have an excuse like this to end them.

I agree that they would love the excuse to end them, and I would support it myself. I hate paying so much money for my kids’ academic peers to be shipped somewhere else, leaving my kids with a smaller cohort in the home school. So stupid.

But there aren't actually "cohorts" in the home school anyway (except for math), so does it even really matter?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My guess is they will get rid of middle school magnets (and middle school immersion) entirely in 2027, unless the MSDE math mandate gets repealed. MCPS has already said that this change is why they are waiting on making decisions about changes to MS magnet programs.

If MSDE goes ahead with its current plan to require all middle school math classes to be 60 minutes a day, middle schools will have to switch to a 6 period schedule, with only one elective. I think it will be a hard sell to kids to have to fill their only elective spot with a mandatory magnet class and have zero choice of electives until they get to high school, including no music or foreign language in middle school.

Maybe there will still be some kids who will want to do it and so they'll keep magnets going, but frankly I think MCPS would love to have an excuse like this to end them.

I agree that they would love the excuse to end them, and I would support it myself. I hate paying so much money for my kids’ academic peers to be shipped somewhere else, leaving my kids with a smaller cohort in the home school. So stupid.

But there aren't actually "cohorts" in the home school anyway (except for math), so does it even really matter?

I think because there is no ability grouping in MS other than math, the impact on the strong kids left behind (who qualified but either didn't win the lottery or want to do the commute) could be greater if a significant number of kids leave for a magnet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My guess is they will get rid of middle school magnets (and middle school immersion) entirely in 2027, unless the MSDE math mandate gets repealed. MCPS has already said that this change is why they are waiting on making decisions about changes to MS magnet programs.

If MSDE goes ahead with its current plan to require all middle school math classes to be 60 minutes a day, middle schools will have to switch to a 6 period schedule, with only one elective. I think it will be a hard sell to kids to have to fill their only elective spot with a mandatory magnet class and have zero choice of electives until they get to high school, including no music or foreign language in middle school.

Maybe there will still be some kids who will want to do it and so they'll keep magnets going, but frankly I think MCPS would love to have an excuse like this to end them.

I agree that they would love the excuse to end them, and I would support it myself. I hate paying so much money for my kids’ academic peers to be shipped somewhere else, leaving my kids with a smaller cohort in the home school. So stupid.

Here is something to really hate: having your kids attend a school with lower academic outcomes, because that plays out in a myriad of ways.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My understanding is that the SMAC program at Blair will continue, with eligibility narrowed based on student location. Would a similar change be expected for the TPMS Magnet program?

It will be converted to a regional STEM magnet. If it was going to be the same program they would not have changed the name.