What are the real facts about MCPS inequities?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And this is one way MCPS keeps going downhill: instead of ALL parents working together for the good of ALL the students, they keep parents fighting for their own school. MCPS likes when we fight against each other instead of pushing them to do better for all students.

Anyone here long enough to remember when Paul Gellar and Melissa McKenna organized the CIP testimony where every cluster coordinator said, "we need to make the pie bigger?" ALL testified for the need for more funds for all, not just "our school needs xxx" and "our school needs yyy" and "our school needs zzz"???

It worked! And ever since it has been back to bickering between schools for scraps - everyone is me, me, me, rather than advocating for all.

The county's demographics have drastically changed over the past few decades. This impacts test score averages but this doesn't mean that opportunities to gain an education are any worse today than 20-30 years ago. As someone who attended MCPS in the early 90s, I feel my kids today are getting a much better education. So I don't buy this myth that things are going downhill. If you want to do well in school and get a first-rate public education, that's possible; however, if you're one of these parents who expects the county to raise your kids then probably not.

I totally agree with the first part of your statement. It is possible to get a quality education in MCPS. Many students do. At the same time, the focus on "equity" as measured by test scores has a detrimental impact on all aspects of public education, which includes the excessive administrative burden placed on teachers, the time spent on test-related issued which takes away from actual learning, and the well-intentioned changes to discipline policies that allow disruptive and sometimes violent students to remain in classrooms. As a result of conditions that are less conducive to the success of all students, the gap as measured by testing is growing, because families with the financial means to fill in gaps in their children's educations will do so, while others fall further behind. Given the demographic changes in the county, the current tests are not a good measure of student progress.

A couple of good points... People seem to be hung up on these obsolete metrics that fail to capture the greater context. I read a lot about these discipline issues here, and although my kids just go to regular DCC schools, we haven't really encountered anything like that personally. Maybe we're just lucky.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:W schools may have more money from boosters and some nicer things for athletics (but it is becoming more even), but take a look at the Wheaton High School matriculation list this year and any jealousy might disappear (it’s pretty amazing — CalTech, a couple MITs, Harvard, Stanford, Harvey Mudd, Swathmore and many more. It is an impressive list).

Super Jealous of Wheaton by looking at the few kids who made it though one can totally overlook the 50% FARMS rate, poor test scores, almost unmeasurable AP participation rate (2%),high dropout and suspension rate. It's a Gem

The AP participation rate at Wheaton High School is 63%

Participation is not the same as passing. Of 425 graduates, 203 graduates (47.8%) achieved a passing score on AP (3+) or IB (4+). Only 71.8% took the SAT (which likely means that 28.2% of the students may not even be applying to colleges).

Even Blair is only at 52% passing (and the only reason it's that high is due to the magnet program there).

If you compare Wheaton and Blair with other High Schools, they achieve about the same AP/IB passing rates of graduating students as Quince Orchard HS.

Whitman 84.0
Wootton 78.4
Churchill 77.9
Poolesville 76.2
BCC 69.6
RM 67.0
QO 55.3
Magruder 46.7

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/regulatoryaccountability/glance/currentyear/schools/04757.pdf
https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/regulatoryaccountability/glance/currentyear/schools/04602.pdf
https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/regulatoryaccountability/glance/currentyear/schools/04427.pdf
https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/regulatoryaccountability/glance/currentyear/schools/04234.pdf
https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/regulatoryaccountability/glance/currentyear/schools/04201.pdf
https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/regulatoryaccountability/glance/currentyear/schools/04406.pdf
https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/regulatoryaccountability/glance/currentyear/schools/04125.pdf
https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/regulatoryaccountability/glance/currentyear/schools/04152.pdf
https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/regulatoryaccountability/glance/currentyear/schools/04510.pdf

DP In a perfect world family income would not determine whether a child goes to college, but it does. I'm not sure why you think it's so terrible to be around kids that aren't going to college. Yes, it's a sign the school might be able to serve those kids better, but the W schools are not doing anything different, they just serve a different population.

It's too bad we can't deeper stats on this. I remember seeing the average SAT by cohort for these schools a while ago and saw that Blair was 60+ over any W for white students which only 25-30 were magnet students of 270 kids that took the SAT. One poster even crunched the numbers and found that even factoring for those students the average SAT was still 30 points above any W for the same cohort. Anyway, this makes me wonder how meaningful these conclusions really are because they're just looking at bulk averages without factoring for SES differences.

MoCo doesn't track cohort by race, it does so by income. Even then it didn't break out the magnet or Cap kids which are upper SES kids plucked from a larger area for being higher SES (for the most part) and good test takers. Then the op only compared the results to whole school rankings at the Ws.

Basically they took the small handful of good test takers shipped into Blair from other schools and compared them to entire schools which were still comparable. That cherry picking doesn't mean what you think it does. And where is your pride for Blair's low scores overall and middling graduations rates? Yes the test takers bussed in do well on tests end up doing well on tests, that is why they are bussed in there so they can raise Blair out of the cellar of the performance metrics, no one is disputing that. But using those few hundred kids out of over 3000 to compare to entire school populations is dumb. Whitman has the highest test scores in all of MoCo, most AP success and college reediness. Blair is towards the bottom of those lists for the county. I get it but you're rationalizing out of inadequacy and it makes Blair parents look desperate and silly.

Based on the data the county published a few years ago the average SAT at Bair for my kid's cohort was 1326 and the magnet average that same year was 1520. The magnet cohort in this demographic group for when this data was published was roughly 10% the size of the larger group. What you're saying may have been true 30 years ago, but these days I'm not all that concerned.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:W schools may have more money from boosters and some nicer things for athletics (but it is becoming more even), but take a look at the Wheaton High School matriculation list this year and any jealousy might disappear (it’s pretty amazing — CalTech, a couple MITs, Harvard, Stanford, Harvey Mudd, Swathmore and many more. It is an impressive list).

Super Jealous of Wheaton by looking at the few kids who made it though one can totally overlook the 50% FARMS rate, poor test scores, almost unmeasurable AP participation rate (2%),high dropout and suspension rate. It's a Gem

Wheaton has a new building, two excellent STEM magnets, and an AP participation rate much higher than 2%.

Yes. For Wheaton's class of '21, 61% took at least one AP exam.

Wheaton also had only 84.4% graduation rate and 10.3% dropout. And yes, only 63.2% met Maryland College entrance requirements. (and it's 76.6% FARMS, not 50%).

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/regulatoryaccountability/glance/currentyear/schools/04782.pdf

Blair has similar stats. 62.9% college ready, 86.1% graduation rate, and an 8.8% dropout rate.

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/regulatoryaccountability/glance/currentyear/schools/04757.pdf

I would cite both schools as examples of what happens when you have an overachiever group or "haves" mixed in with kids that don't see a future in learning Calculus and the have not's. Having brainiac magnet kids doesn't help the 40% aren't even going to make it into college, nor did it help the 10% that check out of school altogether.

This is where MCPS fails the kids. They push the only-college mantra versus trade programs (technical schools, trade schools, small business programs, etc.) for that 40% so at least a kid can make a living. If State social programs had kicked in back in Elementary School, maybe the kids would have a chance, but by Middle School it's a declining academic path for many of them.

Actually, the magnet idea has worked. Some kids attending very elite colleges from Wheaton (HYPS and equivalent) were not in the magnet. They either chose Wheaton in lottery or it was their home school.

not many, stop pretending that is the defining charter of that school body. Look at the college perp levels of Wheaton, most kids don't even go to college let alone elite ones. Its a below avg student outcome school that spends its money on pulling a few motivated kids out of the local culture of mediocracy

DP. I think this is the typical W school parent viewpoint. It will take a while for the previous reputation of Wheaton to change. It is a very different school from what it was even a few years ago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:W schools may have more money from boosters and some nicer things for athletics (but it is becoming more even), but take a look at the Wheaton High School matriculation list this year and any jealousy might disappear (it’s pretty amazing — CalTech, a couple MITs, Harvard, Stanford, Harvey Mudd, Swathmore and many more. It is an impressive list).

Super Jealous of Wheaton by looking at the few kids who made it though one can totally overlook the 50% FARMS rate, poor test scores, almost unmeasurable AP participation rate (2%),high dropout and suspension rate. It's a Gem

Wheaton has a new building, two excellent STEM magnets, and an AP participation rate much higher than 2%.

Yes. For Wheaton's class of '21, 61% took at least one AP exam.

Wheaton also had only 84.4% graduation rate and 10.3% dropout. And yes, only 63.2% met Maryland College entrance requirements. (and it's 76.6% FARMS, not 50%).

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/regulatoryaccountability/glance/currentyear/schools/04782.pdf

Blair has similar stats. 62.9% college ready, 86.1% graduation rate, and an 8.8% dropout rate.

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/regulatoryaccountability/glance/currentyear/schools/04757.pdf

I would cite both schools as examples of what happens when you have an overachiever group or "haves" mixed in with kids that don't see a future in learning Calculus and the have not's. Having brainiac magnet kids doesn't help the 40% aren't even going to make it into college, nor did it help the 10% that check out of school altogether.

This is where MCPS fails the kids. They push the only-college mantra versus trade programs (technical schools, trade schools, small business programs, etc.) for that 40% so at least a kid can make a living. If State social programs had kicked in back in Elementary School, maybe the kids would have a chance, but by Middle School it's a declining academic path for many of them.

Actually, the magnet idea has worked. Some kids attending very elite colleges from Wheaton (HYPS and equivalent) were not in the magnet. They either chose Wheaton in lottery or it was their home school.

not many, stop pretending that is the defining charter of that school body. Look at the college perp levels of Wheaton, most kids don't even go to college let alone elite ones. Its a below avg student outcome school that spends its money on pulling a few motivated kids out of the local culture of mediocracy

DP. I think this is the typical W school parent viewpoint. It will take a while for the previous reputation of Wheaton to change. It is a very different school from what it was even a few years ago.

Sounds about right. I think many feel threatened by change and have trouble accepting it. Wheaton's engineering programs have distinguished themselves at both state and national level. It sounds like a stellar program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:W schools may have more money from boosters and some nicer things for athletics (but it is becoming more even), but take a look at the Wheaton High School matriculation list this year and any jealousy might disappear (it’s pretty amazing — CalTech, a couple MITs, Harvard, Stanford, Harvey Mudd, Swathmore and many more. It is an impressive list).

Super Jealous of Wheaton by looking at the few kids who made it though one can totally overlook the 50% FARMS rate, poor test scores, almost unmeasurable AP participation rate (2%),high dropout and suspension rate. It's a Gem

The AP participation rate at Wheaton High School is 63%

Participation is not the same as passing. Of 425 graduates, 203 graduates (47.8%) achieved a passing score on AP (3+) or IB (4+). Only 71.8% took the SAT (which likely means that 28.2% of the students may not even be applying to colleges).

Even Blair is only at 52% passing (and the only reason it's that high is due to the magnet program there).

If you compare Wheaton and Blair with other High Schools, they achieve about the same AP/IB passing rates of graduating students as Quince Orchard HS.

Whitman 84.0
Wootton 78.4
Churchill 77.9
Poolesville 76.2
BCC 69.6
RM 67.0
QO 55.3
Magruder 46.7

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/regulatoryaccountability/glance/currentyear/schools/04757.pdf
https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/regulatoryaccountability/glance/currentyear/schools/04602.pdf
https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/regulatoryaccountability/glance/currentyear/schools/04427.pdf
https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/regulatoryaccountability/glance/currentyear/schools/04234.pdf
https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/regulatoryaccountability/glance/currentyear/schools/04201.pdf
https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/regulatoryaccountability/glance/currentyear/schools/04406.pdf
https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/regulatoryaccountability/glance/currentyear/schools/04125.pdf
https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/regulatoryaccountability/glance/currentyear/schools/04152.pdf
https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/regulatoryaccountability/glance/currentyear/schools/04510.pdf

DP In a perfect world family income would not determine whether a child goes to college, but it does. I'm not sure why you think it's so terrible to be around kids that aren't going to college. Yes, it's a sign the school might be able to serve those kids better, but the W schools are not doing anything different, they just serve a different population.

It's too bad we can't deeper stats on this. I remember seeing the average SAT by cohort for these schools a while ago and saw that Blair was 60+ over any W for white students which only 25-30 were magnet students of 270 kids that took the SAT. One poster even crunched the numbers and found that even factoring for those students the average SAT was still 30 points above any W for the same cohort. Anyway, this makes me wonder how meaningful these conclusions really are because they're just looking at bulk averages without factoring for SES differences.

MoCo doesn't track cohort by race, it does so by income. Even then it didn't break out the magnet or Cap kids which are upper SES kids plucked from a larger area for being higher SES (for the most part) and good test takers. Then the op only compared the results to whole school rankings at the Ws.

Basically they took the small handful of good test takers shipped into Blair from other schools and compared them to entire schools which were still comparable. That cherry picking doesn't mean what you think it does. And where is your pride for Blair's low scores overall and middling graduations rates? Yes the test takers bussed in do well on tests end up doing well on tests, that is why they are bussed in there so they can raise Blair out of the cellar of the performance metrics, no one is disputing that. But using those few hundred kids out of over 3000 to compare to entire school populations is dumb. Whitman has the highest test scores in all of MoCo, most AP success and college reediness. Blair is towards the bottom of those lists for the county. I get it but you're rationalizing out of inadequacy and it makes Blair parents look desperate and silly.

Based on the data the county published a few years ago the average SAT at Bair for my kid's cohort was 1326 and the magnet average that same year was 1520. The magnet cohort in this demographic group for when this data was published was roughly 10% the size of the larger group. What you're saying may have been true 30 years ago, but these days I'm not all that concerned.

I call BS on this. The official school profile says 72.8% took the SAT and the average school SAT score is 1202 for the 2019 – 2020 school year. https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/regulatoryaccountability/glance/currentyear/schools/04757.pdf

My understanding is that MCPS hasn't released detailed SAT statistics by school since one done for the MCPS Class of 2017: https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED598388.pdf. According to table A6, only 433 of 664 graduates took the SAT (65.2%) with an average score of 1142, so the likelihood that scores jumped +184 points since 2017, and +124 points over covid from 2020-2021 is pretty unlikely.

If you're not a liar, then post the link that proves you're correct.

[Anonymous]

But there is one place where 1326 does appear in this 2017 document. Montgomery Blair WHITE ONLY student total, in Table A8, Page 8.
https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED598388.pdf

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I call BS on this. The official school profile says 72.8% took the SAT and the average school SAT score is 1202 for the 2019 – 2020 school year. https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/regulatoryaccountability/glance/currentyear/schools/04757.pdf

My understanding is that MCPS hasn't released detailed SAT statistics by school since one done for the MCPS Class of 2017: https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED598388.pdf. According to table A6, only 433 of 664 graduates took the SAT (65.2%) with an average score of 1142, so the likelihood that scores jumped +184 points since 2017, and +124 points over covid from 2020-2021 is pretty unlikely.

If you're not a liar, then post the link that proves you're correct.

Here are the detailed stats that were accidentally released a few years ago. You can see on page 8 (16 of the PDF) that white students at Blair averaged 1326 that year. I don't think the magnet has much impact here since it's largely Asian, but sure about 30 of the 250 kids that took the SAT were magnet kids.

https://ww2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/sharedaccountability/reports/2017/1771102HS%20Princ_SAT%20Partic_Perf%20Class%20of%202017.pdf

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I call BS on this. The official school profile says 72.8% took the SAT and the average school SAT score is 1202 for the 2019 – 2020 school year. https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/regulatoryaccountability/glance/currentyear/schools/04757.pdf

My understanding is that MCPS hasn't released detailed SAT statistics by school since one done for the MCPS Class of 2017: https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED598388.pdf. According to table A6, only 433 of 664 graduates took the SAT (65.2%) with an average score of 1142, so the likelihood that scores jumped +184 points since 2017, and +124 points over covid from 2020-2021 is pretty unlikely.

If you're not a liar, then post the link that proves you're correct.

Here are the detailed stats that were accidentally released a few years ago. You can see on page 8 (16 of the PDF) that white students at Blair averaged 1326 that year. I don't think the magnet has much impact here since it's largely Asian, but sure about 30 of the 250 kids that took the SAT were magnet kids.

https://ww2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/sharedaccountability/reports/2017/1771102HS%20Princ_SAT%20Partic_Perf%20Class%20of%202017.pdf

You did say in your kid's cohort so you were telling the truth but the PP already knew about this data so it seems like they were being intentionally obtuse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I call BS on this. The official school profile says 72.8% took the SAT and the average school SAT score is 1202 for the 2019 – 2020 school year. https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/regulatoryaccountability/glance/currentyear/schools/04757.pdf

My understanding is that MCPS hasn't released detailed SAT statistics by school since one done for the MCPS Class of 2017: https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED598388.pdf. According to table A6, only 433 of 664 graduates took the SAT (65.2%) with an average score of 1142, so the likelihood that scores jumped +184 points since 2017, and +124 points over covid from 2020-2021 is pretty unlikely.

If you're not a liar, then post the link that proves you're correct.

Here are the detailed stats that were accidentally released a few years ago. You can see on page 8 (16 of the PDF) that white students at Blair averaged 1326 that year. I don't think the magnet has much impact here since it's largely Asian, but sure about 30 of the 250 kids that took the SAT were magnet kids.

https://ww2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/sharedaccountability/reports/2017/1771102HS%20Princ_SAT%20Partic_Perf%20Class%20of%202017.pdf

You did say in your kid's cohort so you were telling the truth but the PP already knew about this data so it seems like they were being intentionally obtuse.

"in my kid's cohort" does not equal "only white kids attending Blair".

But I did remember this thread. And I think it was more than once? Is this the same poster that misled other readers back in April into thinking Blair had a high average?

04/28/2022 07:58
https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/45/1053928.page

04/29/2022 00:49
https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/75/1053928.page

It was really weird. I think this was also the same person on this thread as well. They were absolutely obsessed with trying to convince people that Blair had great stats.

04/28/2022 07:58
https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/45/1053928.page

My guess is that you're the MCPS cheerleading tag team we see all the time on these threads, right?

Office of Communications contractors? BOE? CO? Who are you working for to post this drivel about Blair? And why are you wasting taxpayer dollars doing it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
DP. I think this is the typical W school parent viewpoint. It will take a while for the previous reputation of Wheaton to change. It is a very different school from what it was even a few years ago.

Sounds about right. I think many feel threatened by change and have trouble accepting it. Wheaton's engineering programs have distinguished themselves at both state and national level. It sounds like a stellar program.

April 26, 2022 - D.C. Police: Van Ness Shooter Previously Attended Wheaton High School
https://www.mymcmedia.org/d-c-police-van-ness-shooter-attended-wheaton-high-school/

January 21st 2022 - Wheaton HS student brings gun to school, 2nd time in 10 days weapon reported there
https://wjla.com/news/local/wheaton-high-school-bb-gun-montgomery-county-police-loaded-handgun-marijuana-backpack-teen-student

January 12, 2022 - Wheaton High School student had loaded gun, marijuana, police say
https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/01/12/wheaton-high-student-gun-marijuana/

February 21, 2020 - Boy arrested for shooting threat at Wheaton high school
https://www.localdvm.com/video/boy-arrested-for-shooting-threat-at-wheaton-high-school/4347474/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is why I applaud the BOE's efforts to analyze cluster boundaries and to bus the W kids away to other schools so that other kids can have these opportunities regardless of where their parents can afford to buy a home.

Don’t you get it? It will never work. Ever. We live in bounds for Whitman and you know what happens if they redistrict and want to bus my kids across town so other kids can “have these opportunities”? We buy a new house in the new in bounds for Whitman. As do all of our friends. Or we go to private. And then all the “extra parent funds” you want will be gone. Guess what? Life isn’t fair. It’s not. Some people have more. My husband works 60-70 hour weeks plus weekends. Does yours? And we paid triple for our house in our neighborhood as it would have cost in yours because of the schools. I wish that the BOE would spend the money doing they’re spending on this stupid redistricting analysis and actually TRY to figure out what to do to help lower performing schools. But if you think all the Whitman parents are just going to wave as their kid gets on a bus across town you’re out of your mind.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is why I applaud the BOE's efforts to analyze cluster boundaries and to bus the W kids away to other schools so that other kids can have these opportunities regardless of where their parents can afford to buy a home.

Don’t you get it? It will never work. Ever. We live in bounds for Whitman and you know what happens if they redistrict and want to bus my kids across town so other kids can “have these opportunities”? We buy a new house in the new in bounds for Whitman. As do all of our friends. Or we go to private. And then all the “extra parent funds” you want will be gone. Guess what? Life isn’t fair. It’s not. Some people have more. My husband works 60-70 hour weeks plus weekends. Does yours? And we paid triple for our house in our neighborhood as it would have cost in yours because of the schools. I wish that the BOE would spend the money doing they’re spending on this stupid redistricting analysis and actually TRY to figure out what to do to help lower performing schools. But if you think all the Whitman parents are just going to wave as their kid gets on a bus across town you’re out of your mind.

The Troll is strong in this one!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is why I applaud the BOE's efforts to analyze cluster boundaries and to bus the W kids away to other schools so that other kids can have these opportunities regardless of where their parents can afford to buy a home.

Don’t you get it? It will never work. Ever. We live in bounds for Whitman and you know what happens if they redistrict and want to bus my kids across town so other kids can “have these opportunities”? We buy a new house in the new in bounds for Whitman. As do all of our friends. Or we go to private. And then all the “extra parent funds” you want will be gone. Guess what? Life isn’t fair. It’s not. Some people have more. My husband works 60-70 hour weeks plus weekends. Does yours? And we paid triple for our house in our neighborhood as it would have cost in yours because of the schools. I wish that the BOE would spend the money doing they’re spending on this stupid redistricting analysis and actually TRY to figure out what to do to help lower performing schools. But if you think all the Whitman parents are just going to wave as their kid gets on a bus across town you’re out of your mind.

The Troll is strong in this one!

I’m not a troll. I am actually a really good person who cares about all children’s education. But I just care about my kids the most. And I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is why I applaud the BOE's efforts to analyze cluster boundaries and to bus the W kids away to other schools so that other kids can have these opportunities regardless of where their parents can afford to buy a home.

Don’t you get it? It will never work. Ever. We live in bounds for Whitman and you know what happens if they redistrict and want to bus my kids across town so other kids can “have these opportunities”? We buy a new house in the new in bounds for Whitman. As do all of our friends. Or we go to private. And then all the “extra parent funds” you want will be gone. Guess what? Life isn’t fair. It’s not. Some people have more. My husband works 60-70 hour weeks plus weekends. Does yours? And we paid triple for our house in our neighborhood as it would have cost in yours because of the schools. I wish that the BOE would spend the money doing they’re spending on this stupid redistricting analysis and actually TRY to figure out what to do to help lower performing schools. But if you think all the Whitman parents are just going to wave as their kid gets on a bus across town you’re out of your mind.

No one is trying to bus Whitman kids across town. Nor is anyone trying to bus kids from across town to Whitman.

[Anonymous]

My kid is supposed to go to to Easten in a few years. Eastern had not been remodeled in 50 years. It's never been the priority for mcps