Blair CAP

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Leaving because the workload is too much is different than a change in the program’s overall quality.

I hope you are right. We had done a CAP visit a few years back and thought there was much more focus on academics then. We just kept hearing about safe spaces, POC, and accommodations which is great but much less about what exactly in the approach to teaching and learning - except in one session. I just hope it is a style and not substance issue, because I really like the concept of a rigorous program that promotes critical thinking.

The assumption is that a test-in magnet will be rigorous and challenging. I can see how they'd want to reassure kids and families that it's also a program that's welcoming and accessible to every student who is accepted—which is not something that can necessarily be taken for granted.

I asked the English teacher in the CAP program a few years back if they read literature, and got a lecture from a white lady about how she made sure to have them read books written by black/indigenous people of color and unrecognized minorities.

Interesting as CAP is very heavily dominated by white upper middle class families from Takoma Park.

And we were one of those families. I actually don't have a problem with the source material, just the pious delivery, like we needed enlightenment. It also wasn't the answer to my question: do they read literature?

Yes.

Side note: why do you think the CAP program is so heavily TKPK UMC families, and, for example, the magnet isn’t?

Well, CAP is limited to kids who live in the DCC and those who attended Eastern. So, geographically, it is going to be predominantly TKPK and Silver Spring families because the admissions are limited to those groups. Blair SMCS is a whole-county admissions process, so it will attract more kids from outside the DCC.

Both groups are largely MC/UMC, but one has limited geographic admissions and the other does not.

That doesn’t explain why one is predominantly white and the other isn’t.

That wasn't the question, though. The question was why is one predominantly pulling from Takoma Park and Silver Spring, and the answer is that admissions are limited by geography.

In terms of race, I haven't seen a breakdown of each program in years (since the Metis report) but it's obvious that Blair magnet as more Asian American kids than Blair CAP. Blair CAP has more Black and Hispanic kids than Blair magnet.

Again, a geographic explanation carries some weight. As noted, Blair magnet is county-wide and Blair CAP is DCC only. If you look at p.9 here, you'll see that the area that makes up the DCC has the lowest concentration of AAPI families in the county. https://mcatlas.org/filetransfer/Storymaps/Trends%20in%20Racial%20and%20Ethnic%20Diversity%20STORYMAP.pdf

So, the program that is limited to a certain geographic area also has fewer kids who are a very small minority in that geographic area. There's no conspiracy here.

Correcting myself to note that Blair SMCS is not county-wide, but the parts of the county that do feed into Blair SMCS have a higher concentration of AAPI families than the parts that feed into CAP.

At any rate, white and AAPI kids make up the majority of both programs. One has more AAPI kids, one has more Black/Hispanic kids. Hopefully everyone feels comfortable inside their own skin in either program.

Not true. Blair magnet has very few white kids. Less than 20 percent. Also has a good number of black kids. Of the Asian kids, a significant number are Indian. CAP is almost entirely white, by contrast.

Blair magnet has plenty of white kids with many of them Eastern European or Russian. The rest is pretty accurate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Leaving because the workload is too much is different than a change in the program’s overall quality.

I hope you are right. We had done a CAP visit a few years back and thought there was much more focus on academics then. We just kept hearing about safe spaces, POC, and accommodations which is great but much less about what exactly in the approach to teaching and learning - except in one session. I just hope it is a style and not substance issue, because I really like the concept of a rigorous program that promotes critical thinking.

The assumption is that a test-in magnet will be rigorous and challenging. I can see how they'd want to reassure kids and families that it's also a program that's welcoming and accessible to every student who is accepted—which is not something that can necessarily be taken for granted.

I asked the English teacher in the CAP program a few years back if they read literature, and got a lecture from a white lady about how she made sure to have them read books written by black/indigenous people of color and unrecognized minorities.

Interesting as CAP is very heavily dominated by white upper middle class families from Takoma Park.

And we were one of those families. I actually don't have a problem with the source material, just the pious delivery, like we needed enlightenment. It also wasn't the answer to my question: do they read literature?

Yes.

Side note: why do you think the CAP program is so heavily TKPK UMC families, and, for example, the magnet isn’t?

Well, CAP is limited to kids who live in the DCC and those who attended Eastern. So, geographically, it is going to be predominantly TKPK and Silver Spring families because the admissions are limited to those groups. Blair SMCS is a whole-county admissions process, so it will attract more kids from outside the DCC.

Both groups are largely MC/UMC, but one has limited geographic admissions and the other does not.

That doesn’t explain why one is predominantly white and the other isn’t.

That wasn't the question, though. The question was why is one predominantly pulling from Takoma Park and Silver Spring, and the answer is that admissions are limited by geography.

In terms of race, I haven't seen a breakdown of each program in years (since the Metis report) but it's obvious that Blair magnet as more Asian American kids than Blair CAP. Blair CAP has more Black and Hispanic kids than Blair magnet.

Again, a geographic explanation carries some weight. As noted, Blair magnet is county-wide and Blair CAP is DCC only. If you look at p.9 here, you'll see that the area that makes up the DCC has the lowest concentration of AAPI families in the county. https://mcatlas.org/filetransfer/Storymaps/Trends%20in%20Racial%20and%20Ethnic%20Diversity%20STORYMAP.pdf

So, the program that is limited to a certain geographic area also has fewer kids who are a very small minority in that geographic area. There's no conspiracy here.

It's more complicated than that. The catchment area for CAP is the DCC and the DCC has a huge percentage of Hispanic students many of whom are English language learners are presumably might find it more difficult to be eligible for a humanities program due to the language issue. There are also a lot of kids who decide that they will go a career path and those students tend to be from poorer areas and non-white. If you remove those kids from the pool of eligible students you're really mostly left with UMC white kids from the wealthier areas including Takoma Park.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a 9th grader in CAP and would disagree that they have “very little” homework. My CAP student has History and/or English at least 3x week plus work on larger group projects.

How many hours/day or per week do you think they spend on homework on average in 9th grade CAP? I know this will vary but trying to get a sense of whether it’s typically an hour or two or more like all evening..

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Leaving because the workload is too much is different than a change in the program’s overall quality.

I hope you are right. We had done a CAP visit a few years back and thought there was much more focus on academics then. We just kept hearing about safe spaces, POC, and accommodations which is great but much less about what exactly in the approach to teaching and learning - except in one session. I just hope it is a style and not substance issue, because I really like the concept of a rigorous program that promotes critical thinking.

The assumption is that a test-in magnet will be rigorous and challenging. I can see how they'd want to reassure kids and families that it's also a program that's welcoming and accessible to every student who is accepted—which is not something that can necessarily be taken for granted.

I asked the English teacher in the CAP program a few years back if they read literature, and got a lecture from a white lady about how she made sure to have them read books written by black/indigenous people of color and unrecognized minorities.

Interesting as CAP is very heavily dominated by white upper middle class families from Takoma Park.

And we were one of those families. I actually don't have a problem with the source material, just the pious delivery, like we needed enlightenment. It also wasn't the answer to my question: do they read literature?

Yes.

Side note: why do you think the CAP program is so heavily TKPK UMC families, and, for example, the magnet isn’t?

Well, CAP is limited to kids who live in the DCC and those who attended Eastern. So, geographically, it is going to be predominantly TKPK and Silver Spring families because the admissions are limited to those groups. Blair SMCS is a whole-county admissions process, so it will attract more kids from outside the DCC.

Both groups are largely MC/UMC, but one has limited geographic admissions and the other does not.

That doesn’t explain why one is predominantly white and the other isn’t.

That wasn't the question, though. The question was why is one predominantly pulling from Takoma Park and Silver Spring, and the answer is that admissions are limited by geography.

In terms of race, I haven't seen a breakdown of each program in years (since the Metis report) but it's obvious that Blair magnet as more Asian American kids than Blair CAP. Blair CAP has more Black and Hispanic kids than Blair magnet.

Again, a geographic explanation carries some weight. As noted, Blair magnet is county-wide and Blair CAP is DCC only. If you look at p.9 here, you'll see that the area that makes up the DCC has the lowest concentration of AAPI families in the county. https://mcatlas.org/filetransfer/Storymaps/Trends%20in%20Racial%20and%20Ethnic%20Diversity%20STORYMAP.pdf

So, the program that is limited to a certain geographic area also has fewer kids who are a very small minority in that geographic area. There's no conspiracy here.

Correcting myself to note that Blair SMCS is not county-wide, but the parts of the county that do feed into Blair SMCS have a higher concentration of AAPI families than the parts that feed into CAP.

At any rate, white and AAPI kids make up the majority of both programs. One has more AAPI kids, one has more Black/Hispanic kids. Hopefully everyone feels comfortable inside their own skin in either program.

Not true. Blair magnet has very few white kids. Less than 20 percent. Also has a good number of black kids. Of the Asian kids, a significant number are Indian. CAP is almost entirely white, by contrast.

Blair magnet has plenty of white kids with many of them Eastern European or Russian. The rest is pretty accurate.

NP. Plenty is subjective but there’s no more than 1/3, maybe less. I guess the program appeals less to white families (vs CAP)? Or they are less likely to get selected than others?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Leaving because the workload is too much is different than a change in the program’s overall quality.

I hope you are right. We had done a CAP visit a few years back and thought there was much more focus on academics then. We just kept hearing about safe spaces, POC, and accommodations which is great but much less about what exactly in the approach to teaching and learning - except in one session. I just hope it is a style and not substance issue, because I really like the concept of a rigorous program that promotes critical thinking.

The assumption is that a test-in magnet will be rigorous and challenging. I can see how they'd want to reassure kids and families that it's also a program that's welcoming and accessible to every student who is accepted—which is not something that can necessarily be taken for granted.

I asked the English teacher in the CAP program a few years back if they read literature, and got a lecture from a white lady about how she made sure to have them read books written by black/indigenous people of color and unrecognized minorities.

Interesting as CAP is very heavily dominated by white upper middle class families from Takoma Park.

And we were one of those families. I actually don't have a problem with the source material, just the pious delivery, like we needed enlightenment. It also wasn't the answer to my question: do they read literature?

Yes.

Side note: why do you think the CAP program is so heavily TKPK UMC families, and, for example, the magnet isn’t?

Well, CAP is limited to kids who live in the DCC and those who attended Eastern. So, geographically, it is going to be predominantly TKPK and Silver Spring families because the admissions are limited to those groups. Blair SMCS is a whole-county admissions process, so it will attract more kids from outside the DCC.

Both groups are largely MC/UMC, but one has limited geographic admissions and the other does not.

That doesn’t explain why one is predominantly white and the other isn’t.

That wasn't the question, though. The question was why is one predominantly pulling from Takoma Park and Silver Spring, and the answer is that admissions are limited by geography.

In terms of race, I haven't seen a breakdown of each program in years (since the Metis report) but it's obvious that Blair magnet as more Asian American kids than Blair CAP. Blair CAP has more Black and Hispanic kids than Blair magnet.

Again, a geographic explanation carries some weight. As noted, Blair magnet is county-wide and Blair CAP is DCC only. If you look at p.9 here, you'll see that the area that makes up the DCC has the lowest concentration of AAPI families in the county. https://mcatlas.org/filetransfer/Storymaps/Trends%20in%20Racial%20and%20Ethnic%20Diversity%20STORYMAP.pdf

So, the program that is limited to a certain geographic area also has fewer kids who are a very small minority in that geographic area. There's no conspiracy here.

Correcting myself to note that Blair SMCS is not county-wide, but the parts of the county that do feed into Blair SMCS have a higher concentration of AAPI families than the parts that feed into CAP.

At any rate, white and AAPI kids make up the majority of both programs. One has more AAPI kids, one has more Black/Hispanic kids. Hopefully everyone feels comfortable inside their own skin in either program.

Not true. Blair magnet has very few white kids. Less than 20 percent. Also has a good number of black kids. Of the Asian kids, a significant number are Indian. CAP is almost entirely white, by contrast.

Blair magnet has plenty of white kids with many of them Eastern European or Russian. The rest is pretty accurate.

NP. Plenty is subjective but there’s no more than 1/3, maybe less. I guess the program appeals less to white families (vs CAP)? Or they are less likely to get selected than others?

A little of both I think but it's more of a longer-term interest issue. DC came from TPMS non-magnet and all their friends and classmates applied to both CAP and SMCS so white Takoma families can't really claim the program holds no appeal since they applied. But basically no one not in TPMS magnet got in while tons of got into CAP. They do not know of anyone who turned down SMCS for CAP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a 9th grader in CAP and would disagree that they have “very little” homework. My CAP student has History and/or English at least 3x week plus work on larger group projects.

How many hours/day or per week do you think they spend on homework on average in 9th grade CAP? I know this will vary but trying to get a sense of whether it’s typically an hour or two or more like all evening..

1 hour tops. If there's a longer project could be a few hours on the weekend. They do have class time to work on group projects.