New boundary study for Churchill, Clarksburg, Damascus, Gaithersburg, RM, Northwest, Poolesville, QO, SV, WM, Wootton

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many of these schools lack real diversity and need some busing.

Busing is a band-aid. I'd rather see MCPS invest in well thought-out programs at specific schools that are attractive and open to students in upcounty/midcounty.

You notice how the two HS magnet programs are in opposite corners of the county that's inconvenient for the majority of the county? There was another thread a few months back about Crown. The capacity at Crown wasn't even necessary if current boundaries were shifted?

I want to know how many overpaid MCPS Central Office / BOE staff at Hungerford send their kids to College Gardens ES or live in Kings Farm? Someone on the thread was pushing hard to insist that those areas would 100% certain be part of Crown.

That’s funny because the word on the street is that the rest of King Farm will be shifted from RM to Gaithersburg, not exactly a “win”.

The crystal balls on the streets in King Farm are just as accurate as the crystal balls anywhere else.

[Anonymous]

FARMS kids do not do better when they are bused.

That said, every child deserves to have fair access to a quality education. It looks bad when they have one school with a 1300 average SAT and one with a 950 SAT. But the kids with a 950 SAT would still score the same even if they moved to the 1300 average SAT school and vice versa.

I am a strong believer in the school within a school mindset that allows the ones that want to learn a separate peer group for their core classes.

People want stability in their schools. I hope the BOE doesn't go on a crusade to move kids around just because it's the "in thing to do"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:FARMS kids do not do better when they are bused.

That said, every child deserves to have fair access to a quality education. It looks bad when they have one school with a 1300 average SAT and one with a 950 SAT. But the kids with a 950 SAT would still score the same even if they moved to the 1300 average SAT school and vice versa.

I am a strong believer in the school within a school mindset that allows the ones that want to learn a separate peer group for their core classes.

People want stability in their schools. I hope the BOE doesn't go on a crusade to move kids around just because it's the "in thing to do"

Kids from poor families actually do do better when they attend low-poverty vs. high-poverty schools.

People are against change, period. But you can't have boundary changes without change.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FARMS kids do not do better when they are bused.

That said, every child deserves to have fair access to a quality education. It looks bad when they have one school with a 1300 average SAT and one with a 950 SAT. But the kids with a 950 SAT would still score the same even if they moved to the 1300 average SAT school and vice versa.

I am a strong believer in the school within a school mindset that allows the ones that want to learn a separate peer group for their core classes.

People want stability in their schools. I hope the BOE doesn't go on a crusade to move kids around just because it's the "in thing to do"

Kids from poor families actually do do better when they attend low-poverty vs. high-poverty schools.

People are against change, period. But you can't have boundary changes without change.

This. The higher the poverty rate, the lower the performance. These need to be reduced:

SVHS- 49.9%
Gaithersburg- 57.6%
Watkins Mill- 64.4%

[Anonymous]

We're not even zoned for it, but that Gaithersburg Cluster is so funny.

That skinny little pipe-stem that leads up into the Laytonsville area is so silly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FARMS kids do not do better when they are bused.

That said, every child deserves to have fair access to a quality education. It looks bad when they have one school with a 1300 average SAT and one with a 950 SAT. But the kids with a 950 SAT would still score the same even if they moved to the 1300 average SAT school and vice versa.

I am a strong believer in the school within a school mindset that allows the ones that want to learn a separate peer group for their core classes.

People want stability in their schools. I hope the BOE doesn't go on a crusade to move kids around just because it's the "in thing to do"

Kids from poor families actually do do better when they attend low-poverty vs. high-poverty schools.

People are against change, period. But you can't have boundary changes without change.

This. The higher the poverty rate, the lower the performance. These need to be reduced:

SVHS- 49.9%
Gaithersburg- 57.6%
Watkins Mill- 64.4%

Correlation does not mean causation

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:FARMS kids do not do better when they are bused.

That said, every child deserves to have fair access to a quality education. It looks bad when they have one school with a 1300 average SAT and one with a 950 SAT. But the kids with a 950 SAT would still score the same even if they moved to the 1300 average SAT school and vice versa.

I am a strong believer in the school within a school mindset that allows the ones that want to learn a separate peer group for their core classes.

People want stability in their schools. I hope the BOE doesn't go on a crusade to move kids around just because it's the "in thing to do"

Students do worse at schools with concentrated poverty.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FARMS kids do not do better when they are bused.

That said, every child deserves to have fair access to a quality education. It looks bad when they have one school with a 1300 average SAT and one with a 950 SAT. But the kids with a 950 SAT would still score the same even if they moved to the 1300 average SAT school and vice versa.

I am a strong believer in the school within a school mindset that allows the ones that want to learn a separate peer group for their core classes.

People want stability in their schools. I hope the BOE doesn't go on a crusade to move kids around just because it's the "in thing to do"

Kids from poor families actually do do better when they attend low-poverty vs. high-poverty schools.

People are against change, period. But you can't have boundary changes without change.

This. The higher the poverty rate, the lower the performance. These need to be reduced:

SVHS- 49.9%
Gaithersburg- 57.6%
Watkins Mill- 64.4%

Correlation does not mean causation

Actually, no. Schools with a high concentration of poverty often use a substantial portion of their resources towards addressing the needs of students facing economic hardships. This redistribution of resources have consequences that most of you who don't attend such schools would ever know. It influences the breadth and quality of educational offerings, extracurricular activities, and enrichment opportunities that ultimately affects the educational experiences and outcomes of students. Signed, parent of a student who attends one of the schools above

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just a reminder that the new proposed boundary study would have zero effect on elementary school boundaries. Only MS and HS are in scope.

They could just as easily change that scope to include elementaries as they did to include additional pyramids. That could come from an MCPS proposal to the BOE or from the BOE actually doing its job and directing the Superintendent to make it so.

They could adjust ES boundaries later after HS and MS. Adjusting everything all together is too big a task to perform in 1.5 years.

And it makes more sense to wait too, because some elementary schools will become part of new/different clusters.

I'd argue the opposite. Start with the elementaries (see the posts about closing underpopulated Cold Spring when an overcrowded Bayard Rustan is on its border). They are the ones that would offer the least flexibility later on, and capacity improvement projects can be prioritized to align. Then tackle the secondary schools, which can accommodate to some degree with special programs and split articulation (if absolutely needed). Starting with the secondary schools tends to keep a less manageable status quo.

Better still would be a whole-county redistricting. If it needs to take more than a year and a half, get on it quick!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just a reminder that the new proposed boundary study would have zero effect on elementary school boundaries. Only MS and HS are in scope.

They could just as easily change that scope to include elementaries as they did to include additional pyramids. That could come from an MCPS proposal to the BOE or from the BOE actually doing its job and directing the Superintendent to make it so.

They could adjust ES boundaries later after HS and MS. Adjusting everything all together is too big a task to perform in 1.5 years.

And it makes more sense to wait too, because some elementary schools will become part of new/different clusters.

I'd argue the opposite. Start with the elementaries (see the posts about closing underpopulated Cold Spring when an overcrowded Bayard Rustan is on its border). They are the ones that would offer the least flexibility later on, and capacity improvement projects can be prioritized to align. Then tackle the secondary schools, which can accommodate to some degree with special programs and split articulation (if absolutely needed). Starting with the secondary schools tends to keep a less manageable status quo.

Better still would be a whole-county redistricting. If it needs to take more than a year and a half, get on it quick!

Bayard Rustin is not overcrowded and does not border Cold Spring.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We're not even zoned for it, but that Gaithersburg Cluster is so funny.

That skinny little pipe-stem that leads up into the Laytonsville area is so silly.

Yes. One of the more ridiculously-shaped boundaries.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just a reminder that the new proposed boundary study would have zero effect on elementary school boundaries. Only MS and HS are in scope.

They could just as easily change that scope to include elementaries as they did to include additional pyramids. That could come from an MCPS proposal to the BOE or from the BOE actually doing its job and directing the Superintendent to make it so.

They could adjust ES boundaries later after HS and MS. Adjusting everything all together is too big a task to perform in 1.5 years.

And it makes more sense to wait too, because some elementary schools will become part of new/different clusters.

I'd argue the opposite. Start with the elementaries (see the posts about closing underpopulated Cold Spring when an overcrowded Bayard Rustan is on its border). They are the ones that would offer the least flexibility later on, and capacity improvement projects can be prioritized to align. Then tackle the secondary schools, which can accommodate to some degree with special programs and split articulation (if absolutely needed). Starting with the secondary schools tends to keep a less manageable status quo.

Better still would be a whole-county redistricting. If it needs to take more than a year and a half, get on it quick!

Bayard Rustin is not overcrowded and does not border Cold Spring.

Apologies for taking a prior poster (https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/45/1189419.page#26952013) at their word. Is BRES really not overcrowded without portables, though?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just a reminder that the new proposed boundary study would have zero effect on elementary school boundaries. Only MS and HS are in scope.

They could just as easily change that scope to include elementaries as they did to include additional pyramids. That could come from an MCPS proposal to the BOE or from the BOE actually doing its job and directing the Superintendent to make it so.

They could adjust ES boundaries later after HS and MS. Adjusting everything all together is too big a task to perform in 1.5 years.

And it makes more sense to wait too, because some elementary schools will become part of new/different clusters.

I'd argue the opposite. Start with the elementaries (see the posts about closing underpopulated Cold Spring when an overcrowded Bayard Rustan is on its border). They are the ones that would offer the least flexibility later on, and capacity improvement projects can be prioritized to align. Then tackle the secondary schools, which can accommodate to some degree with special programs and split articulation (if absolutely needed). Starting with the secondary schools tends to keep a less manageable status quo.

Better still would be a whole-county redistricting. If it needs to take more than a year and a half, get on it quick!

Bayard Rustin is not overcrowded and does not border Cold Spring.

Apologies for taking a prior poster (https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/45/1189419.page#26952013) at their word. Is BRES really not overcrowded without portables, though?

It is pretty new. It is just about at capacity now and is projected to drift down alightly in the years to come.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just a reminder that the new proposed boundary study would have zero effect on elementary school boundaries. Only MS and HS are in scope.

They could just as easily change that scope to include elementaries as they did to include additional pyramids. That could come from an MCPS proposal to the BOE or from the BOE actually doing its job and directing the Superintendent to make it so.

They could adjust ES boundaries later after HS and MS. Adjusting everything all together is too big a task to perform in 1.5 years.

And it makes more sense to wait too, because some elementary schools will become part of new/different clusters.

I'd argue the opposite. Start with the elementaries (see the posts about closing underpopulated Cold Spring when an overcrowded Bayard Rustan is on its border). They are the ones that would offer the least flexibility later on, and capacity improvement projects can be prioritized to align. Then tackle the secondary schools, which can accommodate to some degree with special programs and split articulation (if absolutely needed). Starting with the secondary schools tends to keep a less manageable status quo.

Better still would be a whole-county redistricting. If it needs to take more than a year and a half, get on it quick!

Bayard Rustin is not overcrowded and does not border Cold Spring.

Apologies for taking a prior poster (https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/45/1189419.page#26952013) at their word. Is BRES really not overcrowded without portables, though?

It is pretty new. It is just about at capacity now and is projected to drift down alightly in the years to come.

If Rustin does go over capacity, there is plenty of space available within the RM cluster at Beall, College Gardens, and Twinbrook.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does this mean that the homes currently in the Churchill zone could be rezoned to a different school or are they protected?

Parts of Churchill could be rezoned to Wootton or RM, or perhaps Crown, but that seems less likely.

O M G