Recap of last night (Nov. 13) in-person meeting at Churchill for academic program & boundary analysis

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you for going and reporting back. So much here is extremely alarming, esp #4 and #5 above.

I hope the County Council is paying attention to answers like "we'll put more money into it if it's not successful" because if that's the case, this is going to be far more expensive than presented. Where is that money going to come from? At the expense of K-8 education? The 85% of Grade 9-12 students who aren't in one of these special programs?

Jennie said 25% of students will be in these special programs as the goal. Their numbers just keep on changing because they don't need to take responsibility for what they say.

That's so nuts to me! I'm not anti-magnet, but how can we have a system where 1 in 4 students isn't able to get what they need from the standard HS curriculum and needs something special, most likely not at their high school? We're losing the plot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you for going and reporting back. So much here is extremely alarming, esp #4 and #5 above.

I hope the County Council is paying attention to answers like "we'll put more money into it if it's not successful" because if that's the case, this is going to be far more expensive than presented. Where is that money going to come from? At the expense of K-8 education? The 85% of Grade 9-12 students who aren't in one of these special programs?

Jennie said 25% of students will be in these special programs as the goal. Their numbers just keep on changing because they don't need to take responsibility for what they say.

That's so nuts to me! I'm not anti-magnet, but how can we have a system where 1 in 4 students isn't able to get what they need from the standard HS curriculum and needs something special, most likely not at their high school? We're losing the plot.

About half of the programs are CTE-oriented, not magnet. Academic rigor won't be the focus of those programs. Getting students graduate with a certificate with whatever skills they can teach them is the goal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did anyone get any updates on where they are with new options regarding the boundary study and/or holding school option?

I heard those new options would be coming out in late November.

I heard that the "new" options will be two options from the round two options and two with Crown as a holding school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you for going and reporting back. So much here is extremely alarming, esp #4 and #5 above.

I hope the County Council is paying attention to answers like "we'll put more money into it if it's not successful" because if that's the case, this is going to be far more expensive than presented. Where is that money going to come from? At the expense of K-8 education? The 85% of Grade 9-12 students who aren't in one of these special programs?

Jennie said 25% of students will be in these special programs as the goal. Their numbers just keep on changing because they don't need to take responsibility for what they say.

That's so nuts to me! I'm not anti-magnet, but how can we have a system where 1 in 4 students isn't able to get what they need from the standard HS curriculum and needs something special, most likely not at their high school? We're losing the plot.

About half of the programs are CTE-oriented, not magnet. Academic rigor won't be the focus of those programs. Getting students graduate with a certificate with whatever skills they can teach them is the goal.

I think CTE is also great actually! What I don't understand is the need to switch to a different high school for all 4 years to get a certificate in something.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you for going and reporting back. So much here is extremely alarming, esp #4 and #5 above.

I hope the County Council is paying attention to answers like "we'll put more money into it if it's not successful" because if that's the case, this is going to be far more expensive than presented. Where is that money going to come from? At the expense of K-8 education? The 85% of Grade 9-12 students who aren't in one of these special programs?

Jennie said 25% of students will be in these special programs as the goal. Their numbers just keep on changing because they don't need to take responsibility for what they say.

25% would be a major increase.....and is even more reason to slow and get it right if it is impacting a much larger proportion of the student population...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:3. A NEC/DCC transportation POC was there, and said they would use the NEC/DCC transportation model rather than the HS-HS model so to make sure visiting neighborhoods. I've checked the 2016 METIS report and estimated the 2025 dollar-equivalent: it's about 1.6 million/year operating cost for DCC. As a contrast, the Oct. 16 BOE meeting slides had $740K/year operating cost estimation. So expecting the yearly operating cost to double at least..

Do you know the name of the person who said this and are you positive they know what they're talking about? Because both Jeannie Franklin and the chief of operations (Mamoon) both said on Monday that this had not been decided yet and made it sound like it wasn't going to be decided for months or maybe not even until 2027... I mean, maybe they have changed their position quickly based on feedback, which would be great and would be the right thing to do, but I also really wonder if this is just a mistake or misstatement from someone lower down who's not in the know (they being a bunch of lower-level people to these meetings too alongside the high-level ones.)

Also the DCC and NEC offer full transportation from neighborhood stops just like if you were going to your local HS (so multiple stops per neighborhood sometimes)... I'd honestly be shocked if they do that, versus an amended version of central stop transportation where they *do* guarantee a stop within a couple miles of your home (current central stop transportation does not), so that also makes me wonder about the accuracy of this info. But I would love to be wrong and maybe this is a pleasant surprise from MCPS for once!

Sorry I'm not good at remembering names. She said is the POC for consortia transportation. But CO folks can say anything and change later on. If county doesn't give them enough money, they can always scale it down and blame the county council. I want to make a note that this is something new and I'll keep an eye on the December county council meeting when MCPS presents the transportation budget to make sure at least the model and cost are consistent.

Got it, thanks. But there was no room for misinterpretation, she made it sound like they have definitely decided to offer neighborhood stops directly to all regional high schools? Any indication that this was a recent change or could you not tell?(Point definitely taken that they can change it later on either way, though.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you for going and reporting back. So much here is extremely alarming, esp #4 and #5 above.

I hope the County Council is paying attention to answers like "we'll put more money into it if it's not successful" because if that's the case, this is going to be far more expensive than presented. Where is that money going to come from? At the expense of K-8 education? The 85% of Grade 9-12 students who aren't in one of these special programs?

Jennie said 25% of students will be in these special programs as the goal. Their numbers just keep on changing because they don't need to take responsibility for what they say.

That's so nuts to me! I'm not anti-magnet, but how can we have a system where 1 in 4 students isn't able to get what they need from the standard HS curriculum and needs something special, most likely not at their high school? We're losing the plot.

About half of the programs are CTE-oriented, not magnet. Academic rigor won't be the focus of those programs. Getting students graduate with a certificate with whatever skills they can teach them is the goal.

I think CTE is also great actually! What I don't understand is the need to switch to a different high school for all 4 years to get a certificate in something.

I'm not against CTE either. I think it's great for kids who are not interested in academics but interested in certain techniques/skills. But look, they don't and won't invest in developing good CTE program either based on the near-zero staffing budget. Look at Jennie's answer about fashion design and game design.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:3. A NEC/DCC transportation POC was there, and said they would use the NEC/DCC transportation model rather than the HS-HS model so to make sure visiting neighborhoods. I've checked the 2016 METIS report and estimated the 2025 dollar-equivalent: it's about 1.6 million/year operating cost for DCC. As a contrast, the Oct. 16 BOE meeting slides had $740K/year operating cost estimation. So expecting the yearly operating cost to double at least..

Do you know the name of the person who said this and are you positive they know what they're talking about? Because both Jeannie Franklin and the chief of operations (Mamoon) both said on Monday that this had not been decided yet and made it sound like it wasn't going to be decided for months or maybe not even until 2027... I mean, maybe they have changed their position quickly based on feedback, which would be great and would be the right thing to do, but I also really wonder if this is just a mistake or misstatement from someone lower down who's not in the know (they being a bunch of lower-level people to these meetings too alongside the high-level ones.)

Also the DCC and NEC offer full transportation from neighborhood stops just like if you were going to your local HS (so multiple stops per neighborhood sometimes)... I'd honestly be shocked if they do that, versus an amended version of central stop transportation where they *do* guarantee a stop within a couple miles of your home (current central stop transportation does not), so that also makes me wonder about the accuracy of this info. But I would love to be wrong and maybe this is a pleasant surprise from MCPS for once!

Sorry I'm not good at remembering names. She said is the POC for consortia transportation. But CO folks can say anything and change later on. If county doesn't give them enough money, they can always scale it down and blame the county council. I want to make a note that this is something new and I'll keep an eye on the December county council meeting when MCPS presents the transportation budget to make sure at least the model and cost are consistent.

Got it, thanks. But there was no room for misinterpretation, she made it sound like they have definitely decided to offer neighborhood stops directly to all regional high schools? Any indication that this was a recent change or could you not tell?(Point definitely taken that they can change it later on either way, though.)

I would say they sound like in the process of discussing internally whether this is more feasible than the current proposed HS-HS model. I asked this lady about the cost, and whether it would be significantly more than what has been proposed, and she said she had no idea. She never would need to worry about budget, she is just responsible for design the route for DCC and NEC.

[Anonymous]

So any updates on transportation? My kids have to bus to our home high school so my understanding is that unless I’m able to get an uber to drive them daily to/from to get the second bus to a regional program or quit my job and drive them myself, that they won’t be able to go to a regional program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:3. A NEC/DCC transportation POC was there, and said they would use the NEC/DCC transportation model rather than the HS-HS model so to make sure visiting neighborhoods. I've checked the 2016 METIS report and estimated the 2025 dollar-equivalent: it's about 1.6 million/year operating cost for DCC. As a contrast, the Oct. 16 BOE meeting slides had $740K/year operating cost estimation. So expecting the yearly operating cost to double at least..

Do you know the name of the person who said this and are you positive they know what they're talking about? Because both Jeannie Franklin and the chief of operations (Mamoon) both said on Monday that this had not been decided yet and made it sound like it wasn't going to be decided for months or maybe not even until 2027... I mean, maybe they have changed their position quickly based on feedback, which would be great and would be the right thing to do, but I also really wonder if this is just a mistake or misstatement from someone lower down who's not in the know (they being a bunch of lower-level people to these meetings too alongside the high-level ones.)

Also the DCC and NEC offer full transportation from neighborhood stops just like if you were going to your local HS (so multiple stops per neighborhood sometimes)... I'd honestly be shocked if they do that, versus an amended version of central stop transportation where they *do* guarantee a stop within a couple miles of your home (current central stop transportation does not), so that also makes me wonder about the accuracy of this info. But I would love to be wrong and maybe this is a pleasant surprise from MCPS for once!

Sorry I'm not good at remembering names. She said is the POC for consortia transportation. But CO folks can say anything and change later on. If county doesn't give them enough money, they can always scale it down and blame the county council. I want to make a note that this is something new and I'll keep an eye on the December county council meeting when MCPS presents the transportation budget to make sure at least the model and cost are consistent.

Got it, thanks. But there was no room for misinterpretation, she made it sound like they have definitely decided to offer neighborhood stops directly to all regional high schools? Any indication that this was a recent change or could you not tell?(Point definitely taken that they can change it later on either way, though.)

I would say they sound like in the process of discussing internally whether this is more feasible than the current proposed HS-HS model. I asked this lady about the cost, and whether it would be significantly more than what has been proposed, and she said she had no idea. She never would need to worry about budget, she is just responsible for design the route for DCC and NEC.

Ah okay. That aligns more with what I've heard... that they are claiming "no decisions have been made yet" on transportation. This allows them to present the cheapest version of the budget to the Board (busses only run from HS to HS, kids need to get a ride to the HS) while also deflecting criticism of how inequitable that is by saying "well, we haven't made a final decision."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:3. A NEC/DCC transportation POC was there, and said they would use the NEC/DCC transportation model rather than the HS-HS model so to make sure visiting neighborhoods. I've checked the 2016 METIS report and estimated the 2025 dollar-equivalent: it's about 1.6 million/year operating cost for DCC. As a contrast, the Oct. 16 BOE meeting slides had $740K/year operating cost estimation. So expecting the yearly operating cost to double at least..

Do you know the name of the person who said this and are you positive they know what they're talking about? Because both Jeannie Franklin and the chief of operations (Mamoon) both said on Monday that this had not been decided yet and made it sound like it wasn't going to be decided for months or maybe not even until 2027... I mean, maybe they have changed their position quickly based on feedback, which would be great and would be the right thing to do, but I also really wonder if this is just a mistake or misstatement from someone lower down who's not in the know (they being a bunch of lower-level people to these meetings too alongside the high-level ones.)

Also the DCC and NEC offer full transportation from neighborhood stops just like if you were going to your local HS (so multiple stops per neighborhood sometimes)... I'd honestly be shocked if they do that, versus an amended version of central stop transportation where they *do* guarantee a stop within a couple miles of your home (current central stop transportation does not), so that also makes me wonder about the accuracy of this info. But I would love to be wrong and maybe this is a pleasant surprise from MCPS for once!

I asked Nikki about bussing and she had no idea the October slides suggested high school to high school busses only.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:3. A NEC/DCC transportation POC was there, and said they would use the NEC/DCC transportation model rather than the HS-HS model so to make sure visiting neighborhoods. I've checked the 2016 METIS report and estimated the 2025 dollar-equivalent: it's about 1.6 million/year operating cost for DCC. As a contrast, the Oct. 16 BOE meeting slides had $740K/year operating cost estimation. So expecting the yearly operating cost to double at least..

Do you know the name of the person who said this and are you positive they know what they're talking about? Because both Jeannie Franklin and the chief of operations (Mamoon) both said on Monday that this had not been decided yet and made it sound like it wasn't going to be decided for months or maybe not even until 2027... I mean, maybe they have changed their position quickly based on feedback, which would be great and would be the right thing to do, but I also really wonder if this is just a mistake or misstatement from someone lower down who's not in the know (they being a bunch of lower-level people to these meetings too alongside the high-level ones.)

Also the DCC and NEC offer full transportation from neighborhood stops just like if you were going to your local HS (so multiple stops per neighborhood sometimes)... I'd honestly be shocked if they do that, versus an amended version of central stop transportation where they *do* guarantee a stop within a couple miles of your home (current central stop transportation does not), so that also makes me wonder about the accuracy of this info. But I would love to be wrong and maybe this is a pleasant surprise from MCPS for once!

I asked Nikki about bussing and she had no idea the October slides suggested high school to high school busses only.

Good lord

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:3. A NEC/DCC transportation POC was there, and said they would use the NEC/DCC transportation model rather than the HS-HS model so to make sure visiting neighborhoods. I've checked the 2016 METIS report and estimated the 2025 dollar-equivalent: it's about 1.6 million/year operating cost for DCC. As a contrast, the Oct. 16 BOE meeting slides had $740K/year operating cost estimation. So expecting the yearly operating cost to double at least..

Do you know the name of the person who said this and are you positive they know what they're talking about? Because both Jeannie Franklin and the chief of operations (Mamoon) both said on Monday that this had not been decided yet and made it sound like it wasn't going to be decided for months or maybe not even until 2027... I mean, maybe they have changed their position quickly based on feedback, which would be great and would be the right thing to do, but I also really wonder if this is just a mistake or misstatement from someone lower down who's not in the know (they being a bunch of lower-level people to these meetings too alongside the high-level ones.)

Also the DCC and NEC offer full transportation from neighborhood stops just like if you were going to your local HS (so multiple stops per neighborhood sometimes)... I'd honestly be shocked if they do that, versus an amended version of central stop transportation where they *do* guarantee a stop within a couple miles of your home (current central stop transportation does not), so that also makes me wonder about the accuracy of this info. But I would love to be wrong and maybe this is a pleasant surprise from MCPS for once!

I asked Nikki about bussing and she had no idea the October slides suggested high school to high school busses only.

Genuinely didn't know, or do you think she was pretending she didn't know to make her sound better? Did she say anything that revealed her opinion on what the transportation plan should be?

[Anonymous]

Thank you for the update. What a disaster. This is giving so much anxiety. Now 25 percent of students are going outside their home high schools and we are somehow going to pay for their neighborhood stop busing, not to mention the extra busing they need to do because of the boundary changes (juniors and seniors to current school, freshman and sophomores to new school) plus the grandfathered students in countywide programs and consortia who are outside regional zones? We do not have enough buses and drivers and money for this cluster! And the people who run transportation are inept.

[Anonymous]

I sent a letter to the BOE earlier this week as a concerned parent asking about the transportation plans and urging board members to get a clear answer on planning and cost before approving the regional plan. I pointed out the likelihood that if transportation were only provided between high schools, participation in the regional programs in the NEC and DCC would likely drop, since families now rely on the neighborhood stops. I'm happy to hear they are reconsidering the plan and at least discussing neighborhood bus stops. But it's still mind-boggling that they are trying to rush this through without taking the time to really analyze and design a plan.