MCPS planning very limited regional program transportation (HS pickups only)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Help me understand the issue. If you live far enough away from your home high school (the one you’re zoned for) to get bus service from your neighborhood to your home school, will that bus get you to your home school in time for you to catch a bus from your home school to your regional special program? Or is the issue that the buses to regional special programs leave home schools early enough that your neighborhood bus won’t get you to your home school in time?

If you live too close to your home school to qualify for busing from your neighborhood to your home school, then the burden was already on you to come up with your own transportation to your home school, so there’s no difference between getting yourself there to attend that home school versus getting yourself there to catch a bus to your regional special program.

Currently, how many locations do high school magnet buses depart from besides home high schools?

Unless the buses to the local schools get there super early, there is no way a kid can take the bus to their local high school and then transfer to another bus to another high school. Are they going to make all the kids taking a bus to their local high school get there super early so that the magnet kids can hop on another bus to get to their program on time? That would feel incredibly unfair to the local kids.

So this is an issue for kids who qualify for buses to their home schools, but won’t get to use those buses as part of their commute to their regional special programs?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Help me understand the issue. If you live far enough away from your home high school (the one you’re zoned for) to get bus service from your neighborhood to your home school, will that bus get you to your home school in time for you to catch a bus from your home school to your regional special program? Or is the issue that the buses to regional special programs leave home schools early enough that your neighborhood bus won’t get you to your home school in time?

If you live too close to your home school to qualify for busing from your neighborhood to your home school, then the burden was already on you to come up with your own transportation to your home school, so there’s no difference between getting yourself there to attend that home school versus getting yourself there to catch a bus to your regional special program.

Currently, how many locations do high school magnet buses depart from besides home high schools?

The regional program buses are going to have to leave the local high schools and head to the regional programs before 7 to make it there in time in most cases, unless the schools are really close together.. Regular neighborhood buses don't usually get to high schools until well after 7, often more like 7:20. So no, it would not work to transfer.buses at the local HS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Help me understand the issue. If you live far enough away from your home high school (the one you’re zoned for) to get bus service from your neighborhood to your home school, will that bus get you to your home school in time for you to catch a bus from your home school to your regional special program? Or is the issue that the buses to regional special programs leave home schools early enough that your neighborhood bus won’t get you to your home school in time?

If you live too close to your home school to qualify for busing from your neighborhood to your home school, then the burden was already on you to come up with your own transportation to your home school, so there’s no difference between getting yourself there to attend that home school versus getting yourself there to catch a bus to your regional special program.

Currently, how many locations do high school magnet buses depart from besides home high schools?

Unless the buses to the local schools get there super early, there is no way a kid can take the bus to their local high school and then transfer to another bus to another high school. Are they going to make all the kids taking a bus to their local high school get there super early so that the magnet kids can hop on another bus to get to their program on time? That would feel incredibly unfair to the local kids.

So this is an issue for kids who qualify for buses to their home schools, but won’t get to use those buses as part of their commute to their regional special programs?

You make it sound like some niche issue... less than 30% of high schoolers are in the walk zone, the majority are too far away.

[Anonymous]

Right now, how do those kids get bused to magnet HS programs? From their home elementary school, home middle school, home high school or some big parking lot?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Help me understand the issue. If you live far enough away from your home high school (the one you’re zoned for) to get bus service from your neighborhood to your home school, will that bus get you to your home school in time for you to catch a bus from your home school to your regional special program? Or is the issue that the buses to regional special programs leave home schools early enough that your neighborhood bus won’t get you to your home school in time?

If you live too close to your home school to qualify for busing from your neighborhood to your home school, then the burden was already on you to come up with your own transportation to your home school, so there’s no difference between getting yourself there to attend that home school versus getting yourself there to catch a bus to your regional special program.

Currently, how many locations do high school magnet buses depart from besides home high schools?

Unless the buses to the local schools get there super early, there is no way a kid can take the bus to their local high school and then transfer to another bus to another high school. Are they going to make all the kids taking a bus to their local high school get there super early so that the magnet kids can hop on another bus to get to their program on time? That would feel incredibly unfair to the local kids.

So this is an issue for kids who qualify for buses to their home schools, but won’t get to use those buses as part of their commute to their regional special programs?

You make it sound like some niche issue... less than 30% of high schoolers are in the walk zone, the majority are too far away.

I’m not saying it’s a niche issue; I’m trying to ascertain the scope of the issue. Are those the only students affected or is the problem even bigger than that?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Help me understand the issue. If you live far enough away from your home high school (the one you’re zoned for) to get bus service from your neighborhood to your home school, will that bus get you to your home school in time for you to catch a bus from your home school to your regional special program? Or is the issue that the buses to regional special programs leave home schools early enough that your neighborhood bus won’t get you to your home school in time?

If you live too close to your home school to qualify for busing from your neighborhood to your home school, then the burden was already on you to come up with your own transportation to your home school, so there’s no difference between getting yourself there to attend that home school versus getting yourself there to catch a bus to your regional special program.

Currently, how many locations do high school magnet buses depart from besides home high schools?

Unless the buses to the local schools get there super early, there is no way a kid can take the bus to their local high school and then transfer to another bus to another high school. Are they going to make all the kids taking a bus to their local high school get there super early so that the magnet kids can hop on another bus to get to their program on time? That would feel incredibly unfair to the local kids.

So this is an issue for kids who qualify for buses to their home schools, but won’t get to use those buses as part of their commute to their regional special programs?

You make it sound like some niche issue... less than 30% of high schoolers are in the walk zone, the majority are too far away.

I’m not saying it’s a niche issue; I’m trying to ascertain the scope of the issue. Are those the only students affected or is the problem even bigger than that?

I mean, on top of the 70% of students who can't walk to their local HS, a sizable share of the 30% in the walk zones still have a pretty long walk to school, 30+ minutes in many cases. If they then have to catch a bus from there to another high school, many will be looking at over an hour in travel time. Lots of kids just won't bother with that, leaving the program spots to kids.whose families can drive them. Is that what you mean by the scope of the issue?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Before my kid started MCPS I used to not fully understand all the complaining. But we are only 1.5 years in and I just can't with these people. This is all just a huge, expensive distraction from the reality that they are graduating a large majority of kids not graduate proficient in math and reading.

Exactly. Infuriating.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This may not be a surprise to those who have been following this, but MCPS staff had previously been evasive about what exactly the transportation plan for regional programs will be.

But today they confirmed to the 'design team" (i.e. the advisory group who they don't actually listen to) that the current plan is that buses to the regional programs will pick students up from their local high school, meaning that students will not be able to attend regional programs unless they can drive or be driven to their local high school to catch the school bus from there (or they are lucky enough to live close enough to walk or have a workable public transit route to their high school.)

This is deeply inequitable and will leave many students behind. But I guess at this point they're so sure it'll pass that they don't mind letting it slip that regional programs are only going to be for better-off families who can manage DIY transportation. (And my understanding is that they and Taylor have implied to Board members that there will be reasonable access to transportation.to help get their support-- they probably figure it is too last minute for any of them to change their mind on it now.)

That’s how it currently works for schools like Edison. They have a schedule of buses that come after school starts with kids who are in the program. Did they explicitly say that the buses would leave before local buses arrive?

[Anonymous]

Without a substantial increase in buses and bus drivers, how else could this work?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Right now, how do those kids get bused to magnet HS programs? From their home elementary school, home middle school, home high school or some big parking lot?

As an example, my kid currently gets a bus from our home elementary school. There are 3 bus routes with 9 different stops that bring students from our home high school region to the magnet school. The stops are at elementary schools and community centers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This may not be a surprise to those who have been following this, but MCPS staff had previously been evasive about what exactly the transportation plan for regional programs will be.

But today they confirmed to the 'design team" (i.e. the advisory group who they don't actually listen to) that the current plan is that buses to the regional programs will pick students up from their local high school, meaning that students will not be able to attend regional programs unless they can drive or be driven to their local high school to catch the school bus from there (or they are lucky enough to live close enough to walk or have a workable public transit route to their high school.)

This is deeply inequitable and will leave many students behind. But I guess at this point they're so sure it'll pass that they don't mind letting it slip that regional programs are only going to be for better-off families who can manage DIY transportation. (And my understanding is that they and Taylor have implied to Board members that there will be reasonable access to transportation.to help get their support-- they probably figure it is too last minute for any of them to change their mind on it now.)

That’s how it currently works for schools like Edison. They have a schedule of buses that come after school starts with kids who are in the program. Did they explicitly say that the buses would leave before local buses arrive?

Looks like that works because buses don't get to Edison until 8 (which they can do because kids are only going there for a 3-period half day): https://drive.google.com/file/d/1tkqaIkYmfjfDgjvj-vctW1GaZ02hlgkW/view?usp=drivesdk

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This may not be a surprise to those who have been following this, but MCPS staff had previously been evasive about what exactly the transportation plan for regional programs will be.

But today they confirmed to the 'design team" (i.e. the advisory group who they don't actually listen to) that the current plan is that buses to the regional programs will pick students up from their local high school, meaning that students will not be able to attend regional programs unless they can drive or be driven to their local high school to catch the school bus from there (or they are lucky enough to live close enough to walk or have a workable public transit route to their high school.)

This is deeply inequitable and will leave many students behind. But I guess at this point they're so sure it'll pass that they don't mind letting it slip that regional programs are only going to be for better-off families who can manage DIY transportation. (And my understanding is that they and Taylor have implied to Board members that there will be reasonable access to transportation.to help get their support-- they probably figure it is too last minute for any of them to change their mind on it now.)

That’s how it currently works for schools like Edison. They have a schedule of buses that come after school starts with kids who are in the program. Did they explicitly say that the buses would leave before local buses arrive?

How is 8-class period arranged everyday at Edison? They are all asynchronized with MCPS bell time? When is the dismal time? SMCS magnet has 9-period, and their slides said they would keep this addition period of class for STEM magnet. How to manage transportation for STEM magnet students using the central stop model?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This may not be a surprise to those who have been following this, but MCPS staff had previously been evasive about what exactly the transportation plan for regional programs will be.

But today they confirmed to the 'design team" (i.e. the advisory group who they don't actually listen to) that the current plan is that buses to the regional programs will pick students up from their local high school, meaning that students will not be able to attend regional programs unless they can drive or be driven to their local high school to catch the school bus from there (or they are lucky enough to live close enough to walk or have a workable public transit route to their high school.)

This is deeply inequitable and will leave many students behind. But I guess at this point they're so sure it'll pass that they don't mind letting it slip that regional programs are only going to be for better-off families who can manage DIY transportation. (And my understanding is that they and Taylor have implied to Board members that there will be reasonable access to transportation.to help get their support-- they probably figure it is too last minute for any of them to change their mind on it now.)

I’m one of the design team members. I have given up in attending these meetings or trying to argue with those CO people. I have resource and time to drive my kids. I have resource to offer them a solid education (including moving, sending them to private schools, etc). Why do I spend my time and effort on fighting benefits for the underprivileged while mcps don’t care at all?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This may not be a surprise to those who have been following this, but MCPS staff had previously been evasive about what exactly the transportation plan for regional programs will be.

But today they confirmed to the 'design team" (i.e. the advisory group who they don't actually listen to) that the current plan is that buses to the regional programs will pick students up from their local high school, meaning that students will not be able to attend regional programs unless they can drive or be driven to their local high school to catch the school bus from there (or they are lucky enough to live close enough to walk or have a workable public transit route to their high school.)

This is deeply inequitable and will leave many students behind. But I guess at this point they're so sure it'll pass that they don't mind letting it slip that regional programs are only going to be for better-off families who can manage DIY transportation. (And my understanding is that they and Taylor have implied to Board members that there will be reasonable access to transportation.to help get their support-- they probably figure it is too last minute for any of them to change their mind on it now.)

That’s how it currently works for schools like Edison. They have a schedule of buses that come after school starts with kids who are in the program. Did they explicitly say that the buses would leave before local buses arrive?

How is 8-class period arranged everyday at Edison? They are all asynchronized with MCPS bell time? When is the dismal time? SMCS magnet has 9-period, and their slides said they would keep this addition period of class for STEM magnet. How to manage transportation for STEM magnet students using the central stop model?

There are two three-period sessions at Edison (8-10:15 and 11:35-1:50) and kids only do one or the other, so it works fine to have transportation from the high schools because they don't actually need to get to Edison until after the regular high schools start.

This would not work for regional programs on a regular full day (or longer) schedule, unless the decision was made that all high schoolers should get up and get on their neighborhood buses 20-30 minutes earlier than they currently do in order to allow enough transfer time, which IMO would be a terrible idea.

[Anonymous]

There is no such thing as equity.