Can someone explain to me the BCC Middle School final decision?

[Anonymous]

And btw 1630, lots of kids in the nicer CC MD neighborhoods go public. I can't vouch for whether they stay thru middle school, but they're certainly the bulk of the population in RHPS and CCES.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:1405 has it right. And for that matter, RCH neighborhood isn't exactly low income either. The only lower SES neighborhoods that are likely to go to the new middle school are Rock Creek Forest and Rosemary Hills. Someone could go to the trouble of averaging out the numbers, but I don't think it's possible for a middle school that is based on the populations of CCES, NCC, and RCF to produce a 20 percent FARMS population.

UMMM. That is the point. The vast majority of the lower income kids and kids of color in the cluster go to RHPS and RCF. Those elementary schools will all go to the new middle school and Westland will be left with very few minorities or low income students. The point isn't whether we hit some magic FARMS number like 20% at the new school or whether there will be a lot of rich white kids at the new middle school also. The point is that at one school (Westland), the children will have virtually no exposure to minorities or the non-wealthy until they get to high school, at which point many peer groups and perceptions are already formed. I don't think that's healthy. That's not the environment I want my kids to grow up in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1405 has it right. And for that matter, RCH neighborhood isn't exactly low income either. The only lower SES neighborhoods that are likely to go to the new middle school are Rock Creek Forest and Rosemary Hills. Someone could go to the trouble of averaging out the numbers, but I don't think it's possible for a middle school that is based on the populations of CCES, NCC, and RCF to produce a 20 percent FARMS population.

UMMM. That is the point. The vast majority of the lower income kids and kids of color in the cluster go to RHPS and RCF. Those elementary schools will all go to the new middle school and Westland will be left with very few minorities or low income students. The point isn't whether we hit some magic FARMS number like 20% at the new school or whether there will be a lot of rich white kids at the new middle school also. The point is that at one school (Westland), the children will have virtually no exposure to minorities or the non-wealthy until they get to high school, at which point many peer groups and perceptions are already formed. I don't think that's healthy. That's not the environment I want my kids to grow up in.

Yes, I'm actually really glad that we will get to go to the new school for just that reason. My kids will get to go to school with a more diverse group of kids, an involved group of parents, and in a school district with a solid track record of academic preparation for a public school.