County-wide magnet/IB/GE/Humanity programs will become regional programs if the secondary program plan is passed

[Anonymous]

There are not a small number of remedial kids.

Grow up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is a parent or maybe a handful of parents on this thread who want you to believe that the Blair magnet is top to bottom geniuses doing "post college" work.

That's not true. Even within the magnet, only about 1 in 5 meet that definition, if that.

By no definition of "public education" should we be making policy based solely on the needs of the top 20% of the top 1%.

+1

Top 20% of top 1% shouln't stop thousands of students attending regional magnet.

+2 The way MCPS selects kids for the magnets is problematic in the first place. Restricting enrichment activity to so few just compounds the problem.

We should be expanding access and preserving successful programs. This shouldn’t be an either/or situation. Shame on MCPS on only focusing on one type equity but not the other types. Equity doesn’t mean dismantling what works; it means making sure more students have the opportunity to benefit from it.

I would agree is the resources were available. In this case it sounds like there isn’t a good enough teacher for certain classes in the magnet, meaning there wouldn’t be six.

But also it sounds like what the magnet wants in a teacher is actually someone with a PhD in some STEM or math field. I’m not sure if you are going to find a lot of those willing to teach high school.

Resources are an issue. At this point, the proposal represents a major overhaul without a clear understanding of whether the necessary resources exist to support six regional programs. Any changes should be approached carefully and implemented gradually to ensure a smooth transition. Once effective programs are dismantled, it can be very difficult, if not impossible, to restore them. To me, it makes more sense to expand the current program and add one regional program at a time to see how it goes, rather than jumping in all at once.

[Anonymous]

Sorry if this was answered somewhere else, but what are the proposed six regions?

And SMACS is biregional, not countywide. The only countywide program I know of is RMIB.

[Anonymous]

Does anyone know if this proposed new regional system means that the existing regional magnets -- like CAP at Blair which is only open to kids in the DCC -- will also be eliminated? Or are they only proposing eliminating magnets that are county-wide?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Okay here's a compromise idea. What about getting on board with the regional plan, but also advocating for a small set-aside of a certain number of seats per year (25? 40? not sure the number needed) at a couple of the key regional magnets like Blair and RMIB for out-of-bounds kids who have extremely high qualifications/are profoundly gifted?

That way more kids could get into magnets overall and have them closer to their homes, the very brightest kids would still have a cohort of similar kids concentrated in one place to be able to take very high level courses (probably not 100% of the ones they get now, but many of them), and rather than having to sell MCPS on the extra cost of keeping all the countywide programs *and* adding 6 new regional programs, a few schools would essentially have a hybrid regional/countywide program which would make it more affordable.

This seems like the most win-win solution and also the most likely to actually succeed. MCPS gets its shift to a regional model, Blair and RMIB get to keep most of what keeps them special while becoming regional/countywide hybrids, the tiny sliver of kids who really need to be centralized countywide still can be, and the supporters of the regional model and of the flagship countywide programs can work together rather than fight each other.

We need to first understand the current student makeup of the Blair Magnet program. If 80% of the students are currently from outside the region, shifting that to just 20% won’t be enough to preserve the program.

You don't need to look at the current make up, you need to look at the waitlisted kids. Plenty of DCC smart kids to take the slots. W schools have upper level classes and families moved there for a reason. They should not take up DCC slots.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sorry if this was answered somewhere else, but what are the proposed six regions?

And SMACS is biregional, not countywide. The only countywide program I know of is RMIB.

Poolesville Global Ecology and Humanities too, IIRC.

The 6 regions:

Region One:
1. Bethesda-Chevy Chase HS
2. Blair HS
3. Einstein HS
4. Northwood HS
5. Whitman HS

Region Two:
1. Blake HS
2. Paint Branch HS
3. Sherwood HS
4. Springbrook HS

Region Three:
1. Churchill HS
2. Walter Johnson HS
3. Wheaton HS
4. (Opening in 2027) Woodward HS

Region Four:
1. Kennedy HS
2. Magruder HS
3. Richard Montgomery HS
4. Rockville HS
5. Wootton HS

Region Five:
1. (Opening in 2027) Crown HS
2. Gaithersburg HS
3. Northwest HS
4. Seneca Valley HS
5. Watkins Mill HS

Region Six:
1. Clarksburg HS
2. Poolesville HS
3. Damascus HS
4. Quince Orchard HS

Source: https://youtu.be/JUYKARx8fXU?t=14596

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Okay here's a compromise idea. What about getting on board with the regional plan, but also advocating for a small set-aside of a certain number of seats per year (25? 40? not sure the number needed) at a couple of the key regional magnets like Blair and RMIB for out-of-bounds kids who have extremely high qualifications/are profoundly gifted?

That way more kids could get into magnets overall and have them closer to their homes, the very brightest kids would still have a cohort of similar kids concentrated in one place to be able to take very high level courses (probably not 100% of the ones they get now, but many of them), and rather than having to sell MCPS on the extra cost of keeping all the countywide programs *and* adding 6 new regional programs, a few schools would essentially have a hybrid regional/countywide program which would make it more affordable.

This seems like the most win-win solution and also the most likely to actually succeed. MCPS gets its shift to a regional model, Blair and RMIB get to keep most of what keeps them special while becoming regional/countywide hybrids, the tiny sliver of kids who really need to be centralized countywide still can be, and the supporters of the regional model and of the flagship countywide programs can work together rather than fight each other.

We need to first understand the current student makeup of the Blair Magnet program. If 80% of the students are currently from outside the region, shifting that to just 20% won’t be enough to preserve the program.

You don't need to look at the current make up, you need to look at the waitlisted kids. Plenty of DCC smart kids to take the slots. W schools have upper level classes and families moved there for a reason. They should not take up DCC slots.

I get it now. DCC wants more Blair seats so they are trying to exclude W students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Okay here's a compromise idea. What about getting on board with the regional plan, but also advocating for a small set-aside of a certain number of seats per year (25? 40? not sure the number needed) at a couple of the key regional magnets like Blair and RMIB for out-of-bounds kids who have extremely high qualifications/are profoundly gifted?

That way more kids could get into magnets overall and have them closer to their homes, the very brightest kids would still have a cohort of similar kids concentrated in one place to be able to take very high level courses (probably not 100% of the ones they get now, but many of them), and rather than having to sell MCPS on the extra cost of keeping all the countywide programs *and* adding 6 new regional programs, a few schools would essentially have a hybrid regional/countywide program which would make it more affordable.

This seems like the most win-win solution and also the most likely to actually succeed. MCPS gets its shift to a regional model, Blair and RMIB get to keep most of what keeps them special while becoming regional/countywide hybrids, the tiny sliver of kids who really need to be centralized countywide still can be, and the supporters of the regional model and of the flagship countywide programs can work together rather than fight each other.

We need to first understand the current student makeup of the Blair Magnet program. If 80% of the students are currently from outside the region, shifting that to just 20% won’t be enough to preserve the program.

You don't need to look at the current make up, you need to look at the waitlisted kids. Plenty of DCC smart kids to take the slots. W schools have upper level classes and families moved there for a reason. They should not take up DCC slots.

I get it now. DCC wants more Blair seats so they are trying to exclude W students.

No it is just the same Einstein parent over and over I think. Let’s not take the bait. This person is locked into a position.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Okay here's a compromise idea. What about getting on board with the regional plan, but also advocating for a small set-aside of a certain number of seats per year (25? 40? not sure the number needed) at a couple of the key regional magnets like Blair and RMIB for out-of-bounds kids who have extremely high qualifications/are profoundly gifted?

That way more kids could get into magnets overall and have them closer to their homes, the very brightest kids would still have a cohort of similar kids concentrated in one place to be able to take very high level courses (probably not 100% of the ones they get now, but many of them), and rather than having to sell MCPS on the extra cost of keeping all the countywide programs *and* adding 6 new regional programs, a few schools would essentially have a hybrid regional/countywide program which would make it more affordable.

This seems like the most win-win solution and also the most likely to actually succeed. MCPS gets its shift to a regional model, Blair and RMIB get to keep most of what keeps them special while becoming regional/countywide hybrids, the tiny sliver of kids who really need to be centralized countywide still can be, and the supporters of the regional model and of the flagship countywide programs can work together rather than fight each other.

We need to first understand the current student makeup of the Blair Magnet program. If 80% of the students are currently from outside the region, shifting that to just 20% won’t be enough to preserve the program.

You don't need to look at the current make up, you need to look at the waitlisted kids. Plenty of DCC smart kids to take the slots. W schools have upper level classes and families moved there for a reason. They should not take up DCC slots.

I get it now. DCC wants more Blair seats so they are trying to exclude W students.

W schools have advanced offerings. DCC students don't. If you cannot live in the community as you need to be in a good area, why would you send your kid to blair?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not an MCPS parent, but isn’t it clear that as a nation we cannot continue to chip away at educational opportunities for accelerated students? I don’t totally understand what MCPS is proposing here, but parents should fight against any loss of advanced opportunities. If MCPS wants to expand options they should add more accelerated seats, not remove them.

Adding more accelerated seats is exactly what they are proposing, and people are freaking out.

Its just a select few at the W schools that fear competition.

Nope. W kids are used to competition.

Seems like the magnet parents are the ones who fear dilution. I don’t think they’re getting the college admissions they want anyways (not all of them at least) and they know opening up the programs further makes those seats harder to get. For example, MIT could say they are only going to take 2 kids from mcps magnets. More kids, lower the chance of getting a seat ag MIT.

If the goal is an elite college, don't attend the magnet.

Besides, many Blair magnet grads go to UMD as their parents cannot pay for MIT etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Okay here's a compromise idea. What about getting on board with the regional plan, but also advocating for a small set-aside of a certain number of seats per year (25? 40? not sure the number needed) at a couple of the key regional magnets like Blair and RMIB for out-of-bounds kids who have extremely high qualifications/are profoundly gifted?

That way more kids could get into magnets overall and have them closer to their homes, the very brightest kids would still have a cohort of similar kids concentrated in one place to be able to take very high level courses (probably not 100% of the ones they get now, but many of them), and rather than having to sell MCPS on the extra cost of keeping all the countywide programs *and* adding 6 new regional programs, a few schools would essentially have a hybrid regional/countywide program which would make it more affordable.

This seems like the most win-win solution and also the most likely to actually succeed. MCPS gets its shift to a regional model, Blair and RMIB get to keep most of what keeps them special while becoming regional/countywide hybrids, the tiny sliver of kids who really need to be centralized countywide still can be, and the supporters of the regional model and of the flagship countywide programs can work together rather than fight each other.

We need to first understand the current student makeup of the Blair Magnet program. If 80% of the students are currently from outside the region, shifting that to just 20% won’t be enough to preserve the program.

You don't need to look at the current make up, you need to look at the waitlisted kids. Plenty of DCC smart kids to take the slots. W schools have upper level classes and families moved there for a reason. They should not take up DCC slots.

I get it now. DCC wants more Blair seats so they are trying to exclude W students.

No it is just the same Einstein parent over and over I think. Let’s not take the bait. This person is locked into a position.

Not at Einstein. But, why should students with more opportunities take slots away from students who don't have the same opportunities? If you want Blair, move.

[Anonymous]

Thanks OP for your effort and keep us informed. It is indeed obvious MCPS officials already made thier decisions how to run the programs but just let us know a little bit at a time and did some useless survey along the way to show 'transparency' and 'democracy'.

However i do think some detail can be twisted and make it work for vast majority of the MCPS students.

Some corrections here: the only countywide programs in your list are RMIB and poolsville Ecology. Blair and Poolsville SMCS are actually regional, or half-countywide, poolsville Humanity is also only for upper county (regional or half countywide whatever you want to call it). It is possible that they can keep those programs as 'cross regional' model, simply added one more so that two regions will share one SMCS or other high demand program, which increase access, shorter commute and not sacrificing the program qualities.

For RMIB, poolsville ecology, VAC, LASJ, aviation and areospace and some other countywide programs are different stories. There are already regional IBs available.

Anonymous wrote:Just to avoid my response to a previous post being buried:

As one of the audience in yesterday's BOE meeting, I asked Niki Hazel in the hallway after her presentation, and got her clear confirmation that Blair SMACS, Poolsville humanity, SMACS and GE and RMIB will become regional programs once they implement the model. Unfortunately BOE didn't raise the question for clarification, so there's no video footage.

In the meeting, Niki and Dr. Taylor confirmed that they are seeking a BOE motion in December this year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Okay here's a compromise idea. What about getting on board with the regional plan, but also advocating for a small set-aside of a certain number of seats per year (25? 40? not sure the number needed) at a couple of the key regional magnets like Blair and RMIB for out-of-bounds kids who have extremely high qualifications/are profoundly gifted?

That way more kids could get into magnets overall and have them closer to their homes, the very brightest kids would still have a cohort of similar kids concentrated in one place to be able to take very high level courses (probably not 100% of the ones they get now, but many of them), and rather than having to sell MCPS on the extra cost of keeping all the countywide programs *and* adding 6 new regional programs, a few schools would essentially have a hybrid regional/countywide program which would make it more affordable.

This seems like the most win-win solution and also the most likely to actually succeed. MCPS gets its shift to a regional model, Blair and RMIB get to keep most of what keeps them special while becoming regional/countywide hybrids, the tiny sliver of kids who really need to be centralized countywide still can be, and the supporters of the regional model and of the flagship countywide programs can work together rather than fight each other.

We need to first understand the current student makeup of the Blair Magnet program. If 80% of the students are currently from outside the region, shifting that to just 20% won’t be enough to preserve the program.

You don't need to look at the current make up, you need to look at the waitlisted kids. Plenty of DCC smart kids to take the slots. W schools have upper level classes and families moved there for a reason. They should not take up DCC slots.

I get it now. DCC wants more Blair seats so they are trying to exclude W students.

No it is just the same Einstein parent over and over I think. Let’s not take the bait. This person is locked into a position.

Not at Einstein. But, why should students with more opportunities take slots away from students who don't have the same opportunities? If you want Blair, move.

I don’t want Blair! Good grief my kid would hate it.

I do think that magnet opportunities should be equitably offered and that students who would benefit should not be excluded because of their zip code.

The presentation last night said the goal is for all schools to have the same core set of advanced courses and for all students to have access to similar magnet offerings. How is that not a good thing?!?!?
Why would hoarding opportunity for something that people claim is so special (Blair STEM) to one geographic region be a good policy?
It isn’t accurate to say DCC doesn’t have advanced courses. Einstein doesn’t have MV. That isn’t solved by limiting Blair STEM to DCC

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Okay here's a compromise idea. What about getting on board with the regional plan, but also advocating for a small set-aside of a certain number of seats per year (25? 40? not sure the number needed) at a couple of the key regional magnets like Blair and RMIB for out-of-bounds kids who have extremely high qualifications/are profoundly gifted?

That way more kids could get into magnets overall and have them closer to their homes, the very brightest kids would still have a cohort of similar kids concentrated in one place to be able to take very high level courses (probably not 100% of the ones they get now, but many of them), and rather than having to sell MCPS on the extra cost of keeping all the countywide programs *and* adding 6 new regional programs, a few schools would essentially have a hybrid regional/countywide program which would make it more affordable.

This seems like the most win-win solution and also the most likely to actually succeed. MCPS gets its shift to a regional model, Blair and RMIB get to keep most of what keeps them special while becoming regional/countywide hybrids, the tiny sliver of kids who really need to be centralized countywide still can be, and the supporters of the regional model and of the flagship countywide programs can work together rather than fight each other.

We need to first understand the current student makeup of the Blair Magnet program. If 80% of the students are currently from outside the region, shifting that to just 20% won’t be enough to preserve the program.

You don't need to look at the current make up, you need to look at the waitlisted kids. Plenty of DCC smart kids to take the slots. W schools have upper level classes and families moved there for a reason. They should not take up DCC slots.

I get it now. DCC wants more Blair seats so they are trying to exclude W students.

W schools have advanced offerings. DCC students don't. If you cannot live in the community as you need to be in a good area, why would you send your kid to blair?

What advanced offerings do W schools have that DCC students do not have?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Okay here's a compromise idea. What about getting on board with the regional plan, but also advocating for a small set-aside of a certain number of seats per year (25? 40? not sure the number needed) at a couple of the key regional magnets like Blair and RMIB for out-of-bounds kids who have extremely high qualifications/are profoundly gifted?

That way more kids could get into magnets overall and have them closer to their homes, the very brightest kids would still have a cohort of similar kids concentrated in one place to be able to take very high level courses (probably not 100% of the ones they get now, but many of them), and rather than having to sell MCPS on the extra cost of keeping all the countywide programs *and* adding 6 new regional programs, a few schools would essentially have a hybrid regional/countywide program which would make it more affordable.

This seems like the most win-win solution and also the most likely to actually succeed. MCPS gets its shift to a regional model, Blair and RMIB get to keep most of what keeps them special while becoming regional/countywide hybrids, the tiny sliver of kids who really need to be centralized countywide still can be, and the supporters of the regional model and of the flagship countywide programs can work together rather than fight each other.

We need to first understand the current student makeup of the Blair Magnet program. If 80% of the students are currently from outside the region, shifting that to just 20% won’t be enough to preserve the program.

You don't need to look at the current make up, you need to look at the waitlisted kids. Plenty of DCC smart kids to take the slots. W schools have upper level classes and families moved there for a reason. They should not take up DCC slots.

I get it now. DCC wants more Blair seats so they are trying to exclude W students.

No it is just the same Einstein parent over and over I think. Let’s not take the bait. This person is locked into a position.

Not at Einstein. But, why should students with more opportunities take slots away from students who don't have the same opportunities? If you want Blair, move.

I don’t want Blair! Good grief my kid would hate it.

I do think that magnet opportunities should be equitably offered and that students who would benefit should not be excluded because of their zip code.

The presentation last night said the goal is for all schools to have the same core set of advanced courses and for all students to have access to similar magnet offerings. How is that not a good thing?!?!?
Why would hoarding opportunity for something that people claim is so special (Blair STEM) to one geographic region be a good policy?
It isn’t accurate to say DCC doesn’t have advanced courses. Einstein doesn’t have MV. That isn’t solved by limiting Blair STEM to DCC

Instead of focusing on magnet, start by meeting all kids' needs at their home schools, then add specialty programs. If Blair is limited to DCC students, DCC students who need MV can go to Blair or Wheaton, which are the only two schools that offer it. Your kids have tons of opportunities that our kids don't have. First equalize things.