CES Lottery

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At a W feeder school, did not make it to the lottery pool even … wtf

So, being at a W feeder automatically qualifies your kid? wtf

Actually I meant the opposite. Not sure what stats you need to qualify from a W feeder as my kid has the stats required but i am
Sure the cut off for low farms school is higher and therefore my kid did not qualify.

If the kid didn’t make the lottery pool, then they didn’t meet the basic score requirements of report card and top 15 percentile MAP-R.

But that’s what I am telling you. He did. Report card is straight A’s and the map r was above 85th so there must be a different cut off for our w feeder school.
It will be helpful if people can post the mapr scores for qualifying students. It would take the guesswork out.

MCPS is so weird about this. My straight A student with 99th percentile MAP scores was not identified as GT last year bc of “district assessments”. She got 4s in reading and math and you need 5s? I still don’t understand it. A 4 is an A with standards-based grading. It seems like mcps enjoys making things intentionally vague. She was not even entered in the lottery pool this year. I suppose she’ll once again barely miss GT designation… ugh.

That's weird. I thought the new assessments were on a scale of one to three so she got a four. She must be doing awesome!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At a W feeder school, did not make it to the lottery pool even … wtf

So, being at a W feeder automatically qualifies your kid? wtf

Actually I meant the opposite. Not sure what stats you need to qualify from a W feeder as my kid has the stats required but i am
Sure the cut off for low farms school is higher and therefore my kid did not qualify.

If the kid didn’t make the lottery pool, then they didn’t meet the basic score requirements of report card and top 15 percentile MAP-R.

But that’s what I am telling you. He did. Report card is straight A’s and the map r was above 85th so there must be a different cut off for our w feeder school.
It will be helpful if people can post the mapr scores for qualifying students. It would take the guesswork out.

MCPS is so weird about this. My straight A student with 99th percentile MAP scores was not identified as GT last year bc of “district assessments”. She got 4s in reading and math and you need 5s? I still don’t understand it. A 4 is an A with standards-based grading. It seems like mcps enjoys making things intentionally vague. She was not even entered in the lottery pool this year. I suppose she’ll once again barely miss GT designation… ugh.

That's weird. I thought the new assessments were on a scale of one to three so she got a four. She must be doing awesome!

Is that new as of this year?? Last year you needed a 5 on district assessments.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MCPS should stop wasting money on surveys and contractors and start focusing on properly educating all the kids who meet the parameters for CES/enrichment/magnet schools. Or perhaps MCPS needs to also ask why so many kids qualify for these enhancement programs? Maybe educational standards need to go up. These lotteries are ridiculous.

Agreed.

+1 Maybe raise the bar to top 2 percent, the way CTY does, to enter the lottery, and moderate or high FARMs can be locally normed.

Maybe we could actually dedicate money and resources to expanding the enriched studies program so that every kid who qualifies can access that instruction.

Most of the new funds this past year went to increasing the number of Central Office positions.

While there may be new central office positions, ELC is also expanding to all schools so there is supposed to be enrichment available at all schools. How the implement it we will see, but I've heard great things about it from other schools. I find this encouraging.

Correct, and I want to pull this out because I think it will reassure some parents on this thread, but also encourage them to get involved in advocacy. There is a large-scale enlargement of the ELC curriculum coming for next year's 4th graders. Almost every school in MCPS will get the curriculum.

However, contrary to the intent of the ELC and in opposition to best practice for GT education, many schools will be rolling out the new curriculum to every single 4th grader and with no cohorting. That is, it amounts to a change in the reading/ELA curriculum but classes will remain heterogenous.

When the ELC was piloted, it was always meant to serve the needs to highly able learners, and to cohort them with one another for ELA. It was meant to provide an appropriate education, with academic peers, in the home school and without the trouble of changing to a CES.

This matters because MCPS had found that BIPOC kids and poor/working class kids were far less likely to accept CES placements than their white/Asian and middle class peers. Providing an appropriate, differentiated, education in the home school was meant to serve those kids in their home environment while not creating logistical challenges for their families.

So, the good news is that every kid who qualified for the lottery will have access to the ELC curriculum next year (almost). The bad news is that principals may decide NOT to cohort those kids together.

The opportunity to advocate for the lottery-eligible kids to receive the ELC curriculum together is right now. Literally right now. Call/email/show up to PTA meetings and ask your principals how they intend to handle the ELC rollout. If they are going to offer it to every single kid without differentiating or cohorting the highly able learners, get in touch with the MCCPTA Gifted Committee and ask them for help advocating to the next level.

You can check them out here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/875483609961996

MCPS teacher w/ an MCPS 3rd grader here--this is very true. I reached out the reading specialist at my kid's school (qualified for lottery but did not get placed, will receive ELC) to ask about what it would look like in our home school next year, which would help us determine whether we would accept a CES spot if offered. I was told that this:
-a dedicated teacher will pull the ELC students into another classroom for the entire ELA block every day
-all students who qualified for the lottery will be in this group
-classroom teachers and others involved in 3rd grade (I'm guessing SpEd, ESOL, etc) will meet soon and add students who did not qualify for the lottery but teachers feel would benefit from the ELC

This is just what I was told about my kids' home school. I'm sure it will look different in other schools (although this sounds very similar to what my school is doing). As with everything, if you want to know what's happening in your child's school, just ask! Email the reading specialist and ask what ELC implementation will look like.

"a dedicated teacher will pull the ELC students into another classroom for the entire ELA block every day"
Wow! that sounds great. This is not happening at our Middle School.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MCPS should stop wasting money on surveys and contractors and start focusing on properly educating all the kids who meet the parameters for CES/enrichment/magnet schools. Or perhaps MCPS needs to also ask why so many kids qualify for these enhancement programs? Maybe educational standards need to go up. These lotteries are ridiculous.

Agreed.

+1 Maybe raise the bar to top 2 percent, the way CTY does, to enter the lottery, and moderate or high FARMs can be locally normed.

Maybe we could actually dedicate money and resources to expanding the enriched studies program so that every kid who qualifies can access that instruction.

Most of the new funds this past year went to increasing the number of Central Office positions.

While there may be new central office positions, ELC is also expanding to all schools so there is supposed to be enrichment available at all schools. How the implement it we will see, but I've heard great things about it from other schools. I find this encouraging.

Correct, and I want to pull this out because I think it will reassure some parents on this thread, but also encourage them to get involved in advocacy. There is a large-scale enlargement of the ELC curriculum coming for next year's 4th graders. Almost every school in MCPS will get the curriculum.

However, contrary to the intent of the ELC and in opposition to best practice for GT education, many schools will be rolling out the new curriculum to every single 4th grader and with no cohorting. That is, it amounts to a change in the reading/ELA curriculum but classes will remain heterogenous.

When the ELC was piloted, it was always meant to serve the needs to highly able learners, and to cohort them with one another for ELA. It was meant to provide an appropriate education, with academic peers, in the home school and without the trouble of changing to a CES.

This matters because MCPS had found that BIPOC kids and poor/working class kids were far less likely to accept CES placements than their white/Asian and middle class peers. Providing an appropriate, differentiated, education in the home school was meant to serve those kids in their home environment while not creating logistical challenges for their families.

So, the good news is that every kid who qualified for the lottery will have access to the ELC curriculum next year (almost). The bad news is that principals may decide NOT to cohort those kids together.

The opportunity to advocate for the lottery-eligible kids to receive the ELC curriculum together is right now. Literally right now. Call/email/show up to PTA meetings and ask your principals how they intend to handle the ELC rollout. If they are going to offer it to every single kid without differentiating or cohorting the highly able learners, get in touch with the MCCPTA Gifted Committee and ask them for help advocating to the next level.

You can check them out here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/875483609961996

MCPS teacher w/ an MCPS 3rd grader here--this is very true. I reached out the reading specialist at my kid's school (qualified for lottery but did not get placed, will receive ELC) to ask about what it would look like in our home school next year, which would help us determine whether we would accept a CES spot if offered. I was told that this:
-a dedicated teacher will pull the ELC students into another classroom for the entire ELA block every day
-all students who qualified for the lottery will be in this group
-classroom teachers and others involved in 3rd grade (I'm guessing SpEd, ESOL, etc) will meet soon and add students who did not qualify for the lottery but teachers feel would benefit from the ELC

This is just what I was told about my kids' home school. I'm sure it will look different in other schools (although this sounds very similar to what my school is doing). As with everything, if you want to know what's happening in your child's school, just ask! Email the reading specialist and ask what ELC implementation will look like.

"a dedicated teacher will pull the ELC students into another classroom for the entire ELA block every day"
Wow! that sounds great. This is not happening at our Middle School.

Sorry - read to quickly. I thought this was about the Middle School Lottery.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At a W feeder school, did not make it to the lottery pool even … wtf

So, being at a W feeder automatically qualifies your kid? wtf

Actually I meant the opposite. Not sure what stats you need to qualify from a W feeder as my kid has the stats required but i am
Sure the cut off for low farms school is higher and therefore my kid did not qualify.

If the kid didn’t make the lottery pool, then they didn’t meet the basic score requirements of report card and top 15 percentile MAP-R.

But that’s what I am telling you. He did. Report card is straight A’s and the map r was above 85th so there must be a different cut off for our w feeder school.
It will be helpful if people can post the mapr scores for qualifying students. It would take the guesswork out.

MCPS is so weird about this. My straight A student with 99th percentile MAP scores was not identified as GT last year bc of “district assessments”. She got 4s in reading and math and you need 5s? I still don’t understand it. A 4 is an A with standards-based grading. It seems like mcps enjoys making things intentionally vague. She was not even entered in the lottery pool this year. I suppose she’ll once again barely miss GT designation… ugh.

Why wasn’t she entered in the lottery pool if she has 99th percentile? Mine had 97th in the fall but after mcps did their magic on him his score fell and is below the 95th percentile threshold now and hence he is not eligible for lottery or enrichment. Mcps enriched him so much between fall and winter, that he doesn’t need enrichment anymore.. way to go mcps!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MCPS should stop wasting money on surveys and contractors and start focusing on properly educating all the kids who meet the parameters for CES/enrichment/magnet schools. Or perhaps MCPS needs to also ask why so many kids qualify for these enhancement programs? Maybe educational standards need to go up. These lotteries are ridiculous.

Agreed.

+1 Maybe raise the bar to top 2 percent, the way CTY does, to enter the lottery, and moderate or high FARMs can be locally normed.

Maybe we could actually dedicate money and resources to expanding the enriched studies program so that every kid who qualifies can access that instruction.

Most of the new funds this past year went to increasing the number of Central Office positions.

While there may be new central office positions, ELC is also expanding to all schools so there is supposed to be enrichment available at all schools. How the implement it we will see, but I've heard great things about it from other schools. I find this encouraging.

Correct, and I want to pull this out because I think it will reassure some parents on this thread, but also encourage them to get involved in advocacy. There is a large-scale enlargement of the ELC curriculum coming for next year's 4th graders. Almost every school in MCPS will get the curriculum.

However, contrary to the intent of the ELC and in opposition to best practice for GT education, many schools will be rolling out the new curriculum to every single 4th grader and with no cohorting. That is, it amounts to a change in the reading/ELA curriculum but classes will remain heterogenous.

When the ELC was piloted, it was always meant to serve the needs to highly able learners, and to cohort them with one another for ELA. It was meant to provide an appropriate education, with academic peers, in the home school and without the trouble of changing to a CES.

This matters because MCPS had found that BIPOC kids and poor/working class kids were far less likely to accept CES placements than their white/Asian and middle class peers. Providing an appropriate, differentiated, education in the home school was meant to serve those kids in their home environment while not creating logistical challenges for their families.

So, the good news is that every kid who qualified for the lottery will have access to the ELC curriculum next year (almost). The bad news is that principals may decide NOT to cohort those kids together.

The opportunity to advocate for the lottery-eligible kids to receive the ELC curriculum together is right now. Literally right now. Call/email/show up to PTA meetings and ask your principals how they intend to handle the ELC rollout. If they are going to offer it to every single kid without differentiating or cohorting the highly able learners, get in touch with the MCCPTA Gifted Committee and ask them for help advocating to the next level.

You can check them out here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/875483609961996

MCPS teacher w/ an MCPS 3rd grader here--this is very true. I reached out the reading specialist at my kid's school (qualified for lottery but did not get placed, will receive ELC) to ask about what it would look like in our home school next year, which would help us determine whether we would accept a CES spot if offered. I was told that this:
-a dedicated teacher will pull the ELC students into another classroom for the entire ELA block every day
-all students who qualified for the lottery will be in this group
-classroom teachers and others involved in 3rd grade (I'm guessing SpEd, ESOL, etc) will meet soon and add students who did not qualify for the lottery but teachers feel would benefit from the ELC

This is just what I was told about my kids' home school. I'm sure it will look different in other schools (although this sounds very similar to what my school is doing). As with everything, if you want to know what's happening in your child's school, just ask! Email the reading specialist and ask what ELC implementation will look like.

This sounds great. Can you share the school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MCPS should stop wasting money on surveys and contractors and start focusing on properly educating all the kids who meet the parameters for CES/enrichment/magnet schools. Or perhaps MCPS needs to also ask why so many kids qualify for these enhancement programs? Maybe educational standards need to go up. These lotteries are ridiculous.

Agreed.

+1 Maybe raise the bar to top 2 percent, the way CTY does, to enter the lottery, and moderate or high FARMs can be locally normed.

Maybe we could actually dedicate money and resources to expanding the enriched studies program so that every kid who qualifies can access that instruction.

Most of the new funds this past year went to increasing the number of Central Office positions.

While there may be new central office positions, ELC is also expanding to all schools so there is supposed to be enrichment available at all schools. How the implement it we will see, but I've heard great things about it from other schools. I find this encouraging.

Correct, and I want to pull this out because I think it will reassure some parents on this thread, but also encourage them to get involved in advocacy. There is a large-scale enlargement of the ELC curriculum coming for next year's 4th graders. Almost every school in MCPS will get the curriculum.

However, contrary to the intent of the ELC and in opposition to best practice for GT education, many schools will be rolling out the new curriculum to every single 4th grader and with no cohorting. That is, it amounts to a change in the reading/ELA curriculum but classes will remain heterogenous.

When the ELC was piloted, it was always meant to serve the needs to highly able learners, and to cohort them with one another for ELA. It was meant to provide an appropriate education, with academic peers, in the home school and without the trouble of changing to a CES.

This matters because MCPS had found that BIPOC kids and poor/working class kids were far less likely to accept CES placements than their white/Asian and middle class peers. Providing an appropriate, differentiated, education in the home school was meant to serve those kids in their home environment while not creating logistical challenges for their families.

So, the good news is that every kid who qualified for the lottery will have access to the ELC curriculum next year (almost). The bad news is that principals may decide NOT to cohort those kids together.

The opportunity to advocate for the lottery-eligible kids to receive the ELC curriculum together is right now. Literally right now. Call/email/show up to PTA meetings and ask your principals how they intend to handle the ELC rollout. If they are going to offer it to every single kid without differentiating or cohorting the highly able learners, get in touch with the MCCPTA Gifted Committee and ask them for help advocating to the next level.

You can check them out here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/875483609961996

MCPS teacher w/ an MCPS 3rd grader here--this is very true. I reached out the reading specialist at my kid's school (qualified for lottery but did not get placed, will receive ELC) to ask about what it would look like in our home school next year, which would help us determine whether we would accept a CES spot if offered. I was told that this:
-a dedicated teacher will pull the ELC students into another classroom for the entire ELA block every day
-all students who qualified for the lottery will be in this group
-classroom teachers and others involved in 3rd grade (I'm guessing SpEd, ESOL, etc) will meet soon and add students who did not qualify for the lottery but teachers feel would benefit from the ELC

This is just what I was told about my kids' home school. I'm sure it will look different in other schools (although this sounds very similar to what my school is doing). As with everything, if you want to know what's happening in your child's school, just ask! Email the reading specialist and ask what ELC implementation will look like.

This sounds great. Can you share the school?

This sounds like what Central Office is recommending according to the person I spoke to on the phone about my kid in the wait pool. I hope it's what will happen at most schools once the schools have more information about ELC and any changes with Benchmark.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MCPS should stop wasting money on surveys and contractors and start focusing on properly educating all the kids who meet the parameters for CES/enrichment/magnet schools. Or perhaps MCPS needs to also ask why so many kids qualify for these enhancement programs? Maybe educational standards need to go up. These lotteries are ridiculous.

Agreed.

+1 Maybe raise the bar to top 2 percent, the way CTY does, to enter the lottery, and moderate or high FARMs can be locally normed.

Maybe we could actually dedicate money and resources to expanding the enriched studies program so that every kid who qualifies can access that instruction.

Most of the new funds this past year went to increasing the number of Central Office positions.

While there may be new central office positions, ELC is also expanding to all schools so there is supposed to be enrichment available at all schools. How the implement it we will see, but I've heard great things about it from other schools. I find this encouraging.

Correct, and I want to pull this out because I think it will reassure some parents on this thread, but also encourage them to get involved in advocacy. There is a large-scale enlargement of the ELC curriculum coming for next year's 4th graders. Almost every school in MCPS will get the curriculum.

However, contrary to the intent of the ELC and in opposition to best practice for GT education, many schools will be rolling out the new curriculum to every single 4th grader and with no cohorting. That is, it amounts to a change in the reading/ELA curriculum but classes will remain heterogenous.

When the ELC was piloted, it was always meant to serve the needs to highly able learners, and to cohort them with one another for ELA. It was meant to provide an appropriate education, with academic peers, in the home school and without the trouble of changing to a CES.

This matters because MCPS had found that BIPOC kids and poor/working class kids were far less likely to accept CES placements than their white/Asian and middle class peers. Providing an appropriate, differentiated, education in the home school was meant to serve those kids in their home environment while not creating logistical challenges for their families.

So, the good news is that every kid who qualified for the lottery will have access to the ELC curriculum next year (almost). The bad news is that principals may decide NOT to cohort those kids together.

The opportunity to advocate for the lottery-eligible kids to receive the ELC curriculum together is right now. Literally right now. Call/email/show up to PTA meetings and ask your principals how they intend to handle the ELC rollout. If they are going to offer it to every single kid without differentiating or cohorting the highly able learners, get in touch with the MCCPTA Gifted Committee and ask them for help advocating to the next level.

You can check them out here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/875483609961996

MCPS teacher w/ an MCPS 3rd grader here--this is very true. I reached out the reading specialist at my kid's school (qualified for lottery but did not get placed, will receive ELC) to ask about what it would look like in our home school next year, which would help us determine whether we would accept a CES spot if offered. I was told that this:
-a dedicated teacher will pull the ELC students into another classroom for the entire ELA block every day
-all students who qualified for the lottery will be in this group
-classroom teachers and others involved in 3rd grade (I'm guessing SpEd, ESOL, etc) will meet soon and add students who did not qualify for the lottery but teachers feel would benefit from the ELC

This is just what I was told about my kids' home school. I'm sure it will look different in other schools (although this sounds very similar to what my school is doing). As with everything, if you want to know what's happening in your child's school, just ask! Email the reading specialist and ask what ELC implementation will look like.

This sounds great. Can you share the school?

This sounds like what Central Office is recommending according to the person I spoke to on the phone about my kid in the wait pool. I hope it's what will happen at most schools once the schools have more information about ELC and any changes with Benchmark.

If this is the case and if the home school has the ELC then what is the advantage of going to a CES? Just the cohort? My DD was accepted and I'm just trying to figure out whether it makes sense for her. I wonder how many kids at the home school qualify for the ELC. Would people expect that it is a full class of kids?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At a W feeder school, did not make it to the lottery pool even … wtf

So, being at a W feeder automatically qualifies your kid? wtf

Actually I meant the opposite. Not sure what stats you need to qualify from a W feeder as my kid has the stats required but i am
Sure the cut off for low farms school is higher and therefore my kid did not qualify.

If the kid didn’t make the lottery pool, then they didn’t meet the basic score requirements of report card and top 15 percentile MAP-R.

But that’s what I am telling you. He did. Report card is straight A’s and the map r was above 85th so there must be a different cut off for our w feeder school.
It will be helpful if people can post the mapr scores for qualifying students. It would take the guesswork out.

MCPS is so weird about this. My straight A student with 99th percentile MAP scores was not identified as GT last year bc of “district assessments”. She got 4s in reading and math and you need 5s? I still don’t understand it. A 4 is an A with standards-based grading. It seems like mcps enjoys making things intentionally vague. She was not even entered in the lottery pool this year. I suppose she’ll once again barely miss GT designation… ugh.

Why wasn’t she entered in the lottery pool if she has 99th percentile? Mine had 97th in the fall but after mcps did their magic on him his score fell and is below the 95th percentile threshold now and hence he is not eligible for lottery or enrichment. Mcps enriched him so much between fall and winter, that he doesn’t need enrichment anymore.. way to go mcps!

It sounds like you are mixing up GT Identification in 2nd grade and the central review for the lottery in 3rd grade. The way I understand it, GT Identification is a label, but not a program. Kids with the label could need enrichment in different areas and might get it in different ways (or not at all it seems in many cases). The central review for the lottery is for a program - CES if you win the lottery and ELC if you are in the wait pool or decide not to go to CES.

The threshold for 3rd grade is the 85th percentile, but locally normed, which we parents never see. It was easy to find out though, just use the email on the letter and ask what it was for your kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MCPS should stop wasting money on surveys and contractors and start focusing on properly educating all the kids who meet the parameters for CES/enrichment/magnet schools. Or perhaps MCPS needs to also ask why so many kids qualify for these enhancement programs? Maybe educational standards need to go up. These lotteries are ridiculous.

Agreed.

+1 Maybe raise the bar to top 2 percent, the way CTY does, to enter the lottery, and moderate or high FARMs can be locally normed.

Maybe we could actually dedicate money and resources to expanding the enriched studies program so that every kid who qualifies can access that instruction.

Most of the new funds this past year went to increasing the number of Central Office positions.

While there may be new central office positions, ELC is also expanding to all schools so there is supposed to be enrichment available at all schools. How the implement it we will see, but I've heard great things about it from other schools. I find this encouraging.

Correct, and I want to pull this out because I think it will reassure some parents on this thread, but also encourage them to get involved in advocacy. There is a large-scale enlargement of the ELC curriculum coming for next year's 4th graders. Almost every school in MCPS will get the curriculum.

However, contrary to the intent of the ELC and in opposition to best practice for GT education, many schools will be rolling out the new curriculum to every single 4th grader and with no cohorting. That is, it amounts to a change in the reading/ELA curriculum but classes will remain heterogenous.

When the ELC was piloted, it was always meant to serve the needs to highly able learners, and to cohort them with one another for ELA. It was meant to provide an appropriate education, with academic peers, in the home school and without the trouble of changing to a CES.

This matters because MCPS had found that BIPOC kids and poor/working class kids were far less likely to accept CES placements than their white/Asian and middle class peers. Providing an appropriate, differentiated, education in the home school was meant to serve those kids in their home environment while not creating logistical challenges for their families.

So, the good news is that every kid who qualified for the lottery will have access to the ELC curriculum next year (almost). The bad news is that principals may decide NOT to cohort those kids together.

The opportunity to advocate for the lottery-eligible kids to receive the ELC curriculum together is right now. Literally right now. Call/email/show up to PTA meetings and ask your principals how they intend to handle the ELC rollout. If they are going to offer it to every single kid without differentiating or cohorting the highly able learners, get in touch with the MCCPTA Gifted Committee and ask them for help advocating to the next level.

You can check them out here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/875483609961996

MCPS teacher w/ an MCPS 3rd grader here--this is very true. I reached out the reading specialist at my kid's school (qualified for lottery but did not get placed, will receive ELC) to ask about what it would look like in our home school next year, which would help us determine whether we would accept a CES spot if offered. I was told that this:
-a dedicated teacher will pull the ELC students into another classroom for the entire ELA block every day
-all students who qualified for the lottery will be in this group
-classroom teachers and others involved in 3rd grade (I'm guessing SpEd, ESOL, etc) will meet soon and add students who did not qualify for the lottery but teachers feel would benefit from the ELC

This is just what I was told about my kids' home school. I'm sure it will look different in other schools (although this sounds very similar to what my school is doing). As with everything, if you want to know what's happening in your child's school, just ask! Email the reading specialist and ask what ELC implementation will look like.

This sounds great. Can you share the school?

This sounds like what Central Office is recommending according to the person I spoke to on the phone about my kid in the wait pool. I hope it's what will happen at most schools once the schools have more information about ELC and any changes with Benchmark.

If this is the case and if the home school has the ELC then what is the advantage of going to a CES? Just the cohort? My DD was accepted and I'm just trying to figure out whether it makes sense for her. I wonder how many kids at the home school qualify for the ELC. Would people expect that it is a full class of kids?

I'd call your school and ask and also check with the CES. I'm pretty sure you will be able to go to the CES for an open house or something after spring break. At CES the kids stay together all day except for math, sounds like ELC they might be together just for reading and writing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MCPS should stop wasting money on surveys and contractors and start focusing on properly educating all the kids who meet the parameters for CES/enrichment/magnet schools. Or perhaps MCPS needs to also ask why so many kids qualify for these enhancement programs? Maybe educational standards need to go up. These lotteries are ridiculous.

Agreed.

+1 Maybe raise the bar to top 2 percent, the way CTY does, to enter the lottery, and moderate or high FARMs can be locally normed.

Maybe we could actually dedicate money and resources to expanding the enriched studies program so that every kid who qualifies can access that instruction.

Most of the new funds this past year went to increasing the number of Central Office positions.

While there may be new central office positions, ELC is also expanding to all schools so there is supposed to be enrichment available at all schools. How the implement it we will see, but I've heard great things about it from other schools. I find this encouraging.

Correct, and I want to pull this out because I think it will reassure some parents on this thread, but also encourage them to get involved in advocacy. There is a large-scale enlargement of the ELC curriculum coming for next year's 4th graders. Almost every school in MCPS will get the curriculum.

However, contrary to the intent of the ELC and in opposition to best practice for GT education, many schools will be rolling out the new curriculum to every single 4th grader and with no cohorting. That is, it amounts to a change in the reading/ELA curriculum but classes will remain heterogenous.

When the ELC was piloted, it was always meant to serve the needs to highly able learners, and to cohort them with one another for ELA. It was meant to provide an appropriate education, with academic peers, in the home school and without the trouble of changing to a CES.

This matters because MCPS had found that BIPOC kids and poor/working class kids were far less likely to accept CES placements than their white/Asian and middle class peers. Providing an appropriate, differentiated, education in the home school was meant to serve those kids in their home environment while not creating logistical challenges for their families.

So, the good news is that every kid who qualified for the lottery will have access to the ELC curriculum next year (almost). The bad news is that principals may decide NOT to cohort those kids together.

The opportunity to advocate for the lottery-eligible kids to receive the ELC curriculum together is right now. Literally right now. Call/email/show up to PTA meetings and ask your principals how they intend to handle the ELC rollout. If they are going to offer it to every single kid without differentiating or cohorting the highly able learners, get in touch with the MCCPTA Gifted Committee and ask them for help advocating to the next level.

You can check them out here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/875483609961996

MCPS teacher w/ an MCPS 3rd grader here--this is very true. I reached out the reading specialist at my kid's school (qualified for lottery but did not get placed, will receive ELC) to ask about what it would look like in our home school next year, which would help us determine whether we would accept a CES spot if offered. I was told that this:
-a dedicated teacher will pull the ELC students into another classroom for the entire ELA block every day
-all students who qualified for the lottery will be in this group
-classroom teachers and others involved in 3rd grade (I'm guessing SpEd, ESOL, etc) will meet soon and add students who did not qualify for the lottery but teachers feel would benefit from the ELC

This is just what I was told about my kids' home school. I'm sure it will look different in other schools (although this sounds very similar to what my school is doing). As with everything, if you want to know what's happening in your child's school, just ask! Email the reading specialist and ask what ELC implementation will look like.

This sounds great. Can you share the school?

This sounds like what Central Office is recommending according to the person I spoke to on the phone about my kid in the wait pool. I hope it's what will happen at most schools once the schools have more information about ELC and any changes with Benchmark.

If this is the case and if the home school has the ELC then what is the advantage of going to a CES? Just the cohort? My DD was accepted and I'm just trying to figure out whether it makes sense for her. I wonder how many kids at the home school qualify for the ELC. Would people expect that it is a full class of kids?

I'd call your school and ask and also check with the CES. I'm pretty sure you will be able to go to the CES for an open house or something after spring break. At CES the kids stay together all day except for math, sounds like ELC they might be together just for reading and writing.

At CCES the CES kids are together for all subjects, including math. They all do compacted math in their own cohorts, but mixed with the general population for anything during the school day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MCPS should stop wasting money on surveys and contractors and start focusing on properly educating all the kids who meet the parameters for CES/enrichment/magnet schools. Or perhaps MCPS needs to also ask why so many kids qualify for these enhancement programs? Maybe educational standards need to go up. These lotteries are ridiculous.

Agreed.

+1 Maybe raise the bar to top 2 percent, the way CTY does, to enter the lottery, and moderate or high FARMs can be locally normed.

Maybe we could actually dedicate money and resources to expanding the enriched studies program so that every kid who qualifies can access that instruction.

Most of the new funds this past year went to increasing the number of Central Office positions.

While there may be new central office positions, ELC is also expanding to all schools so there is supposed to be enrichment available at all schools. How the implement it we will see, but I've heard great things about it from other schools. I find this encouraging.

Correct, and I want to pull this out because I think it will reassure some parents on this thread, but also encourage them to get involved in advocacy. There is a large-scale enlargement of the ELC curriculum coming for next year's 4th graders. Almost every school in MCPS will get the curriculum.

However, contrary to the intent of the ELC and in opposition to best practice for GT education, many schools will be rolling out the new curriculum to every single 4th grader and with no cohorting. That is, it amounts to a change in the reading/ELA curriculum but classes will remain heterogenous.

When the ELC was piloted, it was always meant to serve the needs to highly able learners, and to cohort them with one another for ELA. It was meant to provide an appropriate education, with academic peers, in the home school and without the trouble of changing to a CES.

This matters because MCPS had found that BIPOC kids and poor/working class kids were far less likely to accept CES placements than their white/Asian and middle class peers. Providing an appropriate, differentiated, education in the home school was meant to serve those kids in their home environment while not creating logistical challenges for their families.

So, the good news is that every kid who qualified for the lottery will have access to the ELC curriculum next year (almost). The bad news is that principals may decide NOT to cohort those kids together.

The opportunity to advocate for the lottery-eligible kids to receive the ELC curriculum together is right now. Literally right now. Call/email/show up to PTA meetings and ask your principals how they intend to handle the ELC rollout. If they are going to offer it to every single kid without differentiating or cohorting the highly able learners, get in touch with the MCCPTA Gifted Committee and ask them for help advocating to the next level.

You can check them out here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/875483609961996

MCPS teacher w/ an MCPS 3rd grader here--this is very true. I reached out the reading specialist at my kid's school (qualified for lottery but did not get placed, will receive ELC) to ask about what it would look like in our home school next year, which would help us determine whether we would accept a CES spot if offered. I was told that this:
-a dedicated teacher will pull the ELC students into another classroom for the entire ELA block every day
-all students who qualified for the lottery will be in this group
-classroom teachers and others involved in 3rd grade (I'm guessing SpEd, ESOL, etc) will meet soon and add students who did not qualify for the lottery but teachers feel would benefit from the ELC

This is just what I was told about my kids' home school. I'm sure it will look different in other schools (although this sounds very similar to what my school is doing). As with everything, if you want to know what's happening in your child's school, just ask! Email the reading specialist and ask what ELC implementation will look like.

This sounds great. Can you share the school?

This sounds like what Central Office is recommending according to the person I spoke to on the phone about my kid in the wait pool. I hope it's what will happen at most schools once the schools have more information about ELC and any changes with Benchmark.

If this is the case and if the home school has the ELC then what is the advantage of going to a CES? Just the cohort? My DD was accepted and I'm just trying to figure out whether it makes sense for her. I wonder how many kids at the home school qualify for the ELC. Would people expect that it is a full class of kids?

I'd call your school and ask and also check with the CES. I'm pretty sure you will be able to go to the CES for an open house or something after spring break. At CES the kids stay together all day except for math, sounds like ELC they might be together just for reading and writing.

At CCES the CES kids are together for all subjects, including math. They all do compacted math in their own cohorts, but mixed with the general population for anything during the school day.

Typo there - it should say that CCES does NOT mix CES kids at all with the general population during the day. The only time they interact is during afterschool activities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MCPS should stop wasting money on surveys and contractors and start focusing on properly educating all the kids who meet the parameters for CES/enrichment/magnet schools. Or perhaps MCPS needs to also ask why so many kids qualify for these enhancement programs? Maybe educational standards need to go up. These lotteries are ridiculous.

Agreed.

+1 Maybe raise the bar to top 2 percent, the way CTY does, to enter the lottery, and moderate or high FARMs can be locally normed.

Maybe we could actually dedicate money and resources to expanding the enriched studies program so that every kid who qualifies can access that instruction.

Most of the new funds this past year went to increasing the number of Central Office positions.

While there may be new central office positions, ELC is also expanding to all schools so there is supposed to be enrichment available at all schools. How the implement it we will see, but I've heard great things about it from other schools. I find this encouraging.

Correct, and I want to pull this out because I think it will reassure some parents on this thread, but also encourage them to get involved in advocacy. There is a large-scale enlargement of the ELC curriculum coming for next year's 4th graders. Almost every school in MCPS will get the curriculum.

However, contrary to the intent of the ELC and in opposition to best practice for GT education, many schools will be rolling out the new curriculum to every single 4th grader and with no cohorting. That is, it amounts to a change in the reading/ELA curriculum but classes will remain heterogenous.

When the ELC was piloted, it was always meant to serve the needs to highly able learners, and to cohort them with one another for ELA. It was meant to provide an appropriate education, with academic peers, in the home school and without the trouble of changing to a CES.

This matters because MCPS had found that BIPOC kids and poor/working class kids were far less likely to accept CES placements than their white/Asian and middle class peers. Providing an appropriate, differentiated, education in the home school was meant to serve those kids in their home environment while not creating logistical challenges for their families.

So, the good news is that every kid who qualified for the lottery will have access to the ELC curriculum next year (almost). The bad news is that principals may decide NOT to cohort those kids together.

The opportunity to advocate for the lottery-eligible kids to receive the ELC curriculum together is right now. Literally right now. Call/email/show up to PTA meetings and ask your principals how they intend to handle the ELC rollout. If they are going to offer it to every single kid without differentiating or cohorting the highly able learners, get in touch with the MCCPTA Gifted Committee and ask them for help advocating to the next level.

You can check them out here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/875483609961996

MCPS teacher w/ an MCPS 3rd grader here--this is very true. I reached out the reading specialist at my kid's school (qualified for lottery but did not get placed, will receive ELC) to ask about what it would look like in our home school next year, which would help us determine whether we would accept a CES spot if offered. I was told that this:
-a dedicated teacher will pull the ELC students into another classroom for the entire ELA block every day
-all students who qualified for the lottery will be in this group
-classroom teachers and others involved in 3rd grade (I'm guessing SpEd, ESOL, etc) will meet soon and add students who did not qualify for the lottery but teachers feel would benefit from the ELC

This is just what I was told about my kids' home school. I'm sure it will look different in other schools (although this sounds very similar to what my school is doing). As with everything, if you want to know what's happening in your child's school, just ask! Email the reading specialist and ask what ELC implementation will look like.

This sounds great. Can you share the school?

This sounds like what Central Office is recommending according to the person I spoke to on the phone about my kid in the wait pool. I hope it's what will happen at most schools once the schools have more information about ELC and any changes with Benchmark.

If this is the case and if the home school has the ELC then what is the advantage of going to a CES? Just the cohort? My DD was accepted and I'm just trying to figure out whether it makes sense for her. I wonder how many kids at the home school qualify for the ELC. Would people expect that it is a full class of kids?

My thoughts on this are the CES has the kids all together in one class all day. So your child will have the same classmates all day long, and probably the same teacher. If the CES is not your home school, your child will change schools and ride a bus. Some of the bus rides are really, really long. My child attends an "early" school (dismissal at 3:20) but the CES is late (dismissal at 3:50). I checked the current bus routes for the CES school, and my child's stop would begin the route, 70 minutes before drop-off. That would be a huge factor in the decision for our family. However, your CES might have the same schedule as the home school, and/or you might be one of the last stops on the route, so the bus ride wouldn't be an issue. Also, the CES classes stay at the max because there is a waiting list. If you're coming from a Title I or Focus school, that's a switch. Finally, you can accept a spot in the CES and give it a try, and then move back to the home school if it doesn't work for your family. I would imagine the home school would make arrangements for your child to be in the ELC class if that were the case.

For ELC, depending on the model, your child will have one classroom teacher and then leave to another room for reading/writing, with a different teacher and different classmates. From what we've read here, it sounds like compacted math is treated the same way, so potentially your child would have one classroom teacher, one ELA teacher, and one math teacher. There is likely a big overlap between ELC and compacted math, so there could be some consistency with classmates still. The class size for ELC is not pre-determined at the max. If there are 10 kids in the ELC, then there are 10 kids in the class. There might be students who didn't qualify for automatic placement still in the group, but they would be chosen by teacher recommendation, meaning they are motivated kids and would probably be academic peers for your child. However if 30+ students qualify for ELC, there's no guarantee that the school will have the staff to divide the group in two. This is why it's critical to find out what ELC will look like in your child's school, especially if you are deciding between it and CES.

Those are my thoughts as an MCPS teacher and parent. (I'm the original PP up there--Viers Mill is the ELC model I described)

[Anonymous]

Off topic, but some students’ magnet bus routes are 2 hours in each direction, so commute time can be an issue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Off topic, but some students’ magnet bus routes are 2 hours in each direction, so commute time can be an issue.

For a CES? Those are regional, usually for a single high school cluster. What elementary school magnet has a two hour each way commute?