Is it good or bad that MCPS placed Magnet schools in the lowest performing schools?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
This is false. ANYONE could take the test, and it wasn't heavily reliant on teacher/parent rec.

Only kids whose parents asked for their children to be tested were considered for the program in previous years but now schools identify candidates. Something like five times as many kids were tested than in prior years. This seems far more inclusive and does a better job finding the best candidates.

I totally agree. As long as MCPS provides adequate accelerated classes for the cohorts of kids who are left at their home schools, I think this is actually a really good move towards equity in access to magnet programs.

And that is the $64,000 question. Right now, they are only going to offer one or two of such classes, and I doubt the curriculum of those classes will be the exact same as in the magnet.

Massive eye role

If you are in the wealthier part of the county you are already accelerated. Even the kids in the "regular classes" are lightyears ahead of the average MCPS student.
So instead of having a magnet with kids who already were going to be fine and do well in their base schools. We have switched to a system that identifies smart kids from poorer (and yes more diverse) section of MCPS who could really benefit form having more advanced programming vs the slower normal programming at their base school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
This is false. ANYONE could take the test, and it wasn't heavily reliant on teacher/parent rec.

Only kids whose parents asked for their children to be tested were considered for the program in previous years but now schools identify candidates. Something like five times as many kids were tested than in prior years. This seems far more inclusive and does a better job finding the best candidates.

I totally agree. As long as MCPS provides adequate accelerated classes for the cohorts of kids who are left at their home schools, I think this is actually a really good move towards equity in access to magnet programs.

And that is the $64,000 question. Right now, they are only going to offer one or two of such classes, and I doubt the curriculum of those classes will be the exact same as in the magnet.

Massive eye role

If you are in the wealthier part of the county you are already accelerated. Even the kids in the "regular classes" are lightyears ahead of the average MCPS student.
So instead of having a magnet with kids who already were going to be fine and do well in their base schools. We have switched to a system that identifies smart kids from poorer (and yes more diverse) section of MCPS who could really benefit form having more advanced programming vs the slower normal programming at their base school.

This isn't about whether student A is ahead of student B. This is about equal access to accelerated curriculum for students who are equally, and in some cases, more than able than others, and simply missed out because they are surrounded by more of such students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
This is false. ANYONE could take the test, and it wasn't heavily reliant on teacher/parent rec.

Only kids whose parents asked for their children to be tested were considered for the program in previous years but now schools identify candidates. Something like five times as many kids were tested than in prior years. This seems far more inclusive and does a better job finding the best candidates.

I totally agree. As long as MCPS provides adequate accelerated classes for the cohorts of kids who are left at their home schools, I think this is actually a really good move towards equity in access to magnet programs.

And that is the $64,000 question. Right now, they are only going to offer one or two of such classes, and I doubt the curriculum of those classes will be the exact same as in the magnet.

Massive eye role

If you are in the wealthier part of the county you are already accelerated. Even the kids in the "regular classes" are lightyears ahead of the average MCPS student.
So instead of having a magnet with kids who already were going to be fine and do well in their base schools. We have switched to a system that identifies smart kids from poorer (and yes more diverse) section of MCPS who could really benefit form having more advanced programming vs the slower normal programming at their base school.

This isn't about whether student A is ahead of student B. This is about equal access to accelerated curriculum for students who are equally, and in some cases, more than able than others, and simply missed out because they are surrounded by more of such students.

you are in the wrong county then
this is about giving poorer and yes generally black/Hispanic minority students exposure to more advanced curriculum
the old model gave more spots to richer and generally white and Asian students who yes had higher test scores but come from high functioning schools that are capable of providing advanced challenging curriculum locally

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
This is false. ANYONE could take the test, and it wasn't heavily reliant on teacher/parent rec.

Only kids whose parents asked for their children to be tested were considered for the program in previous years but now schools identify candidates. Something like five times as many kids were tested than in prior years. This seems far more inclusive and does a better job finding the best candidates.

I totally agree. As long as MCPS provides adequate accelerated classes for the cohorts of kids who are left at their home schools, I think this is actually a really good move towards equity in access to magnet programs.

And that is the $64,000 question. Right now, they are only going to offer one or two of such classes, and I doubt the curriculum of those classes will be the exact same as in the magnet.

Massive eye role

If you are in the wealthier part of the county you are already accelerated. Even the kids in the "regular classes" are lightyears ahead of the average MCPS student.
So instead of having a magnet with kids who already were going to be fine and do well in their base schools. We have switched to a system that identifies smart kids from poorer (and yes more diverse) section of MCPS who could really benefit form having more advanced programming vs the slower normal programming at their base school.

This isn't about whether student A is ahead of student B. This is about equal access to accelerated curriculum for students who are equally, and in some cases, more than able than others, and simply missed out because they are surrounded by more of such students.

you are in the wrong county then
this is about giving poorer and yes generally black/Hispanic minority students exposure to more advanced curriculum
the old model gave more spots to richer and generally white and Asian students who yes had higher test scores but come from high functioning schools that are capable of providing advanced challenging curriculum locally

We're going around in circles. The pilot program to some of the MS will only offer at most one or two more "advanced" classes, and not the exact same magnet curriculum that the MS magnets will have. If that were the case, then of course, it would basically be a magnet without calling it a magnet. But that's not what's happening.

My DC takes "Honors" World History and English, and the Principal and teachers told the incoming parents of HGC students that these kids would be challenged. There is nothing "honors" about it. So, I have very little confidence about the one or two classes with more advanced curriculum.

And MCPS is a public school that should be providing the same access to all high achieving students. You can say it didn't use to, but it's not doing that today either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
This is false. ANYONE could take the test, and it wasn't heavily reliant on teacher/parent rec.

Only kids whose parents asked for their children to be tested were considered for the program in previous years but now schools identify candidates. Something like five times as many kids were tested than in prior years. This seems far more inclusive and does a better job finding the best candidates.

I totally agree. As long as MCPS provides adequate accelerated classes for the cohorts of kids who are left at their home schools, I think this is actually a really good move towards equity in access to magnet programs.

And that is the $64,000 question. Right now, they are only going to offer one or two of such classes, and I doubt the curriculum of those classes will be the exact same as in the magnet.

Massive eye role

If you are in the wealthier part of the county you are already accelerated. Even the kids in the "regular classes" are lightyears ahead of the average MCPS student.
So instead of having a magnet with kids who already were going to be fine and do well in their base schools. We have switched to a system that identifies smart kids from poorer (and yes more diverse) section of MCPS who could really benefit form having more advanced programming vs the slower normal programming at their base school.

This isn't about whether student A is ahead of student B. This is about equal access to accelerated curriculum for students who are equally, and in some cases, more than able than others, and simply missed out because they are surrounded by more of such students.

you are in the wrong county then
this is about giving poorer and yes generally black/Hispanic minority students exposure to more advanced curriculum
the old model gave more spots to richer and generally white and Asian students who yes had higher test scores but come from high functioning schools that are capable of providing advanced challenging curriculum locally

We're going around in circles. The pilot program to some of the MS will only offer at most one or two more "advanced" classes, and not the exact same magnet curriculum that the MS magnets will have. If that were the case, then of course, it would basically be a magnet without calling it a magnet. But that's not what's happening.

My DC takes "Honors" World History and English, and the Principal and teachers told the incoming parents of HGC students that these kids would be challenged. There is nothing "honors" about it. So, I have very little confidence about the one or two classes with more advanced curriculum.

And MCPS is a public school that should be providing the same access to all high achieving students. You can say it didn't use to, but it's not doing that today either.

Unfortunately this is very hard to achieve. Public school "should" be all things to all different types of students. Alas it is not. We have a child with an IEP and I can tell you we are fighting for access as well. If you want a perfectly tailored education -- home school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
This is false. ANYONE could take the test, and it wasn't heavily reliant on teacher/parent rec.

Only kids whose parents asked for their children to be tested were considered for the program in previous years but now schools identify candidates. Something like five times as many kids were tested than in prior years. This seems far more inclusive and does a better job finding the best candidates.

I totally agree. As long as MCPS provides adequate accelerated classes for the cohorts of kids who are left at their home schools, I think this is actually a really good move towards equity in access to magnet programs.

And that is the $64,000 question. Right now, they are only going to offer one or two of such classes, and I doubt the curriculum of those classes will be the exact same as in the magnet.

Massive eye role

If you are in the wealthier part of the county you are already accelerated. Even the kids in the "regular classes" are lightyears ahead of the average MCPS student.
So instead of having a magnet with kids who already were going to be fine and do well in their base schools. We have switched to a system that identifies smart kids from poorer (and yes more diverse) section of MCPS who could really benefit form having more advanced programming vs the slower normal programming at their base school.

same as Harvard! See, the kids who were naturally scoring well, doing ECs/sports well, and leadership were not admitted in order to give kids who had poor K-12 experiences but pretty good test scores an opportunity at more advanced schooling. Because they need to accelerate and that's how it works.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
This is false. ANYONE could take the test, and it wasn't heavily reliant on teacher/parent rec.

Only kids whose parents asked for their children to be tested were considered for the program in previous years but now schools identify candidates. Something like five times as many kids were tested than in prior years. This seems far more inclusive and does a better job finding the best candidates.

I totally agree. As long as MCPS provides adequate accelerated classes for the cohorts of kids who are left at their home schools, I think this is actually a really good move towards equity in access to magnet programs.

And that is the $64,000 question. Right now, they are only going to offer one or two of such classes, and I doubt the curriculum of those classes will be the exact same as in the magnet.

Massive eye role

If you are in the wealthier part of the county you are already accelerated. Even the kids in the "regular classes" are lightyears ahead of the average MCPS student.
So instead of having a magnet with kids who already were going to be fine and do well in their base schools. We have switched to a system that identifies smart kids from poorer (and yes more diverse) section of MCPS who could really benefit form having more advanced programming vs the slower normal programming at their base school.

same as Harvard! See, the kids who were naturally scoring well, doing ECs/sports well, and leadership were not admitted in order to give kids who had poor K-12 experiences but pretty good test scores an opportunity at more advanced schooling. Because they need to accelerate and that's how it works.

this is so utterly ridiculous. I think every student admitted to harvard is talented. you'd have to be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:[b]I keep hearing that kids from certain schools DESERVE a magnet curriculum because they are ahead of the standard curriculum, but PP admitted those kids are ahead of the curriculum because they attend summer classes to put them there. [/b]

Yes, if you can pay for a summer program to teach your child ahead of the curriculum, that doesn't make them gifted. It makes them lucky. Count your blessings.

never heard of this. what "certain schools" are you talking about?
our whole neighborhood is at summer/sports camps, daycare, grandparents' homes, or on vacation all summer. tho they do show up for most wed and saturday community pool swim meets.

Check out 12:14. She writes:

"He preps kids by convincing their parents to send him their every summer for many summers in a row. While there, he provides them instruction that they are not getting in public school. These kids are being taught math concepts far more than 1 grade level ahead. They are explicitly being taught reading, writing, vocabulary building strategies, again, far above grade level."

So you heard something on dcum about "certain schools." i still don't get it. all our kids took the IQ test, did well and went through the whole entire program. But today I do not know what to tell my neighbors with young kids. So I came on here and am more confused than ever. So glad our kids are Juniors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
This is false. ANYONE could take the test, and it wasn't heavily reliant on teacher/parent rec.

Only kids whose parents asked for their children to be tested were considered for the program in previous years but now schools identify candidates. Something like five times as many kids were tested than in prior years. This seems far more inclusive and does a better job finding the best candidates.

I totally agree. As long as MCPS provides adequate accelerated classes for the cohorts of kids who are left at their home schools, I think this is actually a really good move towards equity in access to magnet programs.

And that is the $64,000 question. Right now, they are only going to offer one or two of such classes, and I doubt the curriculum of those classes will be the exact same as in the magnet.

Massive eye role

If you are in the wealthier part of the county you are already accelerated. Even the kids in the "regular classes" are lightyears ahead of the average MCPS student.
So instead of having a magnet with kids who already were going to be fine and do well in their base schools. We have switched to a system that identifies smart kids from poorer (and yes more diverse) section of MCPS who could really benefit form having more advanced programming vs the slower normal programming at their base school.

This isn't about whether student A is ahead of student B. This is about equal access to accelerated curriculum for students who are equally, and in some cases, more than able than others, and simply missed out because they are surrounded by more of such students.

you are in the wrong county then
this is about giving poorer and yes generally black/Hispanic minority students exposure to more advanced curriculum
the old model gave more spots to richer and generally white and Asian students who yes had higher test scores but come from high functioning schools that are capable of providing advanced challenging curriculum locally

Whoa, hold your horses. That's a big assumption and it is incorrect.

The second MCPS got rid of ability tracking at Pyle this went out the door fast. Kids got very bored. Car pools to MS magnets formed. Uptake to MS magnets increased as Pyle disappointed all the kids who had HGC in 4&5th grade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
This is false. ANYONE could take the test, and it wasn't heavily reliant on teacher/parent rec.

Only kids whose parents asked for their children to be tested were considered for the program in previous years but now schools identify candidates. Something like five times as many kids were tested than in prior years. This seems far more inclusive and does a better job finding the best candidates.

I totally agree. As long as MCPS provides adequate accelerated classes for the cohorts of kids who are left at their home schools, I think this is actually a really good move towards equity in access to magnet programs.

And that is the $64,000 question. Right now, they are only going to offer one or two of such classes, and I doubt the curriculum of those classes will be the exact same as in the magnet.

Massive eye role

If you are in the wealthier part of the county you are already accelerated. Even the kids in the "regular classes" are lightyears ahead of the average MCPS student.
So instead of having a magnet with kids who already were going to be fine and do well in their base schools. We have switched to a system that identifies smart kids from poorer (and yes more diverse) section of MCPS who could really benefit form having more advanced programming vs the slower normal programming at their base school.

This isn't about whether student A is ahead of student B. This is about equal access to accelerated curriculum for students who are equally, and in some cases, more than able than others, and simply missed out because they are surrounded by more of such students.

you are in the wrong county then
this is about giving poorer and yes generally black/Hispanic minority students exposure to more advanced curriculum
the old model gave more spots to richer and generally white and Asian students who yes had higher test scores but come from high functioning schools that are capable of providing advanced challenging curriculum locally

We're going around in circles. The pilot program to some of the MS will only offer at most one or two more "advanced" classes, and not the exact same magnet curriculum that the MS magnets will have. If that were the case, then of course, it would basically be a magnet without calling it a magnet. But that's not what's happening.

My DC takes "Honors" World History and English, and the Principal and teachers told the incoming parents of HGC students that these kids would be challenged. There is nothing "honors" about it. So, I have very little confidence about the one or two classes with more advanced curriculum.

And MCPS is a public school that should be providing the same access to all high achieving students. You can say it didn't use to, but it's not doing that today either.

Unfortunately this is very hard to achieve. Public school "should" be all things to all different types of students. Alas it is not. We have a child with an IEP and I can tell you we are fighting for access as well. If you want a perfectly tailored education -- home school.

I see, so demanding that MCPS treat students equally is too much. You can fight for your child's IEP, but other parents should shut up about fighting for their high achieving kid to get access to accelerated curriculum? I'm not looking for a perfect tailored education for my child alone. I want MCPS to treat my child and other children equally in terms of access to accelerated curriculum. Is that really asking for too much from a public school, equal access?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
This is false. ANYONE could take the test, and it wasn't heavily reliant on teacher/parent rec.

Only kids whose parents asked for their children to be tested were considered for the program in previous years but now schools identify candidates. Something like five times as many kids were tested than in prior years. This seems far more inclusive and does a better job finding the best candidates.

I totally agree. As long as MCPS provides adequate accelerated classes for the cohorts of kids who are left at their home schools, I think this is actually a really good move towards equity in access to magnet programs.

And that is the $64,000 question. Right now, they are only going to offer one or two of such classes, and I doubt the curriculum of those classes will be the exact same as in the magnet.

Massive eye role

If you are in the wealthier part of the county you are already accelerated. Even the kids in the "regular classes" are lightyears ahead of the average MCPS student.
So instead of having a magnet with kids who already were going to be fine and do well in their base schools. We have switched to a system that identifies smart kids from poorer (and yes more diverse) section of MCPS who could really benefit form having more advanced programming vs the slower normal programming at their base school.

This isn't about whether student A is ahead of student B. This is about equal access to accelerated curriculum for students who are equally, and in some cases, more than able than others, and simply missed out because they are surrounded by more of such students.

you are in the wrong county then
this is about giving poorer and yes generally black/Hispanic minority students exposure to more advanced curriculum
the old model gave more spots to richer and generally white and Asian students who yes had higher test scores but come from high functioning schools that are capable of providing advanced challenging curriculum locally

Whoa, hold your horses. That's a big assumption and it is incorrect.

The second MCPS got rid of ability tracking at Pyle this went out the door fast. Kids got very bored. Car pools to MS magnets formed. Uptake to MS magnets increased as Pyle disappointed all the kids who had HGC in 4&5th grade.

so you're saying Pyle isn't one of the best middle schools in the county?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
This is false. ANYONE could take the test, and it wasn't heavily reliant on teacher/parent rec.

Only kids whose parents asked for their children to be tested were considered for the program in previous years but now schools identify candidates. Something like five times as many kids were tested than in prior years. This seems far more inclusive and does a better job finding the best candidates.

I totally agree. As long as MCPS provides adequate accelerated classes for the cohorts of kids who are left at their home schools, I think this is actually a really good move towards equity in access to magnet programs.

And that is the $64,000 question. Right now, they are only going to offer one or two of such classes, and I doubt the curriculum of those classes will be the exact same as in the magnet.

Massive eye role

If you are in the wealthier part of the county you are already accelerated. Even the kids in the "regular classes" are lightyears ahead of the average MCPS student.
So instead of having a magnet with kids who already were going to be fine and do well in their base schools. We have switched to a system that identifies smart kids from poorer (and yes more diverse) section of MCPS who could really benefit form having more advanced programming vs the slower normal programming at their base school.

This isn't about whether student A is ahead of student B. This is about equal access to accelerated curriculum for students who are equally, and in some cases, more than able than others, and simply missed out because they are surrounded by more of such students.

you are in the wrong county then
this is about giving poorer and yes generally black/Hispanic minority students exposure to more advanced curriculum
the old model gave more spots to richer and generally white and Asian students who yes had higher test scores but come from high functioning schools that are capable of providing advanced challenging curriculum locally

We're going around in circles. The pilot program to some of the MS will only offer at most one or two more "advanced" classes, and not the exact same magnet curriculum that the MS magnets will have. If that were the case, then of course, it would basically be a magnet without calling it a magnet. But that's not what's happening.

My DC takes "Honors" World History and English, and the Principal and teachers told the incoming parents of HGC students that these kids would be challenged. There is nothing "honors" about it. So, I have very little confidence about the one or two classes with more advanced curriculum.

And MCPS is a public school that should be providing the same access to all high achieving students. You can say it didn't use to, but it's not doing that today either.

Unfortunately this is very hard to achieve. Public school "should" be all things to all different types of students. Alas it is not. We have a child with an IEP and I can tell you we are fighting for access as well. If you want a perfectly tailored education -- home school.

I see, so demanding that MCPS treat students equally is too much. You can fight for your child's IEP, but other parents should shut up about fighting for their high achieving kid to get access to accelerated curriculum? I'm not looking for a perfect tailored education for my child alone. I want MCPS to treat my child and other children equally in terms of access to accelerated curriculum. Is that really asking for too much from a public school, equal access?

so fight -- i never said you shouldn't. just that it will never be perfect. sometimes you have to accept that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
This is false. ANYONE could take the test, and it wasn't heavily reliant on teacher/parent rec.

Only kids whose parents asked for their children to be tested were considered for the program in previous years but now schools identify candidates. Something like five times as many kids were tested than in prior years. This seems far more inclusive and does a better job finding the best candidates.

I totally agree. As long as MCPS provides adequate accelerated classes for the cohorts of kids who are left at their home schools, I think this is actually a really good move towards equity in access to magnet programs.

And that is the $64,000 question. Right now, they are only going to offer one or two of such classes, and I doubt the curriculum of those classes will be the exact same as in the magnet.

Massive eye role

If you are in the wealthier part of the county you are already accelerated. Even the kids in the "regular classes" are lightyears ahead of the average MCPS student.
So instead of having a magnet with kids who already were going to be fine and do well in their base schools. We have switched to a system that identifies smart kids from poorer (and yes more diverse) section of MCPS who could really benefit form having more advanced programming vs the slower normal programming at their base school.

This isn't about whether student A is ahead of student B. This is about equal access to accelerated curriculum for students who are equally, and in some cases, more than able than others, and simply missed out because they are surrounded by more of such students.

you are in the wrong county then
this is about giving poorer and yes generally black/Hispanic minority students exposure to more advanced curriculum
the old model gave more spots to richer and generally white and Asian students who yes had higher test scores but come from high functioning schools that are capable of providing advanced challenging curriculum locally

We're going around in circles. The pilot program to some of the MS will only offer at most one or two more "advanced" classes, and not the exact same magnet curriculum that the MS magnets will have. If that were the case, then of course, it would basically be a magnet without calling it a magnet. But that's not what's happening.

My DC takes "Honors" World History and English, and the Principal and teachers told the incoming parents of HGC students that these kids would be challenged. There is nothing "honors" about it. So, I have very little confidence about the one or two classes with more advanced curriculum.

And MCPS is a public school that should be providing the same access to all high achieving students. You can say it didn't use to, but it's not doing that today either.

Unfortunately this is very hard to achieve. Public school "should" be all things to all different types of students. Alas it is not. We have a child with an IEP and I can tell you we are fighting for access as well. If you want a perfectly tailored education -- home school.

I see, so demanding that MCPS treat students equally is too much. You can fight for your child's IEP, but other parents should shut up about fighting for their high achieving kid to get access to accelerated curriculum? I'm not looking for a perfect tailored education for my child alone. I want MCPS to treat my child and other children equally in terms of access to accelerated curriculum. Is that really asking for too much from a public school, equal access?

See I actually think they are starting to treat students equally by giving more access to the magnets.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
This is false. ANYONE could take the test, and it wasn't heavily reliant on teacher/parent rec.

Only kids whose parents asked for their children to be tested were considered for the program in previous years but now schools identify candidates. Something like five times as many kids were tested than in prior years. This seems far more inclusive and does a better job finding the best candidates.

I totally agree. As long as MCPS provides adequate accelerated classes for the cohorts of kids who are left at their home schools, I think this is actually a really good move towards equity in access to magnet programs.

And that is the $64,000 question. Right now, they are only going to offer one or two of such classes, and I doubt the curriculum of those classes will be the exact same as in the magnet.

Massive eye role

If you are in the wealthier part of the county you are already accelerated. Even the kids in the "regular classes" are lightyears ahead of the average MCPS student.
So instead of having a magnet with kids who already were going to be fine and do well in their base schools. We have switched to a system that identifies smart kids from poorer (and yes more diverse) section of MCPS who could really benefit form having more advanced programming vs the slower normal programming at their base school.

This isn't about whether student A is ahead of student B. This is about equal access to accelerated curriculum for students who are equally, and in some cases, more than able than others, and simply missed out because they are surrounded by more of such students.

you are in the wrong county then
this is about giving poorer and yes generally black/Hispanic minority students exposure to more advanced curriculum
the old model gave more spots to richer and generally white and Asian students who yes had higher test scores but come from high functioning schools that are capable of providing advanced challenging curriculum locally

Whoa, hold your horses. That's a big assumption and it is incorrect.

The second MCPS got rid of ability tracking at Pyle this went out the door fast. Kids got very bored. Car pools to MS magnets formed. Uptake to MS magnets increased as Pyle disappointed all the kids who had HGC in 4&5th grade.

not to be your harsh but eh your kid will be fine. Though I will say under this model the middle class get screwed the most. The upper class cluster in "higher performing" areas or simply opt out to private. The poor smart kids go to magnets (this is a very good thing) the middle class kids

I'm actually in Fairfax County and the whole middle class get screwed is very apparent. Upper/pushy get "better" schools or AAP, lower smart kids get magnets or tons of support via FARMS, ESOL funds, smaller class sizes etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

My DC takes "Honors" World History and English, and the Principal and teachers told the incoming parents of HGC students that these kids would be challenged. There is nothing "honors" about it. So, I have very little confidence about the one or two classes with more advanced curriculum.

And MCPS is a public school that should be providing the same access to all high achieving students. You can say it didn't use to, but it's not doing that today either.

Unfortunately this is very hard to achieve. Public school "should" be all things to all different types of students. Alas it is not. We have a child with an IEP and I can tell you we are fighting for access as well. If you want a perfectly tailored education -- home school.

I see, so demanding that MCPS treat students equally is too much. You can fight for your child's IEP, but other parents should shut up about fighting for their high achieving kid to get access to accelerated curriculum? I'm not looking for a perfect tailored education for my child alone. I want MCPS to treat my child and other children equally in terms of access to accelerated curriculum. Is that really asking for too much from a public school, equal access?

You have been given an amazing, golden opportunity and you are acting super surly about it! Your high achieving child is getting to go to her own middle school with a large cohort of highly able peers. And the county has opened the door to pilot an enriched magnet curriculum at your school as well. You can spend your time complaining or you can set to work making that middle school an amazing place. There is now nothing stopping you. With a large cohort of bright kids, you are sure to have an organic emergence of all kinds of great EC activities. You and the other parents should push the principal hard to assure that the program will be strengthened with appropriate teacher training and resources. Combine strength with the other parents to demand that those honors courses are rigorous and give the teachers feedback if you feel the curriculum is less than savory. The county is changing the ENTIRE ES and MS curriculum over the next few years, so use that flux to get the kind of curriculum you want to see. Within the next couple of years you are going to have a truly incredible middle school smack in your community. Please take a moment to imagine the plight of able kids who do NOT have a highly able cohort or who have a cohort but who must wait for the enriched curriculum to come their way. Asking for everything, for you, right away, at the cost of others, is in fact asking too much. The rest of us are grasping at the crumbs of your feast, so please stop complaining that the wine isn’t right.