Program analysis webinars

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10/05/2025 07:55

Subject: Program analysis webinars

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Anonymous wrote:Why are Einstein parents taking over every single program analysis thread? There is plenty of hate to go around about the prigram analysis from every single school. Yet Einstein parents feel the need to dominate all these threads.

There are a lot of Einstein parents here because there is a lot of concern at Einstein. It feels like we are being uniquely screwed over. I don’t understand moving a well established program that is extremely popular with the students to another school altogether, perhaps because they are getting nicer facilities. My older child came to Einstein not really caring much about VAPA yet it quickly became the highlight of his high school experience. I want the same for my younger kid.

But they're not moving VAPA to Northwood. Northwood has a performing arts-focused academy already, just like Einstein does. The new program will be criteria-based, unlike either current program.

You may have missed the earlier thoughts on the matter:

Northwood's magnet will draw performing arts students from Einstein who, under the current system, almost certainly would stay at Einstein.

Students from the rest of the DCC (Northwood included) who, under the current paradigm, typically would choose Einstein for its performing arts program no longer will be able to do so.

Each of these factors will reduce Einstein's VAPA program enrollment, with nothing in the offing to bolster that enrollment.

When a program's enrollment declines, MCPS's custom is to reduce class offerings within that program or eliminate the program, altogether.

This predictable outcome is not good for the Einstein community.

The PP stated "I don’t understand moving a well established program that is extremely popular with the students to another school altogether" - this is patently false. VAPA isn't being moved. A new program is being placed at Northwood, and PP wishes it would be placed at Einstein instead.

Yes, creating lots of magnet programs has the potential to move motivated and well resourced kids out of their home schools. This is a bigger problem for schools with lower income student populations. 7 magnet programs for 5 schools is a little bonkers. I don't think Einstein is really being uniquely screwed over. It has the lowest FARMS rate in the DCC so I can see the basis for putting more magnets in Blair and Northwood. I don't think BCC really "needs" a magnet, much less two of them, but this is more questioning of the magnets themselves rather than their location. I assume it is a way to have a couple of programs that are reasonably close to Whitman to make it seem "fair"/reduce travel times for kids in the west. But based on current data there isn't much demand from Whitman for IB anyway.

It looks like this analysis accounted only for special programs and not the availability of advanced courses at wealthier schools. For example, in the program asset map, Whitman is listed as not having "advanced science/math" but it seems from people here that it does have more advanced math and science courses than say Einstein. This entire process assumes all students and schools have the same needs for special programs, but they don't.

On their not "moving" VAPA:

If VAPA declines, as might be relatively predictable given the outline of conditions/effects noted in the prior post, it may well be shut (also noted in the prior post). I think you argue semantics, rather than substance, with the "moving" poster in this case.

On their not "uniquely screwing over" Einstein:

Einstein loses the tug of war with Northwood over Performing Arts. (criteria-based)
Einstein loses the tug of war with B-CC over IB. (criteria-based)
Einstein loses the tug of war with Whitman over Languages. (interest-based, but with promise of some academic heft)
The new Humanities magnet is placed at B-CC. (criteria-based)
Not that it is likely for Einstein, but the Engineering magnet goes to Blair. (interest-based, but also with promise of academic heft)
Einstein treads water with VAC.
Einstein "wins" the interest-based magnet for its Education program (extant at each of the 5 schools) and gets an interest-based Design magnet -- neither likely to draw with heft.

It may not be unique across the entire system, but it clearly is getting the short stick -- and by far -- across this region, with the needle veering toward each of the other schools when comparing.

I don’t think kids will care about IB. How many students will pick education? And, I doubt many kids would choose Whitman for a variety of reasons. But, this does destroy Einstein. On top of your list, reducing students, means reducing staff, so what classes will be reduced?

I think many of you are making a lot of assumptions. I was a huge performing arts kid but wouldn’t have left for a performing arts magnet if it were in a school that couldn’t also provide the high level academic classes and cohort. Others might make different decisions. I think some kids in schools with IB programs care but others just participate because it’s there and wouldn’t apply out to a program if it weren’t. Or maybe they would if they are re-zoned by boundary and want to boomerang back to their current school. Or maybe if people see what the transportation coverage will be, they will say the juice is not worth the squeeze. But we don’t have all the facts.

The truth is everyone is just guessing because MCPS isn’t doing the work of figuring out level of interest of any of these programs. They have skipped so many steps. But rest assured they will plow forward and we will all see all the very avoidable problems that occur because they think their assumptions are facts and they think they know best.