TPMS is killing the arts, the magnet program, and the autism program

[Anonymous]

Very difficult to do 5/8 without hiring additional staff so 5/7 was necessary.

This. Exactly. And hiring additional staff isn't as easy as just hiring staff. Each school is giving a certain allotment of staffing and that's what they have. So they wouldn't have enough hours to just hire more staff for those additional classes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Very difficult to do 5/8 without hiring additional staff so 5/7 was necessary.

This. Exactly. And hiring additional staff isn't as easy as just hiring staff. Each school is giving a certain allotment of staffing and that's what they have. So they wouldn't have enough hours to just hire more staff for those additional classes.

Other schools do it. Why would TPMS be different?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I used to be anti-block. But now I can see how good it is for my ADHD MS DC. They don't have to focus hard for 90 minutes straight because the teachers break up the time into different activities, including time to complete independent work. This means that DC doesn't have homework, which is great for pursuing the ECs that they are serious about and great for our family's sanity. (I know this will change in high school, but we'll adjust because we are aware that it is coming.) DC also benefits right now from not having to executive-function 7 classes in one day. That much stuff, that much shifting of gears and locations and expectations, that many trips to the locker, and that much input would be hard on them. As an ADHD parent, however, I am totally aware that some other ADHD kids might need the shake-up, motion, and variety to stay plugged in. It's great that different MSs have different schedules and we have some ability to (try to) select between them.

+1000

[Anonymous]

It was bound to decline once they did moves like guaranteeing slots to IB kids and implementing a lottery or peer group considerations. When the focus drifts away from enrichment of the strongest and most driven, it’s just an expensive extracurricular for kids that hope to attend Montgomery College. The resources and teacher dedication will follow suit

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It was bound to decline once they did moves like guaranteeing slots to IB kids and implementing a lottery or peer group considerations. When the focus drifts away from enrichment of the strongest and most driven, it’s just an expensive extracurricular for kids that hope to attend Montgomery College. The resources and teacher dedication will follow suit

Laughably ignorant.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It was bound to decline once they did moves like guaranteeing slots to IB kids and implementing a lottery or peer group considerations. When the focus drifts away from enrichment of the strongest and most driven, it’s just an expensive extracurricular for kids that hope to attend Montgomery College. The resources and teacher dedication will follow suit

They have guaranteed slots to in-bound kids for the entire history of the magnet and those inbound kids have thrived.

[Anonymous]

I am really confused. How was TPMS doing 8 periods? Do they have a longer school day? Was it accomplished via block scheduling? Why can’t they keep the arts ( band/orchestra) with 7 periods?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am really confused. How was TPMS doing 8 periods? Do they have a longer school day? Was it accomplished via block scheduling? Why can’t they keep the arts ( band/orchestra) with 7 periods?

They have four periods a day with a block schedule. Magnet kids are one third of the school and will no longer be able to take a language and an arts elective. Band will still exist but be severely weakened due to losing many of the best students and the excellent band director has already indicated she will quit. One of the only reasons band and orchestra worked so well was the fantastic and very popular block schedule.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am really confused. How was TPMS doing 8 periods? Do they have a longer school day? Was it accomplished via block scheduling? Why can’t they keep the arts ( band/orchestra) with 7 periods?

Block schedule for 8 periods. 4 periods on odd days and another 4 on even days. Standard bell schedule for start/end of school.

The arts are staying. There will be one less elective slot available to students. Non-magnet had 3/now would have 2. Magnet had 2 (as 1 was taken by the magnet-mandatory CS course)/now will have 1.

The higher-level music course (orchestra) tended to have a large number of magnet kids taking it. They also tended to take a language. With only 1 elective available, now, many may stick with language, both for skill development and because it is a HS credit course, and then have to abandon orchestra. In addition to the loss of the ability to take both for magnet students, a concern is that the higher-level orchestra, itself, would go away (for non-magnet, too) due to the decimation. TPMS orchestra has had a very good reputation.

Generally, the same might apply to other electives, which have been pretty robust at TPMS, but the clearer effect would be in that subject.

[Anonymous]

Mathcounts result in the past Saturday further proves that there’s no incentive to go with TPMS magnet anymore if your local MS falls in the W catchment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Mathcounts result in the past Saturday further proves that there’s no incentive to go with TPMS magnet anymore if your local MS falls in the W catchment.

Not necessarily w schools but some kids can start algebra in 6th.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Complain about the process but teachers have every right to work under the same conditions as elsewhere in MCPS. The fact that they’ve been teaching more classes, with no additional compensation, than their peers was a travesty.

-TPMS parent

YES!!!

[Anonymous]

Personally, I'd rewrite the thread title as "TPMS took advantage of teachers for years, ignoring the MCEA contract, because pushy magnet parents demanded the opportunity to have their Larlas and Larlos take both music and arts"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Personally, I'd rewrite the thread title as "TPMS took advantage of teachers for years, ignoring the MCEA contract, because pushy magnet parents demanded the opportunity to have their Larlas and Larlos take both music and arts"

There is nothing in the contract that prohibits teaching 6 period out of 8. It is substantially similar in tracking time to 5 out of 7.

Again this is not against the contract.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Complain about the process but teachers have every right to work under the same conditions as elsewhere in MCPS. The fact that they’ve been teaching more classes, with no additional compensation, than their peers was a travesty.

-TPMS parent

YES!!!

BS. Why should they have additional compensation for teaching the same number of hours as at other schools? At TPMS as well as at other schools they have 2 periods where they are not scheduled to teach. That’s 1.5 hours a day either way.