Sign Petition Asking for Boundaries Now, Programs Later

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OMG I siged the petition as a west county resident because I think that the regional model is not ready for prime time -- but I have to say that the DCC people are driving me nuts. They take over every single thread that has anything to do the boundary or program studies. They make this all about themselves. They are alienating potential allies across the county. They are really terrible advocates.

I know. I tried to help them see how abrasive they were coming across in another thread but they will not hear feedback that they are shooting themselves in the foot by being so aggressive, divisive, and irritating, and asking for unrealistic things that are not on the table. They’ll say I’m discouraging them from advocating but that couldn’t be further from the truth. They should advocate smarter, but they have their thumbs in their ears.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:We will never get anywhere with an us vs them mentality.

It's not a mentality. The difference in how the east vs west were treated in the second round of options for the Woodward study was immediately apparent. And removing the DCC, which allows students to access coursework that west county students have at their home schools, is a double punch to families.

I get that pointing out differences in treatment is uncomfortable but the differences are real.

You’re missing the point of the above post. The first round also kept Whitman mostly intact and, to the extent that it impacted B-CC, it was primarily the east part of the cluster, where the lower-income families in the B-CC cluster live (yes, there are hundreds of FARMS families at B-CC!). You weren’t bothered by it then because at least “the west” was affected.

At least on DCUM they were actually gleeful about hurting west county people.

They were responding to blatantly racist posters who claimed to represent west side schools (and nobody claiming to be from the west side expressed any issues with the racism)

Untrue. There was plenty of concern for the FARMS kids that would be zoned to BCC but were suddenly being bused past BCC to Whitman.

No, there was a lot of outright racism and you had zero issues with it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OMG I siged the petition as a west county resident because I think that the regional model is not ready for prime time -- but I have to say that the DCC people are driving me nuts. They take over every single thread that has anything to do the boundary or program studies. They make this all about themselves. They are alienating potential allies across the county. They are really terrible advocates.

I know. I tried to help them see how abrasive they were coming across in another thread but they will not hear feedback that they are shooting themselves in the foot by being so aggressive, divisive, and irritating, and asking for unrealistic things that are not on the table. They’ll say I’m discouraging them from advocating but that couldn’t be further from the truth. They should advocate smarter, but they have their thumbs in their ears.

Funny how when folks were saying super racist things during the first round options that didn't stop west county from getting all the things in the second round, so my takeaway is that being divisive and offensive is the play.

[Anonymous]

There’s one WJ poster that was super racist. And other west county people called him out and many of his posts were removed.

[Anonymous]

I mean, he has continued to be super racist in this round, with the same reaction.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There’s one WJ poster that was super racist. And other west county people called him out and many of his posts were removed.

It was definitely not just one poster and most that called them out identified as east county people. And then the east county people got attacked for calling out racism.

[Anonymous]

But at the end of the day we have no idea if anyone is actually where they say they are from, since this is an anonymous message board. The DCC poster calling west county people bigots may just be a troll from west county. Who knows.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why do so many DCC people lottery out of Kennedy? Is it racial makeup, lack of class offerings, behavior, something else?

It is striking the Kennedy is so underutilized.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:We will never get anywhere with an us vs them mentality.

It's not a mentality. The difference in how the east vs west were treated in the second round of options for the Woodward study was immediately apparent. And removing the DCC, which allows students to access coursework that west county students have at their home schools, is a double punch to families.

I get that pointing out differences in treatment is uncomfortable but the differences are real.

You’re missing the point of the above post. The first round also kept Whitman mostly intact and, to the extent that it impacted B-CC, it was primarily the east part of the cluster, where the lower-income families in the B-CC cluster live (yes, there are hundreds of FARMS families at B-CC!). You weren’t bothered by it then because at least “the west” was affected.

At least on DCUM they were actually gleeful about hurting west county people.

They were responding to blatantly racist posters who claimed to represent west side schools (and nobody claiming to be from the west side expressed any issues with the racism)

Untrue. There was plenty of concern for the FARMS kids that would be zoned to BCC but were suddenly being bused past BCC to Whitman.

No, there was a lot of outright racism and you had zero issues with it.

The farms kids will not do well at Whitman and it will create huge issues. Whitman will not welcome them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do so many DCC people lottery out of Kennedy? Is it racial makeup, lack of class offerings, behavior, something else?

It is striking the Kennedy is so underutilized.

No, it’s not as most families don’t want to send their kids there, just like you wouldn’t. Having Kennedy as a smaller school is not a bad thing given the needs at that school are so high.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:We will never get anywhere with an us vs them mentality.

It's not a mentality. The difference in how the east vs west were treated in the second round of options for the Woodward study was immediately apparent. And removing the DCC, which allows students to access coursework that west county students have at their home schools, is a double punch to families.

I get that pointing out differences in treatment is uncomfortable but the differences are real.

You’re missing the point of the above post. The first round also kept Whitman mostly intact and, to the extent that it impacted B-CC, it was primarily the east part of the cluster, where the lower-income families in the B-CC cluster live (yes, there are hundreds of FARMS families at B-CC!). You weren’t bothered by it then because at least “the west” was affected.

Aside from your assumptions about what I thought about the first round options, it sounds like we agree that the second round options in the Woodward blatantly favor the west side school communities.

And yes, we know that there are low income families zoned for BCC. Fyi, it's weird for you to constantly use them as some sort of "gotcha".

It’s also weird that while decrying racism you cling to a school choice model that furthers segregation.

I don't know who you are talking to but I am supportive of ending the DCC in a thoughtful way, because I agree with you that it worsens segregation. The proposed regional program model expands school choice across the county and includes the wealthiest schools which will supercharge this process.

How does it end in a thoughtful way? I don’t think you understand the significance of what it means for many kids in terms of access to stem classes.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:We will never get anywhere with an us vs them mentality.

It's not a mentality. The difference in how the east vs west were treated in the second round of options for the Woodward study was immediately apparent. And removing the DCC, which allows students to access coursework that west county students have at their home schools, is a double punch to families.

I get that pointing out differences in treatment is uncomfortable but the differences are real.

You’re missing the point of the above post. The first round also kept Whitman mostly intact and, to the extent that it impacted B-CC, it was primarily the east part of the cluster, where the lower-income families in the B-CC cluster live (yes, there are hundreds of FARMS families at B-CC!). You weren’t bothered by it then because at least “the west” was affected.

At least on DCUM they were actually gleeful about hurting west county people.

They were responding to blatantly racist posters who claimed to represent west side schools (and nobody claiming to be from the west side expressed any issues with the racism)

Untrue. There was plenty of concern for the FARMS kids that would be zoned to BCC but were suddenly being bused past BCC to Whitman.

No, there was a lot of outright racism and you had zero issues with it.

The farms kids will not do well at Whitman and it will create huge issues. Whitman will not welcome them.

You mean you won't welcome them?

Anyway what does this have to do with all the racist posts from people claiming to be from west county and how despite those posts (or because of them?) west county got boundary options that are completely responsive to their concerns?

[Anonymous]

I don't understand how the DCC makes it a lot easier to access high-level STEM classes than the proposed new model. As far as I can tell, the 2 schools in the DCC that have a lot of STEM classes are Blair and Wheaton- is that right? Now these 2 schools will be in different regions, but there will be other schools in those regions with strong STEM offerings.

Also the DCC doesn't mean you can choose whichever school you want; you have to be selected from the lottery.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:This is such a bullshit letter. We see right through this hey keep all the rich white school is the same and don’t rush anything else. GTFO

Huh? How'd you get that from the petition? It's not about favoring rich white schools at all. Did you read it?

NP- As an upcounty resident who read the petition and the comments about 50 MCCPTA delegates, I won’t be signing this petition despite agreeing with some of its points. Why? Because it seems to overwhelming focus on certain areas and not take into account the needs of many others parts of the county. This is evident by calling out Silver Spring and the DCC without even a bit of acknowledgement that others in the boundary studies experience split articulations. Further, 50 MCCPTA delegates when there is more than 200 schools, mean there vote represents less than 1/4 of the districts schools.

Folks are constantly talking about MCPS needing to reach out and communicate more and better. Seems the same can be said for this effort against MCPS.

You seem really triggered by other people advocating for their communities. We're not going to stop just because you want us to stfu.

DP. But pot…kettle…African American.

Huh? I have no problem with up county advocating for itself. PP doesn't seem to want to do that, just attack DCC parents.

Funny how so many people are so angry the DCC doesn't want to lose its programs but nobody has a problem with all the special classes at wealthy schools that most other schools don't have.

What makes you believe that people don’t have problems with the wealthy schools have classes that others can’t access? Once again ya’ll seem to be making statements that are false in nature without doing any research to understand the other parts of the district? Oh and no one said you had to stop advocating for your community. What they said was they wouldn’t be joining you since you’ve made it crystal clear in you and the DCC against everyone else.

That's not what's in the letter. That is a narrative you have created in your head. Sorry you won't be joining us but it sounds like you are not aligned with us and frankly just have animus towards the DCC. Maybe you work for CO since they clearly do too.

Is it a created narrative when the letter specifically calls out Silver Spring, the DCC, or SSIMS without mentioning any place else? If you wanted it to be neutral either don’t call out any school/area and make generalized comments OR include a more wide ranging look at the issues created across the district while acknowledging the vast problems and complaints this seeks to solve.

This is a petition written by people from a particular part of the county trying to organize other folks from their part of the county so of course it is going to mention issues relevant to the people they are focusing on trying to get to sign... that's not malicious or oppositional and doesn't imply not caring about other parts of the county, it's just standard organizing. You're acting like it was designed to be a countywide petition when it obviously wasn't? Like, the authors have said that people from anywhere are welcome to sign it, but if you want a countywide petition you should write one, not complain that other people didn't and that it must mean that they hate other parts of the county or are super self-centered or something.

+100000

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:We will never get anywhere with an us vs them mentality.

That’s how it’s always been as the divide is huge. We are paying for a much better education for some kids while others go without.

That is simply not true. If you moved the population of Whitman into Kennedy’s building with their existing teachers/classes/schedules, the kids would still flourish due to their home life. The better education you seek is right in your school. Without the countywide magnets to pull kids out, each school will have a healthy group of high achievers who can track together. MCPS cannot change the demographics of the county and people from all areas of the county have prioritized shorter commutes to school, so the schools are set. If you don’t like the peers at your child’s school that is a YOU problem and not an MCPS problem. Or you can move. Nobody really cares. Schools choice for the DCC (and only the DCC) is a silly thing to fight for.

The petition asks to slow the regional program implementation and does not ask to keep the DCC and only for the DCC.

The petition very much advocates for school choice for the DCC.

Read again. It does not. It notes the sudden elimination of the DCC as one of many concerns. But the three asks at the bottom do not mention DCC at all.