DCC and NEC families, how do you feel about them (likely) going away?

[Anonymous]

I'm a DCC parent and have no issues with the consortium going away

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm a DCC parent and have no issues with the consortium going away

Aren't the new regional programming going to mimic the system wee already have in the NEC and DCC (except for the countywide magnets going away)?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a DCC parent and have no issues with the consortium going away

Aren't the new regional programming going to mimic the system wee already have in the NEC and DCC (except for the countywide magnets going away)?

If people are choosing their consortium school for the special academic programs, then yes, it will be largely replicated through the new regional system.

If people are choosing their consortium school for other reasons, then no. Are there many kids/families who choose their consortium school for other reasons? What are they?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:While some parents and families have been happy to be able to select a school, the consortia model has been an abject failure.

The original reason the NEC and DCC were created was so that MCPS/BOE didn't have to draw hard boundary lines when Blake opened and Northwood reopened. Boundary studies and hard boundary lines are divisive and controversial (see what is happening now with Woodward/Crown). Instead, they opted to make soft boundary lines with a promise that families would have choices.

What has happened over time is:

1. The signature programs have become less and less "signature". There really is very little difference in course offerings from school to school within the consortia.

2. The schools in the consortia have very little sense of community, with lots of vertical articulation challenges. Listen to all the outcry about splitting elementary and middle schools in the Crown/Woodward studies. There is a reason those communities are against splitting their feeder schools. In the NEC and DCC, it is splitting feeders on steroids.

3. MCPS is spending significant money by sending five buses to every DCC bus stop and three to every NEC bus stop.

4. In the NEC in particular, there was a goal to try to socially engineer demographics in the three schools through the choice lottery system. As time went on though, the NEC as a whole became more and more homogenous. Twenty years ago, Blake was the "white" school, PB the "black" school and Springbrook the "Hispanic" school. The three schools look very similar to each other now.

5. Extracurricular activity involvement becomes a real challenge in the consortia. Getting rides home after practices or rehearsals or back to school for games or concerts is a big challenge when everyone lives to spread out. Add in the challenge that families don't know each other well and carpooling to/from school activities is extremely difficult.

6. In the DCC in particular, things were never going to be on an even playing field when comparing the schools. From Blair's specialty programs to Wheaton's brand new school, some of the schools were always going to get the short end of the stick (Kennedy and Northwood in particular). Northwood's new facility will hopefully improve things, but the long layover at Woodward exacerbated the gap.

Staff at the schools will be ecstatic if/when the consortia go away. Families will initially be upset - any time choice is taken away it isn't popular. But going away from the consortia is in the best interests of MCPS and the individual schools.

It will be interesting to see if these "region" models have the same negative impacts on all 25 schools, or if the number of students going to their non-home school is minimal.

Northwood will get the CAP from Blair and has the Montgomery College program, so I am optimistic for Northwood.

And they're getting a brand-new building. Northwood is going to be in a very good place in the near future.

I’m watching the Northwood changes closely and selfishly. This is our home school, and will likely remain so under most of the proposed boundary studies. My kids are only 10 and 7 and I don’t anticipate they’ll be at the very top percentile (at least, my oldest won’t), but still very interested to see how things go here the next few years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a DCC parent and have no issues with the consortium going away

Aren't the new regional programming going to mimic the system wee already have in the NEC and DCC (except for the countywide magnets going away)?

If people are choosing their consortium school for the special academic programs, then yes, it will be largely replicated through the new regional system.

If people are choosing their consortium school for other reasons, then no. Are there many kids/families who choose their consortium school for other reasons? What are they?

We chose a consortium school because it had a convenient bus stop on our corner, whereas our home school had none but was too long of a walk.

[Anonymous]

Is there any information on the timing of all of this? Wondering on a personal level for my rising 8th grader, but also interested more generally about the transition plan for these changes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is there any information on the timing of all of this? Wondering on a personal level for my rising 8th grader, but also interested more generally about the transition plan for these changes.

The changes will start going into effect fall 2027, but (unless the Board votes down the MCPS recommendation) the plan is to grandfather all kids already enrolled in academic programs or consortium schools before then. So your rising 8th grader should get to stay wherever they start 9th grade, but the classes behind them will change over to the new rules

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is there any information on the timing of all of this? Wondering on a personal level for my rising 8th grader, but also interested more generally about the transition plan for these changes.

The changes will start going into effect fall 2027, but (unless the Board votes down the MCPS recommendation) the plan is to grandfather all kids already enrolled in academic programs or consortium schools before then. So your rising 8th grader should get to stay wherever they start 9th grade, but the classes behind them will change over to the new rules

Thank you! I'm having a hard time digging through all the information lately.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Current DCC parent and I'm fine with it. There was little genuine choice and most kids stuck with home schools or magnets.

The new approach seems better

Current NEC parent and I agree completely. It’s time for the NEC and DCC to go.

The NEC has always been shortchanged. How will the new regional system benefit the northeast county? We'll see...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is there any information on the timing of all of this? Wondering on a personal level for my rising 8th grader, but also interested more generally about the transition plan for these changes.

The changes will start going into effect fall 2027, but (unless the Board votes down the MCPS recommendation) the plan is to grandfather all kids already enrolled in academic programs or consortium schools before then. So your rising 8th grader should get to stay wherever they start 9th grade, but the classes behind them will change over to the new rules

Thank you! I'm having a hard time digging through all the information lately.

And how the school district staffs schools while standing up new regional programs and grandfathering legacy programs is anyone's guess.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm a DCC parent and have no issues with the consortium going away

You must not live in the Kennedy catchment area.

[Anonymous]

I don’t mind depending on which boundary option gets enacted. I worry more about the program study because that in many ways will turn the entire county into 6 consortia. I don’t think the majority of kids will stay at their home school if they don’t like the boundary changes. I also don’t think we can staff, afford, or efficiently transport students to old and new programs all over the county for 4 years. Taylor was clear that all of these changes won’t be complete until the 2030-31 school year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a DCC parent and have no issues with the consortium going away

You must not live in the Kennedy catchment area.

You would still be able to apply for a different HS in your region under the guise of a merit or interest based program. People will still find ways to segregate themselves into their desired community within their region.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Current DCC parent and I'm fine with it. There was little genuine choice and most kids stuck with home schools or magnets.

The new approach seems better

Current NEC parent and I agree completely. It’s time for the NEC and DCC to go.

The NEC has always been shortchanged. How will the new regional system benefit the northeast county? We'll see...

Forcing Sherwood to be a part of that region is long overdue. I know several Sherwood students who would prefer the performing arts opportunities at Blake and under the regional plan they would be able to apply.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a DCC parent and have no issues with the consortium going away

You must not live in the Kennedy catchment area.

Yeah we are zoned for Einstein and don't see that changing. I guess I'm curious if kids zoned for Kennedy have real choices under the DCC model if they don't get into a magnet? What are the odds of getting into a different HS under the choice process?