Two paths to magnet program at Richard Montgomery High School

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Are you nasty in real life too? What is this tradition you are talking about. What is wrong in providing parents more information? Why cannot public official operate in transparency and respond to parents question? Why should any admission or selection operate in secrecy?

Because federal law requires it.

Federal law requires to have a back door channel?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Are you nasty in real life too? What is this tradition you are talking about. What is wrong in providing parents more information? Why cannot public official operate in transparency and respond to parents question? Why should any admission or selection operate in secrecy?

Because federal law requires it.

Federal law requires to have a back door channel?

Federal law requires schools to not disclose personally identifiable information about the student without written consent.

https://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/brochures/parents.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm starting to wish "I was promised all magnet kids" poster would just move her kids to private and be done with it. At a public school, your kid will occasionally rub shoulders, and even share classes, with kids who don't meet your high standards.

You're going to have to cope with that, or just shell out for an environment in which every single snowflake is hand selected.

That's about right, except apparently that DC is nearly finished at RMIB. This whole thread is just PSA to incoming parents, so they can carry on the fine tradition of harassing the director now that OP must move on. The open house is tomorrow night, I'm thinking no one has their pitch forks quite yet.

Are you nasty in real life too? What is this tradition you are talking about. What is wrong in providing parents more information? Why cannot public official operate in transparency and respond to parents question? Why should any admission or selection operate in secrecy?

I'm not being nasty, I'm just tired of a certain parent personality that frequently shows up at magnet info nights. And my youngest is now in eighth so I'm more than familiar with this October tradition. There's frequently one parent who isn't new to the school who takes the limited Q&A as opportunity to "ask" about some petty PTA business in front of prospective parents as if a public shaming will finally bring their gripe the traction it deserves. (E.g. one year at the Eastern OH it was some elaborate gotcha about the sixth graders being unattended on the eighth grade floor and the response was just lets talk afterward.) And that's about how I see this thread. I can only assume you've already taken this issue up IRL with everyone who can actually effect change and you haven't liked their responses. So now you offer up your gripes in this thread with no details until someone makes a wrong assumption yet no shortage of wrong assumptions about who you might be talking with and why they disagree with you.

Look application season is enough of a slog, I don't need to be a pawn in your lost cause. If and when students are accepted there is plenty of time to ask more questions, shadow students and get details. I think the timing of your information is suspect and just intended to hurt the school in some small way, I don't need the details, I recognize the pattern and the more you say the clearer it is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sigh... I am just glad my kids graduated before this mess. The families of test-in kids are the only loser in this. Even a little drop in performance could mean a full ride at UMD vs. partial (or no) merit $. I don't see IB kids beating out Blair SMAC kids for the full ride scholarship.

If you read this whole thread you can see who is complaining. The RM-Cluster, Blair parents and who have no kids in the magnet program are perfectly happy with this change and see this as no big deal!

I really appreciate OP's post. Not in RM-Cluster or having kids in the RM magnet, but my kids are potential candidates for the program. Have heard many good things about RMIB in the past and I always thought RMIB is on a par with Blair magnet. This thread provides me some new information and it's always better to be better informed in the decision process.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sigh... I am just glad my kids graduated before this mess. The families of test-in kids are the only loser in this. Even a little drop in performance could mean a full ride at UMD vs. partial (or no) merit $. I don't see IB kids beating out Blair SMAC kids for the full ride scholarship.

If you read this whole thread you can see who is complaining. The RM-Cluster, Blair parents and who have no kids in the magnet program are perfectly happy with this change and see this as no big deal!

I really appreciate OP's post. Not in RM-Cluster or having kids in the RM magnet, but my kids are potential candidates for the program. Have heard many good things about RMIB in the past and I always thought RMIB is on a par with Blair magnet. This thread provides me some new information and it's always better to be better informed in the decision process.

They were but not any longer it appears.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sigh... I am just glad my kids graduated before this mess. The families of test-in kids are the only loser in this. Even a little drop in performance could mean a full ride at UMD vs. partial (or no) merit $. I don't see IB kids beating out Blair SMAC kids for the full ride scholarship.

If you read this whole thread you can see who is complaining. The RM-Cluster, Blair parents and who have no kids in the magnet program are perfectly happy with this change and see this as no big deal!

I really appreciate OP's post. Not in RM-Cluster or having kids in the RM magnet, but my kids are potential candidates for the program. Have heard many good things about RMIB in the past and I always thought RMIB is on a par with Blair magnet. This thread provides me some new information and it's always better to be better informed in the decision process.

On a par, how? They have different eligibility, different focuses, and different curricula.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm starting to wish "I was promised all magnet kids" poster would just move her kids to private and be done with it. At a public school, your kid will occasionally rub shoulders, and even share classes, with kids who don't meet your high standards.

You're going to have to cope with that, or just shell out for an environment in which every single snowflake is hand selected.

That's about right, except apparently that DC is nearly finished at RMIB. This whole thread is just PSA to incoming parents, so they can carry on the fine tradition of harassing the director now that OP must move on. The open house is tomorrow night, I'm thinking no one has their pitch forks quite yet.

Are you nasty in real life too? What is this tradition you are talking about. What is wrong in providing parents more information? Why cannot public official operate in transparency and respond to parents question? Why should any admission or selection operate in secrecy?

I'm not being nasty, I'm just tired of a certain parent personality that frequently shows up at magnet info nights. And my youngest is now in eighth so I'm more than familiar with this October tradition. There's frequently one parent who isn't new to the school who takes the limited Q&A as opportunity to "ask" about some petty PTA business in front of prospective parents as if a public shaming will finally bring their gripe the traction it deserves. (E.g. one year at the Eastern OH it was some elaborate gotcha about the sixth graders being unattended on the eighth grade floor and the response was just lets talk afterward.) And that's about how I see this thread. I can only assume you've already taken this issue up IRL with everyone who can actually effect change and you haven't liked their responses. So now you offer up your gripes in this thread with no details until someone makes a wrong assumption yet no shortage of wrong assumptions about who you might be talking with and why they disagree with you.

Look application season is enough of a slog, I don't need to be a pawn in your lost cause. If and when students are accepted there is plenty of time to ask more questions, shadow students and get details. I think the timing of your information is suspect and just intended to hurt the school in some small way, I don't need the details, I recognize the pattern and the more you say the clearer it is.

I am not here to gain any brownie point for sharing information. My intention has never been "gotcha" moment during open house. I found this information recently, and wanted share with parents who are interested to find everything before applying. No one is forcing you to ask anything, especially since you claim to know everything. For others, the information is there to ask nor ask, use or not use to make decision. I did not have all these information when my kids applied. I cannot say whether my decision would have been different, but I would have appreciated if MCPS/RM would have shared this with me freely.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm starting to wish "I was promised all magnet kids" poster would just move her kids to private and be done with it. At a public school, your kid will occasionally rub shoulders, and even share classes, with kids who don't meet your high standards.

You're going to have to cope with that, or just shell out for an environment in which every single snowflake is hand selected.

Calling magnet parents/students "snowflake", "elitist" or "purist" does not make school/MCPS's dishonesty or duplicity about the program go away. You do not own the public school system. I have same right to critic a opaque system. Just because you do not appreciate academic giftedness in kids and their specific need does not make you more correct in this discussion. My high standard is to hold public officials to honesty and integrity standard.

This thread is about what MCPS says to the community and what is actually does behind the curtain. Having a backdoor is not okay. Magnet programs should operate to fulfill their promise or should be closed so that parents can decide what to do with their kids education. Lip service about gifted education is what MCPS is doing for a while and I do not condone playing politics with the education of our future generation.

So, how long are you going to keep calling your child "highly gifted?" Into college? At their first job? Will you call their future boss and make sure their boss understands that they cannot possibly be subjected to the masses?

It honestly seems like an odd framing for a 17 year-old. It's a framing you normally see applied to elementary and middle schoolers, not young people on the cusp of adulthood.

How long are you going to call your child who is an amazing soccer player or baseball player a talented athlete? The term gifted is not one that parents confer on their child it is a term that is commonly used in the US educational psych community. Here is an article by the nea which might give you an insight into why these kids continue to need an academic environment that keeps them stimulated beyond middle school.
http://neatoday.org/2013/09/18/are-we-failing-gifted-students-2/
As a parent of a child who is highly ....able (does that word offend you less?) I do worry about ensuring he has the ideal learning environment. He loves to learn, understands material quickly, makes connections between different subjects, is expressive, enjoys discussing academic topics with his parents and teachers but mostly loves discussing them with his peers. I can't tell you how much having a peer group for at least some of his subjects has meant to this kid and I know he is not alone. The magnet programs have been very enriching and I am very grateful to MCPS for giving him an education that is appropriate for his needs and abilities. I will consider these same needs and abilities when we help him navigate the college search process but I am less worried about college because there is less variation in the student body in a four year college and more opportunities for him to find professors to challenge him and meet him where he is. So we are not too hung up on college rankings etc. As far as career is concerned, who knows. Intelligence does not necessarily translate into professional or material success. As parents, all we can do is support him as much as possible, make sure his emotional and academic needs are met and try to raise a kind, considerate and happy child
FWIW I don't think many parents of high school aged children see them through rose colored glasses. I don't see my child as being special except perhaps in this one area although he is also pretty sweet and kind! If he had a musical talent or an athletic talent, I am sure I would be moving heaven and earth to support him in realizing his full potential in these areas.
Finally, I will just point out that the adolescent brain is still developing. This is the age when they are capable of highly abstract thought, of metacognition and can handle more complex problem solving and deductive reasoning challenges. So of course highly gifted/able children continue to need special educational programming into high school.

[Anonymous]

If any of you attend the information meeting tonight please post any information you learn about this topic. TIA

[Anonymous]

Was there any presentation, question or discussion on this today during the Open House?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Was there any presentation, question or discussion on this today during the Open House?

Bump

[Anonymous]

Did anyone on DCUM go to the open house yesterday? Did this issue come up. Please share if you were there. TIA

[Anonymous]

Bumping

[Anonymous]

A friend of mine attended the Open House. According to him - they presented an one liner about how RM provides access to all 11th grader to the IB program. It did not register to anyone that they were talking about the RM-cluster students on tat slide and no one asked follow up questions.

Kind of CYA kind of introduction to the topic without having to be transparent about it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A friend of mine attended the Open House. According to him - they presented an one liner about how RM provides access to all 11th grader to the IB program. It did not register to anyone that they were talking about the RM-cluster students on tat slide and no one asked follow up questions.

Kind of CYA kind of introduction to the topic without having to be transparent about it.

Or maybe it register, but nobody was bothered about it.