mcps. sounds about right. (GT admissions changes)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Yes we know... "cohort" is the other, which has nothing to do with academic metrics.

Really? But I have often read on DCUM that cohort is very important academically - usually in discussion about application magnet programs or schools in Bethesda/Potomac/Chevy Chase.

Putting a bunch of kids together w/o a proper curriculum is as useful as a bunch of smart kids chewing bubble gum together. Doesn't really achieve much. I cannot comment much about the middle school program, but I can certainly make a comment about elementary school. So they keep a bunch of smart kids back at the local school. They spend too much time doing very little and not being properly challenged in class. Unless the county plans a proper and challenging program for these kids with teachers who know how to implement the curriculum, cohorts mean very little.

Well, tell that to the Whitman etc. parents. If cohort doesn't matter, why not live in the DCC?

WTF is DCC? I don't see it on a real map. We work downtown and Arlington and want <30 minute commutes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Yes we know... "cohort" is the other, which has nothing to do with academic metrics.

Really? But I have often read on DCUM that cohort is very important academically - usually in discussion about application magnet programs or schools in Bethesda/Potomac/Chevy Chase.

Putting a bunch of kids together w/o a proper curriculum is as useful as a bunch of smart kids chewing bubble gum together. Doesn't really achieve much. I cannot comment much about the middle school program, but I can certainly make a comment about elementary school. So they keep a bunch of smart kids back at the local school. They spend too much time doing very little and not being properly challenged in class. Unless the county plans a proper and challenging program for these kids with teachers who know how to implement the curriculum, cohorts mean very little.

Well, tell that to the Whitman etc. parents. If cohort doesn't matter, why not live in the DCC?

WTF is DCC? I don't see it on a real map. We work downtown and Arlington and want <30 minute commutes.

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/downcounty/

[Anonymous]

DCC was a group of close in high-schools that included BCC initially until the parents complained.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Yes we know... "cohort" is the other, which has nothing to do with academic metrics.

Really? But I have often read on DCUM that cohort is very important academically - usually in discussion about application magnet programs or schools in Bethesda/Potomac/Chevy Chase.

Putting a bunch of kids together w/o a proper curriculum is as useful as a bunch of smart kids chewing bubble gum together. Doesn't really achieve much. I cannot comment much about the middle school program, but I can certainly make a comment about elementary school. So they keep a bunch of smart kids back at the local school. They spend too much time doing very little and not being properly challenged in class. Unless the county plans a proper and challenging program for these kids with teachers who know how to implement the curriculum, cohorts mean very little.

I kind of disagree. I have a child at CES, and it is different than her experience at her home elementary. But also, her home elementary experience was solid, especially in reading and writing. Was she challenged by the curriculum? Not especially. But she was engaged in school and encouraged to learn and grow with a stimulating peer cohort that discussed math and games of strategy, read a LOT outside of the assigned classroom books, discussed and shared those outside books, played imaginative games, created their own little newsletter/newspaper, etc. They filled the in-between times at school with interesting, stimulating activities. My daughter learned extra math from one friend, and traded challenging books with another friend. She had a good peer cohort, and she learned a lot from them and was not bored and idle at school. She had reading groups and writing projects that were stimulating and interesting for her. Math was a bit of a different story, but no school is perfect. I do believe the math curriculum held my daughter back. But supplementing her math was/is way cheaper than paying for private school. And hopefully the math curriculum will improve in the future.

exactly. Treading water while having fun with your friends.

Meanwhile, your kid could be learning more subjects and learning them more deeply in an appropriate learning environment, curriculum and challenge level. But nevermind, you can make it all up in high school with AP tests and good ACTs. Maybe college will be where the real love of learning starts....

DP. Many ways to learn what you need to succeed. My older DC just barely missed getting into CAP and had time in HS for lots of ECs and a NYC internship. Ended up at same University as two friends from HS who were in CAP. Wrote for college publications and today is employed FT writing content for a major media outlet. One CAP friend is unemployed and the other was fired from a social media job for plagiarism.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Yes we know... "cohort" is the other, which has nothing to do with academic metrics.

Really? But I have often read on DCUM that cohort is very important academically - usually in discussion about application magnet programs or schools in Bethesda/Potomac/Chevy Chase.

Putting a bunch of kids together w/o a proper curriculum is as useful as a bunch of smart kids chewing bubble gum together. Doesn't really achieve much. I cannot comment much about the middle school program, but I can certainly make a comment about elementary school. So they keep a bunch of smart kids back at the local school. They spend too much time doing very little and not being properly challenged in class. Unless the county plans a proper and challenging program for these kids with teachers who know how to implement the curriculum, cohorts mean very little.

Well, tell that to the Whitman etc. parents. If cohort doesn't matter, why not live in the DCC?

Bragging rights.

Which is why many care about the Magnet cachet rather than the enriched course anyway.

Cohort is important. So is a challenging curriculum. Why do people separate these two things? Why can't a parent want both for their kids? And no, the "enriched" classes at the home school is no where near the level of the magnet program.

Did the enriched classes at home schools exist last year? If not, how do you know that it *wont* be challenging — we’re two weeks in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Yes we know... "cohort" is the other, which has nothing to do with academic metrics.

Really? But I have often read on DCUM that cohort is very important academically - usually in discussion about application magnet programs or schools in Bethesda/Potomac/Chevy Chase.

Putting a bunch of kids together w/o a proper curriculum is as useful as a bunch of smart kids chewing bubble gum together. Doesn't really achieve much. I cannot comment much about the middle school program, but I can certainly make a comment about elementary school. So they keep a bunch of smart kids back at the local school. They spend too much time doing very little and not being properly challenged in class. Unless the county plans a proper and challenging program for these kids with teachers who know how to implement the curriculum, cohorts mean very little.

Well, tell that to the Whitman etc. parents. If cohort doesn't matter, why not live in the DCC?

WTF is DCC? I don't see it on a real map. We work downtown and Arlington and want <30 minute commutes.

It is not possible to commute to Arlington from anywhere in MoCo in less than 30 minutes. Perhaps if you live right near River Road and the beltway. Or somewhere you can take Cabin John/Clara Barton to Chain Bridge. But I think your commute requirements are basically impossible.