Are the Blair magnet kids happy?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is in the magnet and I can honestly tell you that they enjoy it. DC loves hanging out with the cohort of super smart kids who make learning a fun and challenging experience. We have no regrets.

I am not the PP, but responding to that post, I am guessing that they are dissing the lottery policy that is diluting the ES and MS magnets. Thankfully, as of now, the county is not interfering with the selection policy of the HS magnet programs.

Not only is there no lottery policy for high school but the rising 9th graders also didn’t go through the lottery.

I thought they started lottery for MS magnet 4 years ago, the first lottery cohort are in already 10th grade now, how’s the rising 9th grader not part of the lottery??

No, current 9th graders took Cogat in fall 2020 and were notified they got into the magnet in Jan 2020. No lottery.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is in the magnet and I can honestly tell you that they enjoy it. DC loves hanging out with the cohort of super smart kids who make learning a fun and challenging experience. We have no regrets.

I am not the PP, but responding to that post, I am guessing that they are dissing the lottery policy that is diluting the ES and MS magnets. Thankfully, as of now, the county is not interfering with the selection policy of the HS magnet programs.

Not only is there no lottery policy for high school but the rising 9th graders also didn’t go through the lottery.

I thought they started lottery for MS magnet 4 years ago, the first lottery cohort are in already 10th grade now, how’s the rising 9th grader not part of the lottery??

No, current 9th graders took Cogat in fall 2020 and were notified they got into the magnet in Jan 2020. No lottery.

There used to have a magnet admission test + cogat, then they switched to Cogat + lottery 4 years ago, looks like it changed again 2 years ago to just grade + lottery. The quality of magnets student went down a lot since 4 years ago, I heard they had problem finding qualified kids for the math team..

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is in the magnet and I can honestly tell you that they enjoy it. DC loves hanging out with the cohort of super smart kids who make learning a fun and challenging experience. We have no regrets.

I am not the PP, but responding to that post, I am guessing that they are dissing the lottery policy that is diluting the ES and MS magnets. Thankfully, as of now, the county is not interfering with the selection policy of the HS magnet programs.

Not only is there no lottery policy for high school but the rising 9th graders also didn’t go through the lottery.

I thought they started lottery for MS magnet 4 years ago, the first lottery cohort are in already 10th grade now, how’s the rising 9th grader not part of the lottery??

No, current 9th graders took Cogat in fall 2020 and were notified they got into the magnet in Jan 2020. No lottery.

There used to have a magnet admission test + cogat, then they switched to Cogat + lottery 4 years ago, looks like it changed again 2 years ago to just grade + lottery. The quality of magnets student went down a lot since 4 years ago, I heard they had problem finding qualified kids for the math team..

This is wrong. There was no lottery until 2021 (current 7th graders).

To answer the OP’s question, my Blair magnet kid likes it a lot. DC is intense and highly motivated, but not competitive, and has found like minded kids both in and out of the magnet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is in the magnet and I can honestly tell you that they enjoy it. DC loves hanging out with the cohort of super smart kids who make learning a fun and challenging experience. We have no regrets.

I am not the PP, but responding to that post, I am guessing that they are dissing the lottery policy that is diluting the ES and MS magnets. Thankfully, as of now, the county is not interfering with the selection policy of the HS magnet programs.

Not only is there no lottery policy for high school but the rising 9th graders also didn’t go through the lottery.

I thought they started lottery for MS magnet 4 years ago, the first lottery cohort are in already 10th grade now, how’s the rising 9th grader not part of the lottery??

No, current 9th graders took Cogat in fall 2020 and were notified they got into the magnet in Jan 2020. No lottery.

There used to have a magnet admission test + cogat, then they switched to Cogat + lottery 4 years ago, looks like it changed again 2 years ago to just grade + lottery. The quality of magnets student went down a lot since 4 years ago, I heard they had problem finding qualified kids for the math team..

This is wrong. There was no lottery until 2021 (current 7th graders).

To answer the OP’s question, my Blair magnet kid likes it a lot. DC is intense and highly motivated, but not competitive, and has found like minded kids both in and out of the magnet.

The only reason they started the lottery of the top 15% was that NWEA refused to allow them to administer the CogAT remotely during the deadly pandemic so they had no choice but to eliminate it. However, with the trend away from these standardized tests like SAT because they confer an advantage to affluent families it may be for the best.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is in the magnet and I can honestly tell you that they enjoy it. DC loves hanging out with the cohort of super smart kids who make learning a fun and challenging experience. We have no regrets.

I am not the PP, but responding to that post, I am guessing that they are dissing the lottery policy that is diluting the ES and MS magnets. Thankfully, as of now, the county is not interfering with the selection policy of the HS magnet programs.

Not only is there no lottery policy for high school but the rising 9th graders also didn’t go through the lottery.

I thought they started lottery for MS magnet 4 years ago, the first lottery cohort are in already 10th grade now, how’s the rising 9th grader not part of the lottery??

No, current 9th graders took Cogat in fall 2020 and were notified they got into the magnet in Jan 2020. No lottery.

There used to have a magnet admission test + cogat, then they switched to Cogat + lottery 4 years ago, looks like it changed again 2 years ago to just grade + lottery. The quality of magnets student went down a lot since 4 years ago, I heard they had problem finding qualified kids for the math team..

This is BS. There is no indication of a change in the students and the current 8th graders DID NOT go through a lottery.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

There used to have a magnet admission test + cogat, then they switched to Cogat + lottery 4 years ago, looks like it changed again 2 years ago to just grade + lottery. The quality of magnets student went down a lot since 4 years ago, I heard they had problem finding qualified kids for the math team..

It is rare to find a post that is wrong in every sentence.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are excited that our DD has this option and are very much leaning towards her attending. My biggest worry, though, is whether the kids are happy. My child is a kid who won’t mind a bunch of homework. She’s a strong math kid but loves science and reading - my guess is she would do mostly science electives but may take a couple of the cool social studies or English ones too. What I think she needs most is a cohort of kids who are into school but also like hanging out, aren’t crazy competitive with each other even if they themselves want to do well. Is that the vibe of the magnet?

I was in your place last year. And everyone’s advice was it’s very supportive and kid won’t have too much hw. I feel like you are owed the truth so that you can make an informed decision. I wish someone had told me this last year. There are some in the pgm that are not competitive…but a good majority are very competitive bc they gets theseideas/way of thinking from home from their parents. These children become very competitive and mean spirited bc they have been taught to think this way since elementary school.
My advice would be to ignore these types of students and hang out with kids most like your DD. it will be tough bc she will be in lots of classes with the mean spirited kids and sometimes it’s hard to mentally block them off. Some of the kids play different mind games, one example :they say they didn’t study and then score a good grade…..all to make people who do study feel bad about their grades. Or they cheat off others and get a good grade and pretend they are just really smart. It’s tough but if your child likes stem….Blair is where it’s at! Good luck!

+1 My DC was in the magnet and is not super competitive. There are kids who lie about their accomplishments. Some cheat by sharing old tests and homework and talk about it as if there's nothing wrong with it.

DC has a chill temperament and doesn't let most of it get them but I think DC lost out on opportunities because they aren't aggressive. It was a great introduction to a cutthroat workplace, which many of these kids will experience someday.

If your child either isn't aggressive and competitive or able to look past the competitive kids and not let them get to them, it might not be the best place for your child.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are excited that our DD has this option and are very much leaning towards her attending. My biggest worry, though, is whether the kids are happy. My child is a kid who won’t mind a bunch of homework. She’s a strong math kid but loves science and reading - my guess is she would do mostly science electives but may take a couple of the cool social studies or English ones too. What I think she needs most is a cohort of kids who are into school but also like hanging out, aren’t crazy competitive with each other even if they themselves want to do well. Is that the vibe of the magnet?

I was in your place last year. And everyone’s advice was it’s very supportive and kid won’t have too much hw. I feel like you are owed the truth so that you can make an informed decision. I wish someone had told me this last year. There are some in the pgm that are not competitive…but a good majority are very competitive bc they gets theseideas/way of thinking from home from their parents. These children become very competitive and mean spirited bc they have been taught to think this way since elementary school.
My advice would be to ignore these types of students and hang out with kids most like your DD. it will be tough bc she will be in lots of classes with the mean spirited kids and sometimes it’s hard to mentally block them off. Some of the kids play different mind games, one example :they say they didn’t study and then score a good grade…..all to make people who do study feel bad about their grades. Or they cheat off others and get a good grade and pretend they are just really smart. It’s tough but if your child likes stem….Blair is where it’s at! Good luck!

+1 My DC was in the magnet and is not super competitive. There are kids who lie about their accomplishments. Some cheat by sharing old tests and homework and talk about it as if there's nothing wrong with it.

DC has a chill temperament and doesn't let most of it get them but I think DC lost out on opportunities because they aren't aggressive. It was a great introduction to a cutthroat workplace, which many of these kids will experience someday.

If your child either isn't aggressive and competitive or able to look past the competitive kids and not let them get to them, it might not be the best place for your child.

Also, some competitive parents always post things hoping to get others to make room on the waitlist.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is in the magnet and I can honestly tell you that they enjoy it. DC loves hanging out with the cohort of super smart kids who make learning a fun and challenging experience. We have no regrets.

I am not the PP, but responding to that post, I am guessing that they are dissing the lottery policy that is diluting the ES and MS magnets. Thankfully, as of now, the county is not interfering with the selection policy of the HS magnet programs.

Not only is there no lottery policy for high school but the rising 9th graders also didn’t go through the lottery.

I thought they started lottery for MS magnet 4 years ago, the first lottery cohort are in already 10th grade now, how’s the rising 9th grader not part of the lottery??

No, current 9th graders took Cogat in fall 2020 and were notified they got into the magnet in Jan 2020. No lottery.

There used to have a magnet admission test + cogat, then they switched to Cogat + lottery 4 years ago, looks like it changed again 2 years ago to just grade + lottery. The quality of magnets student went down a lot since 4 years ago, I heard they had problem finding qualified kids for the math team..

They were from the previous change where they introduced local norms which some claimed would result in the end of life as we known it. It made almost no difference.
This is BS. There is no indication of a change in the students and the current 8th graders DID NOT go through a lottery.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is in the magnet and I can honestly tell you that they enjoy it. DC loves hanging out with the cohort of super smart kids who make learning a fun and challenging experience. We have no regrets.

I am not the PP, but responding to that post, I am guessing that they are dissing the lottery policy that is diluting the ES and MS magnets. Thankfully, as of now, the county is not interfering with the selection policy of the HS magnet programs.

Not only is there no lottery policy for high school but the rising 9th graders also didn’t go through the lottery.

I thought they started lottery for MS magnet 4 years ago, the first lottery cohort are in already 10th grade now, how’s the rising 9th grader not part of the lottery??

No, current 9th graders took Cogat in fall 2020 and were notified they got into the magnet in Jan 2020. No lottery.

There used to have a magnet admission test + cogat, then they switched to Cogat + lottery 4 years ago, looks like it changed again 2 years ago to just grade + lottery. The quality of magnets student went down a lot since 4 years ago, I heard they had problem finding qualified kids for the math team..

This is BS. There is no indication of a change in the students and the current 8th graders DID NOT go through a lottery.

They were from the previous change where they introduced local norms which some claimed would result in the end of life as we known it. It made almost no difference.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is in the magnet and I can honestly tell you that they enjoy it. DC loves hanging out with the cohort of super smart kids who make learning a fun and challenging experience. We have no regrets.

I am not the PP, but responding to that post, I am guessing that they are dissing the lottery policy that is diluting the ES and MS magnets. Thankfully, as of now, the county is not interfering with the selection policy of the HS magnet programs.

Not only is there no lottery policy for high school but the rising 9th graders also didn’t go through the lottery.

I thought they started lottery for MS magnet 4 years ago, the first lottery cohort are in already 10th grade now, how’s the rising 9th grader not part of the lottery??

No, current 9th graders took Cogat in fall 2020 and were notified they got into the magnet in Jan 2020. No lottery.

There used to have a magnet admission test + cogat, then they switched to Cogat + lottery 4 years ago, looks like it changed again 2 years ago to just grade + lottery. The quality of magnets student went down a lot since 4 years ago, I heard they had problem finding qualified kids for the math team..

This is BS. There is no indication of a change in the students and the current 8th graders DID NOT go through a lottery.

They were from the previous change where they introduced local norms which some claimed would result in the end of life as we known it. It made almost no difference.

Local norms caused more cut-throat situation, but the kids selected for magnet MS programs are still pretty good. HS acceptance criteria didn't change much this year. The CES and local smart kids that were declined by the magnet MS programs all got accepted by SMACS or CAP or RMIB, as far as I can tell from a sample of about 100 kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is in the magnet and I can honestly tell you that they enjoy it. DC loves hanging out with the cohort of super smart kids who make learning a fun and challenging experience. We have no regrets.

I am not the PP, but responding to that post, I am guessing that they are dissing the lottery policy that is diluting the ES and MS magnets. Thankfully, as of now, the county is not interfering with the selection policy of the HS magnet programs.

Not only is there no lottery policy for high school but the rising 9th graders also didn’t go through the lottery.

I thought they started lottery for MS magnet 4 years ago, the first lottery cohort are in already 10th grade now, how’s the rising 9th grader not part of the lottery??

No, current 9th graders took Cogat in fall 2020 and were notified they got into the magnet in Jan 2020. No lottery.

There used to have a magnet admission test + cogat, then they switched to Cogat + lottery 4 years ago, looks like it changed again 2 years ago to just grade + lottery. The quality of magnets student went down a lot since 4 years ago, I heard they had problem finding qualified kids for the math team..

This is BS. There is no indication of a change in the students and the current 8th graders DID NOT go through a lottery.

They were from the previous change where they introduced local norms which some claimed would result in the end of life as we known it. It made almost no difference.

It did make a difference but not as much as people thought. The kids from the lottery are more noticeably different according to what teachers have said.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is in the magnet and I can honestly tell you that they enjoy it. DC loves hanging out with the cohort of super smart kids who make learning a fun and challenging experience. We have no regrets.

I am not the PP, but responding to that post, I am guessing that they are dissing the lottery policy that is diluting the ES and MS magnets. Thankfully, as of now, the county is not interfering with the selection policy of the HS magnet programs.

Not only is there no lottery policy for high school but the rising 9th graders also didn’t go through the lottery.

I thought they started lottery for MS magnet 4 years ago, the first lottery cohort are in already 10th grade now, how’s the rising 9th grader not part of the lottery??

No, current 9th graders took Cogat in fall 2020 and were notified they got into the magnet in Jan 2020. No lottery.

There used to have a magnet admission test + cogat, then they switched to Cogat + lottery 4 years ago, looks like it changed again 2 years ago to just grade + lottery. The quality of magnets student went down a lot since 4 years ago, I heard they had problem finding qualified kids for the math team..

This is BS. There is no indication of a change in the students and the current 8th graders DID NOT go through a lottery.

They were from the previous change where they introduced local norms which some claimed would result in the end of life as we known it. It made almost no difference.

Local norms caused more cut-throat situation, but the kids selected for magnet MS programs are still pretty good. HS acceptance criteria didn't change much this year. The CES and local smart kids that were declined by the magnet MS programs all got accepted by SMACS or CAP or RMIB, as far as I can tell from a sample of about 100 kids.

Local norms made the process more inclusive by putting a damper on the impact of prepping had on the selection process. The result was a less toxic environment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is in the magnet and I can honestly tell you that they enjoy it. DC loves hanging out with the cohort of super smart kids who make learning a fun and challenging experience. We have no regrets.

I am not the PP, but responding to that post, I am guessing that they are dissing the lottery policy that is diluting the ES and MS magnets. Thankfully, as of now, the county is not interfering with the selection policy of the HS magnet programs.

Not only is there no lottery policy for high school but the rising 9th graders also didn’t go through the lottery.

I thought they started lottery for MS magnet 4 years ago, the first lottery cohort are in already 10th grade now, how’s the rising 9th grader not part of the lottery??

No, they started MS lottery only a few years ago with Covid. The first MS lottery cohort is currently in 7th grade.

Yeah. Current 10,9,8 experienced very weird cogat + cohort thing for middle school magnets!

But at least there was a Cogat, abbreviated as it was. Currently there isn't even that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is in the magnet and I can honestly tell you that they enjoy it. DC loves hanging out with the cohort of super smart kids who make learning a fun and challenging experience. We have no regrets.

I am not the PP, but responding to that post, I am guessing that they are dissing the lottery policy that is diluting the ES and MS magnets. Thankfully, as of now, the county is not interfering with the selection policy of the HS magnet programs.

Not only is there no lottery policy for high school but the rising 9th graders also didn’t go through the lottery.

I thought they started lottery for MS magnet 4 years ago, the first lottery cohort are in already 10th grade now, how’s the rising 9th grader not part of the lottery??

No, current 9th graders took Cogat in fall 2020 and were notified they got into the magnet in Jan 2020. No lottery.

There used to have a magnet admission test + cogat, then they switched to Cogat + lottery 4 years ago, looks like it changed again 2 years ago to just grade + lottery. The quality of magnets student went down a lot since 4 years ago, I heard they had problem finding qualified kids for the math team..

This is wrong. There was no lottery until 2021 (current 7th graders).

To answer the OP’s question, my Blair magnet kid likes it a lot. DC is intense and highly motivated, but not competitive, and has found like minded kids both in and out of the magnet.

+1.
There was no lottery for current 8th graders. DC is in a magnet and I clearly remember how it played out. First, the county sent a letter home saying that your child is 'identified' as magnet material and is invited to sit for the test. You either implicitly agreed or marked the box saying, no, thanks. The kids then took the test during school hours (at DC's school it was easily half the grade) and then in February we got results by mail. There was no lottery, however, there were appeals and waitlists.