Can we fight to put more of the academic magnets in middle & high FARMS schools? (no humanities at Whitman, etc)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What you are proposing is what the original/current magnet program is. Now they're moving to a regional program where each school would have a magnet. This likely weakens the county wide magnets but maybe increases accessibility give the commutes that were needed to go to a county wide magnet.

If they are going to go the magnet in every school then Humanities makes sense at Whitman because the school doesn't need a high profile magnet to attract strong students.

It’s too far from Einstein, Northwood and Blair. BCC and Whitman students will get it all to themselves. Same with the BCC IB program.

Totally wrong about B-CC. There are kid in the Einstein zone that could ride a bike to B-CC. Similarly via the beltway it is not more than 15 minutes between Blair and B-CC.

Yeah, but who wants to ride a bike 3-5 miles each way in the middle of winter? Especially if they need to bring a musical instrument or equipment for sports practice?

Conn Ave and East West high way is not very safe either and its all up hill.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What you are proposing is what the original/current magnet program is. Now they're moving to a regional program where each school would have a magnet. This likely weakens the county wide magnets but maybe increases accessibility give the commutes that were needed to go to a county wide magnet.

If they are going to go the magnet in every school then Humanities makes sense at Whitman because the school doesn't need a high profile magnet to attract strong students.

It’s too far from Einstein, Northwood and Blair. BCC and Whitman students will get it all to themselves. Same with the BCC IB program.

Totally wrong about B-CC. There are kid in the Einstein zone that could ride a bike to B-CC. Similarly via the beltway it is not more than 15 minutes between Blair and B-CC.

By the time these changes come to pass, the purple line will be just about ready, connecting the BCC area with the Einstein, Northwood and Blair areas. Whitman is definitely further, though.

Kids still have to get to the purple line and who pays for it. You have all kinds of anwsers for other kids, not your own. Would you want these commutes for your kids?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What you are proposing is what the original/current magnet program is. Now they're moving to a regional program where each school would have a magnet. This likely weakens the county wide magnets but maybe increases accessibility give the commutes that were needed to go to a county wide magnet.

If they are going to go the magnet in every school then Humanities makes sense at Whitman because the school doesn't need a high profile magnet to attract strong students.

It’s too far from Einstein, Northwood and Blair. BCC and Whitman students will get it all to themselves. Same with the BCC IB program.

Totally wrong about B-CC. There are kid in the Einstein zone that could ride a bike to B-CC. Similarly via the beltway it is not more than 15 minutes between Blair and B-CC.

By the time these changes come to pass, the purple line will be just about ready, connecting the BCC area with the Einstein, Northwood and Blair areas. Whitman is definitely further, though.

The nearest purple line stop to Einstein and Northwood is Silver Spring. That’s still 3-5 miles away. Some kids could grab the red line first but it’s not ideal, especially if students don’t get to ride for free.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What you are proposing is what the original/current magnet program is. Now they're moving to a regional program where each school would have a magnet. This likely weakens the county wide magnets but maybe increases accessibility give the commutes that were needed to go to a county wide magnet.

If they are going to go the magnet in every school then Humanities makes sense at Whitman because the school doesn't need a high profile magnet to attract strong students.

It’s too far from Einstein, Northwood and Blair. BCC and Whitman students will get it all to themselves. Same with the BCC IB program.

Totally wrong about B-CC. There are kid in the Einstein zone that could ride a bike to B-CC. Similarly via the beltway it is not more than 15 minutes between Blair and B-CC.

By the time these changes come to pass, the purple line will be just about ready, connecting the BCC area with the Einstein, Northwood and Blair areas. Whitman is definitely further, though.

Kids still have to get to the purple line and who pays for it. You have all kinds of anwsers for other kids, not your own. Would you want these commutes for your kids?

You know, lots of East County people made these exact statements to the West County people when the first set of boundary options were proposed. Some were even gleeful about 'sticking it to the man' (meaning, making our kids get on long bus rides, but without choice).

[Anonymous]

It's all still a choice whether the kids want to get on the bus. At the very least, it is less of a bus ride and there are more magnet options.

[Anonymous]

The humanities program should be at Northwood but right now Northwood does not seem to be coming together to advocate for its future interests because the community is currently fragmented/dislocated/in exile at Woodward. Or because Northwood families are currently focused on trying to save SSIMS, which is in the same cluster. Does Northwood have an MCCPTA rep? It is also a shame that Northwood and Einstein have been put in an competition for the performing arts. Meanwhile the school that is already the best high school in the county gets the new criteria based humanities program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What you are proposing is what the original/current magnet program is. Now they're moving to a regional program where each school would have a magnet. This likely weakens the county wide magnets but maybe increases accessibility give the commutes that were needed to go to a county wide magnet.

If they are going to go the magnet in every school then Humanities makes sense at Whitman because the school doesn't need a high profile magnet to attract strong students.

It’s too far from Einstein, Northwood and Blair. BCC and Whitman students will get it all to themselves. Same with the BCC IB program.

Totally wrong about B-CC. There are kid in the Einstein zone that could ride a bike to B-CC. Similarly via the beltway it is not more than 15 minutes between Blair and B-CC.

By the time these changes come to pass, the purple line will be just about ready, connecting the BCC area with the Einstein, Northwood and Blair areas. Whitman is definitely further, though.

Kids still have to get to the purple line and who pays for it. You have all kinds of anwsers for other kids, not your own. Would you want these commutes for your kids?

You know, lots of East County people made these exact statements to the West County people when the first set of boundary options were proposed. Some were even gleeful about 'sticking it to the man' (meaning, making our kids get on long bus rides, but without choice).

Yep. So true.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What you are proposing is what the original/current magnet program is. Now they're moving to a regional program where each school would have a magnet. This likely weakens the county wide magnets but maybe increases accessibility give the commutes that were needed to go to a county wide magnet.

If they are going to go the magnet in every school then Humanities makes sense at Whitman because the school doesn't need a high profile magnet to attract strong students.

It’s too far from Einstein, Northwood and Blair. BCC and Whitman students will get it all to themselves. Same with the BCC IB program.

Totally wrong about B-CC. There are kid in the Einstein zone that could ride a bike to B-CC. Similarly via the beltway it is not more than 15 minutes between Blair and B-CC.

By the time these changes come to pass, the purple line will be just about ready, connecting the BCC area with the Einstein, Northwood and Blair areas. Whitman is definitely further, though.

Kids still have to get to the purple line and who pays for it. You have all kinds of anwsers for other kids, not your own. Would you want these commutes for your kids?

You’re responding to me and my kid has a much worse commute than this. I personally think mcps should do much better on the transportation front for all kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What you are proposing is what the original/current magnet program is. Now they're moving to a regional program where each school would have a magnet. This likely weakens the county wide magnets but maybe increases accessibility give the commutes that were needed to go to a county wide magnet.

If they are going to go the magnet in every school then Humanities makes sense at Whitman because the school doesn't need a high profile magnet to attract strong students.

It’s too far from Einstein, Northwood and Blair. BCC and Whitman students will get it all to themselves. Same with the BCC IB program.

Totally wrong about B-CC. There are kid in the Einstein zone that could ride a bike to B-CC. Similarly via the beltway it is not more than 15 minutes between Blair and B-CC.

True. At 4am on Sunday morning.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The humanities magnets are in the richest school in every region.

Seriously? I was giving them the benefit of the doubt that they just didn't think these issues through, but that's starting to make me wonder if maybe they're actually trying to favor the rich schools intentionally...

On the one hand, you have a bunch of people saying MCPS only caters to the rich.

OTH, you have a bunch of people who say that MCPS only cares about DEI to the detriment of all else.

Can't win.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What you are proposing is what the original/current magnet program is. Now they're moving to a regional program where each school would have a magnet. This likely weakens the county wide magnets but maybe increases accessibility give the commutes that were needed to go to a county wide magnet.

If they are going to go the magnet in every school then Humanities makes sense at Whitman because the school doesn't need a high profile magnet to attract strong students.

It’s too far from Einstein, Northwood and Blair. BCC and Whitman students will get it all to themselves. Same with the BCC IB program.

Totally wrong about B-CC. There are kid in the Einstein zone that could ride a bike to B-CC. Similarly via the beltway it is not more than 15 minutes between Blair and B-CC.

By the time these changes come to pass, the purple line will be just about ready, connecting the BCC area with the Einstein, Northwood and Blair areas. Whitman is definitely further, though.

Kids still have to get to the purple line and who pays for it. You have all kinds of anwsers for other kids, not your own. Would you want these commutes for your kids?

You’re responding to me and my kid has a much worse commute than this. I personally think mcps should do much better on the transportation front for all kids.

Do you provide transportation because mcps doesn’t offer it? Or, do your kids get it and they either use it or you choose to drive as it’s better for them? You choose these programs and the commute. It’s not what we want. We want classes at our home schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The humanities magnets are in the richest school in every region.

Seriously? I was giving them the benefit of the doubt that they just didn't think these issues through, but that's starting to make me wonder if maybe they're actually trying to favor the rich schools intentionally...

On the one hand, you have a bunch of people saying MCPS only caters to the rich.

OTH, you have a bunch of people who say that MCPS only cares about DEI to the detriment of all else.

Can't win.

Exactly this. Everyone complains that MCPS is too large, so they are trying to break it into 6 smaller districts and offering equal opportunities to everyone and parents are still upset.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The humanities program should be at Northwood but right now Northwood does not seem to be coming together to advocate for its future interests because the community is currently fragmented/dislocated/in exile at Woodward. Or because Northwood families are currently focused on trying to save SSIMS, which is in the same cluster. Does Northwood have an MCCPTA rep? It is also a shame that Northwood and Einstein have been put in a competition for the performing arts. Meanwhile the school that is already the best high school in the county gets the new criteria based humanities program.

Agree

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What you are proposing is what the original/current magnet program is. Now they're moving to a regional program where each school would have a magnet. This likely weakens the county wide magnets but maybe increases accessibility give the commutes that were needed to go to a county wide magnet.

If they are going to go the magnet in every school then Humanities makes sense at Whitman because the school doesn't need a high profile magnet to attract strong students.

It’s too far from Einstein, Northwood and Blair. BCC and Whitman students will get it all to themselves. Same with the BCC IB program.

Totally wrong about B-CC. There are kid in the Einstein zone that could ride a bike to B-CC. Similarly via the beltway it is not more than 15 minutes between Blair and B-CC.

Yeah, but who wants to ride a bike 3-5 miles each way in the middle of winter? Especially if they need to bring a musical instrument or equipment for sports practice?

Conn Ave and East West high way is not very safe either and its all up hill.

Oh my lord. People, the point is that it is not that far away. If you could reasonably ride a bicycle (even if you don’t want to) it isn’t like it is at the far end of the universe like people are suggesting.

It is fine to not want it at BCC but objective BCC is one of the most accessible schools in the county when it comes to public transportation. It isn’t terribly far from the beltway. It is a few blocks from both the red and purple line. Lots of ride on and Metrobus lines go nearby because downtown Bethesda is a busy place with high density of housing, jobs, and stores.

Arguments that BCC is uniquely not accessible while other schools are just do not hold up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What you are proposing is what the original/current magnet program is. Now they're moving to a regional program where each school would have a magnet. This likely weakens the county wide magnets but maybe increases accessibility give the commutes that were needed to go to a county wide magnet.

If they are going to go the magnet in every school then Humanities makes sense at Whitman because the school doesn't need a high profile magnet to attract strong students.

It’s too far from Einstein, Northwood and Blair. BCC and Whitman students will get it all to themselves. Same with the BCC IB program.

Totally wrong about B-CC. There are kid in the Einstein zone that could ride a bike to B-CC. Similarly via the beltway it is not more than 15 minutes between Blair and B-CC.

Yeah, but who wants to ride a bike 3-5 miles each way in the middle of winter? Especially if they need to bring a musical instrument or equipment for sports practice?

Conn Ave and East West high way is not very safe either and its all up hill.

Oh my lord. People, the point is that it is not that far away. If you could reasonably ride a bicycle (even if you don’t want to) it isn’t like it is at the far end of the universe like people are suggesting.

It is fine to not want it at BCC but objective BCC is one of the most accessible schools in the county when it comes to public transportation. It isn’t terribly far from the beltway. It is a few blocks from both the red and purple line. Lots of ride on and Metrobus lines go nearby because downtown Bethesda is a busy place with high density of housing, jobs, and stores.

Arguments that BCC is uniquely not accessible while other schools are just do not hold up.

For me the concern is not the transportation from our house since there are public buses that go to Bethesda. I'm not sure it will be so easy for other kids if there isn't bus service from close to their homes. But I can't speak to that personally. For me it is that it will take highly motivated and highly resourced kids from DCC schools and reduce the cohort of highly academically motivated students at their home schools.