Taylor's Feb. Rec for Woodward Boundary Study

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Given Woodward will host special program for Drama, Art, Media etc having 35-40% FARMS will result in high achiveing kids leaving for WJ or Stem program in Wheaton. It will result in fewer kids who can take higher level courses and they will have no choice.

STEM at Wheaton - is it a good program? Comparable to Blair? I am so upset they are dividing us in 6 regions.

It's not comparable to Blair at all, but given Art/Drama focus of Woodward it will be a better choice than Woodward for anyone intereded in higher level STEM. I suspect even WJ will have better STEM courses given very lkow FARMS so that would a choice as well.

This is an interesting perception- there are many STEAM programs (science, technology, ARTS, and mathematics) as well as tons of studies that show connections between the arts and other academic areas. Just because you don’t value the arts doesn’t mean students who do don’t value rigorous math, science or tech courses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Given Woodward will host special program for Drama, Art, Media etc having 35-40% FARMS will result in high achiveing kids leaving for WJ or Stem program in Wheaton. It will result in fewer kids who can take higher level courses and they will have no choice.

Geometry is going away as a stand-alone class. Which could be fine, but it’s inexplicably being replaced by a 2-year Algebra+Geom sequence, rather than 3-year.

art and music kids take a lot of AP classes

They do but they take less frequently higher level STEM than kids who are focused on STEM. Kids focused on STEM would have to leave Woodward to get decent options given more than third of school will be FARMS. It will create problem for kids who are left behind.

Isn't MCPS committed to offering AP Bio, Chem, Phys or an IB equivalent in all high schools?

Take for example, MCPS is not going to offer anything higher than Cal BC so if you take Pre-algebra( around 20% kids take it RM Cluster, I don't know about other clujsters) in grade 6 then you will be doing Alg1 and Alg 2 in 7th and 8th. Then Prec cal and Cal in 9th and 10th. You will be forced to take random filler courses in math in grade 11th and 12th if school does not offer courses beyond Cal. That's the case in many high poverty HS right now unless they host STEM magnet.

You skipped Geometry in 8th. So kids who take algebra in 7th get to Calculus by 11th. Most end up taking AP stats or Calculus BC senior year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's an extremely poor outcome for Tilden/Luxmanor families.

A high FARMS ES should have been assigned to WJ and Woodward each. Here 2 high FARMS ES are assigned to Woodward and none to WJ.

Concentrating poverty in one HS intentionally when both are less than mile from each other is just poorly thought out idea. No need to create Whitman 2.0 at expense of Woodward.

My guess is that they're counting on future HS seats opening up in Woodward, as families who can, further turn to privates.

[Anonymous]

Messed up QT above:

Geometry is going away as a stand-alone class. Which could be fine, but it’s inexplicably being replaced by a 2-year Algebra+Geom sequence, rather than 3-year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Given Woodward will host special program for Drama, Art, Media etc having 35-40% FARMS will result in high achiveing kids leaving for WJ or Stem program in Wheaton. It will result in fewer kids who can take higher level courses and they will have no choice.

art and music kids take a lot of AP classes

They do but they take less frequently higher level STEM than kids who are focused on STEM. Kids focused on STEM would have to leave Woodward to get decent options given more than third of school will be FARMS. It will create problem for kids who are left behind.

Isn't MCPS committed to offering AP Bio, Chem, Phys or an IB equivalent in all high schools?

Take for example, MCPS is not going to offer anything higher than Cal BC so if you take Pre-algebra( around 20% kids take it RM Cluster, I don't know about other clujsters) in grade 6 then you will be doing Alg1 and Alg 2 in 7th and 8th. Then Prec cal and Cal in 9th and 10th. You will be forced to take random filler courses in math in grade 11th and 12th if school does not offer courses beyond Cal. That's the case in many high poverty HS right now unless they host STEM magnet.

You skipped Geometry in 8th. So kids who take algebra in 7th get to Calculus by 11th. Most end up taking AP stats or Calculus BC senior year.

No geometry in future

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Given Woodward will host special program for Drama, Art, Media etc having 35-40% FARMS will result in high achiveing kids leaving for WJ or Stem program in Wheaton. It will result in fewer kids who can take higher level courses and they will have no choice.

STEM at Wheaton - is it a good program? Comparable to Blair? I am so upset they are dividing us in 6 regions.

It's not comparable to Blair at all, but given Art/Drama focus of Woodward it will be a better choice than Woodward for anyone intereded in higher level STEM. I suspect even WJ will have better STEM courses given very lkow FARMS so that would a choice as well.

This is an interesting perception- there are many STEAM programs (science, technology, ARTS, and mathematics) as well as tons of studies that show connections between the arts and other academic areas. Just because you don’t value the arts doesn’t mean students who do don’t value rigorous math, science or tech courses.

Who said anything about me not valueing non STEM.

I was only commenting on STEM oriented kids will have to face issues. Probably simialr to faced by Einstein HS(they had music focus with high FARMS).

[Anonymous]

Based on the first two pages here it is clear that people do not understand the severity of what happened today.

Let me spell it out for you - Tilden zone got destroyed with the recommendation

Engineering at Wheaton?! Are you kidding me?! Blair STEM prepares student to enter top universities as math and science majors. Engineering at Wheaton prepares students to be successful electricians and mechanical engineers. That is the difference. If you are fine with that then Wheaton "STEM magnet" may be an acceptable solution.

MC?! MC classes are so superficial that they are a complete waste of time. There have been several discussions on this topic here already.

So the only option for high achieving Tilden students to avoid staying at Woodward will be the humanities magnet at WJ.

Woodward itself is being positioned to be one of the lowest performing schools in the county with this recommendation - it will have high FARMS and poor class offering, since it is given the most pointless magnet. A complete disaster in making.

Hopefully, a lawsuit is coming. This was clearly designed in bad faith. Two middle schools, one predominantly white, NBMS, and one very diverse, Tilden, are sharing a HS that is to be split in two. So the predominantly white school gets one of the new HS, new WJ, pretty much all for itself, while the other one gets to share Woodward with two high FARMs, low performing, middle schools from outside the current zone. A blatant segregation.

Even the magnet placement is offensive. New WJ gets humanities and languages (for verbally gifted), while Woodward gets arts so they can sing and dance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Given Woodward will host special program for Drama, Art, Media etc having 35-40% FARMS will result in high achiveing kids leaving for WJ or Stem program in Wheaton. It will result in fewer kids who can take higher level courses and they will have no choice.

STEM at Wheaton - is it a good program? Comparable to Blair? I am so upset they are dividing us in 6 regions.

I mean, it's not Blair, but even Poolesville isn't Blair. Even Blair isn't going to keep being Blair. That's just an incredibly high bar.

It is, however, a very popular and well-regarded program. Wheaton is, frankly, a way more popular choice in the DCC than you would think it would be given its demographics-- this is largely because its strength in STEM is just that desirable.

This is kind of a weird statement. The DCC schools are not that different from each other demographically. I don't think most kids or families in the DCC would avoid Wheaton due to "demographics". But yes, Wheaton is very desirable in the DCC because it has strong STEM programs.

I'm not saying it should be this way, and certainly many families don't consider that kind of thing. But Wheaton (especially before DCC transfers) looks much more like Kennedy than like Blair, Einstein, or Northwood. It's 60% FARMS, 70% Hispanic, 15% Black, and 5% white. Looking at those numbers I think most people would imagine that it would be viewed as an undesirable school. But it isn't, most people think it's a great school, largely on the strength of its STEM programming. I think that's useful context.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Based on the first two pages here it is clear that people do not understand the severity of what happened today.

Let me spell it out for you - Tilden zone got destroyed with the recommendation

Engineering at Wheaton?! Are you kidding me?! Blair STEM prepares student to enter top universities as math and science majors. Engineering at Wheaton prepares students to be successful electricians and mechanical engineers. That is the difference. If you are fine with that then Wheaton "STEM magnet" may be an acceptable solution.

MC?! MC classes are so superficial that they are a complete waste of time. There have been several discussions on this topic here already.

So the only option for high achieving Tilden students to avoid staying at Woodward will be the humanities magnet at WJ.

Woodward itself is being positioned to be one of the lowest performing schools in the county with this recommendation - it will have high FARMS and poor class offering, since it is given the most pointless magnet. A complete disaster in making.

Hopefully, a lawsuit is coming. This was clearly designed in bad faith. Two middle schools, one predominantly white, NBMS, and one very diverse, Tilden, are sharing a HS that is to be split in two. So the predominantly white school gets one of the new HS, new WJ, pretty much all for itself, while the other one gets to share Woodward with two high FARMs, low performing, middle schools from outside the current zone. A blatant segregation.

Even the magnet placement is offensive. New WJ gets humanities and languages (for verbally gifted), while Woodward gets arts so they can sing and dance.

+100

It's a disater and I am surprised that most posters don't get it yet. Ah, after few years everyone will get it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Given Woodward will host special program for Drama, Art, Media etc having 35-40% FARMS will result in high achiveing kids leaving for WJ or Stem program in Wheaton. It will result in fewer kids who can take higher level courses and they will have no choice.

STEM at Wheaton - is it a good program? Comparable to Blair? I am so upset they are dividing us in 6 regions.

I mean, it's not Blair, but even Poolesville isn't Blair. Even Blair isn't going to keep being Blair. That's just an incredibly high bar.

It is, however, a very popular and well-regarded program. Wheaton is, frankly, a way more popular choice in the DCC than you would think it would be given its demographics-- this is largely because its strength in STEM is just that desirable.

This is kind of a weird statement. The DCC schools are not that different from each other demographically. I don't think most kids or families in the DCC would avoid Wheaton due to "demographics". But yes, Wheaton is very desirable in the DCC because it has strong STEM programs.

I'm not saying it should be this way, and certainly many families don't consider that kind of thing. But Wheaton (especially before DCC transfers) looks much more like Kennedy than like Blair, Einstein, or Northwood. It's 60% FARMS, 70% Hispanic, 15% Black, and 5% white. Looking at those numbers I think most people would imagine that it would be viewed as an undesirable school. But it isn't, most people think it's a great school, largely on the strength of its STEM programming. I think that's useful context.

Well, Wheaton will also decline because regional STEM magnet is not likely to attract too many students from outside now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Based on the first two pages here it is clear that people do not understand the severity of what happened today.

Let me spell it out for you - Tilden zone got destroyed with the recommendation

Engineering at Wheaton?! Are you kidding me?! Blair STEM prepares student to enter top universities as math and science majors. Engineering at Wheaton prepares students to be successful electricians and mechanical engineers. That is the difference. If you are fine with that then Wheaton "STEM magnet" may be an acceptable solution.

MC?! MC classes are so superficial that they are a complete waste of time. There have been several discussions on this topic here already.

So the only option for high achieving Tilden students to avoid staying at Woodward will be the humanities magnet at WJ.

Woodward itself is being positioned to be one of the lowest performing schools in the county with this recommendation - it will have high FARMS and poor class offering, since it is given the most pointless magnet. A complete disaster in making.

Hopefully, a lawsuit is coming. This was clearly designed in bad faith. Two middle schools, one predominantly white, NBMS, and one very diverse, Tilden, are sharing a HS that is to be split in two. So the predominantly white school gets one of the new HS, new WJ, pretty much all for itself, while the other one gets to share Woodward with two high FARMs, low performing, middle schools from outside the current zone. A blatant segregation.

Even the magnet placement is offensive. New WJ gets humanities and languages (for verbally gifted), while Woodward gets arts so they can sing and dance.

+1

I am not sure why both high FARMS ES are added to Woodward. It's clearly intentional and results in concentrating poverty.

[Anonymous]

The Wheaton kids are winning national robotics competitions, dude. Very bright kids are very challenged there.

Your obsession with Woodward being a bad school is laughable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Given Woodward will host special program for Drama, Art, Media etc having 35-40% FARMS will result in high achiveing kids leaving for WJ or Stem program in Wheaton. It will result in fewer kids who can take higher level courses and they will have no choice.

STEM at Wheaton - is it a good program? Comparable to Blair? I am so upset they are dividing us in 6 regions.

I mean, it's not Blair, but even Poolesville isn't Blair. Even Blair isn't going to keep being Blair. That's just an incredibly high bar.

It is, however, a very popular and well-regarded program. Wheaton is, frankly, a way more popular choice in the DCC than you would think it would be given its demographics-- this is largely because its strength in STEM is just that desirable.

This is kind of a weird statement. The DCC schools are not that different from each other demographically. I don't think most kids or families in the DCC would avoid Wheaton due to "demographics". But yes, Wheaton is very desirable in the DCC because it has strong STEM programs.

I'm not saying it should be this way, and certainly many families don't consider that kind of thing. But Wheaton (especially before DCC transfers) looks much more like Kennedy than like Blair, Einstein, or Northwood. It's 60% FARMS, 70% Hispanic, 15% Black, and 5% white. Looking at those numbers I think most people would imagine that it would be viewed as an undesirable school. But it isn't, most people think it's a great school, largely on the strength of its STEM programming. I think that's useful context.

I mean as Latina I recognize some families are racist but it's hurtful you think White families are choosing Wheaton in spite of the Latino students. Ouch. You haven't done a survey, you sharing how you feel about Latinos, and that's hurtful.

[Anonymous]

Vote differently. Return to smaller, localized, community-based schools instead of large socially-engineered schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The Wheaton kids are winning national robotics competitions, dude. Very bright kids are very challenged there.

Your obsession with Woodward being a bad school is laughable.

I am not disputing that there are bright kids at Wheaton. It is not their fault that their best option was Wheaton. Show me college placement for Wheaton (and Wheaton engineering) and how it compares to top schools and magnets in the county and then we can talk.

If nothing changes, Woodward will certainly be a bad schools. It is given no chance to succeed with current boundaries and the upcoming regional model.