MCPS planning very limited regional program transportation (HS pickups only)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This may not be a surprise to those who have been following this, but MCPS staff had previously been evasive about what exactly the transportation plan for regional programs will be.

But today they confirmed to the 'design team" (i.e. the advisory group who they don't actually listen to) that the current plan is that buses to the regional programs will pick students up from their local high school, meaning that students will not be able to attend regional programs unless they can drive or be driven to their local high school to catch the school bus from there (or they are lucky enough to live close enough to walk or have a workable public transit route to their high school.)

This is deeply inequitable and will leave many students behind. But I guess at this point they're so sure it'll pass that they don't mind letting it slip that regional programs are only going to be for better-off families who can manage DIY transportation. (And my understanding is that they and Taylor have implied to Board members that there will be reasonable access to transportation.to help get their support-- they probably figure it is too last minute for any of them to change their mind on it now.)

I’m one of the design team members. I have given up in attending these meetings or trying to argue with those CO people. I have resource and time to drive my kids. I have resource to offer them a solid education (including moving, sending them to private schools, etc). Why do I spend my time and effort on fighting benefits for the underprivileged while mcps don’t care at all?

You don’t care either and it’s all for show.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Right now, how do those kids get bused to magnet HS programs? From their home elementary school, home middle school, home high school or some big parking lot?

As an example, my kid currently gets a bus from our home elementary school. There are 3 bus routes with 9 different stops that bring students from our home high school region to the magnet school. The stops are at elementary schools and community centers.

So this would be going backwards, yet they claim it is making programs more accessible?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This may not be a surprise to those who have been following this, but MCPS staff had previously been evasive about what exactly the transportation plan for regional programs will be.

But today they confirmed to the 'design team" (i.e. the advisory group who they don't actually listen to) that the current plan is that buses to the regional programs will pick students up from their local high school, meaning that students will not be able to attend regional programs unless they can drive or be driven to their local high school to catch the school bus from there (or they are lucky enough to live close enough to walk or have a workable public transit route to their high school.)

This is deeply inequitable and will leave many students behind. But I guess at this point they're so sure it'll pass that they don't mind letting it slip that regional programs are only going to be for better-off families who can manage DIY transportation. (And my understanding is that they and Taylor have implied to Board members that there will be reasonable access to transportation.to help get their support-- they probably figure it is too last minute for any of them to change their mind on it now.)

That’s how it currently works for schools like Edison. They have a schedule of buses that come after school starts with kids who are in the program. Did they explicitly say that the buses would leave before local buses arrive?

How is 8-class period arranged everyday at Edison? They are all asynchronized with MCPS bell time? When is the dismal time? SMCS magnet has 9-period, and their slides said they would keep this addition period of class for STEM magnet. How to manage transportation for STEM magnet students using the central stop model?

They need to make the school schedules the same. My kid leaves mid class from an elective to get there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This may not be a surprise to those who have been following this, but MCPS staff had previously been evasive about what exactly the transportation plan for regional programs will be.

But today they confirmed to the 'design team" (i.e. the advisory group who they don't actually listen to) that the current plan is that buses to the regional programs will pick students up from their local high school, meaning that students will not be able to attend regional programs unless they can drive or be driven to their local high school to catch the school bus from there (or they are lucky enough to live close enough to walk or have a workable public transit route to their high school.)

This is deeply inequitable and will leave many students behind. But I guess at this point they're so sure it'll pass that they don't mind letting it slip that regional programs are only going to be for better-off families who can manage DIY transportation. (And my understanding is that they and Taylor have implied to Board members that there will be reasonable access to transportation.to help get their support-- they probably figure it is too last minute for any of them to change their mind on it now.)

That’s how it currently works for schools like Edison. They have a schedule of buses that come after school starts with kids who are in the program. Did they explicitly say that the buses would leave before local buses arrive?

How is 8-class period arranged everyday at Edison? They are all asynchronized with MCPS bell time? When is the dismal time? SMCS magnet has 9-period, and their slides said they would keep this addition period of class for STEM magnet. How to manage transportation for STEM magnet students using the central stop model?

They need to make the school schedules the same. My kid leaves mid class from an elective to get there.

I should say the bus does come pretty often so I have to drive.

[Anonymous]

Thanks to the OP for sharing this update. It's infuriating! If this is really the plan, the regional programs will be a failure, with limited participation. It will be a step backwards for the current regional progams (like the IB programs in the NEC and DCC), which currently have neighborhood stops; switching to high school stops only will likely make these programs far less appealing or feasible for many families, and the new programs will suffer in the same way.

I wrote to the Board of Ed about this when this plan was first being discussed back in November, highlighting the inequities and impossibilities of this plan. I am going to write again now in the (probably futile) hope that the Board will question this prior to voting. I encourage others to do the same.

[Anonymous]

Who could have foreseen that rushing to create an entirely new, much larger system of programs without adequate resources or any input from stakeholders would have drawbacks? It’s shocking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Right now, how do those kids get bused to magnet HS programs? From their home elementary school, home middle school, home high school or some big parking lot?

As an example, my kid currently gets a bus from our home elementary school. There are 3 bus routes with 9 different stops that bring students from our home high school region to the magnet school. The stops are at elementary schools and community centers.

So this would be going backwards, yet they claim it is making programs more accessible?

Yes

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This may not be a surprise to those who have been following this, but MCPS staff had previously been evasive about what exactly the transportation plan for regional programs will be.

But today they confirmed to the 'design team" (i.e. the advisory group who they don't actually listen to) that the current plan is that buses to the regional programs will pick students up from their local high school, meaning that students will not be able to attend regional programs unless they can drive or be driven to their local high school to catch the school bus from there (or they are lucky enough to live close enough to walk or have a workable public transit route to their high school.)

This is deeply inequitable and will leave many students behind. But I guess at this point they're so sure it'll pass that they don't mind letting it slip that regional programs are only going to be for better-off families who can manage DIY transportation. (And my understanding is that they and Taylor have implied to Board members that there will be reasonable access to transportation.to help get their support-- they probably figure it is too last minute for any of them to change their mind on it now.)

That’s how it currently works for schools like Edison. They have a schedule of buses that come after school starts with kids who are in the program. Did they explicitly say that the buses would leave before local buses arrive?

They have kids in classes at their magnet school starting in period 1. So the kids will be there from the start of the day

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Who could have foreseen that rushing to create an entirely new, much larger system of programs without adequate resources or any input from stakeholders would have drawbacks? It’s shocking.

Indeed! Who woulda thought?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Before my kid started MCPS I used to not fully understand all the complaining. But we are only 1.5 years in and I just can't with these people. This is all just a huge, expensive distraction from the reality that they are graduating a large majority of kids not graduate proficient in math and reading.

Yep - how much is this regional disaster going to cost us?

And in the meantime, the school district is writing its own English Language Arts curriculum for high schools. You might have wondered why that refrigerator curriculum looked haphazard and cast such a low bar. Why can't we buy externally developed and externally evaluated curriculum as the Maryland Blueprint requires? Because we are spending untold millions on implementing up to 100 ill-designed regional programs that will also utilize homemade curriculum.

hahahaha.. another 2.0 disaster. My kids started MCPS when they implemented 2.0, and I was willing to give it a chance. I defended it on this forum. What I dummy I was. 2.0 was a freakin disaster and MCPS thinks they can write their own curriculum at the HS level?

So glad we are done with MCPS this spring.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Before my kid started MCPS I used to not fully understand all the complaining. But we are only 1.5 years in and I just can't with these people. This is all just a huge, expensive distraction from the reality that they are graduating a large majority of kids not graduate proficient in math and reading.

Yep - how much is this regional disaster going to cost us?

And in the meantime, the school district is writing its own English Language Arts curriculum for high schools. You might have wondered why that refrigerator curriculum looked haphazard and cast such a low bar. Why can't we buy externally developed and externally evaluated curriculum as the Maryland Blueprint requires? Because we are spending untold millions on implementing up to 100 ill-designed regional programs that will also utilize homemade curriculum.

hahahaha.. another 2.0 disaster. My kids started MCPS when they implemented 2.0, and I was willing to give it a chance. I defended it on this forum. What I dummy I was. 2.0 was a freakin disaster and MCPS thinks they can write their own curriculum at the HS level?

So glad we are done with MCPS this spring.

Most HS curricula are MCPS-created already and have been for many years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Before my kid started MCPS I used to not fully understand all the complaining. But we are only 1.5 years in and I just can't with these people. This is all just a huge, expensive distraction from the reality that they are graduating a large majority of kids not graduate proficient in math and reading.

Yep - how much is this regional disaster going to cost us?

And in the meantime, the school district is writing its own English Language Arts curriculum for high schools. You might have wondered why that refrigerator curriculum looked haphazard and cast such a low bar. Why can't we buy externally developed and externally evaluated curriculum as the Maryland Blueprint requires? Because we are spending untold millions on implementing up to 100 ill-designed regional programs that will also utilize homemade curriculum.

hahahaha.. another 2.0 disaster. My kids started MCPS when they implemented 2.0, and I was willing to give it a chance. I defended it on this forum. What I dummy I was. 2.0 was a freakin disaster and MCPS thinks they can write their own curriculum at the HS level?

So glad we are done with MCPS this spring.

Most HS curricula are MCPS-created already and have been for many years.

That explains the forced DEI book list.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks to the OP for sharing this update. It's infuriating! If this is really the plan, the regional programs will be a failure, with limited participation. It will be a step backwards for the current regional progams (like the IB programs in the NEC and DCC), which currently have neighborhood stops; switching to high school stops only will likely make these programs far less appealing or feasible for many families, and the new programs will suffer in the same way.

I wrote to the Board of Ed about this when this plan was first being discussed back in November, highlighting the inequities and impossibilities of this plan. I am going to write again now in the (probably futile) hope that the Board will question this prior to voting. I encourage others to do the same.

I agree. Like many in the DCC, we are not at all close to our home high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Who could have foreseen that rushing to create an entirely new, much larger system of programs without adequate resources or any input from stakeholders would have drawbacks? It’s shocking.

Indeed! Who woulda thought?

If only somebody had said something, created a petition, etc. Surely MCPS would have been convinced of the obvious if only someone had just alerted them to the issue s/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks to the OP for sharing this update. It's infuriating! If this is really the plan, the regional programs will be a failure, with limited participation. It will be a step backwards for the current regional progams (like the IB programs in the NEC and DCC), which currently have neighborhood stops; switching to high school stops only will likely make these programs far less appealing or feasible for many families, and the new programs will suffer in the same way.

I wrote to the Board of Ed about this when this plan was first being discussed back in November, highlighting the inequities and impossibilities of this plan. I am going to write again now in the (probably futile) hope that the Board will question this prior to voting. I encourage others to do the same.

I agree. Like many in the DCC, we are not at all close to our home high school.

DP honestly I think at this point the most effective strategy would be to campaign against Yang and Silvestre. They are running for competitive Council seats. Slap their names on this boondoggle.