Non-magnet Blair

[Anonymous]

As for nationally ranked - it is true many schools in MoCo are nationally ranked.

But when you test a bunch of kids in 7th and 8th grand - find the ones that have the best chance at being national merit scholars no matter where they go to school. Magnet them all together - knowing that is part of the formula used to rank schools - it is also a little misleading.

It not only misleads people to think that Blair's program (the whole program) is ranked nationally. It also knocks the schools that would have originally had those kids in their AP and honor classes down in the rankings.

Private schools do the same thing - they get the test scores and offer scholarships. These kids are going to be national merit scholars and complete AP testing no matter the school they go to.

[Anonymous]

grade not grand

[Anonymous]

Right, so back to the topic of this thread: Non-Magnet Blair. As an in-boundary parent with kids who have attended Blair both in the magnet and not, I think its fair to say:

- Blair magnet and CAP are schools-within the school, but non-magnet students overlap in classes outside of their programs;

- Due to its size as the largest high school in the county and the magnet/CAP, Blair non-magnet students have some unique course options;

- These programs are exculsive and no your kid cannot parachute in without prerequisites; and

- Like the small city it is students have every opportunity to socialize across programs and the school as a whole resists cliquishness that many people associate with high school - maybe in part by virtue of having such a large core of high-achieving students in magnet and CAP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Right, so back to the topic of this thread: Non-Magnet Blair. As an in-boundary parent with kids who have attended Blair both in the magnet and not, I think its fair to say:

- Blair magnet and CAP are schools-within the school, but non-magnet students overlap in classes outside of their programs;

- Due to its size as the largest high school in the county and the magnet/CAP, Blair non-magnet students have some unique course options;

- These programs are exculsive and no your kid cannot parachute in without prerequisites; and

- Like the small city it is students have every opportunity to socialize across programs and the school as a whole resists cliquishness that many people associate with high school - maybe in part by virtue of having such a large core of high-achieving students in magnet and CAP.

I agree that Blair has many opportunities and if you are a super smart kid you can excel - two of my relatives are super successful Blair graduates.

My kids on the other hand are normal average A/B students - they would never see a magnet class to save their lives - 1 semester in they would be on a path that would never allow them to ever get the prerequisites. They would end up in classes with kids that magnet and AP kids avoid and teacher who pull the short stick have to teach that year.

Blair is like a city - there is NW and SE - and the NW people avoid SE like the plague.

[Anonymous]

OK - putting the loaded reference to NW and SE aside - if Blair is too big, there are other choices within the DCC.

And fwiw, my normal average A/B student benefits from having so many highly motivated friends.

To each his own. This board is not going to change anyone's mind or biases.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OK - putting the loaded reference to NW and SE aside - if Blair is too big, there are other choices within the DCC.

And fwiw, my normal average A/B student benefits from having so many highly motivated friends.

To each his own. This board is not going to change anyone's mind or biases.

I think it is biased to tell somebody from out of town who is moving to the area Blair is nationally ranked school with the best curriculum choices for kids in the county and then put a link to the magnet kids classes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:can a student attending a private middle school apply for and be accepted to the blair magnet program(s)? (assuming they live in the associated mcps feeder areas)

Math/science is open to most students, assuming they meet the criteria.
http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/curriculum/specialprograms/high/magnet-science.aspx

CAP is open only to students in the cluster.
http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/curriculum/specialprograms/high/communication-arts.aspx
Again, students must meet the criteria.

[Anonymous]

That line is so offensive. While I'm no longer at Blair, I chose to teach many of the on-level and "skills" students (Yes, we used skills back in the day.). It wasn't a "short end of the stick" deal.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Right, so back to the topic of this thread: Non-Magnet Blair. As an in-boundary parent with kids who have attended Blair both in the magnet and not, I think its fair to say:

- Blair magnet and CAP are schools-within the school, but non-magnet students overlap in classes outside of their programs;

- Due to its size as the largest high school in the county and the magnet/CAP, Blair non-magnet students have some unique course options;

- These programs are exculsive and no your kid cannot parachute in without prerequisites; and

- Like the small city it is students have every opportunity to socialize across programs and the school as a whole resists cliquishness that many people associate with high school - maybe in part by virtue of having such a large core of high-achieving students in magnet and CAP.

I agree that Blair has many opportunities and if you are a super smart kid you can excel - two of my relatives are super successful Blair graduates.

My kids on the other hand are normal average A/B students - they would never see a magnet class to save their lives - 1 semester in they would be on a path that would never allow them to ever get the prerequisites. They would end up in classes with kids that magnet and AP kids avoid and teacher who pull the short stick have to teach that year.

Blair is like a city - there is NW and SE - and the NW people avoid SE like the plague.