BCC principal said "you have choices"

[Anonymous]

within the mcps system, you can:
(1) choose a different school and possibly get in based on space and lottery. If your sister goes to Einstein you can ask on the form to go to Einstein (for example). Many do that for Blair. Or BCC I suppose.
(2) apply for a selective program such as the magnet at Blair, the CAP at Blair, the IB at Richard Montgomery, the other magnet up in Poolesville (but that's for north MoCo), etc. There are others but I'm in lower MoCo and only know those close by.

outside mcps, you can:
(3) homeschool
(4) private school

Even within MCPS, all high schoolers have to 'choose' their school and some do not like their homeschool and choose another school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Several Magnets and test in public choices too no?

Please elaborate.

RM, Blair, Poolesville

So anyone who lives in the BCC cluster can go to the three schools listed above?

If you get in but it is very competitive, you are not applying to go to the school but the magnet program

[Anonymous]

Is this for real? Really OP Really?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here- I still don't really know what choices she meant. Is there any type of magnet or another out of bounds school that we could pick? We just left private, so for us and many others that is not an option. Moving, because of the large transaction fees, is not really an option, and we like where we live.

Richard Montgomery has an application-only IB program. Some BCC kids applied there and chose to go, some chose not to. A number of BCC kids choose (after application) to go to Takoma Park MS magnet and Eastern MS Magnet every year. Having gone to a DCC middle school enables them to apply to any of the HS programs in the DCC area -- popular choices for BCC students have been Blair's "Communication Arts Program" (CAP) or Blair's Math/Science Magnet program. I know students from the BCC area who have chosen these other magnets and some who have chosen BCC instead of these magnet programs. The total number of BCC kids who have chosen another MCPS school is less than a dozen (out of an incoming freshman class of approx 450). Other students choose to apply to local private schools or boarding schools. Most of the time the final choice is based on highly individual student considerations rather than some strong antipathy for BCC; in other words, these choices are made in the context of knowing that BCC is a pretty strong public high school.

When the principal referred to "choice," at the parent meeting a few nights ago, she definitely also meant that BCC parents make a conscious choice to buy in the BCC neighborhood knowing that BCC is a strong high school, and that that "choice" doesn't come cheap. I don't love this line of thought because it encourages a less welcoming attitude among small minority of BCC parents who believe that people who didn't pay up to live in BCC cluster don't belong there (see the threads on the potential MCPS change in rules which would take away the existing right of Rock Creek Forest Immersion kids from outside the BCC cluster to continue from Westland to BCC.)

[Anonymous]

Major league over-analysis on this thread. It sounds like the principal was being gracious, not presumptuous. Some of you have way too much time on your hands.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Several Magnets and test in public choices too no?

Please elaborate.

RM, Blair, Poolesville

So anyone who lives in the BCC cluster can go to the three schools listed above?

Yes. If they test successfully to get into these highly competitive and rigorous programs. Maybe there were kids who got into these programs and chose to go to BCC instead. Who knows.

Blair for SMACS (Science, Math And Computer Science) and Humanities
Richard Montgomery for IB Magnet program
Poolesville for Global Ecology.

[Anonymous]

I think the Principal said a nice thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think the Principal said a nice thing.

I think she meant well but wasn't very attuned to how those less affluent of us in the cluster might be made uncomfortable by her "thanking" parents who spent $800 K or more to buy their house and therefore "choose" to send our kid to BCC. Some of us don't have expensive homes or rent and are barely scraping by in order to stay in the cluster because we value the education and environment BCC provides. I think she was trying to be appreciative but what she said came off a little tone deaf to me. I value BCC not only for its ethnic and racial diversity but also for its SES diversity and the fact that it has a strong academic environment at the same time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the Principal said a nice thing.

I think she meant well but wasn't very attuned to how those less affluent of us in the cluster might be made uncomfortable by her "thanking" parents who spent $800 K or more to buy their house and therefore "choose" to send our kid to BCC. Some of us don't have expensive homes or rent and are barely scraping by in order to stay in the cluster because we value the education and environment BCC provides. I think she was trying to be appreciative but what she said came off a little tone deaf to me. I value BCC not only for its ethnic and racial diversity but also for its SES diversity and the fact that it has a strong academic environment at the same time.

get over it

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:She's right.

The median HHI for Bethesda is something like 250K. I could afford private for my 2 kids on that.

We looked for a year in this cluster because we liked the combination of good high school (but not best! important for college placement) urban feel, leafy sidewalks, walkability, etc.

We thought about private school, and for our SN child we thought about homeschooling.

There are a handful of good parochial schools in Bethesda, as well as Sidwell, etc.

You could spend $60/K a year on tuition on $250K gross HHI? please explain.

[Anonymous]

I agree that she meant private, parochial, magnet or living elsewhere. Sure, not everyone in the audience has all or any of those choices - but plenty in the BCC community do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:She's right.

The median HHI for Bethesda is something like 250K. I could afford private for my 2 kids on that.

We looked for a year in this cluster because we liked the combination of good high school (but not best! important for college placement) urban feel, leafy sidewalks, walkability, etc.

We thought about private school, and for our SN child we thought about homeschooling.

There are a handful of good parochial schools in Bethesda, as well as Sidwell, etc.

You could afford the $80K and cost of commuting on a $250K? If that is not net, than no way.

Maybe she's assuming no mortgage or rent for a family of four? Or stuff in a one bedroom.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the Principal said a nice thing.

I think she meant well but wasn't very attuned to how those less affluent of us in the cluster might be made uncomfortable by her "thanking" parents who spent $800 K or more to buy their house and therefore "choose" to send our kid to BCC. Some of us don't have expensive homes or rent and are barely scraping by in order to stay in the cluster because we value the education and environment BCC provides. I think she was trying to be appreciative but what she said came off a little tone deaf to me. I value BCC not only for its ethnic and racial diversity but also for its SES diversity and the fact that it has a strong academic environment at the same time.

Jesus. You should thank your lucky stars that people who have choices are sending their bright, motivated kids to BCC, instead of bitching and whining about it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the Principal said a nice thing.

I think she meant well but wasn't very attuned to how those less affluent of us in the cluster might be made uncomfortable by her "thanking" parents who spent $800 K or more to buy their house and therefore "choose" to send our kid to BCC. Some of us don't have expensive homes or rent and are barely scraping by in order to stay in the cluster because we value the education and environment BCC provides. I think she was trying to be appreciative but what she said came off a little tone deaf to me. I value BCC not only for its ethnic and racial diversity but also for its SES diversity and the fact that it has a strong academic environment at the same time.

Isn't this the same thing as saying you choose to be in the cluster, even though it involves some hardship? It seems like she's talking about families like yours.

[Anonymous]

I think she meant you could take AP courses or IB.