What is Poolesville MS and HS really like?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Totally off topic, but as someone from the Bay Area, when I first moved here and saw that sign on the 270 fwy, I chuckled.

Back to the topic at hand.. I've heard good things about Poolesville HS. Always ranked really high in MD and nationally. I thought about moving there for the school, but it's a bit too rural for me.

Yes, that's what happens when half of the student body is magnet students who got admitted due to high standardized test scores.

For comparison, John Poole MS is 69% white, and 13% of students qualify for FARMs.

get over it. There are many schools that are mostly white all over this country that don't do as well as Poolesville. And yes, the school is ranked highly because there are a lot of smart students there. Duh.

-non Poolesville parent

Get over what?

Also: yes, as you say, Poolesville HS is ranked highly because when half of the students at a school, are there because of their high test scores, then that school will have high average school test scores. It would be weird if it didn't.

Those magnet kids are still all upcounty kids, and it’s all upcounty academic talent. “Half the school population” is a GROSS over-exaggeration. It’s more like 1/4, if that. Plenty of other schools have magnets too, and they don’t rank like Poolesville. B-CC has an IB program and yet it still ranks lower despite it being a much wealthier school. John Poole Middle has the same rating as Westland despite having more students receiving FARMS and similar percentages of Hispanic/Black students. Just take the L.

it's not a gross exaggeration. At John Poole MS, in September 2019, there were 138 6th graders, 115 7th graders, and 137 8th graders. At Poolesville HS, there were 331 9th graders, 318 10th graders, 282 11th graders, and 274 12th graders. Why are the grade levels so much bigger at Poolesville HS than at John Poole MS? Because of the magnet kids.

Also, yes, all of the magnet kids at Poolesville HS are from the parts of the county that go to the Poolesville HS magnet program (including the county-wide eligibility for the global ecology program), but the point is that they don't live in the Poolesville HS service area.

Nobody has compared John Poole MS to Westland MS, so I don't know why this comparison between GS ratings (of all things) keeps getting brought up.

None of this is insulting Poolesville or the MCPS schools for the kids who live in the Poolesville service area. It's just the data.

(Speaking of data, B-CC does not have a magnet program.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, that's what happens when half of the student body is magnet students who got admitted due to high standardized test scores.

For comparison, John Poole MS is 69% white, and 13% of students qualify for FARMs.

And yet it still has a higher GS rating than North Bethesda MS and the same GS rating as Westland.

"And yet" what?

North Bethesda MS: 56% white, 8% qualify for FARMs
Westland MS: 59% white, 8% qualify for FARMs

If you’re going to use FARMS rate as a measure, 10% of John Poole students qualify for them, so that doesn’t really help your argument. Black and Hispanic students make up 21% of the students at North Bethesda MS, 25% at Westland MS, and 18% at John Poole. They don’t differ much in that regard either. Not to mention that John Poole has far more Black/Hispanic students than a lot of the other W feeder middle schools.

What argument are you talking about? The one where half of the students at Poolesville HS are at Poolesville HS because they got admitted to the magnet programs?

I’m not PP, but I’m assuming that the person who brought up John Poole’s GS rating being comparable to Westland’s is trying to go against the notion that Poolesville High School only has a high rating because of its magnets or because few Black/Hispanic/FARM recipient students go to schools in Poolesville.

Poolesville itself is a very affluent and educated area. They have a median income that isn’t too far off from Potomac’s and yet even John Poole has more Black and Hispanic students than Pyle and Cabin John. It’s true that the magnet students make up a large portion, but those magnets are regionalized to upcounty students only.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Totally off topic, but as someone from the Bay Area, when I first moved here and saw that sign on the 270 fwy, I chuckled.

Back to the topic at hand.. I've heard good things about Poolesville HS. Always ranked really high in MD and nationally. I thought about moving there for the school, but it's a bit too rural for me.

Yes, that's what happens when half of the student body is magnet students who got admitted due to high standardized test scores.

For comparison, John Poole MS is 69% white, and 13% of students qualify for FARMs.

get over it. There are many schools that are mostly white all over this country that don't do as well as Poolesville. And yes, the school is ranked highly because there are a lot of smart students there. Duh.

-non Poolesville parent

Get over what?

Also: yes, as you say, Poolesville HS is ranked highly because when half of the students at a school, are there because of their high test scores, then that school will have high average school test scores. It would be weird if it didn't.

Those magnet kids are still all upcounty kids, and it’s all upcounty academic talent. “Half the school population” is a GROSS over-exaggeration. It’s more like 1/4, if that. Plenty of other schools have magnets too, and they don’t rank like Poolesville. B-CC has an IB program and yet it still ranks lower despite it being a much wealthier school. John Poole Middle has the same rating as Westland despite having more students receiving FARMS and similar percentages of Hispanic/Black students. Just take the L.

Sorry, but you are coming across as biased against Poolesville, as if the only reason Poolesville is good is because it's mostly white and doesn't have high FARMs rate, and because of its magnet program.

My point is that there are many schools across the country that have similiar demographics to Poolesville but they aren't ranked as high. And yes, it's ranked highly because there a lot of smart students there in the magnet. Duh. It's like saying if it weren't for all the wealth at the W schools, those schools wouldn't be ranked as high. The magnet program is part of the school. The students in the magnet program are part of the school. Hence, the school is ranked really high. Also, unlike TJ, Poolesville is not an all magnet school.

The only reason we don't live up there is because it's too rural for my tastes, but the schools are really good, and if you don't mind the rural feel, I would send my kids to Poolesville schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I’m not PP, but I’m assuming that the person who brought up John Poole’s GS rating being comparable to Westland’s is trying to go against the notion that Poolesville High School only has a high rating because of its magnets or because few Black/Hispanic/FARM recipient students go to schools in Poolesville.

Poolesville itself is a very affluent and educated area. They have a median income that isn’t too far off from Potomac’s and yet even John Poole has more Black and Hispanic students than Pyle and Cabin John. It’s true that the magnet students make up a large portion, but those magnets are regionalized to upcounty students only.

This isn't a notion, it's just a fact. What you do with that fact is up to you.

For what it's worth, the "upcounty" students in the Poolesville HS magnet programs come from these clusters:

Clarksburg
Damascus
Gaithersburg
Magruder
Northwest
Poolesville
Quince Orchard
Seneca Valley
Watkins Mill

Also, the Poolesville Fair Access people have spent a lot of time and effort trying to dispel your idea that Poolesville is a very affluent and educated area: https://monocacymonocle.com/images/issues_2020/MM_2020-02-21.pdf

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What does the PP mean?

white?

It is among the least diverse high-schools in the county.

This is hysterical. My parents are recently retired high school teachers. My dad, in 40+ years at his rural school, never had a non-white student. My mom, in 40+ years at her rural school, had 3, 2 black students (brothers) and one southeast Asian student (adopted). My 300+ person graduating class at a suburban HS 20+ years ago had 1 non-white student (Indian).

Poolesville may be less diverse than other schools in this area, but it is radically diverse compared to the all-white schools in fly-over country.

Poolesville is a great HS by the way. As the location of multiple magnet programs, it has a high number of AP and other advanced courses compared to other HS in that part of MoCo.

What no. They all have the same AP courses. Magnet program is only open to certain students. Poolesville is in the middle of nowhere, with a base population that is mostly white and conspiracy theory junkies. Poolesville is an ok school. students surely could do worse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I’m not PP, but I’m assuming that the person who brought up John Poole’s GS rating being comparable to Westland’s is trying to go against the notion that Poolesville High School only has a high rating because of its magnets or because few Black/Hispanic/FARM recipient students go to schools in Poolesville.

Poolesville itself is a very affluent and educated area. They have a median income that isn’t too far off from Potomac’s and yet even John Poole has more Black and Hispanic students than Pyle and Cabin John. It’s true that the magnet students make up a large portion, but those magnets are regionalized to upcounty students only.

This isn't a notion, it's just a fact. What you do with that fact is up to you.

For what it's worth, the "upcounty" students in the Poolesville HS magnet programs come from these clusters:

Clarksburg
Damascus
Gaithersburg
Magruder
Northwest
Poolesville
Quince Orchard
Seneca Valley
Watkins Mill

Also, the Poolesville Fair Access people have spent a lot of time and effort trying to dispel your idea that Poolesville is a very affluent and educated area: https://monocacymonocle.com/images/issues_2020/MM_2020-02-21.pdf

I don’t know what your agenda is, I’m just going off the facts. Poolesville’s median household income is $180,524, and Bethesda’s is $164,142. Only 1.5% of people in Poolesville live in poverty, while 3% in Bethesda do. Those are the official numbers from the census. I don’t know why you think that people in Poolesville fighting to get their school replaced means they’re not wealthy and educated. Lots of schools in rich areas in large counties are old.

John Poole Middle School doesn’t rate any lower than Westland and hardly any lower than North Bethesda Middle School, and it has roughly the same amount of Hispanic/Black students as both of those middle schools. Kids in Poolesville will see far more Black and Hispanic kids in their life than kids who graduate from Churchill and Whitman will. It’s not some hill billy place with nothing but white people that people here pretend it is. The schools their magnet kids come from are other schools in upcounty that have far more Black/Hispanic kids and more low-income kids. They’re not taking kids from the richest and educated parts of the county to inflate their schools. They’re working with their own region of the county.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I don’t know what your agenda is, I’m just going off the facts. Poolesville’s median household income is $180,524, and Bethesda’s is $164,142. Only 1.5% of people in Poolesville live in poverty, while 3% in Bethesda do. Those are the official numbers from the census. I don’t know why you think that people in Poolesville fighting to get their school replaced means they’re not wealthy and educated. Lots of schools in rich areas in large counties are old.

John Poole Middle School doesn’t rate any lower than Westland and hardly any lower than North Bethesda Middle School, and it has roughly the same amount of Hispanic/Black students as both of those middle schools. Kids in Poolesville will see far more Black and Hispanic kids in their life than kids who graduate from Churchill and Whitman will. It’s not some hill billy place with nothing but white people that people here pretend it is. The schools their magnet kids come from are other schools in upcounty that have far more Black/Hispanic kids and more low-income kids. They’re not taking kids from the richest and educated parts of the county to inflate their schools. They’re working with their own region of the county.

I doubt that most people in Poolesville consider Derwood or Gaithersburg as "my region of the county," and vice versa. In fact, in my experience, plenty of people from rural western Montgomery County don't even consider Germantown or Clarksburg as their own region of the county.

Poolesville Fair Access is about more than just the Poolesville HS building.

I also don't understand the reasons for the repeated comparisons between Poolesville and Bethesda, but if people want to do that, then they should do that.

[Anonymous]

Poolesville is like Montgomery County’s version of Severna Park

[Anonymous]

I still can’t figure out from all of the posts-does Poolesville MS and HS have a high percentage of students coming from conservative, redneck type families? Or are the majority of students ( and their families) more middle of the road?

[Anonymous]

Poolesville families are more middle of the road.

[Anonymous]

To 19:46: taken a look at Wootton lately? Or Cold Spring Elementary? I attended in the 70s and 80s. Nearly exactly the same, even the chairs and cubbies. Why on earth do people pick on Wootton so much?? Compare it to Wheaton, which is gorgeous. Or Gaithersburg. Seriously people, get your facts straight before maligning please.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid goes to PHS. It is a very chilled and very academic focused HS, without being a pressure cooker environment.

I love the vibe of the student body. Kids are super supportive of each other. I am so sad that one year of my kids HS life in this very amazing school was virtual. Really great group of parents too.

I like the new Principal also. BUT, really ancient school building. MCPS will not build a new school instead they will just do a bit of renovation. This is what it means to not be a W-school with Big Law parents. Very unfair.

This isn't good enough for you?

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/uploadedFiles/departments/facilities/construction/project/21-0128%20PoolesvilleHS%20Powerpoint_REV8.pdf

No. It is a renovation, not a rebuild. In all the inspections, this school has been in the red zone and it truly needs to be demolished. And then rebuilt. But it is being given a facelift (when it needs a heart transplant), so that new schools can be built in affluent areas. I particularly don't care because in another two years, my youngest will graduate HS.

Most parents are grateful for the awesome student body and academics. They are willing to disregard the condition of the building. And in the entire MCPS, because of the academics and the student body, i would not choose any other HS but PHS. It is a jewel.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I still can’t figure out from all of the posts-does Poolesville MS and HS have a high percentage of students coming from conservative, redneck type families? Or are the majority of students ( and their families) more middle of the road?

Middle of the road. 3/4th of the students come from test in admissions for the magnet program. The magnet students are representative of magnet or GT students around the country - majority White and Asian-Americans. URM population in the magnet programs is relatively small but they are the usual top-of-the-cream kids from well off and educated families that you see in other GT programs. 1/4 of students are local. Out of those many are new transplants to Poolesville. Loads of mixed race families. Not too many AA or HI students in PHS or in Poolesville. But the numbers have been steadily growing since past 10 years.

It is considered a whole-school magnet, so the vibe is completely different from RM or Blair and it is not a school within a school. Lots of local students are also in the magnet programs. A good chunk of local super-achievers are also in the IS (Independent Studies - for local students) programs. This is a strategic decision for many as the ISP gives them a lot of flexibility to cherry pick their courses. They are also in cool ECs and activities so they want freedom from the rigidity of the magnet requirements. The schools have absolutely driven up the home prices in Poolesville.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I’m not PP, but I’m assuming that the person who brought up John Poole’s GS rating being comparable to Westland’s is trying to go against the notion that Poolesville High School only has a high rating because of its magnets or because few Black/Hispanic/FARM recipient students go to schools in Poolesville.

Poolesville itself is a very affluent and educated area. They have a median income that isn’t too far off from Potomac’s and yet even John Poole has more Black and Hispanic students than Pyle and Cabin John. It’s true that the magnet students make up a large portion, but those magnets are regionalized to upcounty students only.

This isn't a notion, it's just a fact. What you do with that fact is up to you.

For what it's worth, the "upcounty" students in the Poolesville HS magnet programs come from these clusters:

Clarksburg
Damascus
Gaithersburg
Magruder
Northwest
Poolesville
Quince Orchard
Seneca Valley
Watkins Mill

Also, the Poolesville Fair Access people have spent a lot of time and effort trying to dispel your idea that Poolesville is a very affluent and educated area: https://monocacymonocle.com/images/issues_2020/MM_2020-02-21.pdf

I don’t know what your agenda is, I’m just going off the facts. Poolesville’s median household income is $180,524, and Bethesda’s is $164,142. Only 1.5% of people in Poolesville live in poverty, while 3% in Bethesda do. Those are the official numbers from the census. I don’t know why you think that people in Poolesville fighting to get their school replaced means they’re not wealthy and educated. Lots of schools in rich areas in large counties are old.

John Poole Middle School doesn’t rate any lower than Westland and hardly any lower than North Bethesda Middle School, and it has roughly the same amount of Hispanic/Black students as both of those middle schools. Kids in Poolesville will see far more Black and Hispanic kids in their life than kids who graduate from Churchill and Whitman will. It’s not some hillbilly place with nothing but white people that people here pretend it is. The schools their magnet kids come from are other schools in upcounty that have far more Black/Hispanic kids and more low-income kids. They’re not taking kids from the richest and educated parts of the county to inflate their schools. They’re working with their own region of the county.

+1
The school did not get rebuilt because of politics. Being rural the population is sparse. Politicians do not want to allocate funds to win over a handful of voters.

I think there is a whole lot of envy because PHS has MC kids but is ranked as the top school in Maryland.

[Anonymous]

It’s odd it’s ranked so high as it’s NMSF, Intell/Regeneron, etc... Are way less than even a Wooton, Whitman etc.... not to mention RM or Blair. I can only assume because it is small. It’s a good school don’t get mr wrong, but the best? Nah.