When is the plan for new HS programs coming out?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A screenshot of the Regions that were online yesterday are available in this article:

https://montgomeryperspective.com/2025/06/24/will-there-be-regions-in-mcps/

MCPS Parents: They should subdivide the county into smaller regions. NO, not like that!

MCPS Parents: They should offer more magnet programs to meet the needs of our bright kids who have bright parents. NO, not like that!

The word “region” refers to geography. So explain how these regions make sense geographically. It’s clear they are doing everything they can to make certain schools more desirable (ie Kennedy)

Correct. If you're going to cluster schools into groups for reasons other than geography, it doesn't really make sense to call them regions.

Making horizontal regions across the county is not any more ridiculous than making vertical ones. It's just that the vertical cuts would have preserved segregation, so it's what certain parents wanted.

It still doesn’t make sense. How many high schools are there between Kennedy and Magruder? They aren’t all in the same region. It clear the BOE is dividing up the less desirable schools like Northwood and Kennedy

Because I love all of you so much, I made maps! Here are three of the zones that cover the southern half of the county. https://imgur.com/a/QBYCaLB

You can see that, for example, there are several schools between Kennedy and Magruder, but the zone is contiguous and makes sense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A screenshot of the Regions that were online yesterday are available in this article:

https://montgomeryperspective.com/2025/06/24/will-there-be-regions-in-mcps/

MCPS Parents: They should subdivide the county into smaller regions. NO, not like that!

MCPS Parents: They should offer more magnet programs to meet the needs of our bright kids who have bright parents. NO, not like that!

The word “region” refers to geography. So explain how these regions make sense geographically. It’s clear they are doing everything they can to make certain schools more desirable (ie Kennedy)

Correct. If you're going to cluster schools into groups for reasons other than geography, it doesn't really make sense to call them regions.

Making horizontal regions across the county is not any more ridiculous than making vertical ones. It's just that the vertical cuts would have preserved segregation, so it's what certain parents wanted.

It still doesn’t make sense. How many high schools are there between Kennedy and Magruder? They aren’t all in the same region. It clear the BOE is dividing up the less desirable schools like Northwood and Kennedy

Because I love all of you so much, I made maps! Here are three of the zones that cover the southern half of the county. https://imgur.com/a/QBYCaLB

You can see that, for example, there are several schools between Kennedy and Magruder, but the zone is contiguous and makes sense.

Thank you! This is helpful. And arguably work MCPS should be doing as it explains its rationale for this model.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A screenshot of the Regions that were online yesterday are available in this article:

https://montgomeryperspective.com/2025/06/24/will-there-be-regions-in-mcps/

MCPS Parents: They should subdivide the county into smaller regions. NO, not like that!

MCPS Parents: They should offer more magnet programs to meet the needs of our bright kids who have bright parents. NO, not like that!

The word “region” refers to geography. So explain how these regions make sense geographically. It’s clear they are doing everything they can to make certain schools more desirable (ie Kennedy)

Yes, just as the map-making poster explained, these regions do make sense. They represent roughly east-west lines, in the same approximate area on the north-south axis. Because residents in the county have decided to separate themselves by wealth in an east-west distribution, they are simply drawing the lines “across the tracks” so to speak. Actually kind of brilliant.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For those of you with super special bright children, good for you. But this is public school and it cannot cater to the needs of a tiny minority.

I don’t understand why this kind of narrative continues to prevail. Whether it’s countywide or regional magnet programs, they only serve a small minority of students. Take TJ in Fairfax, for example — it’s the same case. So why can’t MCPS offer the same level of opportunity that Fairfax County does? Are we just inferior to our neighbors?

It’s about resources. There are limited resources.

Yeah in MoCo we pay higher taxes but have fewer resources. Maybe they should look at all the wasteful spending MCPS does. So if Blair/poolsville/RM no longer exist as countywide programs, more people will be fleeing away from this crappy place. It’s asinine and shortsighted to kill these long time established flagship programs at Moco while Fairfax keeps to be proud of its well-known TJ.

If parents are really going to flee because they can't bear to have their top 1% kid in class with a lowly top 5% kid, or because they might have to take one math class virtually their senior year, then good riddance, honestly. They can go to the private schools they crave and their families can afford, and meanwhile 6 times more kids who would benefit from strong programming will get it (including top 1% kids who used to not be able to go to countywide programs due to logistics.)

The vast majority of magnet kids are not wealthy enough to send their kids to specialized private school. But even if they could, most private schools cannot offer what MCPS magnet schools offer, which is why some private school students end up going to these magnets if they get in.

Those county wide magnets are one of the few shining stars in MCPS. It's one of the reasons why we were drawn to this school district from out west. It offers various programs for very high achieving kids that many school districts do not. Even if my kid didn't make it to one of the magnets, the fact that there are such programs here means it draws high achieving kids to the school district.

If you take that away, MCPS becomes a middling school district. It's ironic that MCPS likes to tout the SAT/AP scores etc of high achieving students, and then at the same time tell them that they should not expect to have their needs met in school.

Dumbing down the entire school district is not a worthy goal. A county wide magnet attracts the very top, which means they have a sizeable cohort of like high achieving students.

I think regional programs have its place, but so does a county wide magnet.

Okay, I am being genuinely curious here: can you walk me through what these programs offer for the top 1% of kids that they wouldn't be able to if they had to "lower standards" down to top 5 or 6% to fill 6 regional programs rather than one countywide one?

(Leaving aside anxiety about whether the teachers af new regional programs will be as good as the ones at existing countywide programs, which I totally get. So this question is more like, if your kid is in-region for RMIB or Blair so they still get to go, but some of their classmates might be moderately rather than profoundly gifted now, what are the actual concerns?)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A screenshot of the Regions that were online yesterday are available in this article:

https://montgomeryperspective.com/2025/06/24/will-there-be-regions-in-mcps/

MCPS Parents: They should subdivide the county into smaller regions. NO, not like that!

MCPS Parents: They should offer more magnet programs to meet the needs of our bright kids who have bright parents. NO, not like that!

The word “region” refers to geography. So explain how these regions make sense geographically. It’s clear they are doing everything they can to make certain schools more desirable (ie Kennedy)

Correct. If you're going to cluster schools into groups for reasons other than geography, it doesn't really make sense to call them regions.

Making horizontal regions across the county is not any more ridiculous than making vertical ones. It's just that the vertical cuts would have preserved segregation, so it's what certain parents wanted.

It still doesn’t make sense. How many high schools are there between Kennedy and Magruder? They aren’t all in the same region. It clear the BOE is dividing up the less desirable schools like Northwood and Kennedy

Because I love all of you so much, I made maps! Here are three of the zones that cover the southern half of the county. https://imgur.com/a/QBYCaLB

You can see that, for example, there are several schools between Kennedy and Magruder, but the zone is contiguous and makes sense.

Thank you! This is helpful. And arguably work MCPS should be doing as it explains its rationale for this model.

+1
Also remember that there can still be some boundary shifting where some areas on the far edge of on region might end up in a different HS/region.

[Anonymous]

As far as I can tell no one is talking about scrapping the Blair magnet. Presumably the only change *might* be that it is now a regional not a countywide program, correct?

I am curious, although I don't pretend to have any idea what the answer is, what percentage of current magnet students at Blair come outside the proposed region. I understand the entire county is eligible, but I'm also sure there must be parts of the county where few students would consider making the commute.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A screenshot of the Regions that were online yesterday are available in this article:

https://montgomeryperspective.com/2025/06/24/will-there-be-regions-in-mcps/

MCPS Parents: They should subdivide the county into smaller regions. NO, not like that!

MCPS Parents: They should offer more magnet programs to meet the needs of our bright kids who have bright parents. NO, not like that!

The word “region” refers to geography. So explain how these regions make sense geographically. It’s clear they are doing everything they can to make certain schools more desirable (ie Kennedy)

Correct. If you're going to cluster schools into groups for reasons other than geography, it doesn't really make sense to call them regions.

Making horizontal regions across the county is not any more ridiculous than making vertical ones. It's just that the vertical cuts would have preserved segregation, so it's what certain parents wanted.

It still doesn’t make sense. How many high schools are there between Kennedy and Magruder? They aren’t all in the same region. It clear the BOE is dividing up the less desirable schools like Northwood and Kennedy

Because I love all of you so much, I made maps! Here are three of the zones that cover the southern half of the county. https://imgur.com/a/QBYCaLB

You can see that, for example, there are several schools between Kennedy and Magruder, but the zone is contiguous and makes sense.

Thank you! This is helpful. And arguably work MCPS should be doing as it explains its rationale for this model.

+1
Also remember that there can still be some boundary shifting where some areas on the far edge of on region might end up in a different HS/region.

I'm the map-making PP and yes, the caveat is that these reflect current boundaries. I'm sure someone skilled in ArcGIS could download the presentations from the board and make the same map with Option 1 of the Woodward Study, for example, but I am not skilled enough for that.

As for MCPS, I hope they do share graphics like this and there is still time. All signs point to the earlier slideshow being posted early by mistake, but the fact that a slideshow exists actually suggests there will eventually be a public presentation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As far as I can tell no one is talking about scrapping the Blair magnet. Presumably the only change *might* be that it is now a regional not a countywide program, correct?

I am curious, although I don't pretend to have any idea what the answer is, what percentage of current magnet students at Blair come outside the proposed region. I understand the entire county is eligible, but I'm also sure there must be parts of the county where few students would consider making the commute.

Folks have gone through in the past and done an "analysis" of the magnet directory. Consistently, most kids come from within the DCC. At one point I think the other "most sending schools" were WJ and Wootton. But if we assume 100 kids per grade, I have no doubt that you can find 100 capable kids in each grade across Blair, Einstein, Northwood, B-CC, and Whitman.

Or across WJ, Churchill, Woodward, and Wheaton.

I don't even think there would be a drop in rigor/level of preparation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I shouldn't be shocked by the DCUM response, but I am.

MCPS appears to be doing exactly what a lot of us have been asking for -- creating more magnet slots to serve the needs of highly able learners.

This is a good thing, folks. This is what most of us have said we wanted for a long time. It makes perfect sense to break the county into "regions" and to offer high quality differentiated programs to kids in each region.

Good luck with that: scrapping proven, successful programs just to replace them with six brand-new ones by untested teachers.

If it turns out MCPS is keeping RMIB and Blair Magnet, but adding options, will you simmer down?

Yes. This is a solution that would satisfy the most people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As far as I can tell no one is talking about scrapping the Blair magnet. Presumably the only change *might* be that it is now a regional not a countywide program, correct?

I am curious, although I don't pretend to have any idea what the answer is, what percentage of current magnet students at Blair come outside the proposed region. I understand the entire county is eligible, but I'm also sure there must be parts of the county where few students would consider making the commute.

The Blair magnet is already a regional program. It would just become a smaller region now (limited to Blair, Einstein, Northwood, B-CC, and Whitman students).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For those of you with super special bright children, good for you. But this is public school and it cannot cater to the needs of a tiny minority.

I don’t understand why this kind of narrative continues to prevail. Whether it’s countywide or regional magnet programs, they only serve a small minority of students. Take TJ in Fairfax, for example — it’s the same case. So why can’t MCPS offer the same level of opportunity that Fairfax County does? Are we just inferior to our neighbors?

It’s about resources. There are limited resources.

Yeah in MoCo we pay higher taxes but have fewer resources. Maybe they should look at all the wasteful spending MCPS does. So if Blair/poolsville/RM no longer exist as countywide programs, more people will be fleeing away from this crappy place. It’s asinine and shortsighted to kill these long time established flagship programs at Moco while Fairfax keeps to be proud of its well-known TJ.

If parents are really going to flee because they can't bear to have their top 1% kid in class with a lowly top 5% kid, or because they might have to take one math class virtually their senior year, then good riddance, honestly. They can go to the private schools they crave and their families can afford, and meanwhile 6 times more kids who would benefit from strong programming will get it (including top 1% kids who used to not be able to go to countywide programs due to logistics.)

The vast majority of magnet kids are not wealthy enough to send their kids to specialized private school. But even if they could, most private schools cannot offer what MCPS magnet schools offer, which is why some private school students end up going to these magnets if they get in.

Those county wide magnets are one of the few shining stars in MCPS. It's one of the reasons why we were drawn to this school district from out west. It offers various programs for very high achieving kids that many school districts do not. Even if my kid didn't make it to one of the magnets, the fact that there are such programs here means it draws high achieving kids to the school district.

If you take that away, MCPS becomes a middling school district. It's ironic that MCPS likes to tout the SAT/AP scores etc of high achieving students, and then at the same time tell them that they should not expect to have their needs met in school.

Dumbing down the entire school district is not a worthy goal. A county wide magnet attracts the very top, which means they have a sizeable cohort of like high achieving students.

I think regional programs have its place, but so does a county wide magnet.

Okay, I am being genuinely curious here: can you walk me through what these programs offer for the top 1% of kids that they wouldn't be able to if they had to "lower standards" down to top 5 or 6% to fill 6 regional programs rather than one countywide one?

(Leaving aside anxiety about whether the teachers af new regional programs will be as good as the ones at existing countywide programs, which I totally get. So this question is more like, if your kid is in-region for RMIB or Blair so they still get to go, but some of their classmates might be moderately rather than profoundly gifted now, what are the actual concerns?)

In the DCC, Blair is the magnet, so they take 100 students so not even just the top kids and many kids get left out. Some can get into special programs at Wheaton but others its tuff luck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As far as I can tell no one is talking about scrapping the Blair magnet. Presumably the only change *might* be that it is now a regional not a countywide program, correct?

I am curious, although I don't pretend to have any idea what the answer is, what percentage of current magnet students at Blair come outside the proposed region. I understand the entire county is eligible, but
also sure there must be parts of the county where few students would consider making the commute.

The Blair magnet is already a regional program. It would just become a smaller region now (limited to Blair, Einstein, Northwood, B-CC, and Whitman students).

Whitman and BCC should not be included. They have advanced classes. It should be for the DCC kids only who don't have the same opportunities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As far as I can tell no one is talking about scrapping the Blair magnet. Presumably the only change *might* be that it is now a regional not a countywide program, correct?

I am curious, although I don't pretend to have any idea what the answer is, what percentage of current magnet students at Blair come outside the proposed region. I understand the entire county is eligible, but I'm also sure there must be parts of the county where few students would consider making the commute.

Folks have gone through in the past and done an "analysis" of the magnet directory. Consistently, most kids come from within the DCC. At one point I think the other "most sending schools" were WJ and Wootton. But if we assume 100 kids per grade, I have no doubt that you can find 100 capable kids in each grade across Blair, Einstein, Northwood, B-CC, and Whitman.

Or across WJ, Churchill, Woodward, and Wheaton.

I don't even think there would be a drop in rigor/level of preparation.

There are about 900 students who apply, lets throw in a 100 more who may not have due to location/curriculum. So, lets say out of those maybe 200 are not qualified. They easily could do one school with just a magnet program with 500 students per year.

[Anonymous]

I'm bored, so I did the map but showing the entire county so folks can see the geography:

Southernmost: https://arcg.is/1O9WGi0

Southwest: https://arcg.is/ny0qr

Central: https://arcg.is/v04iz0

Southeast: https://arcg.is/1jTD1W0

North: (note that the weird shape of this one is partially due to wonky existing attendance zones): https://arcg.is/LG5OK0

Centernorth: https://arcg.is/1j0bDW1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For those of you with super special bright children, good for you. But this is public school and it cannot cater to the needs of a tiny minority.

I don’t understand why this kind of narrative continues to prevail. Whether it’s countywide or regional magnet programs, they only serve a small minority of students. Take TJ in Fairfax, for example — it’s the same case. So why can’t MCPS offer the same level of opportunity that Fairfax County does? Are we just inferior to our neighbors?

It’s about resources. There are limited resources.

Yeah in MoCo we pay higher taxes but have fewer resources. Maybe they should look at all the wasteful spending MCPS does. So if Blair/poolsville/RM no longer exist as countywide programs, more people will be fleeing away from this crappy place. It’s asinine and shortsighted to kill these long time established flagship programs at Moco while Fairfax keeps to be proud of its well-known TJ.

If parents are really going to flee because they can't bear to have their top 1% kid in class with a lowly top 5% kid, or because they might have to take one math class virtually their senior year, then good riddance, honestly. They can go to the private schools they crave and their families can afford, and meanwhile 6 times more kids who would benefit from strong programming will get it (including top 1% kids who used to not be able to go to countywide programs due to logistics.)

Why you assume these families can afford private？ Fairfax county is not all that expensive to move to.

Because they think all DCC famiiies are under them even though our incomes are the same, if not higher and our housing prices are equal or more.