Did the Takoma MS magnet got MORE white this year?

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:American public schools are not like the schools some people here experienced in their home countries. Unfortunately this magnet cycle may have been a rude awakening. The mission of the US Department of Education is this: "ED's mission is to promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access." Note the "and ensuring equal access" part, which had to be a goal because this country has a very long history of restricting access to education by race and class. The mission is not to reward the top test-takers or to winnow out the best students for the purpose of plum jobs or college spots, like it may be in some countries. I feel as if we are speaking a different language from one another here.

This should be a pinned post. Someone in one of these threads posted about how magnet admissions should be more like uni admissions in Russia or India. Which...leaving aside the issues of corruption in those systems, and leaving aside that we are talking about 8 year-olds, not 18 year-olds, that's not how America works. Social mobility is a core national ideal, and you cannot square that with a system that tracks kids from kindergarten onward and then subjects them to high-stakes testing at 16 that determines their college major and life trajectory.

MSers are not 8 yrs olds (I believe this thread is about MS magnet).

Equitable access means -- it doesn't matter where you live, too.

I thought merit was also an American value.

If MCPS doesn't care about test scores then why are they trying to close the achievement gap and publish test score stats?

MSer are closer to 8-year-olds than 18-year-olds. At this level potential is more important than merit. Potential is a need that a school system can meet. Merit is someone who is already thriving where they are, whether that is because their home school is exceptional or they are doing something outside of school.

I have never heard this as a definition of merit. Would dictionary are you using?

A public school should provide equitable admission criteria to a county wide test in program regardless of where you live in the county or who your neighbors are, just as it should do so regardless of your skin color.

Sorry, but if there's a school where everyone is already exceptional, they clearly don't need a magnet. If there's a student who stands out among peers, they do need a magnet, even if those peers aren't anywhere near as good. The magnet is a scarce county-wide resource and access should be distributed across ms clusters.

what? no. Students who are very high achievers need the magnet programs. They are the ones who need the challenge more.

Many MSers are languishing in non magnets all over the county due to unchallenging curriculum. My 7th grader complains about how slow the classes are.

No they are thriving. Their peers are thriving. If they really are all bored at school they should participate in class. Your 7th grader is complaining, because that's what they do. They already have all the pieces in place and this is why the new classes are being piloted at the home schools.

This has to be a MCPS administrator posting!

Nope, just an MS parent who finds your reasoning repugnant. I'm unsympathetic to your whining because I've got my own kids and adding enrichment classes to local schools is more likely to serve both our needs and I have an older child so I do see this as an improvement even if it's partly too late for my family. I think spreading the admissions more evenly through the county is more equitable. It makes no sense to take a large cohort from one school, when clearly something is already going well at that school.

when a 7th grader says a class is moving too slowly, there is something wrong with that class. DC is not saying the subject is boring. DC is saying it's too slow (and easy). Again, we are not at a w cluster.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Many MSers are languishing in non magnets all over the county due to unchallenging curriculum. My 7th grader complains about how slow the classes are.

No they are thriving. Their peers are thriving. If they really are all bored at school they should participate in class. Your 7th grader is complaining, because that's what they do. They already have all the pieces in place and this is why the new classes are being piloted at the home schools.

This has to be a MCPS administrator posting!

Nope, just an MS parent who finds your reasoning repugnant. I'm unsympathetic to your whining because I've got my own kids and adding enrichment classes to local schools is more likely to serve both our needs and I have an older child so I do see this as an improvement even if it's partly too late for my family. I think spreading the admissions more evenly through the county is more equitable. It makes no sense to take a large cohort from one school, when clearly something is already going well at that school.

when a 7th grader says a class is moving too slowly, there is something wrong with that class. DC is not saying the subject is boring. DC is saying it's too slow (and easy). Again, we are not at a w cluster.

And this is in a designated honors class.

[Anonymous]

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no one has said that mcps *trying* to offer enriched classes is a bad thing, only that such classes aren't really all that enriched. My 7th grader is an "Honors" class now, and it's a joke. DC complains about how slow it is. Teachers are supposed to offer differentiation for the kids who are advanced, per the Principal when a bunch of former HGC students' parents met with the school. Two years later, DC really sees not much differentiation.

That's why I'm hugely skeptical about these so called more enriched classes.

X100.0 MCPS will never expand quality GT programs because there are too many people in the Central Office who can't stand that the demographics play out in a way that benefits whites and asians. It is their opinion that the demographic groups which are 2-3 years ahead of the URM students should be held back as much as possible.

What is said is that many progressive whites moves to Montgomery County because they were totally for social programs and didn't mind paying extra taxes for them. They also didn't mind if more resources went to URM students or students with more URM students. They are not OK with the Central Office's attitude that their children do not and will never matter to MCPS. They are moving to NOVA (and making it bluer which is great) and Howard County

Have you ever even been in VA? We have a split existence between the states and it really ain't all that special across the river. And we know plenty of families with kids in APS, Alexandria, and FCPS. The duty for public school systems to close the "achievement gap" comes from the federal government. It is not something MCPS dreamed up. Same for ending disproportionate suspensions of various minorities. So you can run, but the policies will follow you all over the USA.

No. MCPS handles education particularly badly. These policies, lack of challenge and lack of cohesive curriculum weren't in our Orinda, CA public school system. There, being a top public school in the state meant something, and they could prove it in all sorts of dimensions. Starting with the awesome classroom materials and teaching K-12.

We rented this semester, thank goodness.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
No. MCPS handles education particularly badly. These policies, lack of challenge and lack of cohesive curriculum weren't in our Orinda, CA public school system. There, being a top public school in the state meant something, and they could prove it in all sorts of dimensions. Starting with the awesome classroom materials and teaching K-12.

We rented this semester, thank goodness.

You're comparing MCPS to the Orinda Union School District? Enrollment 2,543 (four elementary schools and one middle school), in Orinda (median household income $181,000 in 2010, >80% white)? For teaching K-12, when the school district doesn't even have its own high school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:
what? no. Students who are very high achievers need the magnet programs. They are the ones who need the challenge more.

Many MSers are languishing in non magnets all over the county due to unchallenging curriculum. My 7th grader complains about how slow the classes are.

No they are thriving. Their peers are thriving. If they really are all bored at school they should participate in class. Your 7th grader is complaining, because that's what they do. They already have all the pieces in place and this is why the new classes are being piloted at the home schools.

This has to be a MCPS administrator posting!

Nope, just an MS parent who finds your reasoning repugnant. I'm unsympathetic to your whining because I've got my own kids and adding enrichment classes to local schools is more likely to serve both our needs and I have an older child so I do see this as an improvement even if it's partly too late for my family. I think spreading the admissions more evenly through the county is more equitable. It makes no sense to take a large cohort from one school, when clearly something is already going well at that school.

when a 7th grader says a class is moving too slowly, there is something wrong with that class. DC is not saying the subject is boring. DC is saying it's too slow (and easy). Again, we are not at a w cluster.

My 7th grader's Algebra teacher apologized to her and the other bright kids in the class about how slow the class was moving. The teacher said she wishes she could more quicker. Unfortunately, the advanced 7th graders were put in an Algebra class with 8th graders who could care less about school.

[Anonymous]

No I'm not, we went up to Miramonte HS in the Orinda, CA city which is in the Acalanes district.

Not sure what you are really trying to argue. I'm comparing experiences at west county MCPS school districts to other top public school districts in the country. And I'm here to tell you MCPS doesn't pass muster.

If you want to learn something about K-12 education read through all their websites. Light years better than MCPS. Still have textbooks. Clear curriculum and materials on website.

If MCPS wants east county to keep dragging it down, then continue what you are doing. Right now you can't even offer west county a viable nor comparable education to other top state public K-12s. Not even comparable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
what? no. Students who are very high achievers need the magnet programs. They are the ones who need the challenge more.

Many MSers are languishing in non magnets all over the county due to unchallenging curriculum. My 7th grader complains about how slow the classes are.

No they are thriving. Their peers are thriving. If they really are all bored at school they should participate in class. Your 7th grader is complaining, because that's what they do. They already have all the pieces in place and this is why the new classes are being piloted at the home schools.

This has to be a MCPS administrator posting!

Nope, just an MS parent who finds your reasoning repugnant. I'm unsympathetic to your whining because I've got my own kids and adding enrichment classes to local schools is more likely to serve both our needs and I have an older child so I do see this as an improvement even if it's partly too late for my family. I think spreading the admissions more evenly through the county is more equitable. It makes no sense to take a large cohort from one school, when clearly something is already going well at that school.

when a 7th grader says a class is moving too slowly, there is something wrong with that class. DC is not saying the subject is boring. DC is saying it's too slow (and easy). Again, we are not at a w cluster.

My 7th grader's Algebra teacher apologized to her and the other bright kids in the class about how slow the class was moving. The teacher said she wishes she could more quicker. Unfortunately, the advanced 7th graders were put in an Algebra class with 8th graders who could care less about school.

That's how it was back in the day! The 7th graders got A's and 8th braders didn't...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No I'm not, we went up to Miramonte HS in the Orinda, CA city which is in the Acalanes district.

Not sure what you are really trying to argue. I'm comparing experiences at west county MCPS school districts to other top public school districts in the country. And I'm here to tell you MCPS doesn't pass muster.

If you want to learn something about K-12 education read through all their websites. Light years better than MCPS. Still have textbooks. Clear curriculum and materials on website.

If MCPS wants east county to keep dragging it down, then continue what you are doing. Right now you can't even offer west county a viable nor comparable education to other top state public K-12s. Not even comparable.

Are you kidding? CA schools are kind of terrible. They don't even teach algebra there until the 10th grade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No I'm not, we went up to Miramonte HS in the Orinda, CA city which is in the Acalanes district.

Not sure what you are really trying to argue. I'm comparing experiences at west county MCPS school districts to other top public school districts in the country. And I'm here to tell you MCPS doesn't pass muster.

If you want to learn something about K-12 education read through all their websites. Light years better than MCPS. Still have textbooks. Clear curriculum and materials on website.

If MCPS wants east county to keep dragging it down, then continue what you are doing. Right now you can't even offer west county a viable nor comparable education to other top state public K-12s. Not even comparable.

And why are you posting in this thread??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No I'm not, we went up to Miramonte HS in the Orinda, CA city which is in the Acalanes district.

Not sure what you are really trying to argue. I'm comparing experiences at west county MCPS school districts to other top public school districts in the country. And I'm here to tell you MCPS doesn't pass muster.

If you want to learn something about K-12 education read through all their websites. Light years better than MCPS. Still have textbooks. Clear curriculum and materials on website.

If MCPS wants east county to keep dragging it down, then continue what you are doing. Right now you can't even offer west county a viable nor comparable education to other top state public K-12s. Not even comparable.

There are no "west county MCPS school districts". MCPS is the school district. And Montgomery County simply is not comparable to Lafayette/Moraga/Orinda, for obvious reasons.

"Top public schools" doesn't mean "exclusive public schools where almost all of the students come from affluent educated families" -- or at least it shouldn't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
what? no. Students who are very high achievers need the magnet programs. They are the ones who need the challenge more.

Many MSers are languishing in non magnets all over the county due to unchallenging curriculum. My 7th grader complains about how slow the classes are.

No they are thriving. Their peers are thriving. If they really are all bored at school they should participate in class. Your 7th grader is complaining, because that's what they do. They already have all the pieces in place and this is why the new classes are being piloted at the home schools.

This has to be a MCPS administrator posting!

Nope, just an MS parent who finds your reasoning repugnant. I'm unsympathetic to your whining because I've got my own kids and adding enrichment classes to local schools is more likely to serve both our needs and I have an older child so I do see this as an improvement even if it's partly too late for my family. I think spreading the admissions more evenly through the county is more equitable. It makes no sense to take a large cohort from one school, when clearly something is already going well at that school.

when a 7th grader says a class is moving too slowly, there is something wrong with that class. DC is not saying the subject is boring. DC is saying it's too slow (and easy). Again, we are not at a w cluster.

My 7th grader's Algebra teacher apologized to her and the other bright kids in the class about how slow the class was moving. The teacher said she wishes she could more quicker. Unfortunately, the advanced 7th graders were put in an Algebra class with 8th graders who could care less about school.

That's how it was back in the day! The 7th graders got A's and 8th braders didn't...

But back in the day teachers weren't told they must slow down until everyone understands the topic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No I'm not, we went up to Miramonte HS in the Orinda, CA city which is in the Acalanes district.

Not sure what you are really trying to argue. I'm comparing experiences at west county MCPS school districts to other top public school districts in the country. And I'm here to tell you MCPS doesn't pass muster.

If you want to learn something about K-12 education read through all their websites. Light years better than MCPS. Still have textbooks. Clear curriculum and materials on website.

If MCPS wants east county to keep dragging it down, then continue what you are doing. Right now you can't even offer west county a viable nor comparable education to other top state public K-12s. Not even comparable.

There are no "west county MCPS school districts". MCPS is the school district. And Montgomery County simply is not comparable to Lafayette/Moraga/Orinda, for obvious reasons.

"Top public schools" doesn't mean "exclusive public schools where almost all of the students come from affluent educated families" -- or at least it shouldn't.

Sounds like we agree. MCPS does not educate children from educated families well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No I'm not, we went up to Miramonte HS in the Orinda, CA city which is in the Acalanes district.

Not sure what you are really trying to argue. I'm comparing experiences at west county MCPS school districts to other top public school districts in the country. And I'm here to tell you MCPS doesn't pass muster.

If you want to learn something about K-12 education read through all their websites. Light years better than MCPS. Still have textbooks. Clear curriculum and materials on website.

If MCPS wants east county to keep dragging it down, then continue what you are doing. Right now you can't even offer west county a viable nor comparable education to other top state public K-12s. Not even comparable.

Are you kidding? CA schools are kind of terrible. They don't even teach algebra there until the 10th grade.

generally agree, MCPS is about 10 years following it.

however https://www.acalanes.k12.ca.us/ was not.

Our family can't make heads nor tails out of MCPS and we've been here since January trying it out. You all deserve better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No I'm not, we went up to Miramonte HS in the Orinda, CA city which is in the Acalanes district.

Not sure what you are really trying to argue. I'm comparing experiences at west county MCPS school districts to other top public school districts in the country. And I'm here to tell you MCPS doesn't pass muster.

If you want to learn something about K-12 education read through all their websites. Light years better than MCPS. Still have textbooks. Clear curriculum and materials on website.

If MCPS wants east county to keep dragging it down, then continue what you are doing. Right now you can't even offer west county a viable nor comparable education to other top state public K-12s. Not even comparable.

Are you kidding? CA schools are kind of terrible. They don't even teach algebra there until the 10th grade.

generally agree, MCPS is about 10 years following it.

however https://www.acalanes.k12.ca.us/ was not.

Our family can't make heads nor tails out of MCPS and we've been here since January trying it out. You all deserve better.

It's really a separate thread. But MCPS math curriculum is trash. It's not simply that your DC's teacher is being held up by slow students. Even at full pace the class is a stripped down version of what algebra should be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No I'm not, we went up to Miramonte HS in the Orinda, CA city which is in the Acalanes district.

Not sure what you are really trying to argue. I'm comparing experiences at west county MCPS school districts to other top public school districts in the country. And I'm here to tell you MCPS doesn't pass muster.

If you want to learn something about K-12 education read through all their websites. Light years better than MCPS. Still have textbooks. Clear curriculum and materials on website.

If MCPS wants east county to keep dragging it down, then continue what you are doing. Right now you can't even offer west county a viable nor comparable education to other top state public K-12s. Not even comparable.

There are no "west county MCPS school districts". MCPS is the school district. And Montgomery County simply is not comparable to Lafayette/Moraga/Orinda, for obvious reasons.

"Top public schools" doesn't mean "exclusive public schools where almost all of the students come from affluent educated families" -- or at least it shouldn't.

"Top public schools" means educating ALL students to potential with high quality teachers, curricula, EC programs, and ability tracking.

It will never mean base line proficiency. It will never mean third get great standardized test scores yet are frustrated and bored with classes. It will never mean the bottom third are <30% proficiently on grade in core classes.