Could a new consortium make boundary changes more acceptable?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For those complaining about Einstein: Just stop it - you have access to IB.

I am the PP who mentioned Einstein/Stem. You’re right, and for my younger kid, that will be an amazing option.

But it doesn’t address the problems the DCC caused for my older STEM kid.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The problem with the DCC is that it seems like you have access to stuff but you don’t.

We are zoned for Einstein. It’s a great school and neighbors love it, but it doesn’t have advanced STEM programming. If you want that, MCPS says, go to Wheaton. But despite putting Wheaton first on the lottery, my STEM kid didn’t get assigned Wheaton. So he goes to Einstein (without any close friends) and can’t get access to programs available to peers because he lost a lottery. Einstein says they don’t have enough interest to have advanced STEM classes, and they are probably mostly right, but that’s because some of those kids were shipped elsewhere.

He has made friends and will be fine. But the DCC process will always result in things like this. Having specialized high schools is fine, but only if access is real for every kid.

I have 3 kids and inbound for Blair. Because of the DCC, each one of my kids were able to fully explore their interests; one at Einstein, one at Wheaton and one at Blair.
We actually moved from DC to MoCo to have this opportunity, and we know a few other families who had done the same thing.
Grateful for the DCC.

Yes, it works best for Blair kids since it’s so overcrowded there that they can go someplace else more easily. But public school should be about what works for all (or most), not paying extra for a system that privileges some kids over others.

It works for most.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Consortia serve only two purposes - to make parents feel like they have some choice in their high school, while also making elected BOE members not draw "hard" boundary lines, which can make constituents angry.

They cost MCPS millions in transportation costs per year while also completely killing the feeling of community in schools.

DCC teacher here - completely in favor of getting rid of the DCC solely due to the killing of community.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For those complaining about Einstein: Just stop it - you have access to IB.

Ib does not work for all kids and not equal to ap. Most families would prefer ap over ib. Ib math is lower than calc bc. If it’s so great, let’s have your kids give up the classes they need or want and switch so ours have access.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For those complaining about Einstein: Just stop it - you have access to IB.

I am the PP who mentioned Einstein/Stem. You’re right, and for my younger kid, that will be an amazing option.

But it doesn’t address the problems the DCC caused for my older STEM kid.

For non stem kids, ib is great but it’s not for stem. It’s a huge problem if you cannot lottery to Blair or Wheaton. Ib math is not equal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Consortia serve only two purposes - to make parents feel like they have some choice in their high school, while also making elected BOE members not draw "hard" boundary lines, which can make constituents angry.

They cost MCPS millions in transportation costs per year while also completely killing the feeling of community in schools.

DCC teacher here - completely in favor of getting rid of the DCC solely due to the killing of community.

Which means it works for what it was intended for.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Agreed about the limitations to lotteries/DCC, as a family zoned for Einstein. MCPS should focus more on equity between individual high schools (and robust options within individual high schools) and less on the special programs that end up being available to very few kids across the county. They sound great in theory but in practice, they leave too many kids out.

+1 as an NEC parent, I agree. Blake is overcrowded due to the high interest in their dance program, but Paint Branch and Springbrook kids who are interested are SOL.

Thats not why Blake is overcrowded.
Blake has the better reputation because it’s more white than the other 2 options. It’s been this way for years unfortunately. I’m in the NEC and literally everyone I talk to
Says they want Blake. Their kids don’t even dance/do theater.

Exactly. I worked in the NEC for 16 years. Blake is majority white, PB majority black, and SB majority Hispanic. Isn’t this exactly what the consortium idea is supposed to prevent?

Nope

It helps if out of boundary kids choose to go but few kids are picking Blake and Kennedy. Black is far better than Kennedy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Agreed about the limitations to lotteries/DCC, as a family zoned for Einstein. MCPS should focus more on equity between individual high schools (and robust options within individual high schools) and less on the special programs that end up being available to very few kids across the county. They sound great in theory but in practice, they leave too many kids out.

+1 as an NEC parent, I agree. Blake is overcrowded due to the high interest in their dance program, but Paint Branch and Springbrook kids who are interested are SOL.

Thats not why Blake is overcrowded.
Blake has the better reputation because it’s more white than the other 2 options. It’s been this way for years unfortunately. I’m in the NEC and literally everyone I talk to
Says they want Blake. Their kids don’t even dance/do theater.

Exactly. I worked in the NEC for 16 years. Blake is majority white, PB majority black, and SB majority Hispanic. Isn’t this exactly what the consortium idea is supposed to prevent?

Nope

It helps if out of boundary kids choose to go but few kids are picking Blake and Kennedy. Black is far better than Kennedy.

Ok, so one sign of a troll is not knowing that Blake is in the NEC and Kennedy is in the DCC. No family would be choosing between them.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Let’s force the entire county be divided into consortiums. No reason schools like Sherwood and WJ can stay out of the NEC and the DCC.

They're going to do this but call them regions instead. Each region will have special programs.

Yes, this seems to be the direction Taylor wants to go in. Hopefully the consortiums are smaller than the DCC. I think the DCC doesn't work so great great because it's too big. If there are more than 3 high schools in the consortium, it's too big.

Who said the DCC doesn't work so great?

Many people. Who said it works great?

Many people. If you want to go to your home Hs no one is stopping you.

And if you don't want to go to your home school, you're essentially subjected to a lottery which does not work in your favor.

I don’t think you know how the DCC works

That's rich considering my kid goes to school in the DCC and we put Wheaton as our first choice and didn't get it, proving precisely what I just said.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are individual students and parents who feel that being in a consortia has worked out well for them. They got to pick their school and might get a few electives offered at that school that are not offered at the other schools.

But most do not have a comparison point for how being in a consortia school limits community involvement and challenges the school.

After school activities are significantly more challenging when the students live in a more spread out geographic area and do not grow up with the other families. In a community school, it's easier to get home after practice or rehearsal or to rely on carpools with families who have known each other since elementary school. The DCC does at least have better public transportation readily available than the NEC, but still - relying on metro buses to take your student home late at night or in rush hour isn't ideal when compared to a community school's daily routine.

Raising funds for your school is much more difficult in a consortia school. Neighbors and friends are much less likely to donate or participate in a fundraiser when the neighborhood has to support three (NEC) or five (DCC) public schools.

Getting community involvement from local businesses is significantly harder when each business has three or five public high schools to support.

Vertical articulation - working with the feeder middle schools to ensure smooth transitions for individual students (or all students) is harder when the high school A) doesn't know who is coming to the school until February of their 8th grade year and B) has five (NEC) or 11 (DCC) middle schools they pull from.

Anyone who has worked in a consortia school knows how challenging it can be. Anyone who has volunteered in the PTSA or Booster Club knows the challenges consortia present.

Correct. Which is why it's maddening to have morons on this forum telling those of us who have volunteered in DCC PTSAs/Booster Clubs are lying and that our lived experiences are false or inaccurate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:Let’s force the entire county be divided into consortiums. No reason schools like Sherwood and WJ can stay out of the NEC and the DCC.

They're going to do this but call them regions instead. Each region will have special programs.

Yes, this seems to be the direction Taylor wants to go in. Hopefully the consortiums are smaller than the DCC. I think the DCC doesn't work so great great because it's too big. If there are more than 3 high schools in the consortium, it's too big.

Who said the DCC doesn't work so great?

Many people. Who said it works great?

Many people. If you want to go to your home Hs no one is stopping you.

And if you don't want to go to your home school, you're essentially subjected to a lottery which does not work in your favor.

I don’t think you know how the DCC works

That's rich considering my kid goes to school in the DCC and we put Wheaton as our first choice and didn't get it, proving precisely what I just said.

Did your kid try for their first choice again in the second round? Or the following year?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Let’s force the entire county be divided into consortiums. No reason schools like Sherwood and WJ can stay out of the NEC and the DCC.

They're going to do this but call them regions instead. Each region will have special programs.

That’s what Fairfax County calls them

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Consortia serve only two purposes - to make parents feel like they have some choice in their high school, while also making elected BOE members not draw "hard" boundary lines, which can make constituents angry.

They cost MCPS millions in transportation costs per year while also completely killing the feeling of community in schools.

To be fair, I think private schools are doing that more than the consortiums.

No, the consortia is definitely hurting that feeling of community. In my neighborhood alone, we have kids split between Northwood, Kennedy, Blair and Wheaton. There's no way you can build community when kids from that same neighborhood are split across that many schools.

I’m in the NEC and more than half of the kids in the neighborhood are in private school. Those kids don’t even know their neighbors.

What do these private school families look like compared to h NEC families they’re trying to avoid? That tells you everything. Adding Sherwood to the NEC would fix some of this

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Let’s force the entire county be divided into consortiums. No reason schools like Sherwood and WJ can stay out of the NEC and the DCC.

They're going to do this but call them regions instead. Each region will have special programs.

Yes, this seems to be the direction Taylor wants to go in. Hopefully the consortiums are smaller than the DCC. I think the DCC doesn't work so great great because it's too big. If there are more than 3 high schools in the consortium, it's too big.

Who said the DCC doesn't work so great?

Many people. Who said it works great?

Many people. If you want to go to your home Hs no one is stopping you.

And if you don't want to go to your home school, you're essentially subjected to a lottery which does not work in your favor.

Isn't this the same situation you would be in if there was no consortium, though?

If there was no consortium PP would be stuck with a home school they don’t want and no other choices except for magnets.

I am the PP and you’re right. But the key is that then all the other STEM kids would also be at Einstein, and it would be easier to advocate for advanced programming. Removing 70% of STEM kids really sucks for the 30% left behind.

+1

Consortium system is hugely negative for kids who are left behind.

Magnets are hugely negative for kids who are left behind.
CES are hugely negative for kids who are left behind
Team sports are hugely negative for kids who are left behind.
What's new?

Team sports they pick the best.

Magnet/CES are not the best students. It's a lottery and better to abandon this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The problem with the DCC is that it seems like you have access to stuff but you don’t.

We are zoned for Einstein. It’s a great school and neighbors love it, but it doesn’t have advanced STEM programming. If you want that, MCPS says, go to Wheaton. But despite putting Wheaton first on the lottery, my STEM kid didn’t get assigned Wheaton. So he goes to Einstein (without any close friends) and can’t get access to programs available to peers because he lost a lottery. Einstein says they don’t have enough interest to have advanced STEM classes, and they are probably mostly right, but that’s because some of those kids were shipped elsewhere.

He has made friends and will be fine. But the DCC process will always result in things like this. Having specialized high schools is fine, but only if access is real for every kid.

I completely agree with you. The DCC is great when you are in bound for a school that offers what your kid wants to take. When they created the DCC there were fewer kids and the only school people actually wanted to attend was Blair. With such a large number of kids, more special programs, and most DCC schools being at or over capacity, it isn't so simple to just go to Wheaton if you want stem classes. They really should be way more transparent about this to families at the information session nights.