Taylor's Feb. Rec for Woodward Boundary Study

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Based on the first two pages here it is clear that people do not understand the severity of what happened today.

Let me spell it out for you - Tilden zone got destroyed with the recommendation

Engineering at Wheaton?! Are you kidding me?! Blair STEM prepares student to enter top universities as math and science majors. Engineering at Wheaton prepares students to be successful electricians and mechanical engineers. That is the difference. If you are fine with that then Wheaton "STEM magnet" may be an acceptable solution.

MC?! MC classes are so superficial that they are a complete waste of time. There have been several discussions on this topic here already.

So the only option for high achieving Tilden students to avoid staying at Woodward will be the humanities magnet at WJ.

Woodward itself is being positioned to be one of the lowest performing schools in the county with this recommendation - it will have high FARMS and poor class offering, since it is given the most pointless magnet. A complete disaster in making.

Hopefully, a lawsuit is coming. This was clearly designed in bad faith. Two middle schools, one predominantly white, NBMS, and one very diverse, Tilden, are sharing a HS that is to be split in two. So the predominantly white school gets one of the new HS, new WJ, pretty much all for itself, while the other one gets to share Woodward with two high FARMs, low performing, middle schools from outside the current zone. A blatant segregation.

Even the magnet placement is offensive. New WJ gets humanities and languages (for verbally gifted), while Woodward gets arts so they can sing and dance.

+100

It's a disater and I am surprised that most posters don't get it yet. Ah, after few years everyone will get it.

Jealous that Churchill got fashion design.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Wheaton kids are winning national robotics competitions, dude. Very bright kids are very challenged there.

Your obsession with Woodward being a bad school is laughable.

I am not disputing that there are bright kids at Wheaton. It is not their fault that their best option was Wheaton. Show me college placement for Wheaton (and Wheaton engineering) and how it compares to top schools and magnets in the county and then we can talk.

If nothing changes, Woodward will certainly be a bad schools. It is given no chance to succeed with current boundaries and the upcoming regional model.

Feel free to dig up the stats yourself. Maybe you should have done that before vomiting your stereotypes onto this thread

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Wheaton kids are winning national robotics competitions, dude. Very bright kids are very challenged there.

Your obsession with Woodward being a bad school is laughable.

I am not disputing that there are bright kids at Wheaton. It is not their fault that their best option was Wheaton. Show me college placement for Wheaton (and Wheaton engineering) and how it compares to top schools and magnets in the county and then we can talk.

If nothing changes, Woodward will certainly be a bad schools. It is given no chance to succeed with current boundaries and the upcoming regional model.

Feel free to dig up the stats yourself. Maybe you should have done that before vomiting your stereotypes onto this thread

I already know the answer. Spoiler alert - it is not good for your argument.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Given Woodward will host special program for Drama, Art, Media etc having 35-40% FARMS will result in high achiveing kids leaving for WJ or Stem program in Wheaton. It will result in fewer kids who can take higher level courses and they will have no choice.

art and music kids take a lot of AP classes

They do but they take less frequently higher level STEM than kids who are focused on STEM. Kids focused on STEM would have to leave Woodward to get decent options given more than third of school will be FARMS. It will create problem for kids who are left behind.

Isn't MCPS committed to offering AP Bio, Chem, Phys or an IB equivalent in all high schools?

AP and IB are not equivalent. IB HL courses are 2 years. So loss of electives just to take an advanced class seems unfair

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Based on the first two pages here it is clear that people do not understand the severity of what happened today.

Let me spell it out for you - Tilden zone got destroyed with the recommendation

Engineering at Wheaton?! Are you kidding me?! Blair STEM prepares student to enter top universities as math and science majors. Engineering at Wheaton prepares students to be successful electricians and mechanical engineers. That is the difference. If you are fine with that then Wheaton "STEM magnet" may be an acceptable solution.

MC?! MC classes are so superficial that they are a complete waste of time. There have been several discussions on this topic here already.

So the only option for high achieving Tilden students to avoid staying at Woodward will be the humanities magnet at WJ.

Woodward itself is being positioned to be one of the lowest performing schools in the county with this recommendation - it will have high FARMS and poor class offering, since it is given the most pointless magnet. A complete disaster in making.

Hopefully, a lawsuit is coming. This was clearly designed in bad faith. Two middle schools, one predominantly white, NBMS, and one very diverse, Tilden, are sharing a HS that is to be split in two. So the predominantly white school gets one of the new HS, new WJ, pretty much all for itself, while the other one gets to share Woodward with two high FARMs, low performing, middle schools from outside the current zone. A blatant segregation.

Even the magnet placement is offensive. New WJ gets humanities and languages (for verbally gifted), while Woodward gets arts so they can sing and dance.

This. Poster here may not realize the impact but Tilden/Luxmanor families are well aware of the reality. I've had multiple conversations with neighbors about it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Wheaton kids are winning national robotics competitions, dude. Very bright kids are very challenged there.

Your obsession with Woodward being a bad school is laughable.

I am not disputing that there are bright kids at Wheaton. It is not their fault that their best option was Wheaton. Show me college placement for Wheaton (and Wheaton engineering) and how it compares to top schools and magnets in the county and then we can talk.

If nothing changes, Woodward will certainly be a bad schools. It is given no chance to succeed with current boundaries and the upcoming regional model.

Feel free to dig up the stats yourself. Maybe you should have done that before vomiting your stereotypes onto this thread

I already know the answer. Spoiler alert - it is not good for your argument.

I genuinely do not know which stats you are referring to and have no idea how I would find them. The kids I know of that graduated from Wheaton in the last several years are really bright and seem to have done great in college and their early careers. Of course, since Blair is a countywide program and is much more selective, obviously it is going to be a different type of cohort.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Given Woodward will host special program for Drama, Art, Media etc having 35-40% FARMS will result in high achiveing kids leaving for WJ or Stem program in Wheaton. It will result in fewer kids who can take higher level courses and they will have no choice.

art and music kids take a lot of AP classes

They do but they take less frequently higher level STEM than kids who are focused on STEM. Kids focused on STEM would have to leave Woodward to get decent options given more than third of school will be FARMS. It will create problem for kids who are left behind.

Isn't MCPS committed to offering AP Bio, Chem, Phys or an IB equivalent in all high schools?

Take for example, MCPS is not going to offer anything higher than Cal BC so if you take Pre-algebra( around 20% kids take it RM Cluster, I don't know about other clujsters) in grade 6 then you will be doing Alg1 and Alg 2 in 7th and 8th. Then Prec cal and Cal in 9th and 10th. You will be forced to take random filler courses in math in grade 11th and 12th if school does not offer courses beyond Cal. That's the case in many high poverty HS right now unless they host STEM magnet.

You skipped Geometry in 8th. So kids who take algebra in 7th get to Calculus by 11th. Most end up taking AP stats or Calculus BC senior year.

No. PP was correct. This year’s grade 5 kids in compacted math will take pre Alg in grade 6. Then in grades 7 and 8 they will be the first to go through the new Integrated Math pathway that MSDE suggested as a 3 year path, but MCPS is forcing all kids to do in 2. The Integrated Math pathway replaces stand alone Alg 1, 2 and Geometry. So my current 10 year old will be doing preCalc in grade 9!

[Anonymous]

The regional model states that WJ is getting a Humanities magnet, but WJ just announced to incoming freshmen families that the APEX program is ending with current 9th graders. That was the humanities magnet. We were told that it was being replaced with AP Capstone, but that is already offered at WJ and at most MCPS high schools. It is just a diploma marking for kids who take two classes. AP Research and AP Seminar and who take four other AP classes. APEX has special accelerated classes in addition to requiring participants to take at least nine AP courses and to choose a particular academic focus pathway. I don’t see where WJ is actually getting anything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The regional model states that WJ is getting a Humanities magnet, but WJ just announced to incoming freshmen families that the APEX program is ending with current 9th graders. That was the humanities magnet. We were told that it was being replaced with AP Capstone, but that is already offered at WJ and at most MCPS high schools. It is just a diploma marking for kids who take two classes. AP Research and AP Seminar and who take four other AP classes. APEX has special accelerated classes in addition to requiring participants to take at least nine AP courses and to choose a particular academic focus pathway. I don’t see where WJ is actually getting anything.

WJ remains an excellent school. That’s a win.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Given Woodward will host special program for Drama, Art, Media etc having 35-40% FARMS will result in high achiveing kids leaving for WJ or Stem program in Wheaton. It will result in fewer kids who can take higher level courses and they will have no choice.

art and music kids take a lot of AP classes

The way these programs are set up, you really need to hyper specialize in the art and music to meet the course requirements. So you need to make tough choices bc multiple periods a day are earmarked for the program specialty. You have less room for APs although of course you can do most.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The regional model states that WJ is getting a Humanities magnet, but WJ just announced to incoming freshmen families that the APEX program is ending with current 9th graders. That was the humanities magnet. We were told that it was being replaced with AP Capstone, but that is already offered at WJ and at most MCPS high schools. It is just a diploma marking for kids who take two classes. AP Research and AP Seminar and who take four other AP classes. APEX has special accelerated classes in addition to requiring participants to take at least nine AP courses and to choose a particular academic focus pathway. I don’t see where WJ is actually getting anything.

Relax. APEX isn't anything special. Yes you take cohorted English 9 and 10, which is an advantage but anyone can take 9 or any number of APs and choose any track, APEX or not.

The humanities magnet is not APEX.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Based on the first two pages here it is clear that people do not understand the severity of what happened today.

Let me spell it out for you - Tilden zone got destroyed with the recommendation

Engineering at Wheaton?! Are you kidding me?! Blair STEM prepares student to enter top universities as math and science majors. Engineering at Wheaton prepares students to be successful electricians and mechanical engineers. That is the difference. If you are fine with that then Wheaton "STEM magnet" may be an acceptable solution.

MC?! MC classes are so superficial that they are a complete waste of time. There have been several discussions on this topic here already.

So the only option for high achieving Tilden students to avoid staying at Woodward will be the humanities magnet at WJ.

Woodward itself is being positioned to be one of the lowest performing schools in the county with this recommendation - it will have high FARMS and poor class offering, since it is given the most pointless magnet. A complete disaster in making.

Hopefully, a lawsuit is coming. This was clearly designed in bad faith. Two middle schools, one predominantly white, NBMS, and one very diverse, Tilden, are sharing a HS that is to be split in two. So the predominantly white school gets one of the new HS, new WJ, pretty much all for itself, while the other one gets to share Woodward with two high FARMs, low performing, middle schools from outside the current zone. A blatant segregation.

Even the magnet placement is offensive. New WJ gets humanities and languages (for verbally gifted), while Woodward gets arts so they can sing and dance.

+100

It's a disater and I am surprised that most posters don't get it yet. Ah, after few years everyone will get it.

Jealous that Churchill got fashion design.

lol

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Given Woodward will host special program for Drama, Art, Media etc having 35-40% FARMS will result in high achiveing kids leaving for WJ or Stem program in Wheaton. It will result in fewer kids who can take higher level courses and they will have no choice.

STEM at Wheaton - is it a good program? Comparable to Blair? I am so upset they are dividing us in 6 regions.

I mean, it's not Blair, but even Poolesville isn't Blair. Even Blair isn't going to keep being Blair. That's just an incredibly high bar.

It is, however, a very popular and well-regarded program. Wheaton is, frankly, a way more popular choice in the DCC than you would think it would be given its demographics-- this is largely because its strength in STEM is just that desirable.

This is kind of a weird statement. The DCC schools are not that different from each other demographically. I don't think most kids or families in the DCC would avoid Wheaton due to "demographics". But yes, Wheaton is very desirable in the DCC because it has strong STEM programs.

I'm not saying it should be this way, and certainly many families don't consider that kind of thing. But Wheaton (especially before DCC transfers) looks much more like Kennedy than like Blair, Einstein, or Northwood. It's 60% FARMS, 70% Hispanic, 15% Black, and 5% white. Looking at those numbers I think most people would imagine that it would be viewed as an undesirable school. But it isn't, most people think it's a great school, largely on the strength of its STEM programming. I think that's useful context.

I mean as Latina I recognize some families are racist but it's hurtful you think White families are choosing Wheaton in spite of the Latino students. Ouch. You haven't done a survey, you sharing how you feel about Latinos, and that's hurtful.

I'm sorry, I didn't mean it to sound hurtful. Maybe white and Asian families are less racist than I think and it's just a coincidence. But between the fact that so few of them pick Kennedy, and the general history of racism in this country, my gut is that unfortunately many white and Asian families tend to avoid schools with large numbers of poor and/or URM kids unless they believe it is a particularly good school (which Wheaton is.)

[Anonymous]

2 things to consider when scrutinizing Taylor’s enrollment and demographic charts presented today:

1. He doesn’t have a crystal ball and has no way to calculate the enrollment or demographics of each school AND follow through on his promise to let all kids who criteria into a criteria based magnet and all kids who apply to an interest based magnet get to go to that school. This will definitely skew enrollment at certain schools while others will be much lower than his predictions.

2. What will the enrollment and demographics be during the transition years? I have a 5th grader and a 9th grader. I want to know the demographics of their school buildings for the remaining 2 years ij those buildings after these changes are implemented.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Given Woodward will host special program for Drama, Art, Media etc having 35-40% FARMS will result in high achiveing kids leaving for WJ or Stem program in Wheaton. It will result in fewer kids who can take higher level courses and they will have no choice.

art and music kids take a lot of AP classes

They do but they take less frequently higher level STEM than kids who are focused on STEM. Kids focused on STEM would have to leave Woodward to get decent options given more than third of school will be FARMS. It will create problem for kids who are left behind.

Isn't MCPS committed to offering AP Bio, Chem, Phys or an IB equivalent in all high schools?

Take for example, MCPS is not going to offer anything higher than Cal BC so if you take Pre-algebra( around 20% kids take it RM Cluster, I don't know about other clujsters) in grade 6 then you will be doing Alg1 and Alg 2 in 7th and 8th. Then Prec cal and Cal in 9th and 10th. You will be forced to take random filler courses in math in grade 11th and 12th if school does not offer courses beyond Cal. That's the case in many high poverty HS right now unless they host STEM magnet.

You skipped Geometry in 8th. So kids who take algebra in 7th get to Calculus by 11th. Most end up taking AP stats or Calculus BC senior year.

No. PP was correct. This year’s grade 5 kids in compacted math will take pre Alg in grade 6. Then in grades 7 and 8 they will be the first to go through the new Integrated Math pathway that MSDE suggested as a 3 year path, but MCPS is forcing all kids to do in 2. The Integrated Math pathway replaces stand alone Alg 1, 2 and Geometry. So my current 10 year old will be doing preCalc in grade 9!

For a smart kid, precal is fine in 9th but most schools don't have MVC and Linear Algebra so there is no point at those schools to speend things up and cutting out Geometry condensing this seems like a really bad idea given overall math scores.