Second round options for Woodward boundary study

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So our PTA is recommending voting for all four options even though I think that's kind of stupid. We're not affected by any of them. What do you all recommend as being the best and why?

Don't vote for any of them-- they don't solve the real problems and leave Wheaton overcrowded (or require tons of money in capital funding to add space there there that wouldn't be needed if anyone was willing to inconvenience WJ or BCC families even a little.)

Tell them instead they should move Sargent Shriver from Wheaton to Woodward, Farmland from Woodward to WJ, and move some Kensington kids into Einstein.

Shriver is entirely within the Wheaton walk zone. It shouldn't be moved.

And Kensington is within the Einstein walk zone. Not everyone can be zoned to the schools they can walk to and still make everything work out. It's not okay for Wheaton to remain overcrowded (or for MCPS to ask for funding for unnecessary construction) as under the current options. So do a little shifting and rather than have the Shriver kids walk to Wheaton, have the Kensington kids walk to Einstein instead.

Not all parts of Kensington are walkable. The town is not walkable nor is it safe.

You move the town and Wheaton to Woodward.

The town is not less walkable to Einstein than other areas that currently walk to Einstein.

They're not going to split articulate the TOK from the rest of Kensington-Parkwood because of the region 1/3 divide. They could move all of K-P to Einstein but there's not enough room.

You'd have to move students out of Einstein to do that and TOK would not be agreeable due to the lack of course offerings. They'd have to "fix" Einstein and they aren't going to.

When the student population changes, the courses do as well.

Not necessarily. You aren't talking about a large number of kids, and it's up to the school administration. You are missing the fact that any class can be offered, but the admin/principal chooses not to offer it due to funding/staffing/other needs, or simply because they believe it is not a priority.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So our PTA is recommending voting for all four options even though I think that's kind of stupid. We're not affected by any of them. What do you all recommend as being the best and why?

Don't vote for any of them-- they don't solve the real problems and leave Wheaton overcrowded (or require tons of money in capital funding to add space there there that wouldn't be needed if anyone was willing to inconvenience WJ or BCC families even a little.)

Tell them instead they should move Sargent Shriver from Wheaton to Woodward, Farmland from Woodward to WJ, and move some Kensington kids into Einstein.

Shriver is entirely within the Wheaton walk zone. It shouldn't be moved.

And Kensington is within the Einstein walk zone. Not everyone can be zoned to the schools they can walk to and still make everything work out. It's not okay for Wheaton to remain overcrowded (or for MCPS to ask for funding for unnecessary construction) as under the current options. So do a little shifting and rather than have the Shriver kids walk to Wheaton, have the Kensington kids walk to Einstein instead.

Not all parts of Kensington are walkable. The town is not walkable nor is it safe.

You move the town and Wheaton to Woodward.

The town is not less walkable to Einstein than other areas that currently walk to Einstein.

They're not going to split articulate the TOK from the rest of Kensington-Parkwood because of the region 1/3 divide. They could move all of K-P to Einstein but there's not enough room.

You'd have to move students out of Einstein to do that and TOK would not be agreeable due to the lack of course offerings. They'd have to "fix" Einstein and they aren't going to.

When the student population changes, the courses do as well.

Not necessarily. You aren't talking about a large number of kids, and it's up to the school administration. You are missing the fact that any class can be offered, but the admin/principal chooses not to offer it due to funding/staffing/other needs, or simply because they believe it is not a priority.

Courses are offered when a lot of students express interest. If a school's demographics change significantly, that will, eventually, bring about different course offerings. Also, high school administrators have a high rate of turnover, and there is no reason to think that any of these schools' admin teams will be the same in a few years.

[Anonymous]

so are there still a bunch of people that will move or go private, with this round of boundary options? That's what people were talking about with the initial options.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So our PTA is recommending voting for all four options even though I think that's kind of stupid. We're not affected by any of them. What do you all recommend as being the best and why?

Don't vote for any of them-- they don't solve the real problems and leave Wheaton overcrowded (or require tons of money in capital funding to add space there there that wouldn't be needed if anyone was willing to inconvenience WJ or BCC families even a little.)

Tell them instead they should move Sargent Shriver from Wheaton to Woodward, Farmland from Woodward to WJ, and move some Kensington kids into Einstein.

Shriver is entirely within the Wheaton walk zone. It shouldn't be moved.

And Kensington is within the Einstein walk zone. Not everyone can be zoned to the schools they can walk to and still make everything work out. It's not okay for Wheaton to remain overcrowded (or for MCPS to ask for funding for unnecessary construction) as under the current options. So do a little shifting and rather than have the Shriver kids walk to Wheaton, have the Kensington kids walk to Einstein instead.

Not all parts of Kensington are walkable. The town is not walkable nor is it safe.

You move the town and Wheaton to Woodward.

The town is not less walkable to Einstein than other areas that currently walk to Einstein.

They're not going to split articulate the TOK from the rest of Kensington-Parkwood because of the region 1/3 divide. They could move all of K-P to Einstein but there's not enough room.

You'd have to move students out of Einstein to do that and TOK would not be agreeable due to the lack of course offerings. They'd have to "fix" Einstein and they aren't going to.

When the student population changes, the courses do as well.

Not necessarily. You aren't talking about a large number of kids, and it's up to the school administration. You are missing the fact that any class can be offered, but the admin/principal chooses not to offer it due to funding/staffing/other needs, or simply because they believe it is not a priority.

Courses are offered when a lot of students express interest. If a school's demographics change significantly, that will, eventually, bring about different course offerings. Also, high school administrators have a high rate of turnover, and there is no reason to think that any of these schools' admin teams will be the same in a few years.

No, kids can express interest and be told no. You think kids can just ask and it happens? If so, this wouldn't be a discussion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:so are there still a bunch of people that will move or go private, with this round of boundary options? That's what people were talking about with the initial options.

I don't care about the boundaries but the lack of the DCC is a huge issue without school choice/options.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:so are there still a bunch of people that will move or go private, with this round of boundary options? That's what people were talking about with the initial options.

I don't care about the boundaries but the lack of the DCC is a huge issue without school choice/options.

so will you move to a school that has what your kid(s) want?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So our PTA is recommending voting for all four options even though I think that's kind of stupid. We're not affected by any of them. What do you all recommend as being the best and why?

Don't vote for any of them-- they don't solve the real problems and leave Wheaton overcrowded (or require tons of money in capital funding to add space there there that wouldn't be needed if anyone was willing to inconvenience WJ or BCC families even a little.)

Tell them instead they should move Sargent Shriver from Wheaton to Woodward, Farmland from Woodward to WJ, and move some Kensington kids into Einstein.

Shriver is entirely within the Wheaton walk zone. It shouldn't be moved.

And Kensington is within the Einstein walk zone. Not everyone can be zoned to the schools they can walk to and still make everything work out. It's not okay for Wheaton to remain overcrowded (or for MCPS to ask for funding for unnecessary construction) as under the current options. So do a little shifting and rather than have the Shriver kids walk to Wheaton, have the Kensington kids walk to Einstein instead.

Not all parts of Kensington are walkable. The town is not walkable nor is it safe.

You move the town and Wheaton to Woodward.

The town is not less walkable to Einstein than other areas that currently walk to Einstein.

They're not going to split articulate the TOK from the rest of Kensington-Parkwood because of the region 1/3 divide. They could move all of K-P to Einstein but there's not enough room.

You'd have to move students out of Einstein to do that and TOK would not be agreeable due to the lack of course offerings. They'd have to "fix" Einstein and they aren't going to.

When the student population changes, the courses do as well.

Not necessarily. You aren't talking about a large number of kids, and it's up to the school administration. You are missing the fact that any class can be offered, but the admin/principal chooses not to offer it due to funding/staffing/other needs, or simply because they believe it is not a priority.

Courses are offered when a lot of students express interest. If a school's demographics change significantly, that will, eventually, bring about different course offerings. Also, high school administrators have a high rate of turnover, and there is no reason to think that any of these schools' admin teams will be the same in a few years.

No, kids can express interest and be told no. You think kids can just ask and it happens? If so, this wouldn't be a discussion.

DP, but I think there's a difference between one kid wanting a class and 20 kids wanting a class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:so are there still a bunch of people that will move or go private, with this round of boundary options? That's what people were talking about with the initial options.

Most likely whatever option is chosen, MCPS enrollment will increase substantially as the local economy continues to struggle. I know in the DCC there are tons of federal workers and contractors. While most send their kids to public in our immediate neighborhood, some do send to private and a portion of those will not be able to afford to continue. This happened during the Great Recession as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:so are there still a bunch of people that will move or go private, with this round of boundary options? That's what people were talking about with the initial options.

If Einstein does tank with the triple-whammy of the program changes/losing the DCC, higher FARMS rates through the boundary changes, and fewer classes/teachers due to the drop in enrollment, then yes, I expect some Einstein families will move

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:so are there still a bunch of people that will move or go private, with this round of boundary options? That's what people were talking about with the initial options.

If Einstein does tank with the triple-whammy of the program changes/losing the DCC, higher FARMS rates through the boundary changes, and fewer classes/teachers due to the drop in enrollment, then yes, I expect some Einstein families will move

Isn’t Einstein already mostly FARMs and poorly regarded? If they had the money to move I suspect they would have done it already.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:so are there still a bunch of people that will move or go private, with this round of boundary options? That's what people were talking about with the initial options.

If Einstein does tank with the triple-whammy of the program changes/losing the DCC, higher FARMS rates through the boundary changes, and fewer classes/teachers due to the drop in enrollment, then yes, I expect some Einstein families will move

Isn’t Einstein already mostly FARMs and poorly regarded? If they had the money to move I suspect they would have done it already.

Per the boundary study stats, Einstein is presently at ~38% FARMS. That's lower than Blair, Kennedy, Northwood, and Wheaton. These options have that percent increasing by 2-8 percentage points.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:so are there still a bunch of people that will move or go private, with this round of boundary options? That's what people were talking about with the initial options.

If Einstein does tank with the triple-whammy of the program changes/losing the DCC, higher FARMS rates through the boundary changes, and fewer classes/teachers due to the drop in enrollment, then yes, I expect some Einstein families will move

Isn’t Einstein already mostly FARMs and poorly regarded? If they had the money to move I suspect they would have done it already.

No, not at all. Its a nice school and one with fewer issues. Good is subjective. We could move but like the neighborhood.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:so are there still a bunch of people that will move or go private, with this round of boundary options? That's what people were talking about with the initial options.

Most likely whatever option is chosen, MCPS enrollment will increase substantially as the local economy continues to struggle. I know in the DCC there are tons of federal workers and contractors. While most send their kids to public in our immediate neighborhood, some do send to private and a portion of those will not be able to afford to continue. This happened during the Great Recession as well.

Not necessarily, where would they go. Contractors on jobs that were prefunded are fine. Contractors who were not on prefunded contracts will have an issue as there is no back pay but you know this and plan.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So our PTA is recommending voting for all four options even though I think that's kind of stupid. We're not affected by any of them. What do you all recommend as being the best and why?

Don't vote for any of them-- they don't solve the real problems and leave Wheaton overcrowded (or require tons of money in capital funding to add space there there that wouldn't be needed if anyone was willing to inconvenience WJ or BCC families even a little.)

Tell them instead they should move Sargent Shriver from Wheaton to Woodward, Farmland from Woodward to WJ, and move some Kensington kids into Einstein.

Shriver is entirely within the Wheaton walk zone. It shouldn't be moved.

And Kensington is within the Einstein walk zone. Not everyone can be zoned to the schools they can walk to and still make everything work out. It's not okay for Wheaton to remain overcrowded (or for MCPS to ask for funding for unnecessary construction) as under the current options. So do a little shifting and rather than have the Shriver kids walk to Wheaton, have the Kensington kids walk to Einstein instead.

Not all parts of Kensington are walkable. The town is not walkable nor is it safe.

You move the town and Wheaton to Woodward.

The town is not less walkable to Einstein than other areas that currently walk to Einstein.

They're not going to split articulate the TOK from the rest of Kensington-Parkwood because of the region 1/3 divide. They could move all of K-P to Einstein but there's not enough room.

You'd have to move students out of Einstein to do that and TOK would not be agreeable due to the lack of course offerings. They'd have to "fix" Einstein and they aren't going to.

When the student population changes, the courses do as well.

Not necessarily. You aren't talking about a large number of kids, and it's up to the school administration. You are missing the fact that any class can be offered, but the admin/principal chooses not to offer it due to funding/staffing/other needs, or simply because they believe it is not a priority.

Courses are offered when a lot of students express interest. If a school's demographics change significantly, that will, eventually, bring about different course offerings. Also, high school administrators have a high rate of turnover, and there is no reason to think that any of these schools' admin teams will be the same in a few years.

No, kids can express interest and be told no. You think kids can just ask and it happens? If so, this wouldn't be a discussion.

DP, but I think there's a difference between one kid wanting a class and 20 kids wanting a class.

There are at least a dozen kids asking for one class and were told no. More would probably sign up. And, if they don't offer it, kids cannot plan to take it and coordinate their schedule.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:so are there still a bunch of people that will move or go private, with this round of boundary options? That's what people were talking about with the initial options.

I don't care about the boundaries but the lack of the DCC is a huge issue without school choice/options.

so will you move to a school that has what your kid(s) want?

No, will not more. Will do private.