Magnet application result High School

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't think the list is malicious. But I do think that it makes kids feel bad if they didn't get in and are watching many of their friends get in. It's kind of overwhelming. My kid wasn't even waitlisted and they are a straight A 99%ile TPMS magnet kid. They are not sad/lacking confidence, but they are definitely in their feelings about it (mostly anger and frustration).

So did kids with lower scores that your child get in? Is that the cause of anger/frustration?

I don't know and they didn't say that. I think they are just frustrated that they are part of a "group" now that they now know they won't be part of anymore and that is kind of confusing to kids who feel like they are hanging just fine with their peers academically. My kid got into three other magnets so it's not a confidence issue or an "am I good enough" issue, and they will likely remain in the same school as their friends, but they are just kind of bummed about breaking up the band, you know? It's not the end of the world. Builds resilience.

It’s seems there are a number of kids in this position from the magnet middle schools. In my opinion (not an original opinion certainly) it’s a pretty broken process. The way selections are made is not transparent and there is absolutely an element of luck involved when it’s a poor process. It’s not kind to kids to invite them to a magnet middle school where they excel and then disinvite them from the programs all of their friends are going on to. I’m speaking from a social development perspective. I get that parents are going to come at me and say that’s just life, the kids need to learn to handle it, but my point is that the process could and should be much better designed. Even just look at the way notifications went out, so unkind to those kids who are now left with no invitations. And these kids would have had even stronger applications if they hadn’t gone to a magnet middle school. I’ve learned that magnet programs might be good for academics, but this process is absolutely not good for our children’s social development.

It is certainly a bummer for TPMS kids when they don't get into the hs program of choice, but this has been the case for years and years. It is not related to the current system. I have kids who went through TPMS in the CogAT and magnet specific test days. About 1/2 the magnet TPMS kids got into Blair. 1/4 - 1/3 didn't get into any programs. The same could said for CES to MS. It's tough, but there should be opportunities for kids who didn't get into a CES, no? There was a nonmag kid at TPMS who really worked to develop math depth on her own. She got into Blair and is likely premed now. Super smart. Should the doors be closed to her? I know it's easy for me to say as my kids got into the programs they had hoped for. But, we know a few TPMS kids at regular Blair who are doing fine. I think it's a shame that there is chatter or lists, even if it is all friendly, for the kids who didn't get great news. But, things well settle down. There will be interesting electives and good APs at whatever hs kids attend. There's always DE too. You will just have to help them find the enrichment. Hang in there.

Based on what I've read over the years I'd estimate that about 400 of the 800 applicants to Blair SMCS look about the same on paper (i.e. 4.0+99%). This means that beyond a point it may come down to whether the essay resonated with a reader or just a roll of the dice. I have a kid that will be applying in the not too distant future so I get how frustrating this is and I don't feel the other programs are a good fit for my student's interests. However, just taking AP classes at their base school gets them a comparable education. They can still take AP CS, Calc BC, AP Physics etc. and even have a little more time to be well rounded. However, this plays out for them I'm fine with it. They aren't interested in Wheaton or RM etc. In fact, Blair's their home school and they'll likely end up taking 8/16 magnet classes by the time they graduate anyway.

When we went through this, I made a spreadsheet of what DC's schedule might look like if they were in the magnet and another if they were at their homeschool. The homeschool option was a lot better than I expected. Sure, they might get a semester ahead in CS or maybe some extra research class in the magnet, but I don't think any of that will make a lot of difference in the long run.

I wasn’t that thrilled with the classes they were required to take. Some kids are aready ahead in math and cs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think being at TPMS or another magnet middle school makes the process that much harder from a social perspective because there will be a core group going to Blair and practically everyone applied.

My child got in from their regular MS and when they were trying to figure out if any friends got in the response she got most often was what are you talking about. They were paying no attention to the application process. These are top students who are in the cohorted math and history classes.

That’s the essential point. Btdt

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't think the list is malicious. But I do think that it makes kids feel bad if they didn't get in and are watching many of their friends get in. It's kind of overwhelming. My kid wasn't even waitlisted and they are a straight A 99%ile TPMS magnet kid. They are not sad/lacking confidence, but they are definitely in their feelings about it (mostly anger and frustration).

So did kids with lower scores that your child get in? Is that the cause of anger/frustration?

I don't know and they didn't say that. I think they are just frustrated that they are part of a "group" now that they now know they won't be part of anymore and that is kind of confusing to kids who feel like they are hanging just fine with their peers academically. My kid got into three other magnets so it's not a confidence issue or an "am I good enough" issue, and they will likely remain in the same school as their friends, but they are just kind of bummed about breaking up the band, you know? It's not the end of the world. Builds resilience.

It’s seems there are a number of kids in this position from the magnet middle schools. In my opinion (not an original opinion certainly) it’s a pretty broken process. The way selections are made is not transparent and there is absolutely an element of luck involved when it’s a poor process. It’s not kind to kids to invite them to a magnet middle school where they excel and then disinvite them from the programs all of their friends are going on to. I’m speaking from a social development perspective. I get that parents are going to come at me and say that’s just life, the kids need to learn to handle it, but my point is that the process could and should be much better designed. Even just look at the way notifications went out, so unkind to those kids who are now left with no invitations. And these kids would have had even stronger applications if they hadn’t gone to a magnet middle school. I’ve learned that magnet programs might be good for academics, but this process is absolutely not good for our children’s social development.

You make a lot of claims here but failed to back any of it up. I get that you're disgruntled and frustrated but just making a bunch of random statements isn't helpful.

Your response is overly hostile and way out of proportion. She has some valid VVF points and I'm sorry for what her child is experiencing. Middle school can be an emotional time and it's hard knowing you won't be part of the group you've been with for three years. I agree the notifications should have gone out late as in previous years. It may be more convenient for MCPS to send everything out during work hours but it created a lot of unnecessary stress for some children. Students were literally standing over other students pushing them to check the emails on their Chromebook.

PP, I don't think being in a magnet hurt your child's chances. She is richer for the experience. Not everyone gets a chance to have the accelerated curriculum at TPMS and get access to that kind of peer group. They will still continue to be friends and she will have those connections forever.

That’s a kind, thoughtful response.

[Anonymous]

Can anyone share for the short essay, is it one essay for all programs applied? Or each program asks for different topics? Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think being at TPMS or another magnet middle school makes the process that much harder from a social perspective because there will be a core group going to Blair and practically everyone applied.

My child got in from their regular MS and when they were trying to figure out if any friends got in the response she got most often was what are you talking about. They were paying no attention to the application process. These are top students who are in the cohorted math and history classes.

I'm the OP about social development. Yes that's the point I was trying to make about the magnet middle schools. Of course there's always reshuffling from every level, elementary to M, MS to HS, but the cohort from the magnet middle schools going on to these HS magnet programs is particularly large. I don't know how to explain to my child that they can do very well, as well as their peers, work hard, and they have a different result. And yes, that's the point I was making about the roll out of notifications. It was at the end of the school day and all the kids were talking about, checking their email, etc. When my kid was hearing all of their friends wonderful results, and happy for the, but with nothing themselves, you can imagine what that does for their self image, but also the bigger understanding that all of their friends would get to go on together, and they will be left out.

I agree with PP that likely 500 applicants "deserve" the invitation, and at some point with the vast majority of applications it is splitting hairs. Clearly one of the answers is having more magnet seats, including at the MS level. But this observation is of course not new, and is likely not the direction MCPS will head to in the future with the general hostility nationwide towards gifted and talented education.

I'll admit I'm also biased towards my own experiences in gifted education, which did wonderful things for me as someone coming from a background of poverty. In our school district children were identified as deserving gifted education at the elementary level and those resources were provided to us at every level. There wasn't the faux scarcity of opportunities that there is in MCPS. In elementary the gifted education was done as a pull out class several times during the week. In middle school and high school there were full magnet programs at specific schools that everyone identified as gifted moved through (if they wanted to). So there was none of this bloodbath at every level, competing against one another, we all moved together. I regret my child isn't in a district that provides the accelerated education and gifted learning cohort to every student that needs it or would benefit from it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't think the list is malicious. But I do think that it makes kids feel bad if they didn't get in and are watching many of their friends get in. It's kind of overwhelming. My kid wasn't even waitlisted and they are a straight A 99%ile TPMS magnet kid. They are not sad/lacking confidence, but they are definitely in their feelings about it (mostly anger and frustration).

So did kids with lower scores that your child get in? Is that the cause of anger/frustration?

I don't know and they didn't say that. I think they are just frustrated that they are part of a "group" now that they now know they won't be part of anymore and that is kind of confusing to kids who feel like they are hanging just fine with their peers academically. My kid got into three other magnets so it's not a confidence issue or an "am I good enough" issue, and they will likely remain in the same school as their friends, but they are just kind of bummed about breaking up the band, you know? It's not the end of the world. Builds resilience.

It’s seems there are a number of kids in this position from the magnet middle schools. In my opinion (not an original opinion certainly) it’s a pretty broken process. The way selections are made is not transparent and there is absolutely an element of luck involved when it’s a poor process. It’s not kind to kids to invite them to a magnet middle school where they excel and then disinvite them from the programs all of their friends are going on to. I’m speaking from a social development perspective. I get that parents are going to come at me and say that’s just life, the kids need to learn to handle it, but my point is that the process could and should be much better designed. Even just look at the way notifications went out, so unkind to those kids who are now left with no invitations. And these kids would have had even stronger applications if they hadn’t gone to a magnet middle school. I’ve learned that magnet programs might be good for academics, but this process is absolutely not good for our children’s social development.

You make a lot of claims here but failed to back any of it up. I get that you're disgruntled and frustrated but just making a bunch of random statements isn't helpful.

Your response is overly hostile and way out of proportion. She has some valid VVF points and I'm sorry for what her child is experiencing. Middle school can be an emotional time and it's hard knowing you won't be part of the group you've been with for three years. I agree the notifications should have gone out late as in previous years. It may be more convenient for MCPS to send everything out during work hours but it created a lot of unnecessary stress for some children. Students were literally standing over other students pushing them to check the emails on their Chromebook.

PP, I don't think being in a magnet hurt your child's chances. She is richer for the experience. Not everyone gets a chance to have the accelerated curriculum at TPMS and get access to that kind of peer group. They will still continue to be friends and she will have those connections forever.

That’s a kind, thoughtful response.

Yes, thank you for your response.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can anyone share for the short essay, is it one essay for all programs applied? Or each program asks for different topics? Thanks.

One longer paragraph and several short answers. The same for all programs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think being at TPMS or another magnet middle school makes the process that much harder from a social perspective because there will be a core group going to Blair and practically everyone applied.

My child got in from their regular MS and when they were trying to figure out if any friends got in the response she got most often was what are you talking about. They were paying no attention to the application process. These are top students who are in the cohorted math and history classes.

I'm the OP about social development. Yes that's the point I was trying to make about the magnet middle schools. Of course there's always reshuffling from every level, elementary to M, MS to HS, but the cohort from the magnet middle schools going on to these HS magnet programs is particularly large. I don't know how to explain to my child that they can do very well, as well as their peers, work hard, and they have a different result. And yes, that's the point I was making about the roll out of notifications. It was at the end of the school day and all the kids were talking about, checking their email, etc. When my kid was hearing all of their friends wonderful results, and happy for the, but with nothing themselves, you can imagine what that does for their self image, but also the bigger understanding that all of their friends would get to go on together, and they will be left out.

I agree with PP that likely 500 applicants "deserve" the invitation, and at some point with the vast majority of applications it is splitting hairs. Clearly one of the answers is having more magnet seats, including at the MS level. But this observation is of course not new, and is likely not the direction MCPS will head to in the future with the general hostility nationwide towards gifted and talented education.

I'll admit I'm also biased towards my own experiences in gifted education, which did wonderful things for me as someone coming from a background of poverty. In our school district children were identified as deserving gifted education at the elementary level and those resources were provided to us at every level. There wasn't the faux scarcity of opportunities that there is in MCPS. In elementary the gifted education was done as a pull out class several times during the week. In middle school and high school there were full magnet programs at specific schools that everyone identified as gifted moved through (if they wanted to). So there was none of this bloodbath at every level, competing against one another, we all moved together. I regret my child isn't in a district that provides the accelerated education and gifted learning cohort to every student that needs it or would benefit from it.

Congrats to the folks who 'got in". However, the way it has been handled is an absolute disaster. Making it so public by sending emails to kids in the middle of the week. Very thoughtless.
Completely isolating and disheartening for kids who don't now get to be with their friends even though they did the work and have the grades and scores. I absolutely wish I didn't send my kid to TPMS. Better to be in home school and have a few kids go the magnet rather than be in this situation. I don't know how the rest of the school year is going to unfold. I am frankly worried.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think being at TPMS or another magnet middle school makes the process that much harder from a social perspective because there will be a core group going to Blair and practically everyone applied.

My child got in from their regular MS and when they were trying to figure out if any friends got in the response she got most often was what are you talking about. They were paying no attention to the application process. These are top students who are in the cohorted math and history classes.

I'm the OP about social development. Yes that's the point I was trying to make about the magnet middle schools. Of course there's always reshuffling from every level, elementary to M, MS to HS, but the cohort from the magnet middle schools going on to these HS magnet programs is particularly large. I don't know how to explain to my child that they can do very well, as well as their peers, work hard, and they have a different result. And yes, that's the point I was making about the roll out of notifications. It was at the end of the school day and all the kids were talking about, checking their email, etc. When my kid was hearing all of their friends wonderful results, and happy for the, but with nothing themselves, you can imagine what that does for their self image, but also the bigger understanding that all of their friends would get to go on together, and they will be left out.

I agree with PP that likely 500 applicants "deserve" the invitation, and at some point with the vast majority of applications it is splitting hairs. Clearly one of the answers is having more magnet seats, including at the MS level. But this observation is of course not new, and is likely not the direction MCPS will head to in the future with the general hostility nationwide towards gifted and talented education.

I'll admit I'm also biased towards my own experiences in gifted education, which did wonderful things for me as someone coming from a background of poverty. In our school district children were identified as deserving gifted education at the elementary level and those resources were provided to us at every level. There wasn't the faux scarcity of opportunities that there is in MCPS. In elementary the gifted education was done as a pull out class several times during the week. In middle school and high school there were full magnet programs at specific schools that everyone identified as gifted moved through (if they wanted to). So there was none of this bloodbath at every level, competing against one another, we all moved together. I regret my child isn't in a district that provides the accelerated education and gifted learning cohort to every student that needs it or would benefit from it.

Congrats to the folks who 'got in". However, the way it has been handled is an absolute disaster. Making it so public by sending emails to kids in the middle of the week. Very thoughtless.
Completely isolating and disheartening for kids who don't now get to be with their friends even though they did the work and have the grades and scores. I absolutely wish I didn't send my kid to TPMS. Better to be in home school and have a few kids go the magnet rather than be in this situation. I don't know how the rest of the school year is going to unfold. I am frankly worried.

Based on this week’s magnet update, it sounds like a lot of kids are in this position. I do think the chatter will settle once everyone’s made their decisions. I hope the hurt is easier to manage once everyone’s done talking about it.

[Anonymous]

There's a magnet update each week?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think being at TPMS or another magnet middle school makes the process that much harder from a social perspective because there will be a core group going to Blair and practically everyone applied.

My child got in from their regular MS and when they were trying to figure out if any friends got in the response she got most often was what are you talking about. They were paying no attention to the application process. These are top students who are in the cohorted math and history classes.

I'm the OP about social development. Yes that's the point I was trying to make about the magnet middle schools. Of course there's always reshuffling from every level, elementary to M, MS to HS, but the cohort from the magnet middle schools going on to these HS magnet programs is particularly large. I don't know how to explain to my child that they can do very well, as well as their peers, work hard, and they have a different result. And yes, that's the point I was making about the roll out of notifications. It was at the end of the school day and all the kids were talking about, checking their email, etc. When my kid was hearing all of their friends wonderful results, and happy for the, but with nothing themselves, you can imagine what that does for their self image, but also the bigger understanding that all of their friends would get to go on together, and they will be left out.

I agree with PP that likely 500 applicants "deserve" the invitation, and at some point with the vast majority of applications it is splitting hairs. Clearly one of the answers is having more magnet seats, including at the MS level. But this observation is of course not new, and is likely not the direction MCPS will head to in the future with the general hostility nationwide towards gifted and talented education.

I'll admit I'm also biased towards my own experiences in gifted education, which did wonderful things for me as someone coming from a background of poverty. In our school district children were identified as deserving gifted education at the elementary level and those resources were provided to us at every level. There wasn't the faux scarcity of opportunities that there is in MCPS. In elementary the gifted education was done as a pull out class several times during the week. In middle school and high school there were full magnet programs at specific schools that everyone identified as gifted moved through (if they wanted to). So there was none of this bloodbath at every level, competing against one another, we all moved together. I regret my child isn't in a district that provides the accelerated education and gifted learning cohort to every student that needs it or would benefit from it.

Congrats to the folks who 'got in". However, the way it has been handled is an absolute disaster. Making it so public by sending emails to kids in the middle of the week. Very thoughtless.
Completely isolating and disheartening for kids who don't now get to be with their friends even though they did the work and have the grades and scores. I absolutely wish I didn't send my kid to TPMS. Better to be in home school and have a few kids go the magnet rather than be in this situation. I don't know how the rest of the school year is going to unfold. I am frankly worried.

Based on this week’s magnet update, it sounds like a lot of kids are in this position. I do think the chatter will settle once everyone’s made their decisions. I hope the hurt is easier to manage once everyone’s done talking about it.

Kids need to talk about these things. Banning the subject is the wrong decision.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think being at TPMS or another magnet middle school makes the process that much harder from a social perspective because there will be a core group going to Blair and practically everyone applied.

My child got in from their regular MS and when they were trying to figure out if any friends got in the response she got most often was what are you talking about. They were paying no attention to the application process. These are top students who are in the cohorted math and history classes.

I'm the OP about social development. Yes that's the point I was trying to make about the magnet middle schools. Of course there's always reshuffling from every level, elementary to M, MS to HS, but the cohort from the magnet middle schools going on to these HS magnet programs is particularly large. I don't know how to explain to my child that they can do very well, as well as their peers, work hard, and they have a different result. And yes, that's the point I was making about the roll out of notifications. It was at the end of the school day and all the kids were talking about, checking their email, etc. When my kid was hearing all of their friends wonderful results, and happy for the, but with nothing themselves, you can imagine what that does for their self image, but also the bigger understanding that all of their friends would get to go on together, and they will be left out.

I agree with PP that likely 500 applicants "deserve" the invitation, and at some point with the vast majority of applications it is splitting hairs. Clearly one of the answers is having more magnet seats, including at the MS level. But this observation is of course not new, and is likely not the direction MCPS will head to in the future with the general hostility nationwide towards gifted and talented education.

I'll admit I'm also biased towards my own experiences in gifted education, which did wonderful things for me as someone coming from a background of poverty. In our school district children were identified as deserving gifted education at the elementary level and those resources were provided to us at every level. There wasn't the faux scarcity of opportunities that there is in MCPS. In elementary the gifted education was done as a pull out class several times during the week. In middle school and high school there were full magnet programs at specific schools that everyone identified as gifted moved through (if they wanted to). So there was none of this bloodbath at every level, competing against one another, we all moved together. I regret my child isn't in a district that provides the accelerated education and gifted learning cohort to every student that needs it or would benefit from it.

Congrats to the folks who 'got in". However, the way it has been handled is an absolute disaster. Making it so public by sending emails to kids in the middle of the week. Very thoughtless.
Completely isolating and disheartening for kids who don't now get to be with their friends even though they did the work and have the grades and scores. I absolutely wish I didn't send my kid to TPMS. Better to be in home school and have a few kids go the magnet rather than be in this situation. I don't know how the rest of the school year is going to unfold. I am frankly worried.

Based on this week’s magnet update, it sounds like a lot of kids are in this position. I do think the chatter will settle once everyone’s made their decisions. I hope the hurt is easier to manage once everyone’s done talking about it.

Kids need to talk about these things. Banning the subject is the wrong decision.

Who said anything about banning the subject? But I don't think 8th grade is too young to learn a little about empathy and sensitivity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think being at TPMS or another magnet middle school makes the process that much harder from a social perspective because there will be a core group going to Blair and practically everyone applied.

My child got in from their regular MS and when they were trying to figure out if any friends got in the response she got most often was what are you talking about. They were paying no attention to the application process. These are top students who are in the cohorted math and history classes.

I'm the OP about social development. Yes that's the point I was trying to make about the magnet middle schools. Of course there's always reshuffling from every level, elementary to M, MS to HS, but the cohort from the magnet middle schools going on to these HS magnet programs is particularly large. I don't know how to explain to my child that they can do very well, as well as their peers, work hard, and they have a different result. And yes, that's the point I was making about the roll out of notifications. It was at the end of the school day and all the kids were talking about, checking their email, etc. When my kid was hearing all of their friends wonderful results, and happy for the, but with nothing themselves, you can imagine what that does for their self image, but also the bigger understanding that all of their friends would get to go on together, and they will be left out.

I agree with PP that likely 500 applicants "deserve" the invitation, and at some point with the vast majority of applications it is splitting hairs. Clearly one of the answers is having more magnet seats, including at the MS level. But this observation is of course not new, and is likely not the direction MCPS will head to in the future with the general hostility nationwide towards gifted and talented education.

I'll admit I'm also biased towards my own experiences in gifted education, which did wonderful things for me as someone coming from a background of poverty. In our school district children were identified as deserving gifted education at the elementary level and those resources were provided to us at every level. There wasn't the faux scarcity of opportunities that there is in MCPS. In elementary the gifted education was done as a pull out class several times during the week. In middle school and high school there were full magnet programs at specific schools that everyone identified as gifted moved through (if they wanted to). So there was none of this bloodbath at every level, competing against one another, we all moved together. I regret my child isn't in a district that provides the accelerated education and gifted learning cohort to every student that needs it or would benefit from it.

And, in MCPS, except the select few, most kids who are gifted or have SN are ignored, just like the other kids who are somewhere in-between who could use a bit more support. It sucks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think being at TPMS or another magnet middle school makes the process that much harder from a social perspective because there will be a core group going to Blair and practically everyone applied.

My child got in from their regular MS and when they were trying to figure out if any friends got in the response she got most often was what are you talking about. They were paying no attention to the application process. These are top students who are in the cohorted math and history classes.

I'm the OP about social development. Yes that's the point I was trying to make about the magnet middle schools. Of course there's always reshuffling from every level, elementary to M, MS to HS, but the cohort from the magnet middle schools going on to these HS magnet programs is particularly large. I don't know how to explain to my child that they can do very well, as well as their peers, work hard, and they have a different result. And yes, that's the point I was making about the roll out of notifications. It was at the end of the school day and all the kids were talking about, checking their email, etc. When my kid was hearing all of their friends wonderful results, and happy for the, but with nothing themselves, you can imagine what that does for their self image, but also the bigger understanding that all of their friends would get to go on together, and they will be left out.

I agree with PP that likely 500 applicants "deserve" the invitation, and at some point with the vast majority of applications it is splitting hairs. Clearly one of the answers is having more magnet seats, including at the MS level. But this observation is of course not new, and is likely not the direction MCPS will head to in the future with the general hostility nationwide towards gifted and talented education.

I'll admit I'm also biased towards my own experiences in gifted education, which did wonderful things for me as someone coming from a background of poverty. In our school district children were identified as deserving gifted education at the elementary level and those resources were provided to us at every level. There wasn't the faux scarcity of opportunities that there is in MCPS. In elementary the gifted education was done as a pull out class several times during the week. In middle school and high school there were full magnet programs at specific schools that everyone identified as gifted moved through (if they wanted to). So there was none of this bloodbath at every level, competing against one another, we all moved together. I regret my child isn't in a district that provides the accelerated education and gifted learning cohort to every student that needs it or would benefit from it.

Congrats to the folks who 'got in". However, the way it has been handled is an absolute disaster. Making it so public by sending emails to kids in the middle of the week. Very thoughtless.
Completely isolating and disheartening for kids who don't now get to be with their friends even though they did the work and have the grades and scores. I absolutely wish I didn't send my kid to TPMS. Better to be in home school and have a few kids go the magnet rather than be in this situation. I don't know how the rest of the school year is going to unfold. I am frankly worried.

How else are they to handle it? Just give all the slots to the TPMS kids? What are you worried about for the rest of the school year? It is what it is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think being at TPMS or another magnet middle school makes the process that much harder from a social perspective because there will be a core group going to Blair and practically everyone applied.

My child got in from their regular MS and when they were trying to figure out if any friends got in the response she got most often was what are you talking about. They were paying no attention to the application process. These are top students who are in the cohorted math and history classes.

I'm the OP about social development. Yes that's the point I was trying to make about the magnet middle schools. Of course there's always reshuffling from every level, elementary to M, MS to HS, but the cohort from the magnet middle schools going on to these HS magnet programs is particularly large. I don't know how to explain to my child that they can do very well, as well as their peers, work hard, and they have a different result. And yes, that's the point I was making about the roll out of notifications. It was at the end of the school day and all the kids were talking about, checking their email, etc. When my kid was hearing all of their friends wonderful results, and happy for the, but with nothing themselves, you can imagine what that does for their self image, but also the bigger understanding that all of their friends would get to go on together, and they will be left out.

I agree with PP that likely 500 applicants "deserve" the invitation, and at some point with the vast majority of applications it is splitting hairs. Clearly one of the answers is having more magnet seats, including at the MS level. But this observation is of course not new, and is likely not the direction MCPS will head to in the future with the general hostility nationwide towards gifted and talented education.

I'll admit I'm also biased towards my own experiences in gifted education, which did wonderful things for me as someone coming from a background of poverty. In our school district children were identified as deserving gifted education at the elementary level and those resources were provided to us at every level. There wasn't the faux scarcity of opportunities that there is in MCPS. In elementary the gifted education was done as a pull out class several times during the week. In middle school and high school there were full magnet programs at specific schools that everyone identified as gifted moved through (if they wanted to). So there was none of this bloodbath at every level, competing against one another, we all moved together. I regret my child isn't in a district that provides the accelerated education and gifted learning cohort to every student that needs it or would benefit from it.

Congrats to the folks who 'got in". However, the way it has been handled is an absolute disaster. Making it so public by sending emails to kids in the middle of the week. Very thoughtless.
Completely isolating and disheartening for kids who don't now get to be with their friends even though they did the work and have the grades and scores. I absolutely wish I didn't send my kid to TPMS. Better to be in home school and have a few kids go the magnet rather than be in this situation. I don't know how the rest of the school year is going to unfold. I am frankly worried.

How else are they to handle it? Just give all the slots to the TPMS kids? What are you worried about for the rest of the school year? It is what it is.

Thanks for your opinion.