Downcounty middle school magnet location
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Anonymous
By definition, it is only a "magnet" if it pulls children in from out of bounds. It does not, therefore it is not a magnet. It's just a normal local public school that allows kids to accelerate in math if they have the capacity and even that's not that accelerated. |
Anonymous
One of my kids went through the primary magnet at TPES the other also was there after it ended. Both received additional STEM content and accelerated math beyond what is offered at other elemeentaries. |
Anonymous
The board of education and MCPS central office were not mature enough to have prioritized children over parents? Wow. They gotta go. |
Anonymous
If there is something that you "fully understand" then why not explain it with factual references and not just be condescending? If it's defunct, then why doesn't the magnet program move from TPMS and Blair? I understand why MCPS wants to forget anything before 2020 and blame everything on covid, but it doesn't answer the question. I still think Woodward is a better downcounty location than Blair. If you think Blair is easy access, you must live in Silver Spring? At least the kids of parents working in VA would be able to access the program that way. Public education means equal access for all the children - not just personal favorites. |
Anonymous
DP but who asked you to work in VA? The school has always been in SS. You knew the location of the school before accepting a job in VA, right? |
Anonymous
Well many of us disagree and chose to live near the magnets because we prioritize education. You should be happy you'll have a great performing arts manget nearyou. |
Anonymous
How utterly arrogant of you. Unless MCPS specifically officially advertises it's rule that "if you work in Virginia and you want your children educated beyond the basics you should only live here (and publish a map)", I would suggest that MCPS is doing something should be investigated by the Maryland Inspector General. |
Anonymous
How stupid of you. You should have done your homework before accepting a job in VA. Learn to take responsibility for your actions. |
Anonymous
NP, but you are dense. The TPMS and Blair magnets had nothing to do with TPES's little program. One was not based on the other. |
Anonymous
| Parents - I don't know if this person works for MCPS, if this is how the current board and superintendent thinks, is there any doubt in your minds now why they need to be fired? |
Anonymous
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Oy. DP here. I went to magnets at Eastern and Blair, lived far upcounty, and now live in the Blair cluster with my family.
-The person who keeps talking about how if you "prioritized education" you'd move to Silver Spring is having you on-- you know that, right? Because that's what the W school parents say allllll the time. It's satire. -OP, yes, you understand! They are "magnets"-- "pulling" upcounty people of an on-average different demographic-- created for the express purpose of integration. IN FACT, Montgomery County, MD is pretty unique in that bylaws stipulate that "the burden of bussing shall not fall disproportionately on minority students" (or something like that-- it's been a while). That was why these programs were created, and Blair, TPES and Eastern (same cluster) were major sites of white flight in the 70s/80s. Hence, the magnets, which became fully operational in the mid-late 80s. They also killed the "G&T" bird with the same stone. -Unlike NYC and other places where like 20-30% of kids, but the vast majority of white kids, are miraculously "G&T," MCPS in the past targeted that "gifted" group quite narrowly. I fear we are moving ever so slightly in the NYC/Lake Woebegone-for-UMC-kids direction, but we are not there yet. That's why the magnets are not being placed simply at convenient locations or new schools. They still serve the primary purpose of integration. While there are places upcounty that are much less white than they were in the 80s/90s, DTSS/TP still have the highest Black/Latino school-aged population. Maybe nearby Wheaton is close. -I don't actually know much about the Poolesville program, but at the time I was in HS it was still Poolesville Junior-Senior High (with no magnet). In a sense, the "burden of bussing" would almost have to fall disproportionately on POC because almost by definition, any program that pulls students countywide to a school otherwise as white as Poolesville would drawn more POC to it (also integrating it!) but probably still not more POC of any one demographic than white people. I don't know. But then, that wasn't the subject of this post. -Although being extremely advanced can be a special need of sorts, arguably/actually requiring accommodation, most of y'all have (extremely bright!) kids that fall below that tier. But some of you think that you're owed the convenience of a specialized, highly-gifted education located precisely at the 270 spur for your future ivy leaguers. -There is no conspiracy. That's bizarre and ahistorical. The end. |
Anonymous
The poster needs to stop blaming others for their bad personal choices. |
Anonymous
Again, I ask why the parent of a presumably gifted high schooler needs their teenaged child's school to be on their driving route to work. Blair is served by MCPS buses and many many public transportation options. Parents driving to Virginia should have nothing to do with it. |
Anonymous
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The argument that magnets are about integration is full of it. While that may be one aspect of Blair, it has nothing to do with Poolesville.
If anyone believes that the Blair / Poolesville magnet locations supports all children within the county, do a google maps test. You'll find that some locations will take an hour travel time (without rush hour traffic). Blaming a parent for working in DC or VA clearly shows how out of touch the people supporting Blair / Poolesville magnet locations are. If there is ever an emergency (child is ill, school incident, etc.) or even enjoy extracurricular programs, PTA meeting particpation and other "perks" the walkers get, parents and students need to reach their child's school in a reasonable amount of time. Unless MCPS serves all children equally, it is promoting an unsustainable agenda. The idea that placing an unprepared child into a different classroom because of their skin color or because they're poor is setting them up for failure. The child and their parents have to have the desire to catch up, only then will opportunities make a difference. A parent not able to have their child participate in a program may not be happy about paying taxes to benefit other kids. Eventually they will vote accordingly or lobby for vouchers, or worse, vote in Youngkin-style candidates. If you can't figure this out on your own, then who is really out of touch? |
Anonymous
Their comment may seem harsh but it was honest and spot on. |