MCPS email: "Why would we continue the practice of denying talented students an opportunity to thrive?" "

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did folks see the email from MCPS about the program changes (also at this link: https://ww2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/publicinfo/community/school-year-2024-2025/Community-Message-20250730-b.html )? Do you think this could possibly be an actual change of approach that will carry through in other ways as well to better serve advanced and gifted students throughout MCPS?

A lot of what they cite is true of middle school magnets and elementary school CESs as well,--might this be a sign they will expand seats for those as well? ("what we’re really facing is a classic supply-and-demand problem: too many students chasing too few seats, burdened by long commutes and uneven program quality and availability. Thousands apply to specialized programs, but with only a handful of openings, most are left on the sidelines.")

And the question about "Why would we continue the practice of denying talented students an opportunity to thrive?" could easily be asked about the lack of enriched/advanced classes at the elementary and middle school level as well (they've said elsewhere they're planning to do that at all high schools.)

Might this also indicate a change for the better at those levels too? Or are there ways to use this expressed commitment to betted advocate for those changes?

Already attempted and not filled for two years in a row.

Wait, are you saying there are unfilled CES and middle school magnet seats? I don't think that's true, aren't there far more eligible kids than seats?

I don’t know about CES, but you can ask magnet middle school 6th and 7th graders about how many kids are in their cohorts the first month vs. the number of designated seats.

Well there are tons of kids and families that want these spots, so if there are empty seats that sounds like a wait-list management issue, not a demand issue. Which magnet(s) have you seen this happen at?

I think PP is full of it. Kids have no idea how many slots are in the program, as there seems to be some flux year-over-year. They might be able to tell you how many kids dropped out over the course of the year, but not whether there are exactly 125 kids in the grade.

The point is that kids are not just applying to a program. They are applying to a program at a particular school. So if they apply to the IB program at RM and don't get accepted, they are not also being considered for the IB program at Kennedy, unless they apply to Kennedy. So yes, you could in fact have schools under enrolled while others have long wait list.

We are talking about middle school magnets and CESes, which put like 1000 kids a year in the wait pool (not all of them would take the spot while offered, but still probably hundreds would ) This is not a situation where there is not enough demand.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The examples they use are from the strongest and most desirable programs. There are plenty of undersubscribed programs, and for good reason -- they are not nearly as good. Compare admissions rates and outcomes for RMIB and Kennedy's IB program, for instance. They are also ignoring why so many people need programs--their home schools are not providing a strong academic program. That's where the focus should be -- improving local school so that people are able to get a good education at their local schools.

Especially at the ES and MS level, people have been very clear that they would prefer to keep their kids close to home in their home school but would very much like more accelerated options. They did do a slightly accelerated social studies program for MS — unclear what they can’t do that for English. No one wants to put their 11 year old on an hour bus ride and separate them from friends (unlesss the kid has been bullied or something like that.).

People with an actually academically advanced child do want to put their kid on a bus for an hour. Obviously closer would be better. But some of you clearly don’t know kids who truly cannot have academic needs met outside of a gifted program.

100% My daughter did this for 4 years as she is truly gifted meaning she did not go to tutors or get prepped but made it on her own merit. In MS, they moved her up a grade and in 8th the high school teacher taught her and her cohort. Most went to magnets and are now in good or Ivy League colleges. All including mine that were in this cohort had exceedingly high GPA’s, even in the SMCS magnet program and did remarkable research. So, no! We need these magnet programs. However, there needs to be more seats as so many others didn’t get a chance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This post is from MCPS. Wish you clowns would focus on teaching and learning instead of PR.

Right?!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This post is from MCPS. Wish you clowns would focus on teaching and learning instead of PR.

Right?!!

I wish bots would stop posting about Montgomery County public schools

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did folks see the email from MCPS about the program changes (also at this link: https://ww2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/publicinfo/community/school-year-2024-2025/Community-Message-20250730-b.html )? Do you think this could possibly be an actual change of approach that will carry through in other ways as well to better serve advanced and gifted students throughout MCPS?

A lot of what they cite is true of middle school magnets and elementary school CESs as well,--might this be a sign they will expand seats for those as well? ("what we’re really facing is a classic supply-and-demand problem: too many students chasing too few seats, burdened by long commutes and uneven program quality and availability. Thousands apply to specialized programs, but with only a handful of openings, most are left on the sidelines.")

And the question about "Why would we continue the practice of denying talented students an opportunity to thrive?" could easily be asked about the lack of enriched/advanced classes at the elementary and middle school level as well (they've said elsewhere they're planning to do that at all high schools.)

Might this also indicate a change for the better at those levels too? Or are there ways to use this expressed commitment to betted advocate for those changes?

Already attempted and not filled for two years in a row.

Wait, are you saying there are unfilled CES and middle school magnet seats? I don't think that's true, aren't there far more eligible kids than seats?

I don’t know about CES, but you can ask magnet middle school 6th and 7th graders about how many kids are in their cohorts the first month vs. the number of designated seats.

Well there are tons of kids and families that want these spots, so if there are empty seats that sounds like a wait-list management issue, not a demand issue. Which magnet(s) have you seen this happen at?

I think PP is full of it. Kids have no idea how many slots are in the program, as there seems to be some flux year-over-year. They might be able to tell you how many kids dropped out over the course of the year, but not whether there are exactly 125 kids in the grade.

The point is that kids are not just applying to a program. They are applying to a program at a particular school. So if they apply to the IB program at RM and don't get accepted, they are not also being considered for the IB program at Kennedy, unless they apply to Kennedy. So yes, you could in fact have schools under enrolled while others have long wait list.

We are talking about middle school magnets and CESes, which put like 1000 kids a year in the wait pool (not all of them would take the spot while offered, but still probably hundreds would ) This is not a situation where there is not enough demand.

Middle school magnets will be "regionalized" next year. Is MCPS going to keep the CESs? By MCPS' logic, CESs are denying talented students not in CESs the ability to thrive. People in east county will be lucky to find mediocracy.

[Anonymous]

When the dumb dumbs want grade fraud the the smart ones will eventually want theirs bc they are working hard for for the teacher to focus all of their energy time and fraud power on the dumdums

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did folks see the email from MCPS about the program changes (also at this link: https://ww2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/publicinfo/community/school-year-2024-2025/Community-Message-20250730-b.html )? Do you think this could possibly be an actual change of approach that will carry through in other ways as well to better serve advanced and gifted students throughout MCPS?

A lot of what they cite is true of middle school magnets and elementary school CESs as well,--might this be a sign they will expand seats for those as well? ("what we’re really facing is a classic supply-and-demand problem: too many students chasing too few seats, burdened by long commutes and uneven program quality and availability. Thousands apply to specialized programs, but with only a handful of openings, most are left on the sidelines.")

And the question about "Why would we continue the practice of denying talented students an opportunity to thrive?" could easily be asked about the lack of enriched/advanced classes at the elementary and middle school level as well (they've said elsewhere they're planning to do that at all high schools.)

Might this also indicate a change for the better at those levels too? Or are there ways to use this expressed commitment to betted advocate for those changes?

Already attempted and not filled for two years in a row.

Wait, are you saying there are unfilled CES and middle school magnet seats? I don't think that's true, aren't there far more eligible kids than seats?

I don’t know about CES, but you can ask magnet middle school 6th and 7th graders about how many kids are in their cohorts the first month vs. the number of designated seats.

Well there are tons of kids and families that want these spots, so if there are empty seats that sounds like a wait-list management issue, not a demand issue. Which magnet(s) have you seen this happen at?

I think PP is full of it. Kids have no idea how many slots are in the program, as there seems to be some flux year-over-year. They might be able to tell you how many kids dropped out over the course of the year, but not whether there are exactly 125 kids in the grade.

The point is that kids are not just applying to a program. They are applying to a program at a particular school. So if they apply to the IB program at RM and don't get accepted, they are not also being considered for the IB program at Kennedy, unless they apply to Kennedy. So yes, you could in fact have schools under enrolled while others have long wait list.

We are talking about middle school magnets and CESes, which put like 1000 kids a year in the wait pool (not all of them would take the spot while offered, but still probably hundreds would ) This is not a situation where there is not enough demand.

Middle school magnets will be "regionalized" next year. Is MCPS going to keep the CESs? By MCPS' logic, CESs are denying talented students not in CESs the ability to thrive. People in east county will be lucky to find mediocracy.

CESs have always been "regionalized."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did folks see the email from MCPS about the program changes (also at this link: https://ww2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/publicinfo/community/school-year-2024-2025/Community-Message-20250730-b.html )? Do you think this could possibly be an actual change of approach that will carry through in other ways as well to better serve advanced and gifted students throughout MCPS?

A lot of what they cite is true of middle school magnets and elementary school CESs as well,--might this be a sign they will expand seats for those as well? ("what we’re really facing is a classic supply-and-demand problem: too many students chasing too few seats, burdened by long commutes and uneven program quality and availability. Thousands apply to specialized programs, but with only a handful of openings, most are left on the sidelines.")

And the question about "Why would we continue the practice of denying talented students an opportunity to thrive?" could easily be asked about the lack of enriched/advanced classes at the elementary and middle school level as well (they've said elsewhere they're planning to do that at all high schools.)

Might this also indicate a change for the better at those levels too? Or are there ways to use this expressed commitment to betted advocate for those changes?

Already attempted and not filled for two years in a row.

Wait, are you saying there are unfilled CES and middle school magnet seats? I don't think that's true, aren't there far more eligible kids than seats?

I don’t know about CES, but you can ask magnet middle school 6th and 7th graders about how many kids are in their cohorts the first month vs. the number of designated seats.

Well there are tons of kids and families that want these spots, so if there are empty seats that sounds like a wait-list management issue, not a demand issue. Which magnet(s) have you seen this happen at?

I think PP is full of it. Kids have no idea how many slots are in the program, as there seems to be some flux year-over-year. They might be able to tell you how many kids dropped out over the course of the year, but not whether there are exactly 125 kids in the grade.

The point is that kids are not just applying to a program. They are applying to a program at a particular school. So if they apply to the IB program at RM and don't get accepted, they are not also being considered for the IB program at Kennedy, unless they apply to Kennedy. So yes, you could in fact have schools under enrolled while others have long wait list.

We are talking about middle school magnets and CESes, which put like 1000 kids a year in the wait pool (not all of them would take the spot while offered, but still probably hundreds would ) This is not a situation where there is not enough demand.

Middle school magnets will be "regionalized" next year. Is MCPS going to keep the CESs? By MCPS' logic, CESs are denying talented students not in CESs the ability to thrive. People in east county will be lucky to find mediocracy.

CESs have always been "regionalized."

Will the centers need to change to fit the new regions? Will there be one, and only one, center in each region?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is race to the bottom for MCPS. What MCPS posted is nonsense. I don't care how many students apply for a magnet program. What matters is how many of them are qualified.

Taylor will lose his job over this debacle and he will deserve to. He is in way over his head.

It's true there are currently far more qualified students then there are seats. It's been true for years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Did folks see the email from MCPS about the program changes (also at this link: https://ww2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/publicinfo/community/school-year-2024-2025/Community-Message-20250730-b.html )? Do you think this could possibly be an actual change of approach that will carry through in other ways as well to better serve advanced and gifted students throughout MCPS?

A lot of what they cite is true of middle school magnets and elementary school CESs as well,--might this be a sign they will expand seats for those as well? ("what we’re really facing is a classic supply-and-demand problem: too many students chasing too few seats, burdened by long commutes and uneven program quality and availability. Thousands apply to specialized programs, but with only a handful of openings, most are left on the sidelines.")

And the question about "Why would we continue the practice of denying talented students an opportunity to thrive?" could easily be asked about the lack of enriched/advanced classes at the elementary and middle school level as well (they've said elsewhere they're planning to do that at all high schools.)

Might this also indicate a change for the better at those levels too? Or are there ways to use this expressed commitment to betted advocate for those changes?

To answer the question as to why. The school boards and what not are run by privileged elite who send their kids to private schools to being with. They don't want their kids upstaged by the "prols" for lack of a better epithet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The examples they use are from the strongest and most desirable programs. There are plenty of undersubscribed programs, and for good reason -- they are not nearly as good. Compare admissions rates and outcomes for RMIB and Kennedy's IB program, for instance. They are also ignoring why so many people need programs--their home schools are not providing a strong academic program. That's where the focus should be -- improving local school so that people are able to get a good education at their local schools.

Especially at the ES and MS level, people have been very clear that they would prefer to keep their kids close to home in their home school but would very much like more accelerated options. They did do a slightly accelerated social studies program for MS — unclear what they can’t do that for English. No one wants to put their 11 year old on an hour bus ride and separate them from friends (unlesss the kid has been bullied or something like that.).

People with an actually academically advanced child do want to put their kid on a bus for an hour. Obviously closer would be better. But some of you clearly don’t know kids who truly cannot have academic needs met outside of a gifted program.

100% My daughter did this for 4 years as she is truly gifted meaning she did not go to tutors or get prepped but made it on her own merit. In MS, they moved her up a grade and in 8th the high school teacher taught her and her cohort. Most went to magnets and are now in good or Ivy League colleges. All including mine that were in this cohort had exceedingly high GPA’s, even in the SMCS magnet program and did remarkable research. So, no! We need these magnet programs. However, there needs to be more seats as so many others didn’t get a chance.

How many truly gifted students attend MCPS schools? We don't have that data from MCPS, so it's hard to make claims that we need more magnets. On the face of it, more magnet programs sound great, but we don't have sufficient numbers of teachers trained to teach magnet-level courses and I am not sure that most talented students are ready for cellular physiology, quantum physics, and thermodynamics, all magnet courses.

I think the school district should have more program options available for students, but highly able students will thrive when placed with a similar student cohort and with highly educated teachers who know how to guide collaborative education with highly able students.

I don't understand why the RM IB, and Blair's and Poolesville's magnets can't continue to recruit across the new regions to recruit students able to learn at an accelerated level. We are throwing away these programs, when it would not be difficult to keep them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is race to the bottom for MCPS. What MCPS posted is nonsense. I don't care how many students apply for a magnet program. What matters is how many of them are qualified.

Taylor will lose his job over this debacle and he will deserve to. He is in way over his head.

It's true there are currently far more qualified students then there are seats. It's been true for years.

Please cite the data on which you are making this claim.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is race to the bottom for MCPS. What MCPS posted is nonsense. I don't care how many students apply for a magnet program. What matters is how many of them are qualified.

Taylor will lose his job over this debacle and he will deserve to. He is in way over his head.

It's true there are currently far more qualified students then there are seats. It's been true for years.

Please cite the data on which you are making this claim.

Just the way lottery system works 15% of the kids are by definition qualified. Though many of the disingenuous types like to compare people that have been in the program a while to those that haven't and say those that aren't in the programs aren't qualified.

Kind of how RMSC justifies not letting kids into the program.