What did the board say about the Regional model and the DCC for upcoming school year?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If it were me this is what I would do:

Region 5:
Clarksburg - existing P-Tech program
Damascus - new Humanities program
Watkins Mill - existing IB program
Gaithersburg - new STEM program

Region 6:
Seneca Valley - existing IB program
NorthWest - existing Ulysses program
Poolesville - existing STEM program
QO - new Humanities program

Region 4:
Wootton - new STEM program
Richard Montgomery - existing IB program
Churchill - new Humanities program
Magruder - existing Aerospace program

Magruder is not in these regional magnet maps so I don't know what their plan is for Magruder. It used to be with Region 5 before. Magruder could also go with whichever region Rockville HS is in. Or Magruder could be pulled into Region 5, moving Clarksburg to Region 6, and moving QO to Region 4 - basically going anti-clockwise on that map.

Isn’t it kind of pointless to say who should go where at this point? I wish the community had more say about this before the BOE vote, but now we just have to move forward?

Not being snarky. If you all want to continue this thought experiment thats fine but it would lead to more frustration than anything because nothing can be done.

The board just approved ending the DCC and NEC and having "a regional model." The six region plan was not part of the amendment and can still change.

Is there a link to verify this? I thought they approved the superintendent’s recommendation which included the regional model and the schools that would go into each region, including Wootton going to Crown, and Wheaton Woods to Woodward?

So these assignments are not set?

Go to the Board of Education website, find the agenda for the 3/26 meeting, look at the item for the regional programs, and see what the BOE actually voted on. If you aren't willing to do that, then don't come here to berate people about what they can and can't discuss.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If it were me this is what I would do:

Region 5:
Clarksburg - existing P-Tech program
Damascus - new Humanities program
Watkins Mill - existing IB program
Gaithersburg - new STEM program

Region 6:
Seneca Valley - existing IB program
NorthWest - existing Ulysses program
Poolesville - existing STEM program
QO - new Humanities program

Region 4:
Wootton - new STEM program
Richard Montgomery - existing IB program
Churchill - new Humanities program
Magruder - existing Aerospace program

Magruder is not in these regional magnet maps so I don't know what their plan is for Magruder. It used to be with Region 5 before. Magruder could also go with whichever region Rockville HS is in. Or Magruder could be pulled into Region 5, moving Clarksburg to Region 6, and moving QO to Region 4 - basically going anti-clockwise on that map.

Isn’t it kind of pointless to say who should go where at this point? I wish the community had more say about this before the BOE vote, but now we just have to move forward?

Not being snarky. If you all want to continue this thought experiment thats fine but it would lead to more frustration than anything because nothing can be done.

The board just approved ending the DCC and NEC and having "a regional model." The six region plan was not part of the amendment and can still change.

Is there a link to verify this? I thought they approved the superintendent’s recommendation which included the regional model and the schools that would go into each region, including Wootton going to Crown, and Wheaton Woods to Woodward?

So these assignments are not set?

They did approve Wootton to Crown and Wheaton Woods to Woodward, as part of the boundary studies. They also approved in general the creation of a regional program model, but with no specifics about the regions or programs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If it were me this is what I would do:

Region 5:
Clarksburg - existing P-Tech program
Damascus - new Humanities program
Watkins Mill - existing IB program
Gaithersburg - new STEM program

Region 6:
Seneca Valley - existing IB program
NorthWest - existing Ulysses program
Poolesville - existing STEM program
QO - new Humanities program

Region 4:
Wootton - new STEM program
Richard Montgomery - existing IB program
Churchill - new Humanities program
Magruder - existing Aerospace program

Magruder is not in these regional magnet maps so I don't know what their plan is for Magruder. It used to be with Region 5 before. Magruder could also go with whichever region Rockville HS is in. Or Magruder could be pulled into Region 5, moving Clarksburg to Region 6, and moving QO to Region 4 - basically going anti-clockwise on that map.

Isn’t it kind of pointless to say who should go where at this point? I wish the community had more say about this before the BOE vote, but now we just have to move forward?

Not being snarky. If you all want to continue this thought experiment thats fine but it would lead to more frustration than anything because nothing can be done.

The board just approved ending the DCC and NEC and having "a regional model." The six region plan was not part of the amendment and can still change.

Is there a link to verify this? I thought they approved the superintendent’s recommendation which included the regional model and the schools that would go into each region, including Wootton going to Crown, and Wheaton Woods to Woodward?

So these assignments are not set?

They did approve Wootton to Crown and Wheaton Woods to Woodward, as part of the boundary studies. They also approved in general the creation of a regional program model, but with no specifics about the regions or programs.

Oic—thanks! Was confused about what was part of the boundary studies vs regional model.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And if you're talking about wealth, Clarksburg area is not poor. It is a richer area than QO. Check Zillow.

If you look at what islands were zoned to QO, you will see the reason why your statement might be true. The new school articulation is more representative of QO.

I have friends in Clarksburg and trust me when I say that that area is so much wealthier than the QO area. All the Asians and Indians who didn't want old houses at Wootton bought the new builds there and as you well know both those sets of parents are tiger parents and vocal parents - and the effect of that is Clarksburg High school which is much newer than QO has a better rating and housing prices have gone way up. I know because we looked there and couldn't afford it. A tiny SFH zoned to Clarksburg HS was in the 900's.

Think about why Clarksburg high school is getting overcrowded? It's all these new builds. Those schools are slowly emerging to be the next Wootton cluster. Hallie Wells is one of the highest rated middle schools in the county. Can you tell the same about Ridgeview which is a QO feeder or even Lakelands?

You're also assuming that because two High FARMS feeder schools left QO, QO is magically going to get more academic. That's never going to happen because the white people in QO area care more about Sports than academics.

I will also give you something else to ponder about - why do you think Watkins Mill IB does not fare as well as the P-Tech in Clarksburg? It's because of these wealthy Clarksburg parents who send their kids for extra coaching outside of school. And that is also a reason why RM IB is successful - the wealthy kids are the ones in that program for the most part. Having QO in Region 5 is not going to do much for that region but having Clarksburg in Region 5 will definitely do something for Region 5. The ones who value education will be able to get out of ganglandia (as some say on DCUM).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When will regional model actually carried out? I wonder if there is a timeline they will release more details how all these carried out, anyone knows?

I think I read in one of those documents through that link that current 7th grader families will be notified in April and May about the programs - my guess is in April they will send a notification about which high school belongs in which cluster and then by end of May they will notify parents about what courses will be available in each region. There will be another notification to the parents in Aug and September before October when they have to follow the new process of applying.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If it were me this is what I would do:

Region 5:
Clarksburg - existing P-Tech program
Damascus - new Humanities program
Watkins Mill - existing IB program
Gaithersburg - new STEM program

Region 6:
Seneca Valley - existing IB program
NorthWest - existing Ulysses program
Poolesville - existing STEM program
QO - new Humanities program

Region 4:
Wootton - new STEM program
Richard Montgomery - existing IB program
Churchill - new Humanities program
Magruder - existing Aerospace program

Magruder is not in these regional magnet maps so I don't know what their plan is for Magruder. It used to be with Region 5 before. Magruder could also go with whichever region Rockville HS is in. Or Magruder could be pulled into Region 5, moving Clarksburg to Region 6, and moving QO to Region 4 - basically going anti-clockwise on that map.

Rockville is in 4, which you don’t include.

Oversight on my part - maybe they could be clubbed with BCC - I think it's Region 1. I have to go look at a map that shows all the regions and high schools in both studies again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If it were me this is what I would do:

Region 5:
Clarksburg - existing P-Tech program
Damascus - new Humanities program
Watkins Mill - existing IB program
Gaithersburg - new STEM program

Region 6:
Seneca Valley - existing IB program
NorthWest - existing Ulysses program
Poolesville - existing STEM program
QO - new Humanities program

Region 4:
Wootton - new STEM program
Richard Montgomery - existing IB program
Churchill - new Humanities program
Magruder - existing Aerospace program

Magruder is not in these regional magnet maps so I don't know what their plan is for Magruder. It used to be with Region 5 before. Magruder could also go with whichever region Rockville HS is in. Or Magruder could be pulled into Region 5, moving Clarksburg to Region 6, and moving QO to Region 4 - basically going anti-clockwise on that map.

Rockville is in 4, which you don’t include.

Oversight on my part - maybe they could be clubbed with BCC - I think it's Region 1. I have to go look at a map that shows all the regions and high schools in both studies again.

I looked at the maps and the distances between the schools. If it were me, based on the number of students in each these schools, I will decide which region gets the extra school. There are quite a few ways to do this:

OPTION 1: Region 4 gets 5 schools

Region 5:
Clarksburg - P-tech
Damascus - new Humanities
Gaithersburg - new STEM
Watkins Mill - IB

Region 6:
QO - new Humanities
Seneca Valley - IB
Northwest - Ulysses
Poolesville - STEM

Region 4:
Magruder - Aeropsace
Wootton - new STEM
RM - IB
Churchill - new Humanities
Rockville - Medical

Modified Option 1 - move either Churchill or Rockville to Region 3
________________________
OPTION 2: Region 4 gets 5 schools again

Region 5:
Magruder - Aerospace
Damascus - new Humanities
Gaithersburg - new STEM
Watkins Mill - IB

Region 6:
Clarksburg - P-tech
Seneca Valley - IB
Northwest - Ulysses/new Humanities
Poolesville - STEM

Region 4:
QO - ??
Wootton - new STEM
RM - IB
Churchill - new Humanities
Rockville - Medical

Modified Option 2 - Move Churchill/Rockville to Region 3
___________________________
OPTION 3: Region 5 gets 5 schools:

Region 5:
Magruder - Aerospace
Clarksburg - P-tech
Damascus - new Humanities
Gaithersburg - new STEM
Watkins Mill - IB

Region 6:
Seneca Valley - IB
Northwest - Ulysses
Poolesville - STEM
QO - new Humanities

Region 4:
Wootton - new STEM
RM - IB
Churchill - new Humanities
Rockville - Medical

Modified Option 3 - Clarksburg goes to Region 6 which gets 5 schools
__________________________

Keeping in mind established programs and how much money they need to put in to each region to establish a new magnet will be considered I hope.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If it were me this is what I would do:

Region 5:
Clarksburg - existing P-Tech program
Damascus - new Humanities program
Watkins Mill - existing IB program
Gaithersburg - new STEM program

Region 6:
Seneca Valley - existing IB program
NorthWest - existing Ulysses program
Poolesville - existing STEM program
QO - new Humanities program

Region 4:
Wootton - new STEM program
Richard Montgomery - existing IB program
Churchill - new Humanities program
Magruder - existing Aerospace program

Magruder is not in these regional magnet maps so I don't know what their plan is for Magruder. It used to be with Region 5 before. Magruder could also go with whichever region Rockville HS is in. Or Magruder could be pulled into Region 5, moving Clarksburg to Region 6, and moving QO to Region 4 - basically going anti-clockwise on that map.

Rockville is in 4, which you don’t include.

Oversight on my part - maybe they could be clubbed with BCC - I think it's Region 1. I have to go look at a map that shows all the regions and high schools in both studies again.

I looked at the maps and the distances between the schools. If it were me, based on the number of students in each these schools, I will decide which region gets the extra school. There are quite a few ways to do this:

OPTION 1: Region 4 gets 5 schools

Region 5:
Clarksburg - P-tech
Damascus - new Humanities
Gaithersburg - new STEM
Watkins Mill - IB

Region 6:
QO - new Humanities
Seneca Valley - IB
Northwest - Ulysses
Poolesville - STEM

Region 4:
Magruder - Aeropsace
Wootton - new STEM
RM - IB
Churchill - new Humanities
Rockville - Medical

Modified Option 1 - move either Churchill or Rockville to Region 3
________________________
OPTION 2: Region 4 gets 5 schools again

Region 5:
Magruder - Aerospace
Damascus - new Humanities
Gaithersburg - new STEM
Watkins Mill - IB

Region 6:
Clarksburg - P-tech
Seneca Valley - IB
Northwest - Ulysses/new Humanities
Poolesville - STEM

Region 4:
QO - ??
Wootton - new STEM
RM - IB
Churchill - new Humanities
Rockville - Medical

Modified Option 2 - Move Churchill/Rockville to Region 3
___________________________
OPTION 3: Region 5 gets 5 schools:

Region 5:
Magruder - Aerospace
Clarksburg - P-tech
Damascus - new Humanities
Gaithersburg - new STEM
Watkins Mill - IB

Region 6:
Seneca Valley - IB
Northwest - Ulysses
Poolesville - STEM
QO - new Humanities

Region 4:
Wootton - new STEM
RM - IB
Churchill - new Humanities
Rockville - Medical

Modified Option 3 - Clarksburg goes to Region 6 which gets 5 schools
__________________________

Keeping in mind established programs and how much money they need to put in to each region to establish a new magnet will be considered I hope.

Interestingly, the original version proposed in June 2025 had Churchill placed in region 3. But it was moved to region 4 during the next phase of the study

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And if you're talking about wealth, Clarksburg area is not poor. It is a richer area than QO. Check Zillow.

If you look at what islands were zoned to QO, you will see the reason why your statement might be true. The new school articulation is more representative of QO.

I have friends in Clarksburg and trust me when I say that that area is so much wealthier than the QO area. All the Asians and Indians who didn't want old houses at Wootton bought the new builds there and as you well know both those sets of parents are tiger parents and vocal parents - and the effect of that is Clarksburg High school which is much newer than QO has a better rating and housing prices have gone way up. I know because we looked there and couldn't afford it. A tiny SFH zoned to Clarksburg HS was in the 900's.

Think about why Clarksburg high school is getting overcrowded? It's all these new builds. Those schools are slowly emerging to be the next Wootton cluster. Hallie Wells is one of the highest rated middle schools in the county. Can you tell the same about Ridgeview which is a QO feeder or even Lakelands?

You're also assuming that because two High FARMS feeder schools left QO, QO is magically going to get more academic. That's never going to happen because the white people in QO area care more about Sports than academics.

I will also give you something else to ponder about - why do you think Watkins Mill IB does not fare as well as the P-Tech in Clarksburg? It's because of these wealthy Clarksburg parents who send their kids for extra coaching outside of school. And that is also a reason why RM IB is successful - the wealthy kids are the ones in that program for the most part. Having QO in Region 5 is not going to do much for that region but having Clarksburg in Region 5 will definitely do something for Region 5. The ones who value education will be able to get out of ganglandia (as some say on DCUM).

You are clearly ignorant about what you speak. Good news is you fit right in with most of the other posters on this thread.

[Anonymous]

Some of ya’ll clearly know nothing about Upcounty if you see Clarksburg moving to Region5.

The only toss ups in region6 are amongst Northwest, and QO. If four schools it’s going to Clarksburg, SV, Poolesville, Damascus. If five schools, add in Northwest or QO.

[Anonymous]

I am surprised QO does not have established programs. I originally thought that QO is considered a decent medium HS with okay students surrounded by other high FARM HS in nearby areas.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am surprised QO does not have established programs. I originally thought that QO is considered a decent medium HS with okay students surrounded by other high FARM HS in nearby areas.

QO = Sports. No established programs in QO. If QO was asked to move to Crown, no one would have put up a fight like Wootton did.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some of ya’ll clearly know nothing about Upcounty if you see Clarksburg moving to Region5.

The only toss ups in region6 are amongst Northwest, and QO. If four schools it’s going to Clarksburg, SV, Poolesville, Damascus. If five schools, add in Northwest or QO.

You should explain why you think Clarksburg and Damascus should be in Region 6.

It makes logical sense to have Damascus, Clarksburg, Gaithersburg and Watkins Mill together since the transportation between these schools is easier. Damascus and Clarksburg are low FARMS. And moving Clarksburg to Region 5 brings in an established successful magnet to Region 5.

[Anonymous]

MCPS could also just start with 3 regions and build slowly. Have a combined region 1/2, 3/4, 5/6. Nothing in the approved proposal says they need 6 regions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:MCPS could also just start with 3 regions and build slowly. Have a combined region 1/2, 3/4, 5/6. Nothing in the approved proposal says they need 6 regions.

True. They could start slow and then after the first couple of years, see where the demand is and add more programs as they go along, splitting the regions.