Letters sent to minority ES student encouraging them to apply to MS HCG

[Anonymous]

We have neighbors who have multiples and they are convinced they know who all the smart kids are. It's annoying.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

No. Not sneakier. I am Asian and my kids are in HGC and magnet programs. I feel that it is proper to give the same info to everyone. If there is a need to encourage bright AA students or any bright students with oblivious parents to apply - then it is more effective to have a one-on-one talk with the parents. Eventually, it should be the merit of the child that should get them selected into the program and not their race.

I do not mind 2 AA kids getting the letter. I mind that the rest of the class did not get the letter.

There is a big difference between a student getting a letter encouraging them to apply and a student getting admitted. Students do not get admitted to the magnet programs based on race. Full stop. That goes for white students as well as non-white students.

And everybody gets the same information -- unless you've seen the letter, and there was secret information in it that nobody else gets?

[Anonymous]

Thanks for straightening out a lot of fools around here. There is a big difference between encouragement and automatic admission or entry to school. Parents, coaches, mentors, and teachers are in the encouragement business by dint of the roles they play in society.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don't worry folks, the G&T, HCG is such a teeny tiny part of MCPS offerings, and falling farther and farther down Starr's List of Things to Do, it will die out soon. He'd rather focus on ESOL and teaching to proficiency. That's where it's at and that's what gets him the Common Core fed dollars.

HGC is Highly Gifted Center. HCG is human chorionic gonadotropin.

Also, Montgomery County did not participate in the Race to the Top funding, if that's what you mean by "Common Core fed dollars".

And since 14% of MCPS students were in ESOL last year (of whom 70% were born in the US, and most were in elementary schools), Joshua Starr should be focusing on ESOL.

Please post where you found this info.... 70% of those in ESOL were born in USA.

I am not buying that for a second. And just because MC is a haven for illegal immigrants does not mean ESOL should be the only focus.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:HGC should represent the general population of the gifted population of MCPS. If fewer gifted minorities are applying than MCPS should work on encouraging them. If they take race into account more than ability to have a gifted center is diminished.

Good news! MCPS does not take race into account for application to magnet programs.

It takes FARMs into account, which is race-related in Mo Co.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:HGC should represent the general population of the gifted population of MCPS. If fewer gifted minorities are applying than MCPS should work on encouraging them. If they take race into account more than ability to have a gifted center is diminished.

Good news! MCPS does not take race into account for application to magnet programs.

It takes FARMs into account, which is race-related in Mo Co.

"Related to race in Montgomery County" is not the same as race. Montgomery County does not take race into account.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don't worry folks, the G&T, HCG is such a teeny tiny part of MCPS offerings, and falling farther and farther down Starr's List of Things to Do, it will die out soon. He'd rather focus on ESOL and teaching to proficiency. That's where it's at and that's what gets him the Common Core fed dollars.

HGC is Highly Gifted Center. HCG is human chorionic gonadotropin.

Also, Montgomery County did not participate in the Race to the Top funding, if that's what you mean by "Common Core fed dollars".

And since 14% of MCPS students were in ESOL last year (of whom 70% were born in the US, and most were in elementary schools), Joshua Starr should be focusing on ESOL.

Please post where you found this info.... 70% of those in ESOL were born in USA.

I am not buying that for a second. And just because MC is a haven for illegal immigrants does not mean ESOL should be the only focus.

School officials did not have numbers yet for this year for students involved in programs that help children learn English. Last year, 13.5 percent of students districtwide — 20,480 children — were in such programs; most were children in elementary school, and 70 percent were born in the United States.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/for-another-year-hispanic-enrollment-grows-in-montgomery-schools/2014/10/03/e4ff959e-4a52-11e4-a046-120a8a855cca_story.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How is the selection process biased? Also-I don't really believe OP's story, I've been to magnet open houses and there are plenty of all kinds of people there considering whether the magnet makes sense for their kid. Frankly, the magnet locations are not going to be convenient for everybody, they are already located in areas where the population is diverse, and the racial breakdown at Eastern's magnet is in line with county demographics anyway if you're looking at AA representation. The only thing off at the magnets is gender representation.

According to my DD who went thru the magnet at EMS, although it is more diverse than her overwhelmingly white home middle school, and that is a good thing, it is still not all that diverse, particularly when it comes to African-American and Latino students, and certainly not as diverse as the overall MoCo population (which is currently 31% white, 21.5% black, 14.2% Asian and 28.5% Hispanic).

Can you please cite the data you have to support the contention that "Eastern's magnet is in line with county demographics anyway if you're looking at AA representation"? I have NEVER seen magnet attendance at any level broken down by race, neither overall magnet attendance in the county nor demographic breakdowns by magnet school. I think these are VERY important data points, but the only thing I've ever been able to find is the overall demographics at any one particular school on the Schools at a Glance pages. So, while it's possible to know the overall demographic makeup at Eastern, I don't know of any source that breaks down the individual demographics of the EMS magnet alone. If you have data, please cite.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How is the selection process biased? Also-I don't really believe OP's story, I've been to magnet open houses and there are plenty of all kinds of people there considering whether the magnet makes sense for their kid. Frankly, the magnet locations are not going to be convenient for everybody, they are already located in areas where the population is diverse, and the racial breakdown at Eastern's magnet is in line with county demographics anyway if you're looking at AA representation. The only thing off at the magnets is gender representation.

According to my DD who went thru the magnet at EMS, although it is more diverse than her overwhelmingly white home middle school, and that is a good thing, it is still not all that diverse, particularly when it comes to African-American and Latino students, and certainly not as diverse as the overall MoCo population (which is currently 31% white, 21.5% black, 14.2% Asian and 28.5% Hispanic).

Can you please cite the data you have to support the contention that "Eastern's magnet is in line with county demographics anyway if you're looking at AA representation"? I have NEVER seen magnet attendance at any level broken down by race, neither overall magnet attendance in the county nor demographic breakdowns by magnet school. I think these are VERY important data points, but the only thing I've ever been able to find is the overall demographics at any one particular school on the Schools at a Glance pages. So, while it's possible to know the overall demographic makeup at Eastern, I don't know of any source that breaks down the individual demographics of the EMS magnet alone. If you have data, please cite.

The question was asked and answered at the open house. If you contact the magnet directors at each of the application magnets, they may be willing to provide it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:HGC should represent the general population of the gifted population of MCPS. If fewer gifted minorities are applying than MCPS should work on encouraging them. If they take race into account more than ability to have a gifted center is diminished.

Good news! MCPS does not take race into account for application to magnet programs.

It takes FARMs into account, which is race-related in Mo Co.

That is not true. HGCs and MS Magnets do not take FARMS into account. Only the lottery MS (the MSMC) takes into account the SES of the home school.

[Anonymous]

I understand OP frustration, it seems in MCPS, everything is race based. Try not declaring your race on a school form, they will not desist until you comply and designate your race. I want education to be about education, not race.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I understand OP frustration, it seems in MCPS, everything is race based. Try not declaring your race on a school form, they will not desist until you comply and designate your race. I want education to be about education, not race.

MCPS wants you to check a box on a form, therefore everything in MCPS is race-based?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I understand OP frustration, it seems in MCPS, everything is race based. Try not declaring your race on a school form, they will not desist until you comply and designate your race. I want education to be about education, not race.

MCPS wants you to check a box on a form, therefore everything in MCPS is race-based?

I wrote my statement and followed it with an example whereas you took my example and declare it as my statement. A subtle but disingenuous rephrasing of my post. Herr Goebbels would be proud of your distortion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I understand OP frustration, it seems in MCPS, everything is race based. Try not declaring your race on a school form, they will not desist until you comply and designate your race. I want education to be about education, not race.

MCPS wants you to check a box on a form, therefore everything in MCPS is race-based?

I wrote my statement and followed it with an example whereas you took my example and declare it as my statement. A subtle but disingenuous rephrasing of my post. Herr Goebbels would be proud of your distortion.

Godwin.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I understand OP frustration, it seems in MCPS, everything is race based. Try not declaring your race on a school form, they will not desist until you comply and designate your race. I want education to be about education, not race.

MCPS wants you to check a box on a form, therefore everything in MCPS is race-based?

I wrote my statement and followed it with an example whereas you took my example and declare it as my statement. A subtle but disingenuous rephrasing of my post. Herr Goebbels would be proud of your distortion.

Godwin.

I've noticed the people who throw out 'godwin' do so to censure a blogger. They attempt to marginalize a person because he wrote something that is verboten due to its perceived academic intellectual illegitimacy. Of course that isn't really the case because a discussion of fascism does have merit in discussions on civil society and government. Thus it seems to me your attempt to censure is a form of fascist tactic all its own. Quite ironic isn't it…??