New Magnet IB High School

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Actually you could do some massive shuffling that would not create bus routes that are too crazy.

1. Shift a bunch of Whitman kids out of Whitman into the next closest school which is BCC.
2. Shift the FARMS kids at BCC into Whitman. Shift a bunch of white BCC kids into Blair.
3. Shift a bunch of FARMS kids at Blair into BCC. Move the SMAC and CAPS program up to Kennedy.

Outcome - Kennedy gets an additional 20% white/asian high performers. Whitman gets 20% FARMS, BCC gets another 5-10% FARMS and Blair stays about the same in terms of FARMS but you reduce some of the overcrowding at Blair. No one is on a crazy bus ride past multiple schools.

The new W consortium where Kennedy kids can go to Whitman and Churchill to Einstein makes more sense.

I love this new W consortium idea that balances FARMS and diversity at the segregated schools!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Actually you could do some massive shuffling that would not create bus routes that are too crazy.

1. Shift a bunch of Whitman kids out of Whitman into the next closest school which is BCC.
2. Shift the FARMS kids at BCC into Whitman. Shift a bunch of white BCC kids into Blair.
3. Shift a bunch of FARMS kids at Blair into BCC. Move the SMAC and CAPS program up to Kennedy.

Outcome - Kennedy gets an additional 20% white/asian high performers. Whitman gets 20% FARMS, BCC gets another 5-10% FARMS and Blair stays about the same in terms of FARMS but you reduce some of the overcrowding at Blair. No one is on a crazy bus ride past multiple schools.

The new W consortium where Kennedy kids can go to Whitman and Churchill to Einstein makes more sense.

I love this new W consortium idea that balances FARMS and diversity at the segregated schools!

This sounds crazy. Why can’t MCPS focus on education instead? They seem to have given up on closing the achievement gap with good teaching techniques and academic support

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OK stick your head in the sand or ask yourself whether you think MCPS will be able to sustain bussing in up to 20% of the students from OOB when Blair is overcrowded by 800 students. Yes the 20% number includes some kids who are in boundary for Blair but the majority of kids are from other areas in the DCC and the SMAC draws from even more schools outside the DCC. Its completely obvious that Blair can't sustain the growth and keep the magnet.

And you're not sticking your head in the sand by making up stories in an anonymous corner of the internet?

Blair was built with the intention of housing the special programs, they're as much a part of the fabric of the school as the in-boundary kids. It's also not over capacity by 800 (more like 200 which is handled by portables). I know in your head this is just about rerouting some busses, and you have some fixation on Kennedy, but you'd actually be uprooting staff who have planned their lives around working at Blair. So since you don't have a dog in this fight and aren't well informed, maybe take the PP's advice, and find a different hobby.

You sound completely absurd. The county is not planning the location of magnet programs based on staff who have planned their whole lives around working at Blair. The county is trying to get rid of concentrated poverty in schools. Blair doesn't need the magnet programs to pull wealthier students anymore.

[Anonymous]

Our home high school also is IB, but it is a low performing school. While IB is an excellent curriculum it was pretty evident that the student who went into IB had to be pretty high performing student with great foundational knowledge and support at both home and school.

I find it absolutely amazing that MCPS thinks that IB is the cure all for achievement gap if only they can have both PYP and MYP in place. The truth is that low achieving ES and MS are in no way able to produce students who can handle the IB program in HS. The number of students in low performing IB schools who end up doing the diploma or even a substantial number of IB courses is dismal. Why are we spinning our wheels on this?

If a magnet IB HS is put in Bethesda I will have no problem with it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Actually you could do some massive shuffling that would not create bus routes that are too crazy.

1. Shift a bunch of Whitman kids out of Whitman into the next closest school which is BCC.
2. Shift the FARMS kids at BCC into Whitman. Shift a bunch of white BCC kids into Blair.
3. Shift a bunch of FARMS kids at Blair into BCC. Move the SMAC and CAPS program up to Kennedy.

Outcome - Kennedy gets an additional 20% white/asian high performers. Whitman gets 20% FARMS, BCC gets another 5-10% FARMS and Blair stays about the same in terms of FARMS but you reduce some of the overcrowding at Blair. No one is on a crazy bus ride past multiple schools.

The new W consortium where Kennedy kids can go to Whitman and Churchill to Einstein makes more sense.

RM magnet should be shifted to Kennedy. RM is over crowded by the same number as the magnet strength.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: Our home high school also is IB, but it is a low performing school. While IB is an excellent curriculum it was pretty evident that the student who went into IB had to be pretty high performing student with great foundational knowledge and support at both home and school.

I find it absolutely amazing that MCPS thinks that IB is the cure all for achievement gap if only they can have both PYP and MYP in place. The truth is that low achieving ES and MS are in no way able to produce students who can handle the IB program in HS. The number of students in low performing IB schools who end up doing the diploma or even a substantial number of IB courses is dismal. Why are we spinning our wheels on this?

If a magnet IB HS is put in Bethesda I will have no problem with it.

Magnet IB is different than IB. Magnet IB will be fine outside Bethesda as well.

[Anonymous]

Is there any other school which can take magnet program?

RM and Blair, both are overcrowded. Both needed magnet to lift them up earlier, but now they are not dependent on magnet to pull high SES kids.

Magnet from RM and Blair can be shifted to high FARM schools. It will solve diversity issue and also capacity issue at RM and Blair.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Actually you could do some massive shuffling that would not create bus routes that are too crazy.

1. Shift a bunch of Whitman kids out of Whitman into the next closest school which is BCC.
2. Shift the FARMS kids at BCC into Whitman. Shift a bunch of white BCC kids into Blair.
3. Shift a bunch of FARMS kids at Blair into BCC. Move the SMAC and CAPS program up to Kennedy.

Outcome - Kennedy gets an additional 20% white/asian high performers. Whitman gets 20% FARMS, BCC gets another 5-10% FARMS and Blair stays about the same in terms of FARMS but you reduce some of the overcrowding at Blair. No one is on a crazy bus ride past multiple schools.

The new W consortium where Kennedy kids can go to Whitman and Churchill to Einstein makes more sense.

RM magnet should be shifted to Kennedy. RM is over crowded by the same number as the magnet strength.

Nah, we’re shifting that one to Paint Branch. Full shuffle scheme to follow.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: Our home high school also is IB, but it is a low performing school. While IB is an excellent curriculum it was pretty evident that the student who went into IB had to be pretty high performing student with great foundational knowledge and support at both home and school.

I find it absolutely amazing that MCPS thinks that IB is the cure all for achievement gap if only they can have both PYP and MYP in place. The truth is that low achieving ES and MS are in no way able to produce students who can handle the IB program in HS. The number of students in low performing IB schools who end up doing the diploma or even a substantial number of IB courses is dismal. Why are we spinning our wheels on this?

If a magnet IB HS is put in Bethesda I will have no problem with it.

MCPS doesn't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

You should look at the numbers and the MCPS planning documents. Blair is over by 200 now and projected to be over by 700-800 in a few years. In the past several years, the hispanic population (which is predominantly low income) has grown by 30% and this growth was under projected by MCPS years ago. Right now, 20% of Blair's population is in SMAC or CAP and these are predominately white and asian kids from other areas in the DCC and county not Blair.

Northwood and Einstein have similar population problems and Woodward will not be even close to enough to handle their overflow with how WJ is even more over populated. There is an expansion at Northwood but that is also years off and will not be enough. Blair can not get any bigger. There simply are no under enrolled schools in the eastern areas and Kennedy is the closest in being able to absorb more students with an expansion.

My guess is that SMAC and CAP will get phased out or put in hiatus due to over crowding while the staff are transferred to new programs up at Kennedy.

My suggestion is that you start mongering fish, iron, or costers, instead of rumors.

[Anonymous]

If anything the county should create more high demand magnets. There are more qualified applicants than seats. Pull integration is one of several ways to improve access to quality education.

The bigger problem is high concentration poverty schools. The consortium idea that pairs mostly segregated affluent schools with nearby high FARMS ones seems like another way to improve things without resorting to diversity busing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If anything the county should create more high demand magnets. There are more qualified applicants than seats. Pull integration is one of several ways to improve access to quality education.

The bigger problem is high concentration poverty schools. The consortium idea that pairs mostly segregated affluent schools with nearby high FARMS ones seems like another way to improve things without resorting to diversity busing.

There is no such thing as "diversity busing."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If anything the county should create more high demand magnets. There are more qualified applicants than seats. Pull integration is one of several ways to improve access to quality education.

The bigger problem is high concentration poverty schools. The consortium idea that pairs mostly segregated affluent schools with nearby high FARMS ones seems like another way to improve things without resorting to diversity busing.

Right on!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Actually you could do some massive shuffling that would not create bus routes that are too crazy.

1. Shift a bunch of Whitman kids out of Whitman into the next closest school which is BCC.
2. Shift the FARMS kids at BCC into Whitman. Shift a bunch of white BCC kids into Blair.
3. Shift a bunch of FARMS kids at Blair into BCC. Move the SMAC and CAPS program up to Kennedy.

Outcome - Kennedy gets an additional 20% white/asian high performers. Whitman gets 20% FARMS, BCC gets another 5-10% FARMS and Blair stays about the same in terms of FARMS but you reduce some of the overcrowding at Blair. No one is on a crazy bus ride past multiple schools.

The new W consortium where Kennedy kids can go to Whitman and Churchill to Einstein makes more sense.

I love this new W consortium idea that balances FARMS and diversity at the segregated schools!

This sounds crazy. Why can’t MCPS focus on education instead? They seem to have given up on closing the achievement gap with good teaching techniques and academic support

I agree. And, forget throwing good money after bad on more IB programs. They are too expensive. We need very small class sizes and strong academic supports in ESs with FARMS rates that are higher than 30%. Let FARMS students COSA into any low FARMS rate school they want. Few will take advantage of this, but some families will. For MS and HS students who are significantly below grade level focus on graduating from HS (either diploma or GED) and career readiness.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If anything the county should create more high demand magnets. There are more qualified applicants than seats. Pull integration is one of several ways to improve access to quality education.

The bigger problem is high concentration poverty schools. The consortium idea that pairs mostly segregated affluent schools with nearby high FARMS ones seems like another way to improve things without resorting to diversity busing.

So, how would you pair schools?