Any high MAP+M(290+), straight As, and strong stem honor/award kids did not get in PHS/Blair SMACS?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes. Nothing is a guarantee. Especially if the committee thinks the application is written by a striver mom, not the kid.

"290+" is a mid score, unless that "+" is doing a lot of work.

Or the committee thinks that the test score was lucky and not consistent with the rest of performance across other areas of evaluation.

It’s probably pretty rare to reject such students with strong stem awards and high MAP M. Outliers always exist but maybe with some reasons

There aren’t that many “strong STEM honors/awards” available to middle schoolers. So if the kids have them at that age, that’s more indicative of parental resources.

There are. Math Kangaroo, mathcount, mathleague, science bowl, AMC 8, Montgomery Blair math tournament, etc

These must be pay to play. Never heard of them.

They’re not exactly pay to play in that you need thousands to enter. But without some extra coaching (which could be $$), most kids wouldn’t be able to stand out. And Montgomery Blair math tournament and science bowl are team competitions. You’d need a cohort of fellow smart students. My kid’s MCPS MS doesn’t send kids to science bowl and it requires a faculty sponsor so it’s not like a team of kids can enter on their own.

They are pay to play. Many MCPS schools don't offer or support stem. There are plenty of schools with a cohort, but people like you like to pretend that these other kids aren't qualified. But, that's MCPS equity for you which is why they probably stopped using the term, but unleashing potential is a joke when they hold our kids back.

Free admission + free lunch isn't "pay to play"

https://mbmt.mbhs.edu/info/

Both schools my kids are at don't have math teams, so how exactly would they do that?

1. Click the link to the website.

2. Read the website.

3. Follow the instructions.

[Anonymous]

BBMC will be your kids coach at a contest for free. It's part of their advertising/outreach.

https://bbmc-math.com/

Regarding cost, almost every fee activity offers financial aid discounts/free.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes. Nothing is a guarantee. Especially if the committee thinks the application is written by a striver mom, not the kid.

"290+" is a mid score, unless that "+" is doing a lot of work.

Or the committee thinks that the test score was lucky and not consistent with the rest of performance across other areas of evaluation.

It’s probably pretty rare to reject such students with strong stem awards and high MAP M. Outliers always exist but maybe with some reasons

There aren’t that many “strong STEM honors/awards” available to middle schoolers. So if the kids have them at that age, that’s more indicative of parental resources.

There are. Math Kangaroo, mathcount, mathleague, science bowl, AMC 8, Montgomery Blair math tournament, etc

These must be pay to play. Never heard of them.

They’re not exactly pay to play in that you need thousands to enter. But without some extra coaching (which could be $$), most kids wouldn’t be able to stand out. And Montgomery Blair math tournament and science bowl are team competitions. You’d need a cohort of fellow smart students. My kid’s MCPS MS doesn’t send kids to science bowl and it requires a faculty sponsor so it’s not like a team of kids can enter on their own.

They are pay to play. Many MCPS schools don't offer or support stem. There are plenty of schools with a cohort, but people like you like to pretend that these other kids aren't qualified. But, that's MCPS equity for you which is why they probably stopped using the term, but unleashing potential is a joke when they hold our kids back.

Free admission + free lunch isn't "pay to play"

https://mbmt.mbhs.edu/info/

Both schools my kids are at don't have math teams, so how exactly would they do that?

Exactly. Same for my kid’s school for science bowl. Opportunities are equally spread throughout MCPS schools. And if you can’t show you excelled at opportunities that your kid didn’t have offered in MS, you are at a competitive disadvantage for selective programs like Blair for HS.

This is compounded by the admissions criteria which stupidly puts a high weight on a single MAP-M score, which is a test of exposure to academic concepts to which many kids are not exposed rather than a test of cognitive ability.

"I'm interested in math/science but my school doesn't offer it" is a PLUS in admissions, vs a kid who didn't take advantage of school offerings.

A kid of my friend got in from a non-W school saying exactly that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For mbmt and many university sponsored math competition (hmmt, PuMAC, cmu, Berkeley math competition, etc), you don’t need a HS sponsorship. Parent can register as a coach and pay a small registration fee to attend. Kids from different schools can form a team together. Some competition is driving distance, some has online format. Math competition is probably the cheapest one compared to sports travel team cost.

Why is a team required at all? I think allowing students to compete as individuals (or form a team with similarly unaffiliated students) would be much more welcoming to all who are interested.

I think there’s good to having some team competitions and having kids learn from each other and compete together on academic topics. I also think that while having to form a team can be a barrier in schools that have nothing than an individual competition, that having to have a team can help recruit other students into these competition areas. I just wish my kid’s school had these teams!

Also, several of these competitions are national -even if they hold regional rounds in Maryland or even in MoCO, MCPS doesn’t have a say in how they’re run.

But my original point remains that MCPS emphasizes awards won as part of its brief HS application for selective programs, and many (dare I say most?) MCPS middle school kids don’t have school based opportunities to compete in academic enrichment STEM activities.

Yes, and you can't say "this competition has free registration and lunch, so it's open to everyone" when the real cost of admission is a $500,000 house zoned for a particular MS.

Kids attend from all over the county. Also, lots of W kid live in townhouses or apartments.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For mbmt and many university sponsored math competition (hmmt, PuMAC, cmu, Berkeley math competition, etc), you don’t need a HS sponsorship. Parent can register as a coach and pay a small registration fee to attend. Kids from different schools can form a team together. Some competition is driving distance, some has online format. Math competition is probably the cheapest one compared to sports travel team cost.

Why is a team required at all? I think allowing students to compete as individuals (or form a team with similarly unaffiliated students) would be much more welcoming to all who are interested.

I think there’s good to having some team competitions and having kids learn from each other and compete together on academic topics. I also think that while having to form a team can be a barrier in schools that have nothing than an individual competition, that having to have a team can help recruit other students into these competition areas. I just wish my kid’s school had these teams!

Also, several of these competitions are national -even if they hold regional rounds in Maryland or even in MoCO, MCPS doesn’t have a say in how they’re run.

But my original point remains that MCPS emphasizes awards won as part of its brief HS application for selective programs, and many (dare I say most?) MCPS middle school kids don’t have school based opportunities to compete in academic enrichment STEM activities.

It doesn't "emphasize" awards. It lists awards in a list with "classes" and "actvities". Khan academy is an example of a totally free class/activity that teaches math beyond what your school offers (also gets you the "exposure " you need for that golden ring of 350 MAP score)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For mbmt and many university sponsored math competition (hmmt, PuMAC, cmu, Berkeley math competition, etc), you don’t need a HS sponsorship. Parent can register as a coach and pay a small registration fee to attend. Kids from different schools can form a team together. Some competition is driving distance, some has online format. Math competition is probably the cheapest one compared to sports travel team cost.

Why is a team required at all? I think allowing students to compete as individuals (or form a team with similarly unaffiliated students) would be much more welcoming to all who are interested.

Team is not required at all!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes. Nothing is a guarantee. Especially if the committee thinks the application is written by a striver mom, not the kid.

"290+" is a mid score, unless that "+" is doing a lot of work.

Or the committee thinks that the test score was lucky and not consistent with the rest of performance across other areas of evaluation.

It’s probably pretty rare to reject such students with strong stem awards and high MAP M. Outliers always exist but maybe with some reasons

There aren’t that many “strong STEM honors/awards” available to middle schoolers. So if the kids have them at that age, that’s more indicative of parental resources.

There are. Math Kangaroo, mathcount, mathleague, science bowl, AMC 8, Montgomery Blair math tournament, etc

These must be pay to play. Never heard of them.

They’re not exactly pay to play in that you need thousands to enter. But without some extra coaching (which could be $$), most kids wouldn’t be able to stand out. And Montgomery Blair math tournament and science bowl are team competitions. You’d need a cohort of fellow smart students. My kid’s MCPS MS doesn’t send kids to science bowl and it requires a faculty sponsor so it’s not like a team of kids can enter on their own.

They are pay to play. Many MCPS schools don't offer or support stem. There are plenty of schools with a cohort, but people like you like to pretend that these other kids aren't qualified. But, that's MCPS equity for you which is why they probably stopped using the term, but unleashing potential is a joke when they hold our kids back.

Free admission + free lunch isn't "pay to play"

https://mbmt.mbhs.edu/info/

Also free t-shirt, which is really a cost, both ecologically and fashionably.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For mbmt and many university sponsored math competition (hmmt, PuMAC, cmu, Berkeley math competition, etc), you don’t need a HS sponsorship. Parent can register as a coach and pay a small registration fee to attend. Kids from different schools can form a team together. Some competition is driving distance, some has online format. Math competition is probably the cheapest one compared to sports travel team cost.

Why is a team required at all? I think allowing students to compete as individuals (or form a team with similarly unaffiliated students) would be much more welcoming to all who are interested.

I think there’s good to having some team competitions and having kids learn from each other and compete together on academic topics. I also think that while having to form a team can be a barrier in schools that have nothing than an individual competition, that having to have a team can help recruit other students into these competition areas. I just wish my kid’s school had these teams!

Also, several of these competitions are national -even if they hold regional rounds in Maryland or even in MoCO, MCPS doesn’t have a say in how they’re run.

But my original point remains that MCPS emphasizes awards won as part of its brief HS application for selective programs, and many (dare I say most?) MCPS middle school kids don’t have school based opportunities to compete in academic enrichment STEM activities.

Yes, and you can't say "this competition has free registration and lunch, so it's open to everyone" when the real cost of admission is a $500,000 house zoned for a particular MS.

Kids attend from all over the county. Also, lots of W kid live in townhouses or apartments.

Even the townhouse cost between 1-2mil zoned for Whitman

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For mbmt and many university sponsored math competition (hmmt, PuMAC, cmu, Berkeley math competition, etc), you don’t need a HS sponsorship. Parent can register as a coach and pay a small registration fee to attend. Kids from different schools can form a team together. Some competition is driving distance, some has online format. Math competition is probably the cheapest one compared to sports travel team cost.

Why is a team required at all? I think allowing students to compete as individuals (or form a team with similarly unaffiliated students) would be much more welcoming to all who are interested.

I think there’s good to having some team competitions and having kids learn from each other and compete together on academic topics. I also think that while having to form a team can be a barrier in schools that have nothing than an individual competition, that having to have a team can help recruit other students into these competition areas. I just wish my kid’s school had these teams!

Also, several of these competitions are national -even if they hold regional rounds in Maryland or even in MoCO, MCPS doesn’t have a say in how they’re run.

But my original point remains that MCPS emphasizes awards won as part of its brief HS application for selective programs, and many (dare I say most?) MCPS middle school kids don’t have school based opportunities to compete in academic enrichment STEM activities.

It doesn't "emphasize" awards. It lists awards in a list with "classes" and "actvities". Khan academy is an example of a totally free class/activity that teaches math beyond what your school offers (also gets you the "exposure " you need for that golden ring of 350 MAP score)

The application is extremely short, and one of the few things it includes is a section on awards.

And using Khan Academy hardly compares to the exposure that kids get when their parents insist to the Principal that they need to take Algebra 1 in 6th grade, when it's not an option offered to 99% of MCPS kids. These kids get the exposure through fully-taught classes, and then get the scores they need to get into the selective HS programs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes. Nothing is a guarantee. Especially if the committee thinks the application is written by a striver mom, not the kid.

"290+" is a mid score, unless that "+" is doing a lot of work.

Or the committee thinks that the test score was lucky and not consistent with the rest of performance across other areas of evaluation.

It’s probably pretty rare to reject such students with strong stem awards and high MAP M. Outliers always exist but maybe with some reasons

There aren’t that many “strong STEM honors/awards” available to middle schoolers. So if the kids have them at that age, that’s more indicative of parental resources.

There are. Math Kangaroo, mathcount, mathleague, science bowl, AMC 8, Montgomery Blair math tournament, etc

These must be pay to play. Never heard of them.

They’re not exactly pay to play in that you need thousands to enter. But without some extra coaching (which could be $$), most kids wouldn’t be able to stand out. And Montgomery Blair math tournament and science bowl are team competitions. You’d need a cohort of fellow smart students. My kid’s MCPS MS doesn’t send kids to science bowl and it requires a faculty sponsor so it’s not like a team of kids can enter on their own.

They are pay to play. Many MCPS schools don't offer or support stem. There are plenty of schools with a cohort, but people like you like to pretend that these other kids aren't qualified. But, that's MCPS equity for you which is why they probably stopped using the term, but unleashing potential is a joke when they hold our kids back.

Free admission + free lunch isn't "pay to play"

https://mbmt.mbhs.edu/info/

Both schools my kids are at don't have math teams, so how exactly would they do that?

1. Click the link to the website.

2. Read the website.

3. Follow the instructions.

Maybe you didn't read the website, but it doesn't include information on how to enter if your kid isn't part of a math team.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes. Nothing is a guarantee. Especially if the committee thinks the application is written by a striver mom, not the kid.

"290+" is a mid score, unless that "+" is doing a lot of work.

Or the committee thinks that the test score was lucky and not consistent with the rest of performance across other areas of evaluation.

It’s probably pretty rare to reject such students with strong stem awards and high MAP M. Outliers always exist but maybe with some reasons

There aren’t that many “strong STEM honors/awards” available to middle schoolers. So if the kids have them at that age, that’s more indicative of parental resources.

There are. Math Kangaroo, mathcount, mathleague, science bowl, AMC 8, Montgomery Blair math tournament, etc

These must be pay to play. Never heard of them.

They’re not exactly pay to play in that you need thousands to enter. But without some extra coaching (which could be $$), most kids wouldn’t be able to stand out. And Montgomery Blair math tournament and science bowl are team competitions. You’d need a cohort of fellow smart students. My kid’s MCPS MS doesn’t send kids to science bowl and it requires a faculty sponsor so it’s not like a team of kids can enter on their own.

They are pay to play. Many MCPS schools don't offer or support stem. There are plenty of schools with a cohort, but people like you like to pretend that these other kids aren't qualified. But, that's MCPS equity for you which is why they probably stopped using the term, but unleashing potential is a joke when they hold our kids back.

Free admission + free lunch isn't "pay to play"

https://mbmt.mbhs.edu/info/

Both schools my kids are at don't have math teams, so how exactly would they do that?

1. Click the link to the website.

2. Read the website.

3. Follow the instructions.

Maybe you didn't read the website, but it doesn't include information on how to enter if your kid isn't part of a math team.

If you are talking about mbmt (I'm not reading every reply in this thread so I might be wrong), read Rule #6 here: https://mbmt.mbhs.edu/rules/

You can register as an independent "organization". So parent can register a group of 5 kids, as long as they all come from the same middle school. Your kid, if loving math, can surely take the initiative. Also, if you have any questions, email the POC listed in the website. They are super kind and responsive in responding your questions.
Just for advertisement, this year we will also host mBIT, likely in early June. https://mbit.mbhs.edu/ . Any three kids (no binding to school/county/state) can form a team.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes. Nothing is a guarantee. Especially if the committee thinks the application is written by a striver mom, not the kid.

"290+" is a mid score, unless that "+" is doing a lot of work.

Or the committee thinks that the test score was lucky and not consistent with the rest of performance across other areas of evaluation.

It’s probably pretty rare to reject such students with strong stem awards and high MAP M. Outliers always exist but maybe with some reasons

There aren’t that many “strong STEM honors/awards” available to middle schoolers. So if the kids have them at that age, that’s more indicative of parental resources.

There are. Math Kangaroo, mathcount, mathleague, science bowl, AMC 8, Montgomery Blair math tournament, etc

These must be pay to play. Never heard of them.

They’re not exactly pay to play in that you need thousands to enter. But without some extra coaching (which could be $$), most kids wouldn’t be able to stand out. And Montgomery Blair math tournament and science bowl are team competitions. You’d need a cohort of fellow smart students. My kid’s MCPS MS doesn’t send kids to science bowl and it requires a faculty sponsor so it’s not like a team of kids can enter on their own.

They are pay to play. Many MCPS schools don't offer or support stem. There are plenty of schools with a cohort, but people like you like to pretend that these other kids aren't qualified. But, that's MCPS equity for you which is why they probably stopped using the term, but unleashing potential is a joke when they hold our kids back.

Free admission + free lunch isn't "pay to play"

https://mbmt.mbhs.edu/info/

Both schools my kids are at don't have math teams, so how exactly would they do that?

1. Click the link to the website.

2. Read the website.

3. Follow the instructions.

Maybe you didn't read the website, but it doesn't include information on how to enter if your kid isn't part of a math team.

If you are talking about mbmt (I'm not reading every reply in this thread so I might be wrong), read Rule #6 here: https://mbmt.mbhs.edu/rules/

You can register as an independent "organization". So parent can register a group of 5 kids, as long as they all come from the same middle school. Your kid, if loving math, can surely take the initiative. Also, if you have any questions, email the POC listed in the website. They are super kind and responsive in responding your questions.
Just for advertisement, this year we will also host mBIT, likely in early June. https://mbit.mbhs.edu/ . Any three kids (no binding to school/county/state) can form a team.

How is that not a team? Basically parents at underresourced MCPS schools need to take it upon themselves to guide their kid to source several kids, coach the team and get the kids there.

If you can’t see the difference between the level of resources that requires from kids and parents at schools that are already lacking in resources, that’s a shame.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For mbmt and many university sponsored math competition (hmmt, PuMAC, cmu, Berkeley math competition, etc), you don’t need a HS sponsorship. Parent can register as a coach and pay a small registration fee to attend. Kids from different schools can form a team together. Some competition is driving distance, some has online format. Math competition is probably the cheapest one compared to sports travel team cost.

Why is a team required at all? I think allowing students to compete as individuals (or form a team with similarly unaffiliated students) would be much more welcoming to all who are interested.

I think there’s good to having some team competitions and having kids learn from each other and compete together on academic topics. I also think that while having to form a team can be a barrier in schools that have nothing than an individual competition, that having to have a team can help recruit other students into these competition areas. I just wish my kid’s school had these teams!

Also, several of these competitions are national -even if they hold regional rounds in Maryland or even in MoCO, MCPS doesn’t have a say in how they’re run.

But my original point remains that MCPS emphasizes awards won as part of its brief HS application for selective programs, and many (dare I say most?) MCPS middle school kids don’t have school based opportunities to compete in academic enrichment STEM activities.

Yes, and you can't say "this competition has free registration and lunch, so it's open to everyone" when the real cost of admission is a $500,000 house zoned for a particular MS.

What a dumb take

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes. Nothing is a guarantee. Especially if the committee thinks the application is written by a striver mom, not the kid.

"290+" is a mid score, unless that "+" is doing a lot of work.

Or the committee thinks that the test score was lucky and not consistent with the rest of performance across other areas of evaluation.

It’s probably pretty rare to reject such students with strong stem awards and high MAP M. Outliers always exist but maybe with some reasons

There aren’t that many “strong STEM honors/awards” available to middle schoolers. So if the kids have them at that age, that’s more indicative of parental resources.

There are. Math Kangaroo, mathcount, mathleague, science bowl, AMC 8, Montgomery Blair math tournament, etc

These must be pay to play. Never heard of them.

They’re not exactly pay to play in that you need thousands to enter. But without some extra coaching (which could be $$), most kids wouldn’t be able to stand out. And Montgomery Blair math tournament and science bowl are team competitions. You’d need a cohort of fellow smart students. My kid’s MCPS MS doesn’t send kids to science bowl and it requires a faculty sponsor so it’s not like a team of kids can enter on their own.

They are pay to play. Many MCPS schools don't offer or support stem. There are plenty of schools with a cohort, but people like you like to pretend that these other kids aren't qualified. But, that's MCPS equity for you which is why they probably stopped using the term, but unleashing potential is a joke when they hold our kids back.

Free admission + free lunch isn't "pay to play"

https://mbmt.mbhs.edu/info/

Both schools my kids are at don't have math teams, so how exactly would they do that?

1. Click the link to the website.

2. Read the website.

3. Follow the instructions.

Maybe you didn't read the website, but it doesn't include information on how to enter if your kid isn't part of a math team.

If you are talking about mbmt (I'm not reading every reply in this thread so I might be wrong), read Rule #6 here: https://mbmt.mbhs.edu/rules/

You can register as an independent "organization". So parent can register a group of 5 kids, as long as they all come from the same middle school. Your kid, if loving math, can surely take the initiative. Also, if you have any questions, email the POC listed in the website. They are super kind and responsive in responding your questions.
Just for advertisement, this year we will also host mBIT, likely in early June. https://mbit.mbhs.edu/ . Any three kids (no binding to school/county/state) can form a team.

How is that not a team? Basically parents at underresourced MCPS schools need to take it upon themselves to guide their kid to source several kids, coach the team and get the kids there.

If you can’t see the difference between the level of resources that requires from kids and parents at schools that are already lacking in resources, that’s a shame.

Y'all rather complain instead of taking actions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes. Nothing is a guarantee. Especially if the committee thinks the application is written by a striver mom, not the kid.

"290+" is a mid score, unless that "+" is doing a lot of work.

Or the committee thinks that the test score was lucky and not consistent with the rest of performance across other areas of evaluation.

It’s probably pretty rare to reject such students with strong stem awards and high MAP M. Outliers always exist but maybe with some reasons

There aren’t that many “strong STEM honors/awards” available to middle schoolers. So if the kids have them at that age, that’s more indicative of parental resources.

There are. Math Kangaroo, mathcount, mathleague, science bowl, AMC 8, Montgomery Blair math tournament, etc

These must be pay to play. Never heard of them.

They’re not exactly pay to play in that you need thousands to enter. But without some extra coaching (which could be $$), most kids wouldn’t be able to stand out. And Montgomery Blair math tournament and science bowl are team competitions. You’d need a cohort of fellow smart students. My kid’s MCPS MS doesn’t send kids to science bowl and it requires a faculty sponsor so it’s not like a team of kids can enter on their own.

They are pay to play. Many MCPS schools don't offer or support stem. There are plenty of schools with a cohort, but people like you like to pretend that these other kids aren't qualified. But, that's MCPS equity for you which is why they probably stopped using the term, but unleashing potential is a joke when they hold our kids back.

Free admission + free lunch isn't "pay to play"

https://mbmt.mbhs.edu/info/

Both schools my kids are at don't have math teams, so how exactly would they do that?

1. Click the link to the website.

2. Read the website.

3. Follow the instructions.

Maybe you didn't read the website, but it doesn't include information on how to enter if your kid isn't part of a math team.

If you are talking about mbmt (I'm not reading every reply in this thread so I might be wrong), read Rule #6 here: https://mbmt.mbhs.edu/rules/

You can register as an independent "organization". So parent can register a group of 5 kids, as long as they all come from the same middle school. Your kid, if loving math, can surely take the initiative. Also, if you have any questions, email the POC listed in the website. They are super kind and responsive in responding your questions.
Just for advertisement, this year we will also host mBIT, likely in early June. https://mbit.mbhs.edu/ . Any three kids (no binding to school/county/state) can form a team.

How is that not a team? Basically parents at underresourced MCPS schools need to take it upon themselves to guide their kid to source several kids, coach the team and get the kids there.

If you can’t see the difference between the level of resources that requires from kids and parents at schools that are already lacking in resources, that’s a shame.

What resources they give to middle schools? All school parents need to take it upon themselves and be the club coach. Teachers only sponsor the club and don’t coach.