Recommend your public HS in Montgomery or Howard County - Looking for solid academics AND diversity

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What kind of “diversity” do you mean? Honest question.

For example: 1/4 white, 1/4 black, 1/4 Hispanic, 1/4 other

And I would love majority middle class with some working class.

So you classify Asians as "other"?

We are an insignificant group, except when it comes to being over represented in elite universities, apparently, or having high test scores/grades.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Isn't BCC the obvious answer? Excellent academics and very diverse, including 15 percent African American and a sizeable reduced lunch population.

No, it's not the obvious answer. BCC is 57% white, <5% Asian. How in the world does that make BCC diverse?

You do realize that in most parts of the country, BCC would be considered very diverse? And highly successful. Its not perfectly racially balanced though nor does the 30% of FARMS students that county progressives would like it to have. BUT, in spite of what those progressives might think, it’s still a diverse school.

But it's not what OP is looking for, nor is it considered very diverse for MoCo. If we were all living in KY, yes, maybe BCC is diverse, but certainly not if you are living in MoCo.

And I'm not a progressive, but I am a minority with biracial children, and I would not want my children to go to a nondiverse school.

I would suggest the OP go visit the schools and not make a judgment based off of raw numbers. One school might be more diverse (when defined as racially balanced) whereas another school might be less balanced racially but be more inclusive with less division.

[Anonymous]

You might want to look at the Minority Scholars groups in the High schools and see how active they are, where kids from that HS are going to college etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What kind of “diversity” do you mean? Honest question.

For example: 1/4 white, 1/4 black, 1/4 Hispanic, 1/4 other

And I would love majority middle class with some working class.

So you classify Asians as "other"?

We are an insignificant group, except when it comes to being over represented in elite universities, apparently, or having high test scores/grades.

Asians happen to be a significant group within MCPS overall, at 14%. But OP may not be aware of that, since they're coming from out of the area.

[Anonymous]

You may also want to look in MCPS at which high schools have a Learning for Independence (LFI) Program for neuro-diversity and inclusion. I don’t think all the high schools have an LFI center.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you to PPs for the Blair HS recommendation! I would not have known as the Greater School rating is a 5 out of 10
I like the racial distribution a lot but this school is big, no?

Because it's the most diverse school in the state of Maryland. If you are a truly diverse school, you're not going to get anything over 6 on Great School rating.

No, Blair is not the most diverse school in MD. In MoCo, NWHS is probably the most diverse HS. The FARMs rate is close to 40%. IMO, that is not diverse.

The count's schools at a glance has Blair at 36% FARMS, and Niche ranks Blair as the most diverse high school in the state.
https://www.niche.com/k12/search/most-diverse-public-high-schools/s/maryland/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My son goes to Blair and loves it. I was a little nervous because it's a huge school and he isn't the kind of kid to test into a magnet or any special program, and I thought he might slip through the cracks there. However, there are so many clubs and classes available, and so far his teachers have been very good. He joined the theater program, which is amazing, and has a diverse group of friends. Because the school is so big, there's really something for everyone, and they have a lot of resources (puts my small, hometown high school to shame). I would highly recommend it. Also, look into Takoma Park elementary schools/middle school or East Silver Spring elementary, which doesn't have a great GS score, but seems to have a really involved community and good teachers, including a math teacher who won a national teaching award.

It's a great school. Both of our kids went there. I love that it was very diverse and balanced. It was very close to 25% of each of the four main demographic groups.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son goes to Blair and loves it. I was a little nervous because it's a huge school and he isn't the kind of kid to test into a magnet or any special program, and I thought he might slip through the cracks there. However, there are so many clubs and classes available, and so far his teachers have been very good. He joined the theater program, which is amazing, and has a diverse group of friends. Because the school is so big, there's really something for everyone, and they have a lot of resources (puts my small, hometown high school to shame). I would highly recommend it. Also, look into Takoma Park elementary schools/middle school or East Silver Spring elementary, which doesn't have a great GS score, but seems to have a really involved community and good teachers, including a math teacher who won a national teaching award.

It's a great school. Both of our kids went there. I love that it was very diverse and balanced. It was very close to 25% of each of the four main demographic groups.

Two kids in Blair and both love it. I too was worried about the size, but it hasn't phased my kids at all. It feels like a real community, and there is phenomenal school spirit. Both kids are athletes and I've been particularly impressed by the sportsmanship, teamwork, and maturity demonstrated by most of these teams. I've never been treated by anything other than respect by the kids when I've visited the schools, and I'd say that both kids (one magnet, one not) are getting a top-notch education. The diversity is wonderful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you to PPs for the Blair HS recommendation! I would not have known as the Greater School rating is a 5 out of 10
I like the racial distribution a lot but this school is big, no?

Because it's the most diverse school in the state of Maryland. If you are a truly diverse school, you're not going to get anything over 6 on Great School rating.

No, Blair is not the most diverse school in MD. In MoCo, NWHS is probably the most diverse HS. The FARMs rate is close to 40%. IMO, that is not diverse.

The count's schools at a glance has Blair at 36% FARMS, and Niche ranks Blair as the most diverse high school in the state.
https://www.niche.com/k12/search/most-diverse-public-high-schools/s/maryland/

So having 36% FARMs is what makes it the most diverse school in MCPS?

Per MCSP own website,

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/regulatoryaccountability/glance/currentyear/schools/04757.pdf

AS 15.1%
BL 23.8
HI 33.9
WH 22.5

Now, let's look at NWHS:

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/regulatoryaccountability/glance/currentyear/schools/04246.pdf

AS 20%
BL 26.3
HI 20.5
WH 28
FARMS 22.5%

I don't know about you, but to me, NWS seems more equally diverse and is what OP was looking for than Blair. Even RMHS is more equally diverse than Blair.

Again, I have no idea why niche would rank Blair as the most diverse HS in MD, honestly, FARMS rate of 36% is pretty high. I think there was a study that indicated having a FARMS rate of 25% or less was the ideal for low income students and achievement.

[Anonymous]

Richard Montgomery

[Anonymous]

Hammond high school in Howard county. Google it, you will find enough articles.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What kind of “diversity” do you mean? Honest question.

For example: 1/4 white, 1/4 black, 1/4 Hispanic, 1/4 other

And I would love majority middle class with some working class.

So you classify Asians as "other"?

We are an insignificant group, except when it comes to being over represented in elite universities, apparently, or having high test scores/grades.

Asians happen to be a significant group within MCPS overall, at 14%. But OP may not be aware of that, since they're coming from out of the area.

OP is unlikely to find a very racially and economically diverse school with a significant Asian population of it isn’t magnet. Our zoned ES has the “less than” designation for Asian students last I looked.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thank you to PPs for the Blair HS recommendation! I would not have known as the Greater School rating is a 5 out of 10
I like the racial distribution a lot but this school is big, no?

Great Schools is racist and elitist - don't put stock in their ratings.

And I would recommend Richard Montgomery.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What kind of “diversity” do you mean? Honest question.

For example: 1/4 white, 1/4 black, 1/4 Hispanic, 1/4 other

And I would love majority middle class with some working class.

So you classify Asians as "other"?

We are an insignificant group, except when it comes to being over represented in elite universities, apparently, or having high test scores/grades.

Asians happen to be a significant group within MCPS overall, at 14%. But OP may not be aware of that, since they're coming from out of the area.

OP is unlikely to find a very racially and economically diverse school with a significant Asian population of it isn’t magnet. Our zoned ES has the “less than” designation for Asian students last I looked.

Clarksburg schools. Of course then you're in Clarksburg, which is not necessarily a convenient location for most people.