MCPS to end areawide Blair Magnet and countywide Richard Montgomery's IB program

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Blair's SMCS magnet can't exist in its current form without a 9th period, so the students have 8 classes a semester. This requires extra funding to pay teachers for an extra period, which is a big factor in the limit on the number of students in the program. (The same applies to the Blair CAP magnet, but they are not required to have a 9th period in grades 11-12.)

My older kid is a rising senior in Blair SMCS, and my younger kid is a rising freshman at Blair, but not in the SMCS magnet. The younger one is trying to do as close to a DIY SMCS magnet as he can, but, aside from the accelerated math (4 semesters of Algebra 2 and Precalc being compressed into 3 semesters or 2 for Functions), and the accelerated CS path (which is not done by all SMCS students), he cannot possibly fit the equivalent classes into his schedule because of the lack of a 9th period. That's 4 full extra class periods over the 4 years that the magnet students get that are typically rigorous classes in interesting STEM subjects with a weighted GPA boost.

Unless other schools offer an extra class period, they cannot replicate the SMCS magnet, even aside from the actual course content.

Wait, how does it even work for some students at the same school to have more periods than others? I'm so confused...

The afternoon school bus for magnet also takes TPMS and Eastern kids. The extra period gives SMACS students one more course to take and same afternoon bus time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Blair's SMCS magnet can't exist in its current form without a 9th period, so the students have 8 classes a semester. This requires extra funding to pay teachers for an extra period, which is a big factor in the limit on the number of students in the program. (The same applies to the Blair CAP magnet, but they are not required to have a 9th period in grades 11-12.)

My older kid is a rising senior in Blair SMCS, and my younger kid is a rising freshman at Blair, but not in the SMCS magnet. The younger one is trying to do as close to a DIY SMCS magnet as he can, but, aside from the accelerated math (4 semesters of Algebra 2 and Precalc being compressed into 3 semesters or 2 for Functions), and the accelerated CS path (which is not done by all SMCS students), he cannot possibly fit the equivalent classes into his schedule because of the lack of a 9th period. That's 4 full extra class periods over the 4 years that the magnet students get that are typically rigorous classes in interesting STEM subjects with a weighted GPA boost.

Unless other schools offer an extra class period, they cannot replicate the SMCS magnet, even aside from the actual course content.

Wait, how does it even work for some students at the same school to have more periods than others? I'm so confused...

The afternoon school bus for magnet also takes TPMS and Eastern kids. The extra period gives SMACS students one more course to take and same afternoon bus time.

Wait, I assumed it was something to do with block scheduling or how long each period is for the different programs. You're not actually saying that the Blair magnet kids get a whole extra period of school every day, are you? Like, that Blair magnet kids actually get *more* education time-wise than all the rest of the kids in the county? Because if so, that would be truly nuts and one of the most unfair things I have ever heard of...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Blair's SMCS magnet can't exist in its current form without a 9th period, so the students have 8 classes a semester. This requires extra funding to pay teachers for an extra period, which is a big factor in the limit on the number of students in the program. (The same applies to the Blair CAP magnet, but they are not required to have a 9th period in grades 11-12.)

My older kid is a rising senior in Blair SMCS, and my younger kid is a rising freshman at Blair, but not in the SMCS magnet. The younger one is trying to do as close to a DIY SMCS magnet as he can, but, aside from the accelerated math (4 semesters of Algebra 2 and Precalc being compressed into 3 semesters or 2 for Functions), and the accelerated CS path (which is not done by all SMCS students), he cannot possibly fit the equivalent classes into his schedule because of the lack of a 9th period. That's 4 full extra class periods over the 4 years that the magnet students get that are typically rigorous classes in interesting STEM subjects with a weighted GPA boost.

Unless other schools offer an extra class period, they cannot replicate the SMCS magnet, even aside from the actual course content.

Wait, how does it even work for some students at the same school to have more periods than others? I'm so confused...

The afternoon school bus for magnet also takes TPMS and Eastern kids. The extra period gives SMACS students one more course to take and same afternoon bus time.

Wait, I assumed it was something to do with block scheduling or how long each period is for the different programs. You're not actually saying that the Blair magnet kids get a whole extra period of school every day, are you? Like, that Blair magnet kids actually get *more* education time-wise than all the rest of the kids in the county? Because if so, that would be truly nuts and one of the most unfair things I have ever heard of...

Yes they do. My kids were in magnet but not SMACs. The extra period would have been a deal breaker for them but it works for others. While my kid didn’t take the extra class, some kids would take classes like Health as the 8th class

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Blair's SMCS magnet can't exist in its current form without a 9th period, so the students have 8 classes a semester. This requires extra funding to pay teachers for an extra period, which is a big factor in the limit on the number of students in the program. (The same applies to the Blair CAP magnet, but they are not required to have a 9th period in grades 11-12.)

My older kid is a rising senior in Blair SMCS, and my younger kid is a rising freshman at Blair, but not in the SMCS magnet. The younger one is trying to do as close to a DIY SMCS magnet as he can, but, aside from the accelerated math (4 semesters of Algebra 2 and Precalc being compressed into 3 semesters or 2 for Functions), and the accelerated CS path (which is not done by all SMCS students), he cannot possibly fit the equivalent classes into his schedule because of the lack of a 9th period. That's 4 full extra class periods over the 4 years that the magnet students get that are typically rigorous classes in interesting STEM subjects with a weighted GPA boost.

Unless other schools offer an extra class period, they cannot replicate the SMCS magnet, even aside from the actual course content.

Wait, how does it even work for some students at the same school to have more periods than others? I'm so confused...

The afternoon school bus for magnet also takes TPMS and Eastern kids. The extra period gives SMACS students one more course to take and same afternoon bus time.

Wait, I assumed it was something to do with block scheduling or how long each period is for the different programs. You're not actually saying that the Blair magnet kids get a whole extra period of school every day, are you? Like, that Blair magnet kids actually get *more* education time-wise than all the rest of the kids in the county? Because if so, that would be truly nuts and one of the most unfair things I have ever heard of...

Yes, we are. It's been that way for years too.

Not sure how Blair gets its teachers to agree to the extra time. Do they get extra pay?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Blair's SMCS magnet can't exist in its current form without a 9th period, so the students have 8 classes a semester. This requires extra funding to pay teachers for an extra period, which is a big factor in the limit on the number of students in the program. (The same applies to the Blair CAP magnet, but they are not required to have a 9th period in grades 11-12.)

My older kid is a rising senior in Blair SMCS, and my younger kid is a rising freshman at Blair, but not in the SMCS magnet. The younger one is trying to do as close to a DIY SMCS magnet as he can, but, aside from the accelerated math (4 semesters of Algebra 2 and Precalc being compressed into 3 semesters or 2 for Functions), and the accelerated CS path (which is not done by all SMCS students), he cannot possibly fit the equivalent classes into his schedule because of the lack of a 9th period. That's 4 full extra class periods over the 4 years that the magnet students get that are typically rigorous classes in interesting STEM subjects with a weighted GPA boost.

Unless other schools offer an extra class period, they cannot replicate the SMCS magnet, even aside from the actual course content.

Wait, how does it even work for some students at the same school to have more periods than others? I'm so confused...

The afternoon school bus for magnet also takes TPMS and Eastern kids. The extra period gives SMACS students one more course to take and same afternoon bus time.

Wait, I assumed it was something to do with block scheduling or how long each period is for the different programs. You're not actually saying that the Blair magnet kids get a whole extra period of school every day, are you? Like, that Blair magnet kids actually get *more* education time-wise than all the rest of the kids in the county? Because if so, that would be truly nuts and one of the most unfair things I have ever heard of...

Yes, they do need to take an extra course, and keeping GPA high. Rather than thinking this as an "equity", ask your kids whether they'd like to take one more course, and self-study for all STEM AP tests. Rest assure that they are not considered the same peer group with your kids for college admission.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Blair's SMCS magnet can't exist in its current form without a 9th period, so the students have 8 classes a semester. This requires extra funding to pay teachers for an extra period, which is a big factor in the limit on the number of students in the program. (The same applies to the Blair CAP magnet, but they are not required to have a 9th period in grades 11-12.)

My older kid is a rising senior in Blair SMCS, and my younger kid is a rising freshman at Blair, but not in the SMCS magnet. The younger one is trying to do as close to a DIY SMCS magnet as he can, but, aside from the accelerated math (4 semesters of Algebra 2 and Precalc being compressed into 3 semesters or 2 for Functions), and the accelerated CS path (which is not done by all SMCS students), he cannot possibly fit the equivalent classes into his schedule because of the lack of a 9th period. That's 4 full extra class periods over the 4 years that the magnet students get that are typically rigorous classes in interesting STEM subjects with a weighted GPA boost.

Unless other schools offer an extra class period, they cannot replicate the SMCS magnet, even aside from the actual course content.

Wait, how does it even work for some students at the same school to have more periods than others? I'm so confused...

The afternoon school bus for magnet also takes TPMS and Eastern kids. The extra period gives SMACS students one more course to take and same afternoon bus time.

Wait, I assumed it was something to do with block scheduling or how long each period is for the different programs. You're not actually saying that the Blair magnet kids get a whole extra period of school every day, are you? Like, that Blair magnet kids actually get *more* education time-wise than all the rest of the kids in the county? Because if so, that would be truly nuts and one of the most unfair things I have ever heard of...

Yes, they do need to take an extra course, and keeping GPA high. Rather than thinking this as an "equity", ask your kids whether they'd like to take one more course, and self-study for all STEM AP tests. Rest assure that they are not considered the same peer group with your kids for college admission.

Crabs in a barrel thinking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Blair's SMCS magnet can't exist in its current form without a 9th period, so the students have 8 classes a semester. This requires extra funding to pay teachers for an extra period, which is a big factor in the limit on the number of students in the program. (The same applies to the Blair CAP magnet, but they are not required to have a 9th period in grades 11-12.)

My older kid is a rising senior in Blair SMCS, and my younger kid is a rising freshman at Blair, but not in the SMCS magnet. The younger one is trying to do as close to a DIY SMCS magnet as he can, but, aside from the accelerated math (4 semesters of Algebra 2 and Precalc being compressed into 3 semesters or 2 for Functions), and the accelerated CS path (which is not done by all SMCS students), he cannot possibly fit the equivalent classes into his schedule because of the lack of a 9th period. That's 4 full extra class periods over the 4 years that the magnet students get that are typically rigorous classes in interesting STEM subjects with a weighted GPA boost.

Unless other schools offer an extra class period, they cannot replicate the SMCS magnet, even aside from the actual course content.

Wait, how does it even work for some students at the same school to have more periods than others? I'm so confused...

The afternoon school bus for magnet also takes TPMS and Eastern kids. The extra period gives SMACS students one more course to take and same afternoon bus time.

Wait, I assumed it was something to do with block scheduling or how long each period is for the different programs. You're not actually saying that the Blair magnet kids get a whole extra period of school every day, are you? Like, that Blair magnet kids actually get *more* education time-wise than all the rest of the kids in the county? Because if so, that would be truly nuts and one of the most unfair things I have ever heard of...

Same for the Poolesville SMCS program. Those kids have to take the activity bus home most days because they still have one period left when everyone else is dismissed at 2:30.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You need a critical mass of highly able students in the same classroom, a good program, and good teachers for this to be successful. Montgomery county benefited from the national awards won by Blair, Poolesville, and RM students, by increased tax revenue for instance. It is simply not possible to achieve the same level of success with regional programs. There won't be enough interested and capable students to justify the same level of classes at the same number of classes. There won't be enough teachers capable of teaching these classes at the same level they are taught today. For all practical purposes, this is the end of a very successful program. Sad.

Totally agree. It’s just impossible to duplicate those highly successful programs across all six regions. Eventually, the so-called magnet programs in each region will become just regular programs with a few advanced classes.

But I guess no one cares.

People don't care because the few magnets slots are placed in the far eastern part of the county or upper Northwest part of the county. For the vast majority of us, our kids either didn't qualify because we haven't been prepping them since the age of 5 AND/OR we live far away and travel time isn't worth it. What is the plan for middle school magnets? IMO, that is the level where we most need reform.

Enough with the prepping them garbage. What a myth you tell yourself. Smart kids are smart kids.

And smart kids exist all throughout the county. We're not going to continue to pretend like only 90 kids out of a class of 10K+ are the only ones that deserves access to opportunity.

All 10k kids have access to the opportunity. Only 90 (actually many more) take full advantage of it. The work is very hard so those that don't want to be there or can't handle the work eventually drop out. Most normal kids don't want to work that hard. I know, my daughter is in the IB program and it's unbelievable. It's really incredible to see the level of intelligence and effort that these students display day in and day out. The conversations I hear are crazy intelligent and these kids are amazing. These are the kids that will go to medical school, also get an MBA because they can, and have a side hustle at the same time. They are machines. Lots of them are the children of first generation immigrants and some born in other countries. Some IB students live in big houses with pools others live in apartments in Gaithersburg. I had hoped the desire to tear down those that are smart and work hard had died with obvious failures of the last administration but apparently not. Really is amazing that MCPS is willing to focus on truancy but cannot stand to allow high achievers to shine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Blair's SMCS magnet can't exist in its current form without a 9th period, so the students have 8 classes a semester. This requires extra funding to pay teachers for an extra period, which is a big factor in the limit on the number of students in the program. (The same applies to the Blair CAP magnet, but they are not required to have a 9th period in grades 11-12.)

My older kid is a rising senior in Blair SMCS, and my younger kid is a rising freshman at Blair, but not in the SMCS magnet. The younger one is trying to do as close to a DIY SMCS magnet as he can, but, aside from the accelerated math (4 semesters of Algebra 2 and Precalc being compressed into 3 semesters or 2 for Functions), and the accelerated CS path (which is not done by all SMCS students), he cannot possibly fit the equivalent classes into his schedule because of the lack of a 9th period. That's 4 full extra class periods over the 4 years that the magnet students get that are typically rigorous classes in interesting STEM subjects with a weighted GPA boost.

Unless other schools offer an extra class period, they cannot replicate the SMCS magnet, even aside from the actual course content.

Wait, how does it even work for some students at the same school to have more periods than others? I'm so confused...

The afternoon school bus for magnet also takes TPMS and Eastern kids. The extra period gives SMACS students one more course to take and same afternoon bus time.

Wait, I assumed it was something to do with block scheduling or how long each period is for the different programs. You're not actually saying that the Blair magnet kids get a whole extra period of school every day, are you? Like, that Blair magnet kids actually get *more* education time-wise than all the rest of the kids in the county? Because if so, that would be truly nuts and one of the most unfair things I have ever heard of...

Same for the Poolesville SMCS program. Those kids have to take the activity bus home most days because they still have one period left when everyone else is dismissed at 2:30.

Public schools differentiate in multiple ways to serve multiple student cohorts. Want to get rid of Friday night football games because your student isn't interested in football? What about the money invested in that activity? Cancel that too? There are numerous examples of money spent on education programming, that could be canceled just because not all students participate in it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You need a critical mass of highly able students in the same classroom, a good program, and good teachers for this to be successful. Montgomery county benefited from the national awards won by Blair, Poolesville, and RM students, by increased tax revenue for instance. It is simply not possible to achieve the same level of success with regional programs. There won't be enough interested and capable students to justify the same level of classes at the same number of classes. There won't be enough teachers capable of teaching these classes at the same level they are taught today. For all practical purposes, this is the end of a very successful program. Sad.

Totally agree. It’s just impossible to duplicate those highly successful programs across all six regions. Eventually, the so-called magnet programs in each region will become just regular programs with a few advanced classes.

But I guess no one cares.

People don't care because the few magnets slots are placed in the far eastern part of the county or upper Northwest part of the county. For the vast majority of us, our kids either didn't qualify because we haven't been prepping them since the age of 5 AND/OR we live far away and travel time isn't worth it. What is the plan for middle school magnets? IMO, that is the level where we most need reform.

Enough with the prepping them garbage. What a myth you tell yourself. Smart kids are smart kids.

And smart kids exist all throughout the county. We're not going to continue to pretend like only 90 kids out of a class of 10K+ are the only ones that deserves access to opportunity.

All 10k kids have access to the opportunity. Only 90 (actually many more) take full advantage of it. The work is very hard so those that don't want to be there or can't handle the work eventually drop out. Most normal kids don't want to work that hard. I know, my daughter is in the IB program and it's unbelievable. It's really incredible to see the level of intelligence and effort that these students display day in and day out. The conversations I hear are crazy intelligent and these kids are amazing. These are the kids that will go to medical school, also get an MBA because they can, and have a side hustle at the same time. They are machines. Lots of them are the children of first generation immigrants and some born in other countries. Some IB students live in big houses with pools others live in apartments in Gaithersburg. I had hoped the desire to tear down those that are smart and work hard had died with obvious failures of the last administration but apparently not. Really is amazing that MCPS is willing to focus on truancy but cannot stand to allow high achievers to shine.

They don’t all have access to the opportunity if MCPS doesn’t create enough seats for the students who meet the criteria. They have access to the application, but not access to the program. It’s not a good look to point out how hard your kid and her classmates work to justify why they should be in the program and imply that other kids wouldn’t also do so.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You need a critical mass of highly able students in the same classroom, a good program, and good teachers for this to be successful. Montgomery county benefited from the national awards won by Blair, Poolesville, and RM students, by increased tax revenue for instance. It is simply not possible to achieve the same level of success with regional programs. There won't be enough interested and capable students to justify the same level of classes at the same number of classes. There won't be enough teachers capable of teaching these classes at the same level they are taught today. For all practical purposes, this is the end of a very successful program. Sad.

Totally agree. It’s just impossible to duplicate those highly successful programs across all six regions. Eventually, the so-called magnet programs in each region will become just regular programs with a few advanced classes.

But I guess no one cares.

People don't care because the few magnets slots are placed in the far eastern part of the county or upper Northwest part of the county. For the vast majority of us, our kids either didn't qualify because we haven't been prepping them since the age of 5 AND/OR we live far away and travel time isn't worth it. What is the plan for middle school magnets? IMO, that is the level where we most need reform.

Enough with the prepping them garbage. What a myth you tell yourself. Smart kids are smart kids.

And smart kids exist all throughout the county. We're not going to continue to pretend like only 90 kids out of a class of 10K+ are the only ones that deserves access to opportunity.

All 10k kids have access to the opportunity. Only 90 (actually many more) take full advantage of it. The work is very hard so those that don't want to be there or can't handle the work eventually drop out. Most normal kids don't want to work that hard. I know, my daughter is in the IB program and it's unbelievable. It's really incredible to see the level of intelligence and effort that these students display day in and day out. The conversations I hear are crazy intelligent and these kids are amazing. These are the kids that will go to medical school, also get an MBA because they can, and have a side hustle at the same time. They are machines. Lots of them are the children of first generation immigrants and some born in other countries. Some IB students live in big houses with pools others live in apartments in Gaithersburg. I had hoped the desire to tear down those that are smart and work hard had died with obvious failures of the last administration but apparently not. Really is amazing that MCPS is willing to focus on truancy but cannot stand to allow high achievers to shine.

They don’t all have access to the opportunity if MCPS doesn’t create enough seats for the students who meet the criteria. They have access to the application, but not access to the program. It’s not a good look to point out how hard your kid and her classmates work to justify why they should be in the program and imply that other kids wouldn’t also do so.

You'll have access to the new regional programs, but you may be disappointed in the quality of those programs. And while a lot of students apply for magnet programs, MCPS has never released data as to how many applicants meet entrance criteria.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You need a critical mass of highly able students in the same classroom, a good program, and good teachers for this to be successful. Montgomery county benefited from the national awards won by Blair, Poolesville, and RM students, by increased tax revenue for instance. It is simply not possible to achieve the same level of success with regional programs. There won't be enough interested and capable students to justify the same level of classes at the same number of classes. There won't be enough teachers capable of teaching these classes at the same level they are taught today. For all practical purposes, this is the end of a very successful program. Sad.

Totally agree. It’s just impossible to duplicate those highly successful programs across all six regions. Eventually, the so-called magnet programs in each region will become just regular programs with a few advanced classes.

But I guess no one cares.

People don't care because the few magnets slots are placed in the far eastern part of the county or upper Northwest part of the county. For the vast majority of us, our kids either didn't qualify because we haven't been prepping them since the age of 5 AND/OR we live far away and travel time isn't worth it. What is the plan for middle school magnets? IMO, that is the level where we most need reform.

Enough with the prepping them garbage. What a myth you tell yourself. Smart kids are smart kids.

And smart kids exist all throughout the county. We're not going to continue to pretend like only 90 kids out of a class of 10K+ are the only ones that deserves access to opportunity.

All 10k kids have access to the opportunity. Only 90 (actually many more) take full advantage of it. The work is very hard so those that don't want to be there or can't handle the work eventually drop out. Most normal kids don't want to work that hard. I know, my daughter is in the IB program and it's unbelievable. It's really incredible to see the level of intelligence and effort that these students display day in and day out. The conversations I hear are crazy intelligent and these kids are amazing. These are the kids that will go to medical school, also get an MBA because they can, and have a side hustle at the same time. They are machines. Lots of them are the children of first generation immigrants and some born in other countries. Some IB students live in big houses with pools others live in apartments in Gaithersburg. I had hoped the desire to tear down those that are smart and work hard had died with obvious failures of the last administration but apparently not. Really is amazing that MCPS is willing to focus on truancy but cannot stand to allow high achievers to shine.

They don’t all have access to the opportunity if MCPS doesn’t create enough seats for the students who meet the criteria. They have access to the application, but not access to the program. It’s not a good look to point out how hard your kid and her classmates work to justify why they should be in the program and imply that other kids wouldn’t also do so.

You'll have access to the new regional programs, but you may be disappointed in the quality of those programs. And while a lot of students apply for magnet programs, MCPS has never released data as to how many applicants meet entrance criteria.

It’s at least acknowledgment that there’s more need and demand than is currently being met. I just hope they quit it with their stupid magnet lotteries and don’t expand those to high school. Those help no one and are the worst.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You need a critical mass of highly able students in the same classroom, a good program, and good teachers for this to be successful. Montgomery county benefited from the national awards won by Blair, Poolesville, and RM students, by increased tax revenue for instance. It is simply not possible to achieve the same level of success with regional programs. There won't be enough interested and capable students to justify the same level of classes at the same number of classes. There won't be enough teachers capable of teaching these classes at the same level they are taught today. For all practical purposes, this is the end of a very successful program. Sad.

Totally agree. It’s just impossible to duplicate those highly successful programs across all six regions. Eventually, the so-called magnet programs in each region will become just regular programs with a few advanced classes.

But I guess no one cares.

People don't care because the few magnets slots are placed in the far eastern part of the county or upper Northwest part of the county. For the vast majority of us, our kids either didn't qualify because we haven't been prepping them since the age of 5 AND/OR we live far away and travel time isn't worth it. What is the plan for middle school magnets? IMO, that is the level where we most need reform.

Enough with the prepping them garbage. What a myth you tell yourself. Smart kids are smart kids.

And smart kids exist all throughout the county. We're not going to continue to pretend like only 90 kids out of a class of 10K+ are the only ones that deserves access to opportunity.

All 10k kids have access to the opportunity. Only 90 (actually many more) take full advantage of it. The work is very hard so those that don't want to be there or can't handle the work eventually drop out. Most normal kids don't want to work that hard. I know, my daughter is in the IB program and it's unbelievable. It's really incredible to see the level of intelligence and effort that these students display day in and day out. The conversations I hear are crazy intelligent and these kids are amazing. These are the kids that will go to medical school, also get an MBA because they can, and have a side hustle at the same time. They are machines. Lots of them are the children of first generation immigrants and some born in other countries. Some IB students live in big houses with pools others live in apartments in Gaithersburg. I had hoped the desire to tear down those that are smart and work hard had died with obvious failures of the last administration but apparently not. Really is amazing that MCPS is willing to focus on truancy but cannot stand to allow high achievers to shine.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You need a critical mass of highly able students in the same classroom, a good program, and good teachers for this to be successful. Montgomery county benefited from the national awards won by Blair, Poolesville, and RM students, by increased tax revenue for instance. It is simply not possible to achieve the same level of success with regional programs. There won't be enough interested and capable students to justify the same level of classes at the same number of classes. There won't be enough teachers capable of teaching these classes at the same level they are taught today. For all practical purposes, this is the end of a very successful program. Sad.

Totally agree. It’s just impossible to duplicate those highly successful programs across all six regions. Eventually, the so-called magnet programs in each region will become just regular programs with a few advanced classes.

But I guess no one cares.

People don't care because the few magnets slots are placed in the far eastern part of the county or upper Northwest part of the county. For the vast majority of us, our kids either didn't qualify because we haven't been prepping them since the age of 5 AND/OR we live far away and travel time isn't worth it. What is the plan for middle school magnets? IMO, that is the level where we most need reform.

Enough with the prepping them garbage. What a myth you tell yourself. Smart kids are smart kids.

And smart kids exist all throughout the county. We're not going to continue to pretend like only 90 kids out of a class of 10K+ are the only ones that deserves access to opportunity.

All 10k kids have access to the opportunity. Only 90 (actually many more) take full advantage of it. The work is very hard so those that don't want to be there or can't handle the work eventually drop out. Most normal kids don't want to work that hard. I know, my daughter is in the IB program and it's unbelievable. It's really incredible to see the level of intelligence and effort that these students display day in and day out. The conversations I hear are crazy intelligent and these kids are amazing. These are the kids that will go to medical school, also get an MBA because they can, and have a side hustle at the same time. They are machines. Lots of them are the children of first generation immigrants and some born in other countries. Some IB students live in big houses with pools others live in apartments in Gaithersburg. I had hoped the desire to tear down those that are smart and work hard had died with obvious failures of the last administration but apparently not. Really is amazing that MCPS is willing to focus on truancy but cannot stand to allow high achievers to shine.

They don’t all have access to the opportunity if MCPS doesn’t create enough seats for the students who meet the criteria. They have access to the application, but not access to the program. It’s not a good look to point out how hard your kid and her classmates work to justify why they should be in the program and imply that other kids wouldn’t also do so.

You'll have access to the new regional programs, but you may be disappointed in the quality of those programs. And while a lot of students apply for magnet programs, MCPS has never released data as to how many applicants meet entrance criteria.

None of it seems any different. The w schools have tons of courses so kids will get their needs met regardless. It’s just a regrouping to say they did something. How many Whitman kids will go to the dcc to free up slots for dcc kids. Very few. It’s all for show to deflect.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Blair's SMCS magnet can't exist in its current form without a 9th period, so the students have 8 classes a semester. This requires extra funding to pay teachers for an extra period, which is a big factor in the limit on the number of students in the program. (The same applies to the Blair CAP magnet, but they are not required to have a 9th period in grades 11-12.)

My older kid is a rising senior in Blair SMCS, and my younger kid is a rising freshman at Blair, but not in the SMCS magnet. The younger one is trying to do as close to a DIY SMCS magnet as he can, but, aside from the accelerated math (4 semesters of Algebra 2 and Precalc being compressed into 3 semesters or 2 for Functions), and the accelerated CS path (which is not done by all SMCS students), he cannot possibly fit the equivalent classes into his schedule because of the lack of a 9th period. That's 4 full extra class periods over the 4 years that the magnet students get that are typically rigorous classes in interesting STEM subjects with a weighted GPA boost.

Unless other schools offer an extra class period, they cannot replicate the SMCS magnet, even aside from the actual course content.

Wait, how does it even work for some students at the same school to have more periods than others? I'm so confused...

The afternoon school bus for magnet also takes TPMS and Eastern kids. The extra period gives SMACS students one more course to take and same afternoon bus time.

Wait, I assumed it was something to do with block scheduling or how long each period is for the different programs. You're not actually saying that the Blair magnet kids get a whole extra period of school every day, are you? Like, that Blair magnet kids actually get *more* education time-wise than all the rest of the kids in the county? Because if so, that would be truly nuts and one of the most unfair things I have ever heard of...

Yes, they do need to take an extra course, and keeping GPA high. Rather than thinking this as an "equity", ask your kids whether they'd like to take one more course, and self-study for all STEM AP tests. Rest assure that they are not considered the same peer group with your kids for college admission.

They can take study hall for the extra period if they want but most choose a class. It is just done to make the bussing work. I assume it will end now