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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pushback on the viability of recreating magnet programs on regional basis:

https://bethesdamagazine.com/2025/08/13/mcps-program-changes-concerns/

Good, and we need a lot more of this. It was strategic that they introduced this proposal during the summer, when fewer parents and teachers are paying attention. They sought no input, and they thought they could build momentum for it before there the pushback.

The best comment is the final line: “Because we can have all these wonderful regions … but if we still have a disparity in the outcomes, are we really putting the equity lens on that?” This is what I keep coming back to regarding the proposal: what does it actually fix? What's the point of destroying these great programs? There's no logic or rationale to it.

They are not destroying the programs. They are expanding access to the programs for the great many who are able to handle the rigor but did not have application luck.

They ARE dismantling the magnet programs. There are insufficient teachers who can teach advanced programs. From the article: Taylor said the district’s recommendation includes areas of certification the district offers, but he doesn’t know if there’s interest from faculty to “dive in and hyper-specialize.”

He doesn't know. That means he is making decisions with insufficient information. You can't expand programs without trained, hyper-specialized teachers for those programs.

The actual number of highly able students are insufficient to form regional magnets. We aren't provided information on these numbers because it likely would show that the number of highly able students cab't support rigorous magnets in all regions.

+1 The regional IB programs IBDP pass rate is much lower than RMIB's. That tells you that even the 4 regional programs they created a few years ago aren't as successful. Those programs don't offer some of the HL classes that RMIB does. Why? Because there is not enough interest and probably the teachers don't want to teach it/aren't certified to teach it.

And now MCPS wants to expand it to 6 regionals? Makes zero sense to do that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pushback on the viability of recreating magnet programs on regional basis:

https://bethesdamagazine.com/2025/08/13/mcps-program-changes-concerns/

Good, and we need a lot more of this. It was strategic that they introduced this proposal during the summer, when fewer parents and teachers are paying attention. They sought no input, and they thought they could build momentum for it before there the pushback.

The best comment is the final line: “Because we can have all these wonderful regions … but if we still have a disparity in the outcomes, are we really putting the equity lens on that?” This is what I keep coming back to regarding the proposal: what does it actually fix? What's the point of destroying these great programs? There's no logic or rationale to it.

They are not destroying the programs. They are expanding access to the programs for the great many who are able to handle the rigor but did not have application luck.

They ARE dismantling the magnet programs. There are insufficient teachers who can teach advanced programs. From the article: Taylor said the district’s recommendation includes areas of certification the district offers, but he doesn’t know if there’s interest from faculty to “dive in and hyper-specialize.”

He doesn't know. That means he is making decisions with insufficient information. You can't expand programs without trained, hyper-specialized teachers for those programs.

The actual number of highly able students are insufficient to form regional magnets. We aren't provided information on these numbers because it likely would show that the number of highly able students cab't support rigorous magnets in all regions.

+1 The regional IB programs IBDP pass rate is much lower than RMIB's. That tells you that even the 4 regional programs they created a few years ago aren't as successful. Those programs don't offer some of the HL classes that RMIB does. Why? Because there is not enough interest and probably the teachers don't want to teach it/aren't certified to teach it.

And now MCPS wants to expand it to 6 regionals? Makes zero sense to do that.

It’s not the same thing. The current regional IB programs don’t have qualification requirements, you just sign up for the classes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pushback on the viability of recreating magnet programs on regional basis:

https://bethesdamagazine.com/2025/08/13/mcps-program-changes-concerns/

Good, and we need a lot more of this. It was strategic that they introduced this proposal during the summer, when fewer parents and teachers are paying attention. They sought no input, and they thought they could build momentum for it before there the pushback.

The best comment is the final line: “Because we can have all these wonderful regions … but if we still have a disparity in the outcomes, are we really putting the equity lens on that?” This is what I keep coming back to regarding the proposal: what does it actually fix? What's the point of destroying these great programs? There's no logic or rationale to it.

They are not destroying the programs. They are expanding access to the programs for the great many who are able to handle the rigor but did not have application luck.

They ARE dismantling the magnet programs. There are insufficient teachers who can teach advanced programs. From the article: Taylor said the district’s recommendation includes areas of certification the district offers, but he doesn’t know if there’s interest from faculty to “dive in and hyper-specialize.”

He doesn't know. That means he is making decisions with insufficient information. You can't expand programs without trained, hyper-specialized teachers for those programs.

The actual number of highly able students are insufficient to form regional magnets. We aren't provided information on these numbers because it likely would show that the number of highly able students cab't support rigorous magnets in all regions.

+1 The regional IB programs IBDP pass rate is much lower than RMIB's. That tells you that even the 4 regional programs they created a few years ago aren't as successful. Those programs don't offer some of the HL classes that RMIB does. Why? Because there is not enough interest and probably the teachers don't want to teach it/aren't certified to teach it.

And now MCPS wants to expand it to 6 regionals? Makes zero sense to do that.

RMIB rigor. Average kids will not be able to keep up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pushback on the viability of recreating magnet programs on regional basis:

https://bethesdamagazine.com/2025/08/13/mcps-program-changes-concerns/

Good, and we need a lot more of this. It was strategic that they introduced this proposal during the summer, when fewer parents and teachers are paying attention. They sought no input, and they thought they could build momentum for it before there the pushback.

The best comment is the final line: “Because we can have all these wonderful regions … but if we still have a disparity in the outcomes, are we really putting the equity lens on that?” This is what I keep coming back to regarding the proposal: what does it actually fix? What's the point of destroying these great programs? There's no logic or rationale to it.

They are not destroying the programs. They are expanding access to the programs for the great many who are able to handle the rigor but did not have application luck.

They ARE dismantling the magnet programs. There are insufficient teachers who can teach advanced programs. From the article: Taylor said the district’s recommendation includes areas of certification the district offers, but he doesn’t know if there’s interest from faculty to “dive in and hyper-specialize.”

He doesn't know. That means he is making decisions with insufficient information. You can't expand programs without trained, hyper-specialized teachers for those programs.

The actual number of highly able students are insufficient to form regional magnets. We aren't provided information on these numbers because it likely would show that the number of highly able students cab't support rigorous magnets in all regions.

+1 The regional IB programs IBDP pass rate is much lower than RMIB's. That tells you that even the 4 regional programs they created a few years ago aren't as successful. Those programs don't offer some of the HL classes that RMIB does. Why? Because there is not enough interest and probably the teachers don't want to teach it/aren't certified to teach it.

And now MCPS wants to expand it to 6 regionals? Makes zero sense to do that.

It’s not the same thing. The current regional IB programs don’t have qualification requirements, you just sign up for the classes.

Huh? I thought that the Kennedy HS IB Program was criteria-based. Unlike the IB programs at BCC or Einstein, which anyone can do. I think PP was referring to Kennedy and similar programs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pushback on the viability of recreating magnet programs on regional basis:

https://bethesdamagazine.com/2025/08/13/mcps-program-changes-concerns/

Good, and we need a lot more of this. It was strategic that they introduced this proposal during the summer, when fewer parents and teachers are paying attention. They sought no input, and they thought they could build momentum for it before there the pushback.

The best comment is the final line: “Because we can have all these wonderful regions … but if we still have a disparity in the outcomes, are we really putting the equity lens on that?” This is what I keep coming back to regarding the proposal: what does it actually fix? What's the point of destroying these great programs? There's no logic or rationale to it.

They are not destroying the programs. They are expanding access to the programs for the great many who are able to handle the rigor but did not have application luck.

They ARE dismantling the magnet programs. There are insufficient teachers who can teach advanced programs. From the article: Taylor said the district’s recommendation includes areas of certification the district offers, but he doesn’t know if there’s interest from faculty to “dive in and hyper-specialize.”

He doesn't know. That means he is making decisions with insufficient information. You can't expand programs without trained, hyper-specialized teachers for those programs.

The actual number of highly able students are insufficient to form regional magnets. We aren't provided information on these numbers because it likely would show that the number of highly able students cab't support rigorous magnets in all regions.

+1 The regional IB programs IBDP pass rate is much lower than RMIB's. That tells you that even the 4 regional programs they created a few years ago aren't as successful. Those programs don't offer some of the HL classes that RMIB does. Why? Because there is not enough interest and probably the teachers don't want to teach it/aren't certified to teach it.

And now MCPS wants to expand it to 6 regionals? Makes zero sense to do that.

It’s not the same thing. The current regional IB programs don’t have qualification requirements, you just sign up for the classes.

The current regional programs are application based, and do have qualification requirements.

John F. Kennedy HS
Springbrook HS
Watkins Mill HS

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/curriculum/specialprograms/high/ib/#tabs-4

Criteria used to evaluate candidates include written statements from candidates, previous grades, coursework, and test scores.

I hope you are not an MCPS employee spouting disinformation.

[Anonymous]

As long as the objective qualification criteria are high (eg, relevant MAP scores are at least 90 percentile “A”), the students should be able to handle the rigor.

In my child’s compacted math class, for example, it is those students with a lowered bar who have been struggling and the teacher adjusted the class so that it is less rigorous. There should be no exceptions to high criteria.

Those who feel their kids need more rigor can do dual enrollment or continue to enrich outside of class like they’ve always done.

[Anonymous]

I did not find the parents arguments for keeping the system as is in the Bethesda magazine article convincing at all. One parent mentioned how her kid got to take quantum mechanics at Blair. No one needs to take quantum mechanics in HS and if that is indeed your jam, you can take a college class for it.
Also, parents of a 4th grader expressing concern that their kid is on track to take multivariable calculus in 9th grade and what will the kid do then. Almost no students are ready to take multivariable calculus in 9th grade. And if they are, then take the next class at MC or UMD or virtual. Public school systems are not designed to serve the tiniest of tiny percentage of outliers. There is a case for regional magnets

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pushback on the viability of recreating magnet programs on regional basis:

https://bethesdamagazine.com/2025/08/13/mcps-program-changes-concerns/

Good, and we need a lot more of this. It was strategic that they introduced this proposal during the summer, when fewer parents and teachers are paying attention. They sought no input, and they thought they could build momentum for it before there the pushback.

The best comment is the final line: “Because we can have all these wonderful regions … but if we still have a disparity in the outcomes, are we really putting the equity lens on that?” This is what I keep coming back to regarding the proposal: what does it actually fix? What's the point of destroying these great programs? There's no logic or rationale to it.

They are not destroying the programs. They are expanding access to the programs for the great many who are able to handle the rigor but did not have application luck.

They ARE dismantling the magnet programs. There are insufficient teachers who can teach advanced programs. From the article: Taylor said the district’s recommendation includes areas of certification the district offers, but he doesn’t know if there’s interest from faculty to “dive in and hyper-specialize.”

He doesn't know. That means he is making decisions with insufficient information. You can't expand programs without trained, hyper-specialized teachers for those programs.

The actual number of highly able students are insufficient to form regional magnets. We aren't provided information on these numbers because it likely would show that the number of highly able students cab't support rigorous magnets in all regions.

+1 The regional IB programs IBDP pass rate is much lower than RMIB's. That tells you that even the 4 regional programs they created a few years ago aren't as successful. Those programs don't offer some of the HL classes that RMIB does. Why? Because there is not enough interest and probably the teachers don't want to teach it/aren't certified to teach it.

And now MCPS wants to expand it to 6 regionals? Makes zero sense to do that.

Why would Taylor want to break something that is highly successful? I listen to staff, and it seems like they have already made up their minds, but don't really have the data to back up their actions. getting rid of the magnet programming will have negative consequences for the school district.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I did not find the parents arguments for keeping the system as is in the Bethesda magazine article convincing at all. One parent mentioned how her kid got to take quantum mechanics at Blair. No one needs to take quantum mechanics in HS and if that is indeed your jam, you can take a college class for it.
Also, parents of a 4th grader expressing concern that their kid is on track to take multivariable calculus in 9th grade and what will the kid do then. Almost no students are ready to take multivariable calculus in 9th grade. And if they are, then take the next class at MC or UMD or virtual. Public school systems are not designed to serve the tiniest of tiny percentage of outliers. There is a case for regional magnets

Public schools can differentiate to meet the needs of a variety of student cohorts. If magnet schooling isn't something you see happening for your student, MCPS has plenty of other choices. The school district doesn't need to stop the current magnets to provide additional programming. Why is this an either/or situation?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I did not find the parents arguments for keeping the system as is in the Bethesda magazine article convincing at all. One parent mentioned how her kid got to take quantum mechanics at Blair. No one needs to take quantum mechanics in HS and if that is indeed your jam, you can take a college class for it.
Also, parents of a 4th grader expressing concern that their kid is on track to take multivariable calculus in 9th grade and what will the kid do then. Almost no students are ready to take multivariable calculus in 9th grade. And if they are, then take the next class at MC or UMD or virtual. Public school systems are not designed to serve the tiniest of tiny percentage of outliers. There is a case for regional magnets

I know--the parents of the 4th grader are ridiculous and sounded super entitled. No one knows how that kid will evolve, and yes, it's easier than ever nowadays for an advanced kid to enroll into more advanced coursework online--you don't need to hold back kids in MCPS from having more advanced work out of some overly optimistic belief that you have Young Sheldon as a kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pushback on the viability of recreating magnet programs on regional basis:

https://bethesdamagazine.com/2025/08/13/mcps-program-changes-concerns/

Good, and we need a lot more of this. It was strategic that they introduced this proposal during the summer, when fewer parents and teachers are paying attention. They sought no input, and they thought they could build momentum for it before there the pushback.

The best comment is the final line: “Because we can have all these wonderful regions … but if we still have a disparity in the outcomes, are we really putting the equity lens on that?” This is what I keep coming back to regarding the proposal: what does it actually fix? What's the point of destroying these great programs? There's no logic or rationale to it.

They are not destroying the programs. They are expanding access to the programs for the great many who are able to handle the rigor but did not have application luck.

They ARE dismantling the magnet programs. There are insufficient teachers who can teach advanced programs. From the article: Taylor said the district’s recommendation includes areas of certification the district offers, but he doesn’t know if there’s interest from faculty to “dive in and hyper-specialize.”

He doesn't know. That means he is making decisions with insufficient information. You can't expand programs without trained, hyper-specialized teachers for those programs.

The actual number of highly able students are insufficient to form regional magnets. We aren't provided information on these numbers because it likely would show that the number of highly able students cab't support rigorous magnets in all regions.

+1 The regional IB programs IBDP pass rate is much lower than RMIB's. That tells you that even the 4 regional programs they created a few years ago aren't as successful. Those programs don't offer some of the HL classes that RMIB does. Why? Because there is not enough interest and probably the teachers don't want to teach it/aren't certified to teach it.

And now MCPS wants to expand it to 6 regionals? Makes zero sense to do that.

Why would Taylor want to break something that is highly successful? I listen to staff, and it seems like they have already made up their minds, but don't really have the data to back up their actions. getting rid of the magnet programming will have negative consequences for the school district.

Who says it's highly successful? A few parents who don't want to change? I don't see it--there's just a few school clusters benefitting from the most selective programs (which points to the issue that the programs are too far away or too inaccessible for some parts of the county).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I did not find the parents arguments for keeping the system as is in the Bethesda magazine article convincing at all. One parent mentioned how her kid got to take quantum mechanics at Blair. No one needs to take quantum mechanics in HS and if that is indeed your jam, you can take a college class for it.
Also, parents of a 4th grader expressing concern that their kid is on track to take multivariable calculus in 9th grade and what will the kid do then. Almost no students are ready to take multivariable calculus in 9th grade. And if they are, then take the next class at MC or UMD or virtual. Public school systems are not designed to serve the tiniest of tiny percentage of outliers. There is a case for regional magnets

I know--the parents of the 4th grader are ridiculous and sounded super entitled. No one knows how that kid will evolve, and yes, it's easier than ever nowadays for an advanced kid to enroll into more advanced coursework online--you don't need to hold back kids in MCPS from having more advanced work out of some overly optimistic belief that you have Young Sheldon as a kid.

We could get virtual education for any students. Why are we using more than 50% of the county budget on brick and mortar schools?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As long as the objective qualification criteria are high (eg, relevant MAP scores are at least 90 percentile “A”), the students should be able to handle the rigor.

In my child’s compacted math class, for example, it is those students with a lowered bar who have been struggling and the teacher adjusted the class so that it is less rigorous. There should be no exceptions to high criteria.

Those who feel their kids need more rigor can do dual enrollment or continue to enrich outside of class like they’ve always done.

grades are meaningless due to grade inflation, and the subjective nature of grading.

COGAT tests for reasoning and predict learning ability, so a student who may not have gotten good grades for whatever reason could still score high on the COGAT. But, usually, a student who scores high on the COGAT would score high on MAP.

MAP is only used for academic progress. COGAT is normally used to identify "advanced" or "gifted" learners.

Difference in the tests discussed here
https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/759312.page

They really should bring back cogat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pushback on the viability of recreating magnet programs on regional basis:

https://bethesdamagazine.com/2025/08/13/mcps-program-changes-concerns/

Good, and we need a lot more of this. It was strategic that they introduced this proposal during the summer, when fewer parents and teachers are paying attention. They sought no input, and they thought they could build momentum for it before there the pushback.

The best comment is the final line: “Because we can have all these wonderful regions … but if we still have a disparity in the outcomes, are we really putting the equity lens on that?” This is what I keep coming back to regarding the proposal: what does it actually fix? What's the point of destroying these great programs? There's no logic or rationale to it.

They are not destroying the programs. They are expanding access to the programs for the great many who are able to handle the rigor but did not have application luck.

They ARE dismantling the magnet programs. There are insufficient teachers who can teach advanced programs. From the article: Taylor said the district’s recommendation includes areas of certification the district offers, but he doesn’t know if there’s interest from faculty to “dive in and hyper-specialize.”

He doesn't know. That means he is making decisions with insufficient information. You can't expand programs without trained, hyper-specialized teachers for those programs.

The actual number of highly able students are insufficient to form regional magnets. We aren't provided information on these numbers because it likely would show that the number of highly able students cab't support rigorous magnets in all regions.

+1 The regional IB programs IBDP pass rate is much lower than RMIB's. That tells you that even the 4 regional programs they created a few years ago aren't as successful. Those programs don't offer some of the HL classes that RMIB does. Why? Because there is not enough interest and probably the teachers don't want to teach it/aren't certified to teach it.

And now MCPS wants to expand it to 6 regionals? Makes zero sense to do that.

Why would Taylor want to break something that is highly successful? I listen to staff, and it seems like they have already made up their minds, but don't really have the data to back up their actions. getting rid of the magnet programming will have negative consequences for the school district.

Who says it's highly successful? A few parents who don't want to change? I don't see it--there's just a few school clusters benefitting from the most selective programs (which points to the issue that the programs are too far away or too inaccessible for some parts of the county).

Current and former magnet students think the current programs are highly successful.

Who says it's not highly successful? Those people who want their kids in the program but didn't make it. The concerns brought up in the article are legitimate. There aren't enough qualified teachers to teach the advanced material. How would expanding the program make it more successful if they cannot find the teachers to teach it?

Having qualified teachers and the large peer cohort are what make the program successful. If you don't have both, the program won't be as good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pushback on the viability of recreating magnet programs on regional basis:

https://bethesdamagazine.com/2025/08/13/mcps-program-changes-concerns/

Good, and we need a lot more of this. It was strategic that they introduced this proposal during the summer, when fewer parents and teachers are paying attention. They sought no input, and they thought they could build momentum for it before there the pushback.

The best comment is the final line: “Because we can have all these wonderful regions … but if we still have a disparity in the outcomes, are we really putting the equity lens on that?” This is what I keep coming back to regarding the proposal: what does it actually fix? What's the point of destroying these great programs? There's no logic or rationale to it.

They are not destroying the programs. They are expanding access to the programs for the great many who are able to handle the rigor but did not have application luck.

They ARE dismantling the magnet programs. There are insufficient teachers who can teach advanced programs. From the article: Taylor said the district’s recommendation includes areas of certification the district offers, but he doesn’t know if there’s interest from faculty to “dive in and hyper-specialize.”

He doesn't know. That means he is making decisions with insufficient information. You can't expand programs without trained, hyper-specialized teachers for those programs.

The actual number of highly able students are insufficient to form regional magnets. We aren't provided information on these numbers because it likely would show that the number of highly able students cab't support rigorous magnets in all regions.

+1 The regional IB programs IBDP pass rate is much lower than RMIB's. That tells you that even the 4 regional programs they created a few years ago aren't as successful. Those programs don't offer some of the HL classes that RMIB does. Why? Because there is not enough interest and probably the teachers don't want to teach it/aren't certified to teach it.

And now MCPS wants to expand it to 6 regionals? Makes zero sense to do that.

It’s not the same thing. The current regional IB programs don’t have qualification requirements, you just sign up for the classes.

Huh? I thought that the Kennedy HS IB Program was criteria-based. Unlike the IB programs at BCC or Einstein, which anyone can do. I think PP was referring to Kennedy and similar programs.

You need to look at how many are graduating with IB degrees, at Einstei its very few.