Did anyone else go to the train wreck meeting at JWMS last night?

[Anonymous]

So why promise Magnet lite courses for kids who were not admitted to Magnet middle schools because of the new peer cohort criteria. I thought the whole point of these courses was to provide students with a challenging curriculum AND a peer group. If everyone is mixed in the same class you can’t offer the same level of rigor or challenge.

[Anonymous]

Aren't some school just making these classes the standard curriculum for everyone....the cycle was very short on this initiative 2 year's?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

But the HIGH kids are mixed this coming year. No cohort.


That truly sucks. HIGH has been my DC’s most engaging class. And DC doesn’t even love history. But it’s challenging and engaging and has a great group of kids.



That’s strange, I asked and he clarified they are separate classes, there are 4 classes of HIGH6 for about 120 kids out of 500 kids and that this cohort continue to HIGH7 and 8..
I don’t understand why there are different versions of the information

Incoming 6th graders will be in all heterogeneous classes. AIM mixed with IM, HIGH mixed with HIWS, Advanced English mixed with regular English, etc.

That's really too bad! I have a kid in 7th, and she was in 6th when the cohort classes started. There were only 2 each (History and Math) in 6th. The incoming 6th grade class in very large, much like the current 6th grade class (also around 500), so it would make sense they would need to add cohort classes. The current 7th grade classes is one of the smallest in recent years.

I really hope they're not mixed...the mixed science and English classes are not the same as the cohort classes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So why promise Magnet lite courses for kids who were not admitted to Magnet middle schools because of the new peer cohort criteria. I thought the whole point of these courses was to provide students with a challenging curriculum AND a peer group. If everyone is mixed in the same class you can’t offer the same level of rigor or challenge.

So JW used to have separate HIGH and AIM and they plan to starting mixing them For the incoming 6th grade.
How does that work? So officially the kids are registered in the HIGH6 and shows on the transcripts but the actual classes will be mixed?

[Anonymous]

The mixed classes would really affect our decision to accept the magnet invite, we are thinking to DC can stay with friends in JW and take advantage of the cohort classes

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

But the HIGH kids are mixed this coming year. No cohort.


That truly sucks. HIGH has been my DC’s most engaging class. And DC doesn’t even love history. But it’s challenging and engaging and has a great group of kids.



That’s strange, I asked and he clarified they are separate classes, there are 4 classes of HIGH6 for about 120 kids out of 500 kids and that this cohort continue to HIGH7 and 8..
I don’t understand why there are different versions of the information

Incoming 6th graders will be in all heterogeneous classes. AIM mixed with IM, HIGH mixed with HIWS, Advanced English mixed with regular English, etc.

We were told the same. Pretty pissed off. I was under the impression middle school started tracking to teach all of these kids at their level. I think once again, diversity is more important than education. It needs to look better than actually be better. And all of the kids suffer because of it.

This is the story of MCPS. And, why MCPS has been declining for the past decade. Nobody benefits.

But not all middle schools are doing this. Actually most don’t. They at least have some cohorts.

Many have block schedules too. Principal is doing a terrible job. Just worried about bringing up the rear from the one feeder.

The email from Principal Staton about the Magnet Program workshop on Feb 3rd was quite informative as to who the principal wants to help at the school.

Did anyone’s child attend that Workshop? Was is helpful?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The mixed classes would really affect our decision to accept the magnet invite, we are thinking to DC can stay with friends in JW and take advantage of the cohort classes

Worth taking into consideration. We know several West families (found kids) who gave up Magnet spots to stay at West.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

But the HIGH kids are mixed this coming year. No cohort.


That truly sucks. HIGH has been my DC’s most engaging class. And DC doesn’t even love history. But it’s challenging and engaging and has a great group of kids.



That’s strange, I asked and he clarified they are separate classes, there are 4 classes of HIGH6 for about 120 kids out of 500 kids and that this cohort continue to HIGH7 and 8..
I don’t understand why there are different versions of the information

Incoming 6th graders will be in all heterogeneous classes. AIM mixed with IM, HIGH mixed with HIWS, Advanced English mixed with regular English, etc.

We were told the same. Pretty pissed off. I was under the impression middle school started tracking to teach all of these kids at their level. I think once again, diversity is more important than education. It needs to look better than actually be better. And all of the kids suffer because of it.

This is the story of MCPS. And, why MCPS has been declining for the past decade. Nobody benefits.

But not all middle schools are doing this. Actually most don’t. They at least have some cohorts.

Which MSs have cohorts? I hear similar complaints from kids all over the county in other middle schools!

They rolled everything out so quickly without working with principals or properly training staff and were met with a lot of resentment. Some schools have block schedules to accommodate so many students in the building, and scheduling is complicated to begin with. I could have told you on day one that the whole “cohort” plan would be short lived. Plus it’s not a “gifted” friendly system.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The mixed classes would really affect our decision to accept the magnet invite, we are thinking to DC can stay with friends in JW and take advantage of the cohort classes

Your decision to accept the magnet invite should have been made by February 7th.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The mixed classes would really affect our decision to accept the magnet invite, we are thinking to DC can stay with friends in JW and take advantage of the cohort classes

Your decision to accept the magnet invite should have been made by February 7th.

Maybe they are talking about a 4th grader?

[Anonymous]

The person who kept saying that 6 schools were coming in. That was so misleading.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That was the most poorly organized, stuffed to the gills, overheated, and rushed "meeting" I have ever been to in my life. Spending 10min in the hall for each rotation because they were too short and not enough info was presented. It took 7min to clear people out and smoosh people back in like sardines. Everything was running late. Standing room only in every room. It was a complete disappointment all around. No one was able to answer questions. They had not one session on the electives which most people seem to have questions on. We heard twice "it is hard to explain". WTF does that mean? Then they have the balls to say see you later - the registration form is due tomorrow - bye!

Now I get it that some parents can be annoying AF. I mean we actually heard a Dad asking if this track there child can not take AP Stats, but can they take another Calc course in 12 GRADE!!! He waited until after the presentation, but there were a line of people each times for questions and they pushed you out for another rotation. Just said to contact the school with any questions. Trying to do these rotations in avoidance of questions was just a terrible way to promote your school. No one was happy. Everyone was annoyed. Not feeling good about this school at all.

+1

I just came on here to see if anyone else posted about it.

My friend's had 2 hour full presentations. I think we had about 50min total.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The mixed classes would really affect our decision to accept the magnet invite, we are thinking to DC can stay with friends in JW and take advantage of the cohort classes

Your decision to accept the magnet invite should have been made by February 7th.

Maybe they are talking about a 4th grader?

You can always change your mind and go back to your home school after accepting the magnet invite

[Anonymous]

I never went to any of those meetings. Class selection did not seem that complicated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I never went to any of those meetings. Class selection did not seem that complicated.

Unfortunately MCPS makes it complicated. If your kid wants to take 3 years of a language in MS, there can be issues.