Magnets/school within a school and its impact on the rest of the school population

[Anonymous]

We're in a neighborhood school that also houses a magnet program. We're nearing the end of our first year there and I'm questioning whether our children are being well served in the environment. There's so much emphasis on what's important to magent kids that I feel that neighborhood kids are too often ignored. For example, PTA meetings generally have a magnet focus to the point that it doesn't seem to occur to either the principal or the other parents that a neighborhood program even exists there. I'm considering whether we should move to another school district. Recently another school parent, with children on the magnet side, told me that neighborhood parents never involve themselves in the school. She didn't seem to know that I wasn't a magent parent. I also do not find that our teacher welcomes parent involvement at all. So, my question-have any of you moved or otherwise found a way to change school districts when your neighborhood school houses a magnet? Are you glad you did it? No school is perfect, I just find that the principal's attention is divided too many ways and wonder if it works better when the school population is all more or less in the same program. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Interesting. I have two kids in two different MCPS elementary schools, both in magnet programs. In one school, there's a lot of strife and competition between magnet and nonmagnet parents -- the magnet parents think the nonmagnet parents don't participate enough and resent them, and the nonmagnet parents think they are slighted relative to the magnet parents. It takes up a lot of mental energy and makes it unpleasant to participate in the PTA.

in the other school, there's no strife at all.

I think the difference comes down to leadership on the part of the principal.

[Anonymous]

This is OP, thanks for your response. I'm interested in knowing what you think the principal is doing at the school where magnet/non-magnet programs are coexisting to make it all work right? Also, you say that magent parents at one school resent non-magnet parents for not participating, but I'm curious to know how magnet parents are participating that they believe non-magnet parents are not? Thanks for any further insights you're willing to share.

[Anonymous]

I went to Eastern MS and Blair HS as a non-magnet student. I think it enriched my education. Some of the magnet electives were open to all students and I had a great time doing the Communications Arts classes at Eastern....TV production was my favorite. I was also in honors classes (which I know isn't the case for all). In Blair I was in honors classes for History and English with the Science Magnet kids and Science and Math with the Communications Magnet kids. Being able to attend classes with these children was great. Most of them are so engaged and happy to learn it really was contagious. It was cool to be smart there.

[Anonymous]

@15:12 I wish I could be more specific about why, but I'm not sure! I like one principal and think her school is generally more well run -- the other principal I find much less effective in general, although apparently he's a favorite up-and-comer in Weast's eyes.

Maybe it's that the well-run one is a GT magnet and there's a lot of thought given up front to teaching the GT kids how to integrate in the school (they don't call themselves GT, for one thing!). Also, I find that the GT parents are encouraged to stay out of the classroom, which means there's less opportunity for the parents to interact and get clique-ish. At least that's my impression.

[Anonymous]

@15:12, it's me again. To answer your question about how non-magnet parents aren't participating .... I think in a magnet program you tend to have self-selected involved parents. They were interested enough to get their kid admitted to this program as a kindergartner, etc. In my children's classes in this magnet, virtually EVERY parent is involved. It can be kind of overwhelming.

Whereas the nonmagnet program has involve parents but also, like any school, many uninvolved parents.

[Anonymous]

Is there a way you can join the magnet program?

[Anonymous]

OP here, thanks for your responses. The kids can't get into magnet because it's a lottery. It was interesting to hear from the former non-magnet student at a magnet school, but at our magnet you cannot take any magnet classes unless you're in the program.

[Anonymous]

New poster here. OP you must live in my 'hood as there is a woman with kids in the magnet program who has been going around trashing parents in the nonmagnet program and really pissing us off!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:New poster here. OP you must live in my 'hood as there is a woman with kids in the magnet program who has been going around trashing parents in the nonmagnet program and really pissing us off!

OP here. Thanks-at least it's nice to know I'm not alone!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:New poster here. OP you must live in my 'hood as there is a woman with kids in the magnet program who has been going around trashing parents in the nonmagnet program and really pissing us off!

Hmmm. That is typical. Many districts put magnet programs in schools with space that they really should change boundaries but parents would complain. It's a way to get higher socio economic families into the school . Examples are Bailey's and Hunters Woods in FCPS. Some[many] of the GT centers were done on the same philosophy. Others were not.

It is very expensive to shuffle all those kids around especially in middle school- the bus plus the administrative end.

An issue with any special programs is staff allocation and class size. GT or now AAP [advanced academic programs is the current FCPS name] is funny -- how much time did FCPS spend with time being salaries on that name change? At the school level are class sizes equitable? What about foreign language immersion?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here, thanks for your responses. The kids can't get into magnet because it's a lottery. It was interesting to hear from the former non-magnet student at a magnet school, but at our magnet you cannot take any magnet classes unless you're in the program.

Small correction: entrance to magnet programs is by application, including testing. Entrance to "consortium" schools is by lottery. But otherwise ITA that once your kid is in the school in question, it's too late to make the change to the magnet part of the school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here, thanks for your responses. The kids can't get into magnet because it's a lottery. It was interesting to hear from the former non-magnet student at a magnet school, but at our magnet you cannot take any magnet classes unless you're in the program.

Small correction: entrance to magnet programs is by application, including testing. Entrance to "consortium" schools is by lottery. But otherwise ITA that once your kid is in the school in question, it's too late to make the change to the magnet part of the school.

Entrance to at least some magnets is by testing, but once the student qualifies through testing, they enter the lottery.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here, thanks for your responses. The kids can't get into magnet because it's a lottery. It was interesting to hear from the former non-magnet student at a magnet school, but at our magnet you cannot take any magnet classes unless you're in the program.

Small correction: entrance to magnet programs is by application, including testing. Entrance to "consortium" schools is by lottery. But otherwise ITA that once your kid is in the school in question, it's too late to make the change to the magnet part of the school.

Entrance to at least some magnets is by testing, but once the student qualifies through testing, they enter the lottery.

PP here. I want to clarify that the above is for MoCo, I don't know about other counties.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here, thanks for your responses. The kids can't get into magnet because it's a lottery. It was interesting to hear from the former non-magnet student at a magnet school, but at our magnet you cannot take any magnet classes unless you're in the program.

Small correction: entrance to magnet programs is by application, including testing. Entrance to "consortium" schools is by lottery. But otherwise ITA that once your kid is in the school in question, it's too late to make the change to the magnet part of the school.

Entrance to at least some magnets is by testing, but once the student qualifies through testing, they enter the lottery.

This is simply not true. I have a child at the Takoma Park MS magnet, and admission is through testing, teacher recommendations, and a rather extensive application form. 125 students are admitted; the rest of the applicants are not. For certain of the slots, in-boundary students have priority.

There is no lottery system.