Reply to Return to school: What about the MCPS magnets?

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Reply to "Return to school: What about the MCPS magnets?"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]My child just graduated from a competitive magnet after being in magnets since 4th grade.  The teachers are really a mixed bag.  Some have years of magnet experience and GT training.  Others are new/inexperienced  - similar to every kids public school experience.  Some are really special and committed to the magnets.  Others are not.

I do not think magnet kids will suffer any more or less than other MCPS kids.[/quote]
+1
I have one kid currently in a magnet, and the switch to DL was pretty dismal for several of the magnet teachers. (The couple of Honors classes were fine, and much better in comparison.) The disadvantage for the magnet teachers (and any specialized program/electives) is that those teachers individually have to convert their courses to online learning. Countywide courses/curriculum provided online content to teachers, which they could modify if they wished. The same will continue next year. I let the magnet coordinator know at the end of the spring of the problems with the magnet courses and suggested that there needed to be targeted training for teachers and review of magnet courses internally before next fall.

[quote]Not really. The point of magnets is providing students with opportunities to receive specialized instruction in schools outside of their local attendance boundaries.[/quote]
Yes, but [b]part of the instructional process is working with peers[/b]. The peer cohort and interactions has always been an important part of the magnets (be they test-in, lottery, or immersion). You are grouping like-minded students together and that changes the way teaching and learning occur.

To OPs question, the lack of peer interaction was definitely unfortunate this spring, but should be improved next fall with DL. However, it will never been the same as in-person (which is true for all students). Depending on how next year goes, we may re-evaluate options for 2021-22 school year. I think this is the same for all families - current learning situation is not ideal for most kids, everyone will make the best of a poor situation, and everyone will be constantly evaluating whether a different solution meets their child's needs better.[/quote]

That's true for school in general.

Also, the idea of "like-minded students" may be true for high school application magnet programs, but otherwise, no.[/quote]

It’s true for the 4 MS test-in programs as well.[/quote]

Not in my kid's experience of their MS test-in program, it wasn't.[/quote]

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