Reply to Banner Article on Declining Enrollment

Forum Index » Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS)

Reply to "Banner Article on Declining Enrollment"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Read the Baltimore Banners article on declining school enrollment.  (MD/MCPS) Leaders quoted blame everything BUT the obvious: [b]school quality affects enrollment as does the broader impacts of county governments social and economic decisions.[/b]

If our schools are already over crowded and underperforming why harp on wanting more enrollment? It’s not going to get better adding thousands more students - the funding per student only goes so far. And those thousands they reference aren’t necessarily the ones whose parents pay top dollar in property taxes or are active donors to the PTA.

Honestly, mcps has been such a disappointment. Property taxes keep increasing, quality of services decrease.  Fights over development and housing don’t add up to more revenue and better schools. Montgomery county can’t compete with business friendly nova to attract large companies. Housing is expensive and traffic into the city/va is bumper to bumper.

Sorry for the rant, but maybe they can focus on making it a better place to live than hitting a magic number for a measly percentage of federal tax dollars…

[/quote]

Yep, MCPS is too big for its own good.  In theory it could leverage resources across schools to create better academic environment in practice due the way in which MCPS forces school participation to be tied to zip code they essentially are creating winners and losers with all the special programs and lotteries.  [b]For example, they say Rockville has a fabulous IB program, but it's at Richard Montgomery and my kids will go to Rockville High School so it's completely unavailable to me except by lottery, might as well be on the moon.[/b]

They really need to break up MCPS.  I would also be for having parents be able to opt out for home school or private and have the funds made available for the students.

When the schools are a real estate problem you know you've messed up.

[/quote]

Rockville HS also has local IB diploma and career-related programs.[/quote]

If you don't know of a good place to do a direct comparison of the two programs and why my point is still valid.  I can provide a chatGPT generated comparison to 'splain it to you.

Here’s a clear comparison of the International Baccalaureate (IB) programs at Rockville High School and Richard Montgomery High School within Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS):

📘 1. Program Structure & Scope
Richard Montgomery HS (RMHS)

Countywide Magnet vs. Local Program: RMHS houses the countywide IB Magnet Diploma Programme, one of the most established in MCPS and the first in the county. 
Wikipedia

4-Year Continuum Option: Students can enter the IB Magnet as early as 9th grade and follow a structured IB Middle Years Programme (MYP) in grades 9–10, then the IB Diploma Programme (DP) in grades 11 and 12. 
Montgomery County Public Schools

Selective Admission: Because it’s a magnet program, admission is competitive (evaluated with grades, tests, writing, etc.) and limited compared to the overall student body. 
Montgomery County Public Schools

Rockville HS (RHS)

Standard IB Diploma: Rockville offers the IB Diploma Programme for juniors and seniors (11–12) but does not have a countywide magnet structure. 
Montgomery County Public Schools

Middle Years Programme (MYP): RHS generally does not offer the full MYP feeder in the same way RMHS does, so IB coursework typically focuses on 11–12 grade Diploma years. 
DC Urban Moms and Dads

Local Access: Students at RHS who meet academic requirements can enroll in the Diploma Programme without a countywide application process.

🎯 2. Admission & Competition
Richard Montgomery (RM)

Highly Competitive: Because it’s countywide, prices admission against applicants from across all of Montgomery County, not just the home attendance area. 
Montgomery County Public Schools

Higher Bar: Many students prepare earlier and begin IB-aligned work in 9th/10th grade as part of the magnet. 
Montgomery County Public Schools

Rockville (RHS)

Local Enrollment: There isn’t a separate competitive magnet for IB at Rockville—admission is through Rockville High School itself, making it more accessible for students zoned there. 
Montgomery County Public Schools

Starts Later: IB mostly begins in 11th grade rather than earlier MYP preparation.

🧠 3. Academic Rigor & Offerings
Richard Montgomery

Broader Course Catalogue: RM’s IB Programme tends to offer more classes and higher-level options across disciplines, partly because of larger student demand and magnet support. 
moderatelymoco.com

IB MYP + DP Continuum: Some students receive IB-specific teaching and philosophy beginning in 9th grade, helping prepare for DP success. 
Montgomery County Public Schools

Rockville High School

Standard IB Diploma Curriculum: RHS offers IB DP with required subjects (HL/SL) and you may see slightly fewer advanced options compared to RM simply due to school size and resources. 
DC Urban Moms and Dads

IB Career-Related Programme (IBCP): In addition to the diploma, RHS also offers the IB Career-related Certificate (IBCC) for students focused on career pathways. 
Montgomery County Public Schools

📊 4. Exam Performance & Reputation
Richard Montgomery

Strong Exam Results: RM’s IB diploma candidates historically score above world averages and earn diplomas at high rates (often above 90% of candidates). 
Montgomery County Public Schools
+1

Well-Known Program: RM’s IB is widely regarded within MCPS as one of the more intense and college-prep focused programs.

Rockville High School

Solid but Lower Volume: RHS IB students complete the same IB DP requirements, but there isn’t as much publicly published comparison data showing exam performance relative to RM’s magnet program. Participation and success trends may be affected by smaller cohort sizes and later IB entry. 
Montgomery County Public Schools

🏫 5. School Environment & Size

RMHS: Larger school overall with a notable IB Magnet “culture,” including many students who take IB classes or AP classes alongside. 
Montgomery County Public Schools

Rockville HS: Smaller overall student population and smaller IB cohort, which some students and parents say feels more personal and integrated into the broader school community than a countywide magnet. 
DC Urban Moms and Dads

✅ Summary: How They Compare
Feature	Richard Montgomery HS IB	Rockville HS IB
Program Type	Countywide Magnet + Local	Local (non-magnet)
Entry Grade	9 (MYP) → 11 (DP)	11 (DP)
Selectivity	Competitive, countywide	Local students eligible
Course Options	Broader, historically larger offerings	Solid offerings, possibly smaller roster
Performance/Outcomes	High diploma rate and exam scores	Strong but less data published
School Size/Environment	Larger, more IB presence	Smaller, tighter community[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics