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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote]Coming into MCPS from outside, I guess I just don't get why there aren't enough CES classes and MS / HS Magnets for every kid who qualifies. We have buildings, we have teachers, we have a proven curriculum, clearly we have loads of qualified kids who aren't being served, so why not just shift some regular classrooms into gifted classrooms? Add more Magnet schools and distribute them geographically so that kids who are accepted don't decline because of transportation issues? Why choose the number of kids who can participate based on the number of assigned seats, rather than decide the number of seats/classrooms based on the number of qualified kids?

Sorry, but this isn't Harvard. It's public K-12 education. Doesn't MCPS owe every gifted student a free and appropriate education, ethically if not legally?[/quote]

In some ways, this is what MCPS is trying to do. They are expanding the "local centers" and adding accelerated programming at the middle school level. However, if you track DCUM you will see that folks are resisting those efforts, claiming that the curriculum is being "watered down" by the addition of additional kids/classes.

Honestly, I think MCPS can't win. If they keep the previous system, in which 1-2% of kids were able to access the CES and magnet middle school programs, they will be criticized for gatekeeping. If they expand the programs to meet the needs of more like 10% of kids, they are accused of sabotaging the magnets in the name of social justice. [/quote]

It seems like the problem is deciding a priori that 2% or 10% is the correct number of seats to set aside.  The general consensus, from the district, the schools, and the parents, seems to be that there just aren't enough seats to admit all qualified students.  This is true even before hashing out the definition of "qualified," which is always going to be a sticking point, especially for kids on the border.  Also, the "accelerated programs" at the middle schools are not remotely comparable to the programs at the magnets, so I can see how it's a pretty weak argument to claim that they are a substitute for a student who might have previously qualified for a magnet.

Again, my kids haven't been through the process because we came in from outside, but this is how it looks to me.[/quote]

For someone who claims to have no skin in the game, you seem pretty sure that the accelerated middle school classes are "not remotely comparable" to the middle school magnets. This is the first year that those classes have even existed - maybe we can slow our roll for a half second before declaring them an unmitigated failure? [/quote]

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