Reply to Please be aware of what is about to go away:

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Reply to "Please be aware of what is about to go away:"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]These changes are going to devastate Einstein which will be left with graphic arts. [/quote]

Einstein seems to disproportionally lose in all this. Their performing arts are really strong and often celebrated by MCPS (including in today’s social media feed). I understand gradually tweaking the programs to make more sense but not taking two major programs out of Einstein, not replacing them, and significantly reducing its student population which in turn means fewer teachers and fewer offerings. I have a kid at Einstein who loves it and another headed there next year. I want to trust that the offerings will be the same for 8th graders but of course they won’t be. It would be great if we could help build programs at more schools but not by taking it away from others.[/quote]

I know nothing is set in stone, but I would be surprised if the Einstein community allowed VAPA and VAC to be taken away. It took years to build these programs, and they are a big part of the school’s reputation today. My son graduated from Einstein’s VAC program and now works for Disney+, and has a friend who is a background dancer for Kendrick Lamar, along with other friends who have built amazing careers in the arts. They wouldn’t be where they are today without the training they received at Einstein. This is devastating, VAPA and VAC must stay.

[/quote]

Neither of them have to go away. They can remain as regional (VAC) or local (VAPA) programs.[/quote]

But the proposal moves the performing arts pathway to Northwood. How do you maintain that level of performing arts when the curriculum that supports it is intentionally moved? [/quote]

Northwood already has performing arts as one of its academies, same as Einstein. Since they're going to have a brand new and larger building with good facilities, it makes sense to have the new program there.[/quote]

And what of the current and future AEHS students? Just tough on them? I hate the scarcity mindset of MCPS that creates this really unhealthy hunger games for programs. All kids deserve access to a program like VAPA that 30% of Einstein students currently elect into. [/quote]

Just to clear things up. VAPA is not a centrally-managed program. It's a local program open to any Einstein student. There's no reason this can't continue. The new program at Northwood is a centrally-managed, criteria-based performing arts (not visual arts) program, very different from VAPA.[/quote]

Except that the boundary changes mean that AEHS will be under capacity with fewer students to support such programs so there are absolutely no guarantees that they will continue on the levels they are at currently. That they are rushing this through at the same time as the boundary changes without fully seeing how those are implemented is ridiculous.[/quote]

So now your complaint is that a school will be slightly under capacity as opposed to over-capacity???  I'm sure HS with 12-20 portables would love to have that scenario.[/quote]

The concern is losing students means losing staff and courses.  [/quote]

Yes staffing is based on the number of students.  You could argue that the district allocation needs to be reviewed for all schools but advocating both not overcrowded and getting to retain more staff makes no sense.[/quote]

The staffing is a huge issue as it impacts course offerings.  So, if they move 400 students out, how many teachers and classes will be lost given the already limited offerings. [/quote]

The number of teachers will always be proportional to the number of students. When a school is extremely overcrowded and there's a boundary change to correct that, then yes, some teachers will be transferred. Which is appropriate and sensible.[/quote]

Correct but these schools are aready lacking in courses and reducing the number of teachers will only make that worse, not better.  So much for equity.[/quote]

[b]The staffing ratios are equitable[/b]. The courses offered may not be, but that's not because of the staffing ratio. High schools with ~1600 students have enough teachers to offer a broad range of courses.[/quote]

Hahahahaha!  That's a good one!

The staffing ratios would be [i]equitable[/i] if, at each school, there were staff enough to ensure delivery of similar educational experiences/options to any prospective student.  As it is, especially in secondary (and more specifically at the HS level), there's staffing in the W-type clusters to allow a student there access to a much wider variety of high-level courses than that which is available at Einstein.  The staffing allocation at Einstein, and at a number of schools elsewhere, is insufficient both to provide that level of opportunity and to address the differential needs of the higher proportion of students with language barriers and lower family resources.[/quote]

Wait, why would they be different?  It's a set formula based on number of students, right?  I don't understand.  Is there some other reason you know about that gives W schools more staff?

Or is this more a matter of disagreeing with how the Einstein principal chooses to use the staff allotted?  That's not a staffing allocation issue though.[/quote]

Of course it is a staffing allocation issue.  It was pointed out that a strictly per-pupil staffing allocation results in inequities related to curricular offerings.  And that Einstein principal is constrained by policy/regulation to allocate resources a certain way -- which is the same for other principals, of course, but they are, then, not faced with the same magnitude of required resource allocation.

Or is this more a matter of disagreeing that all students in MCPS should have equivalent access to educational opportunity?[/quote]

Are the W schools that much bigger than Einstein? I thought they were all around 2000 kids (except WJ)?[/quote]

The w schools don’t have as many esol and kids with disabilities do the priority is on those kids with the most needs.   [/quote]

Lets not pretend cost VS benefit doesn't apply to kids. Dumping money on lost causes vs building future contributors to society is needed in the equation. Opposed to just spending cycles to provide people some faux high ground so they can say they are not Ahole. At some point results have to matter and at some point a person's "potential" or "fairness" isn't a factor being considered. [/quote]

They should get way more than what they are getting but [b]not at the expense of other students needs not being met.[/b]  [/quote]

Zero sum game unless you are willing to fork over more in taxes to cover both.  It sounds like you are supporting the status quo, then?[/quote]

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