Reply to Two paths to magnet program at Richard Montgomery High School

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Magnet programs take up host school resources. Allowing home school kids easier entry into magnet programs (ex, tpms, rmib) seems reasonable compensation.

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Actually they don't. They are funded from a different bucket altogether by MCPS.

Magnet programs do the following - 
-> Bring the academic scores of the school up
-> Lower the discipline issues in the school
-> Bring parents who have more resources to the school (usually you see the changes when parents start/fund programs, volunteer to chaperone field-trips, donate to school causes, start clubs, seek out outside opportunities for the students) and are more engaged.  RM parents started an IB Foundation a few years ago that benefits all students doing the diploma program not just RMIB magnet students
-> Provide opportunities to other high-achieving non-magnet students within the school to be in a class with high performing peers and also to avail of opportunities that are opened up because of the magnet population - teams, clubs, volunteer opportunities, outreach, academic preparation
-> Becomes attractive to teachers who want to teach these students. Once these teachers are in the school they also take on other roles - club sponsors, team leads etc. 
-> Make the area attractive to prospective home-buyers and lead to revitalization of that community.

What it does not do - 
-> Increase the academic abilities of low and medium performing students.  Magnet classrooms do not create the phenomenon where by mixing magnet students with non-magnet students will result in some sort of osmosis of abilities from high performing students to low performing students.    Regardless of what MCPS is daydreaming. Not. Gonna. Happen.

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I believe the only additional funding host schools receive is for a program coordinator. All other resources are shared. Everything else you listed as perks for housing a magnet program are questionable when comprehensive classes are overcrowded.[/quote]

Yet, no school wants to lose their magnet programs do they? Their spectacular performance will drop without the magnet programs and they will be the bottom of the heap schools where the teachers and Principal actually need to work hard to bring their numbers up.  Maybe magnet programs should be housed in seperate magnet schools - like Poolsville HS is? Maybe the reporting of a school statistics should be based on breaking the magnet away from the comprehensive program?  Please let me know what ranking  RM will have without the RMIB program?

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