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[quote=Anonymous][quote] Why would a school want to increase its FARMs rate?

Because it is better for society.

Can you explain in concrete ways? I’m a fifteen-year veteran teacher in MCPS and, while I’ve taught in schools with high to low rates of poverty, I have never heard of this initiative. By the way, I’m a double minority and grew up poor so I support FARMs and other supports for low income students. Do you mean trying to get already attending students whose families meet the criteria enrolled in FARMs?[/quote]

I'm not the PP either but I'll try to answer. There have been studies that in schools with something like 10% or less FARMS/URMs the FARMS/URM kids do better than they would in a school with more FARMS kids. In this ratio, there is no measurable impact on the performance of non-FARMS. This benefit disappears when the ratio of FARMS kids increases and performance for non FARMS kids starts to decline.

In the W schools, including schools like Churchill, minorities and FARMS kids do perform better than their SES counterparts at other schools. These schools could absorb another 5% FARMS. As a Wootton parent and former teacher, I can completely see this working. My kids had FARMS friends, UMC friends and uber rich friends going all the way back to ES. I never knew some of the families were FARMS until after being friends with some of the moms for years. The kids all mix and make friends in school, sports teams etc. It isn't racially divided either. One of my son's African friends lives in a house that is twice the size of ours. He has a very close AA friend and another white friend who are FARMS and are in small THs. There are lots of kids in the smaller THs some FARMS, some not.

With a lower percentage of FARMS the school can put forward lots of resources to make sure the kids perform well. These kids are mixed in with other higher SES kids that have learning disabilities or are ESOL so it isn't as if all the poor kids have to go to homework club or are the only ones getting extra help. The PTA gives the guidance counselor money so all the FARMS kids get money for the book fair, school t-shirts that all the kids wear, and can attend the after school programs without anyone knowing they didn't have the money to sign up.

What MCPS wants to do which is wrong is to move boundaries around to disperse FARMS kids far from their neighborhoods and into schools where the ratio would increase to negate the benefit to the FARMS kids and start to diminish the performance of the non-FARMS kids. Studies show that FARMS kids do not do any better when the number increases. This only diverts resources toward busing FARMS kids rather than providing teachers which do make a difference. This helps no one except MCPS by creating an appearance that schools are more even in performance.

It may slightly help the property values of schools that are losing large portions  FARMS students but only if the school is losing enough to substantially raise the scores. It does hurt the property values of the receiving schools if the numbers are substantial enough to drop the scores. MCPS leverages this to create divisions between home owners hoping for a windfall and home owners fearing a loss. 
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