Reply to Return to school: What about the MCPS magnets?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]According to

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montgomery_Blair_High_School

In 1985, Montgomery County Public Schools opened its first Science, Mathematics, and Computer Science Magnet program at Blair.[35] At the time, Blair had the highest minority population among the high schools in the County and the lowest standardized test scores.[35] The school board conducted a survey to decide that a specialized science magnet program would attract high-achieving white and Asian students to Blair.[36] Although there was criticism of the program from some parents and students, the leaders of the PTA and the principal supported the program, noting that by 1989 more families were staying in the neighborhood to attend Blair and fewer students were seeking to transfer out.[35] In 1993, the Superintendent of Montgomery County Public Schools told the New York Times: "I have never seen a high school's image turn around so quickly."[36]

The question is if we get rid of magnet programs like Blair, would Blair continues to be a desirable school ?  And would it affect the property value in the area ?

Magnet programs  attract highly motivated (if not highly gifted) students to attend the school, and these kids should be much easier to teach.  At high school level, kids start to learn more by themselves,  particularly true for magnets.

There is additional cost to run a magnet program such as transportation, and specialized curriculum.  But the cost is minimal compared what magnet has brought to the school --     the  high school's image, and county revenue from property tax as a result.

[/quote]

I live in Blair cluster, but I don't think it is the job of MCPS to prop up home values. That goes as much for Blair as it does for the folks losing their minds over the upcounty boundary study. With that said, there is value in the SMCS magnet in that it brings together some of the brightest and best-prepared young people in the county and allows them to access resources that would be hard to provide if they remained scattered. [/quote]

+1 and as a previous post pointed out the additional cost is relatively modest especially since funding has already been cut by over 50% over the last decade. The students have an extra class period (which is necessary to enable them to complete the integrated and in depth  math and science curriculum) and so they do need a few extra teachers for the 400 magnet students. They don’t really get any additional funding beyond transportation. It has been nearly impossible to get funding for equipment in recent years. They rely on alumni donations for that - so for example when they introduced a new course a few years ago (college level organic chemistry) they used alumni donations to purchase the textbooks. Many of the things Blair gets lauded for (such as winning Math competitions etc) are supported by magnet alumni not the school. For many of these kids being in a group of peers and with teachers who love math and science and “get them” is transformative. Many of these children would be truly miserable in their home schools   [/quote]

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