Reply to MCPS ending Loiderman/Parkland/Argyle magnets?

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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]I think they SHOULD end this program. Why would only a small area of the county have middle school choice? And why are we paying for bussing to multiple schools for one area.

I am an elementary school teacher at a school that feeds into this consortia. Many of the 5th graders do not like being forced to choose a program. They do not like leaving their friends.  And when I drive to school it is absolutely ridiculous that one intersection has 3 bus stops- one for each school. The kids are told to wait on opposite corners for their bus. What a waste of transportation money.[/quote]

Any child in the county can apply to the MSMC middle schools. Its a lottery.[/quote]

I’m so tired of all the lotteries. I think it’s a way for MCPS to give the appearance of having both quality programming and equality but it actually works against that. They ration opportunities. They split kids up, and yes, I can’t imagine what they must be spending on wasteful transportation costs. Why can’t they just provide the same programs at all schools? [/quote]

This exactly. They really need to focus on ensuring that home schools have good programming -- kids shouldn't have to lottery into another school to get a good basic education. But that is happening in way too much of the county.[/quote]

These schools have the same academic curriculum as every other middle school. [b]They add speciality focus classes[/b] to pull out of boundary students so the schools arent so poverty concentrated. If you did this in every school, it would not help balance FARMS rates because the rich kids would stay at their rich schools.[/quote]

Right, that isn’t equal to other schools. Also, they pull wealthier students out of less wealthy schools, so it works both ways. I’ve seen this with the criteria magnets as well. It’s a shell game. MCPS could provide an equal education at local schools but chooses not to for some reason. Maybe because the small number of people who benefit from these programs are louder, I don’t know. [/quote]

When you have populations with significantly higher needs but the same amount of funding at lower income schools, the education is not going to be "equal"[/quote]

I’m not sure what your point is. My point is that I object to the false sense that MCPS provides equal opportunity for programming (criteria or choice programs) via lotteries, instead of providing the same programs at all schools. It’s an out for them, and it results in unequal access for students. Why can’t each elementary school have the CES curriculum? Why can’t each middle school have a STEM class? And put on a school play? [/quote]

All the middle schools Im aware of put on school plays - does yours not? [/quote]

Our DCC MS does not and probably never will.  Staff are barely willing to do a few weak afterschool fluff clubs like crochet club. [/quote]

Our NEC MS doesn't either, and same: very few clubs. One of my kids got into Takoma Park, the other won't so they'll likely be stuck at our home school. The thing is, although my kids loves Takoma Park, all of the driving has put a strain on our family and with our weekend schedule, my kid cannot interact with their friends as much as they would like. I wish she would have been able to get her need for enrichment met at our home school. I'm at least interested in hearing what they have to say about changes, because the current system clearly doesn't work for many.[/quote]

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