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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous] Just a simple question--------------is a Blair education good as that at any "W" school by any measure[/b]?[/quote]

Well, it's an extremely stupid question, demonstrating extreme ignorance, but, [b]yes, for the Blair kids who fit the same demographic profile as their W counterparts, and come to the table with the same external advantages, the outcome is the same[/b]. Surely you get that, right?[/quote]

Definitely. A bad teacher (my older daughter had 2 at Blair, both in math) is less disastrous to a kid from a middle or high SES family. We paid for tutors and emailed the teacher, department head, and administrators weekly until instruction improved (case #1) or a transfer to another teacher came through (case #2).[/quote]

In the most obnoxious and offensive manner (surely, you get that, right?) what you are saying is that the teaching at Blair is the same at any W counterpart.  Now that is stupidity at its zenith!!  [b]Look at the academic indicators and tell me how ypu justify your belief[/b].[/quote]

C'mon, to try to use the overall academic indicators of very different places as proof, without any context, is a willfully obtuse act. It would get you tossed out of any intro class in social science.

Let me go through it again. To make a real apples-to-apples comparison of the ACADEMIC experience provided by Blair and, say, Wootton, you must do so using like peer groups. Which means in a diverse school like Blair, you must separate the kids from educated, middle-to-high SES backgrounds from their more academically challenged ESOL and FARMs schoolmates. For THOSE kids, the ACADEMIC experience is the same. Both schools offer the exact same advanced classes taught by a spectrum of teachers of varying abilities. Both schools offer a peer group of similarly advanced students. Both schools serve as launch pads to excellent colleges. That is provable by the Naviance, or even just the annual list in Bethesda magazine.

Now those schools will offer very different CULTURAL experiences. For some families, that's where the discomfort lies. I would argue that Blair's diversity contributes to the overall educational experience, but that's a personal bias. Others may feel differently and that's their personal bias. The thing is, people are often uncomfortable owning that kind of bias, so they like to claim it's really about the academics.

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Thank you to all who expressed their feelings on this topic.  A number of us were mulling over moving or considering staying put and sending our children to Blair.  You've helped us make that decision.  Thank you.

To Blair supporters I would suggest that you hold off on suggesting anyone who poses a question about Blair is a Poolesville supporter.

Lastly, for the lecture on apples-to-apples comparison let me point out that MCPS data allows for a comparison between schools of similar demographics as well as comparison between similar groups at different schools. If you do care about making the right comparison, you should ask Blair to disagregate the performance of students in its magnet program from the performance of the "regular school."

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