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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]

Yes, this was confusing. What I meant was, perhaps the kids who got in from Western county schools scored so high they did not have an equivalently high scoring peer from a middle school someplace without a "cohort" to be placed in the spot instead, so they got the spot. Or another possibility is the committee understood that they did have to throw  a few bones the way of schools in higher income areas and let some of those kids in, even though they have home middle schools with higher ability peers. I don't know. Who can say? It's not really possible that there are fewer kids from Cold Sprng just because they cast a wider net. I simply don't personally believe it. I still believe those kids would be some of the highest scoring kids in the whole county for a variety of reasons even with way more kids tested. The 700 kids tested before weren't some random selection of 700 kids. Yes, it was a smaller number of kids. [b]But it was a self selected cohort of highly motivated kids willing to fill out a lengthy application and yes, with parents willing to support that.[/b] Of course within the 3300 additional kids screened you will have children who in the past have just not applied and this year did...but something else is going on. [/quote]

No, it was a self-selected cohort of highly-motivated [i]parents[/i]. Specifically, highly-motivated parents who were in the know.[/quote]

Every year (including this year for HS)  we receive a notice from MCPS regarding the opportunity to the HS/MS Magnet or HGC.   [b]All parents [/b]of MCPS students are in the know on the same level !   We have three studnets at MCPS -- but only one applied for magnet and got in because we knew this one had a shot.   MCPS gave ALL parents the opportunity to select their kids to compete, and we did.     [/quote]

Look at the posts in this thread from folks who wouldn't have thought to have their child tested, but were accepted. Those were self-identified white, English speaking, middle class families. Now imagine you are not all of the above. MCPS is casting a wider net because they did research and found that kids who could have done the work weren't even taking the test. [/quote]

+ 1     I used to be someone who also thought like the PP quoted above--i.e., that all parents were notified, so why the angst?  Then our family spent four years living in a different country with a very different educational system.  Even after four years and speaking the local language pretty well and being employed there, DH and I just didn't have the same comprehension of what to do to direct our kids' educational path.  We hadn't grown up with it, didn't know others who had grown up with it, and there were hoops to jump through, etc.  I knew enough to get our children into school, but definitely not enough to take full advantage of everything.  I'm not proud of the fact that it took a personal experience like that to give me some more empathy and a better grasp of the hurdles faced by some families, but there it is.

[/quote]

Until MCPS is more transparent with the results of the selection process, we all should be reluctant to do a comparison of these children as to who "deserves" to go the most.  We do not know how much geographical consideration was put in place by the county.  We do not know how cohort at the MS school came into play and what limitations were.  Parents of kids who got in should not necessarily gloat that their kids are "better" and "more qualified" but somehow were just forgotten and denied all this time.  Frankly, we do not know the specifics of the selection criteria and how much it weighs in the final decisions.  We do not know how this new group of kids will fair at the middle school magnets next year.  They are presented with a great opportunities and let's hope they take full advantage of it.  Similarly, parents of kids, especially those who have already proven their merits having been successful in the HGCs, should move on and try their best to work with the county and the schools to ensure that the local system have something put in place for these hardworking kids.  I know it sucks but sometimes we can do all the right things in life but just don't get the prize.  There is really no need to discredit the children who got in this year.  Help yourselves and your kids move on, and work with what you have at this point to make proper changes.  Bright kids who work hard will not be deterred by a small obstacle.  [/quote]

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