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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Exactly. Taking IB + Arts away from Einstein is just ridiculous. [/quote]

I don't know about arts, but Einstein can keep a local IB program if they want. But people here are often complaining that the IB program at Einstein means they can't take the higher-level AP classes they want, so it's not clear to me that that's the best option for Einstein.[/quote]

Currently, Einstein is under the Kennedy regional umbrella for IB.  That application program, though, doesn't draw nearly the way that B-CC's would, as B-CC's complementary advanced offerings are considered better, and it has considerably lower FARMS and EML rates than Kennedy.

This would tend to undermine Einstein's own local IB, reducing the population of advanced learners who, if they stayed, might help the school offer a broader array of IB classes, and at the higher level.  It struggles to maintain that, as it is.  Before the regional IB at Kennedy, Einstein was clearly the place to go within the DCC for that experience (it may still be, but to a lesser extent).  It drew sizeable numbers of IB students from the 5-school catchment -- some who did not get in to county-wide RMIB and some who preferred the more local (and less cutthroat) setting.  Changing demographics, overall, the slight shift toward Kennedy's regional program and a decision to stop offering advanced, IB-related courses in 9th & 10th (previously offering cohorting away from the base curriculum in some subjects) all have taken a toll.  With the school-choice consortia disappearing, taking away a huge catchment of those who might have chosen Einstein for its IB (open to all, unlike the application programs), in addition to BCC's greater draw away from the remaining local population, it looks as though MCPS's likely recommendations from the Program Analysis would create an untenable situation, leaving Einstein with little chance of providing the IB experience sought within the catchment.

That's from the perspective of Einstein's community.  From the perspective of the individual student, it's not as if B-CC's magnet program will be large enough to take all those applying from Einstein (and Northwood and Blair, the other two schools in the DCC heading into Region 1 that currently might access Einstein's IB through the choice process).[/quote]

Do most people in the DCC prefer Einstein to Kennedy for IB? Kennedy takes nearly all students -- only the vastly unqualified are rejected. I would think people would prefer Kennedy because they offer pre-IB classes.[/quote]

More kids choose Einstein than Kennedy in the DCC choice process. I don’t know if they choose it for Einstein’s IB or because of the music and theatre programs.

Kennedy has had a rough few years. Other than adding the IB magnet right before covid, MCPS hasn’t done much to improve the situation there. Kennedy will be in a region with Walter Johnson, Woodward and Wheaton, which probably won’t help. [/quote]

But students who want to go to the IBDP at Kennedy would not go through the choice process. They would go through the application process. It does not seem that Einstein's IBDP is stronger than Kennedy's.[/quote]

MCPS reports AP/IB test data. You have to scroll all the way to the end for IB stats per school but more Einstein students take IB exams than Kennedy students.

Einstein and BCC have about the same number of IB courses each year, though more BCC students take the exams. Why not put county resources into Einstein? The BCC program will be self-sustaining so there will be two good IB programs in the region. But Einstein is losing students in the boundary study so their IB will shrink or end without MCPS support.

https://ww2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/sharedaccountability/reports/2024/240215_2023_AP_IB_Exam_Enrollment%20Part%20and%20Perform..pdf[/quote]

The regional programs should be the strongest programs that exist. BCC has much better IBDP than Einstein and higher IB test scores. It makes sense to open that up so kids across the region will be able to attend. It should not be just for BCC students.[/quote]

Half the proposed programs are being built out of thin air. They won’t be strong at all. Putting the strongest programs at schools that are already have more resources, then placing the new, untested, low-demand programs at under-resourced schools means less affluent schools will lose more students than they gain. That will affect staffing formulas, the new programs will flounder, and they’ll become the least popular schools in the region.

How many of you would put your kids on a bus for an hour for an education magnet? Or a nursing assistant magnet? Or even a graphic design magnet?

MCPS is setting some schools up to fail. It sucks. [/quote]

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