Reply to MCPS to end areawide Blair Magnet and countywide Richard Montgomery's IB program

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Reply to "MCPS to end areawide Blair Magnet and countywide Richard Montgomery's IB program"

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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][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]make sure you're looking at the most recent region groupings. The link on the MCPS message to region maps was an old version. Not all regions are east-to-west anymore. [/quote]

Do you have a link to the new maps?[/quote]

Starting on slide 23: https://go.boarddocs.com/mabe/mcpsmd/Board.nsf/files/DJVQ4P6782A9/$file/Sec%20Prog%20Analysis%20Boundary%20Studies%20Engaga%20Plan%20Update%20250724%20PPT.pdf[/quote]
So, they are going with option #5? - pg 26.[/quote]
DP. Yes. I think these boundaries balance higher and lower SES, and harmony of communities as much as possible. You cannot ignore harmony. I know a student from a very different community who was bussed into a program due to its opportunity at the insistence of their parent. That student was miserable and was elated at switching to a school community they could better resonate with at the first opportunity.[/quote]

No one wants forced bussing.  The best option is to put more money in the schools that don’t have much and make them equal.  The disparities are significant.  [b]A smart kid at a w school can get all their classes and academics met.  A smart kid dcc is forced to another school, Mc or go without. [/b] They don’t allow homeschooling or independent study or virtual classes outside Mcps.   Or, at least being back virtual so it aligns with MCPS schedules.

The demographics are changing in mcps in the dcc due to crazy housing prices.

Blair is a great program but not for all kids.  Not all kids want a magnet and prefer to choose their own classes and those kids should get the same opportunities.  One reason why dcc kids try for Blair is the other schools don’t have the academics and they leave which causes the low scores.  [/quote]

I think this is part of what MCPS is trying to figure out, and I credit Taylor with at least tackling it. My understanding is that they are going to make sure every school has a baseline number of advanced classes, and that they are currently auditing what is available where.

But we also need to be realistic and aim for what is possible. I think making sure every HS has AP Calculus BC is sufficient, and then bringing back virtual for MVC for some kids.

What other courses do you think every school should be offering? 
[/quote]

MVC[/quote]
there are not enough students interested in MVC in each HS to offer it.   If we had unlimited funding, sure. But, we don't.  Plus, good luck finding good teachers to teach mvc at every HS.[/quote]

I know nothing about MVC so am curious what folks think-- is it better to take MVC virtually from a good teacher (both good at teaching MVC and good at online teaching), or to take it locally with a poor or mediocre teacher?

(I know some individual kids really struggle with virtual learning, but I'm talking about the majority of kids here.)[/quote]

I'm a university faculty, and I had supervised an undergrad from a mediocre university before through the REU program. He was in English major, but happened to take an astronomy class for fun, and the professor who taught that class found him smart, so recommended to me to do some data analysis work. He started to learn coding all by himself from scratch, and at the end of that summer, he completed his work and we finished a scientific paper together later that year. He applied to a graduate program for astronomy major in a prestigious university, and got an offer. Now he is a PhD candidate there. I once asked him why he chose English as his major. And he told me he had a really bad experience in Calc BC class back in HS, that made him hating math so much, until he took the astronomy class, and finally found his true love and true talent. This is how a good or a bad HS teacher could impact...[/quote]

Okay, so is that a vote for prioritizing getting good teachers and having them teach virtually if you can't get enough good MVC teachers for all the high schools, over having an in-person MVC teacher at all high schools even if they're a bad teacher?[/quote]

As a parent, my opinion doesn't matter. Ppl on this board said we should listen to Taylor or Hazel who have education PhDs and hence who should be the experts, neglecting the fact that they didn't know the magnet curriculum, and didn't care how to expand the curriculum nor how to train or find qualified teachers. Nicky Hazel even spelled "cosmology" wrong under the "STEM" example course offering in her slides (she spelled "cosmetology"). So whatever the hell.[/quote]

Taylor doesn't have a PhD; he has an EdD (lower bar). Hazel has a master's degree. [/quote]

Good grief he has a doctorate in education (a terminal degree) from the University of Virginia. Hazel’s masters is from the University of Pennsylvania.  Are we really going to be snobs about their education or can we focus on substance.[/quote]

These ED degrees are about admin, not curriculum. They don't know curriculum. And they are lost in the woods on this new regional system with regional programming. These programs are being made up on the fly. Too many changes, too quickly. And they are taking down flagship programs, for what? They could do the regional programs and still form cross-regional student cohorts for magnets.[/quote]

But they do have folks in staff who do know about curriculum.[/quote]

As far as I know, the planning committee includes zeros teacher from these programs, so they "know" the curriculum from course names, and apparently doesn't know the difference between cosmology vs. cosmetology. [/quote]

If this is true, that is egregious. None of the Blair or Poolesville SMCS teachers are involved in planning the roll-out of 4 new STEM magnets? That's insane if true.[/quote]

I know that Blair magnet teachers and coordinator worked with Poolesville educators, to support the Poolesville magnet program as it rolled out, and Blair helped Poolesville in reflecting a learning culture conducive for highly able students. I don't believe that this is happening currently, with the new regional programs. I believe that Project Lead the Way curriculum is utilized for Wheaton's engineering program, although I may be wrong about that. Wheaton's program is a success, because it has picked up on high achieving DCC students who are strivers - good on that school leadership.  Schools supporting other schools, and smart school leadership looking for a way to attract striving students are what worked.[/quote]

This is not happening for now. Mr. O didn't get to know any of this impact to Blair SMACS until last month, and he was informed by parents/students.[/quote]

So the school district shut out Peter Ostrander, the Blair magnet coordinator, who is one of the most valuable MCPS STEM educator- administrators we have. Thomas Taylor and Niki Hazel Porter are heart-breakingly clueless.

A good super would ask the questions: who is involved with this regional and program planning process and why are they included? What expertise are we looking for? Who amongst our school educators AND principals might also be lend content expertise and MCPS institutional knowledge to ensure outstanding curriculum and smooth transitional planning?

The hubris of Central Office - for these administrators to think they can throw this together and think the community is going to roll over and take it when what they present is sub par for all students. What a vast waste of resources.[/quote]

This is sadly par for the course. Central office never asks teachers about anything [/quote]
But this is just lies [/quote]

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