Anonymous
Post 05/27/2025 20:08     Subject: Initial boundary options for Woodward study area are up
Anonymous wrote:Then what are we paying these consultants for?


Honestly should have skipped paying thousands to "consultants" and used AI to generate options. In fact I'm sure someone will do just that and come up with more viable options.
Anonymous
Post 05/27/2025 20:06     Subject: Initial boundary options for Woodward study area are up
I don't understand why MCPS would keep the RHES/NCC/CCES split articulation structure if they are going to send the kids from NCC and CCES to different middle and high schools. Am I reading that wrong?
Anonymous
Post 05/27/2025 20:05     Subject: Initial boundary options for Woodward study area are up
Is there a way to even see the larger map? Google doc is not working, it doesn't open as a legible map. And is there a way to superimpose these draft options onto a current boundary map?

When are any of these proposed draft changes supposed to take effect? Will kids be started at one school and then sent to another??

Having trouble demystifying much of this....
Anonymous
Post 05/27/2025 20:03     Subject: Initial boundary options for Woodward study area are up
The thought of driving right by Woodward all the way over to Kennedy to pick kids up for doctors appointments or meetings or games is unreal. Not to mention film the time they will spend on the bus. Heartbreaking.
Anonymous
Post 05/27/2025 20:00     Subject: Re:Initial boundary options for Woodward study area are up
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I cannot make heads or tails of these options. Clearly need to get to one of the boundary meetings cause it's hard to see the before and after of each option.


The interactive map is actually really helpful once you get the hang of it. You can put up the layer for current HS or MS boundaries and then toggle each of the new options on and off one by one. You can also click on any address and it will tell you the MS and HS for all 4 options: https://maulfoster.maps.arcgis.com/apps/instant/basic/index.html?appid=03a8d9fa2f3e4d30938bd4868af3d0cc



Ok. Thank you! This helped.

Option 3 has some wild consequences, particularly for Kennedy. How on earth would MCPS explain the logic of that boundary?


Kennedy is the weakest dcc school. You can lottery to another school.


I wouldn't bank on that. It's not clear the DCC or NEC will continue to exist. Particularly if Taylor gets what he wants with the regional school model.


I get that anything is on the table but has this specifically come up?


Taylor mentioned it at one of the BoE meetings as one of the things they are re-evaluating (in the context of the program analysis, which is tied into the boundary study).


Yup. That's where it was brought up.
Anonymous
Post 05/27/2025 20:00     Subject: Initial boundary options for Woodward study area are up
Anonymous wrote:I was expecting a range of options on the demographics/equalizing FARMS dimension. But options 1, 2 and 4 do basically nothing to improve on that front, or in some cases make things worse. And option 3 is only a moderate improvement, the kind of thing I would have expected as a middle-ground option between "no improvement on demographics/diversity" and "significant improvement on demographics/diversity."

I feel like all the options other than #3 are non-starters. #3 has plenty of flaws but it feels like we need to focus on iterating off of it to make it better. It's ridiculous to have some schools with 6% FARMS rates and some schools with over 60% FARMS rates (or up to 75% at some middle schools!) and have 3 of the 4 options not do a thing to try to address that.


Disasgree. Option 3 will be off the table quickly. Look at how many HS have noncontiguous boundaries. You just can't level the FARMs rates in schools in a county that has so much housing segregation.
Anonymous
Post 05/27/2025 19:59     Subject: Initial boundary options for Woodward study area are up
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Elementary question here: if Woodward opens in Fall of 2027, which classes attend that fall? Is it freshman and sophomores? Or would juniors move as well?

And how are changes handled at the middle school level?


9th and 10th for high school, and 6th and 7th for middle school move, the rest stay at current school, subject to BoE approval.


And if I remember correctly from when Silver Creek opened, siblings will be split up? So my 2029 would stay at the current school, but the 2031 would move to the new one?

That’s what happened to my cousin in Anne Arundel so I assume MCPS does it that way too. She had a sophomore who started at the new school and a junior who stayed at the old one. She even worked for AACPS and tried to get an exception and it didn’t work.
Anonymous
Post 05/27/2025 19:58     Subject: Initial boundary options for Woodward study area are up
Anonymous wrote:What is the regional school model?


The death of the cluster model.

Review the presentation here: https://go.boarddocs.com/mabe/mcpsmd/Board.nsf/files/DGUMR95C762F/$file/Sec%20Prog%20Analysis%20Boundary%20Studies%20Engage%20Plan%20Update%20250522%20PPT.pdf

Go to the slide about the Program Access Model.
Anonymous
Post 05/27/2025 19:54     Subject: Initial boundary options for Woodward study area are up
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Option 3 is the only one which tries to balance FARMS rate but it seems it's bussing all over.


It shows how crazy to put FARMs rate over other factors. So many broken apart communities.


Option 3 is so wack. And I live in an area that would benefit positively from it. But it is NOT viable at all and also absolutely not going to dramatically shift the FARMS or demographics of Whitman. It's just not. The catchment areas they included aren't low income - I know. I live there and everyone is solidly middle class.
Anonymous
Post 05/27/2025 19:54     Subject: Initial boundary options for Woodward study area are up
What is the regional school model?
Anonymous
Post 05/27/2025 19:54     Subject: Re:Initial boundary options for Woodward study area are up
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I cannot make heads or tails of these options. Clearly need to get to one of the boundary meetings cause it's hard to see the before and after of each option.


The interactive map is actually really helpful once you get the hang of it. You can put up the layer for current HS or MS boundaries and then toggle each of the new options on and off one by one. You can also click on any address and it will tell you the MS and HS for all 4 options: https://maulfoster.maps.arcgis.com/apps/instant/basic/index.html?appid=03a8d9fa2f3e4d30938bd4868af3d0cc



Ok. Thank you! This helped.

Option 3 has some wild consequences, particularly for Kennedy. How on earth would MCPS explain the logic of that boundary?


Kennedy is the weakest dcc school. You can lottery to another school.


I wouldn't bank on that. It's not clear the DCC or NEC will continue to exist. Particularly if Taylor gets what he wants with the regional school model.


I get that anything is on the table but has this specifically come up?


Taylor mentioned it at one of the BoE meetings as one of the things they are re-evaluating (in the context of the program analysis, which is tied into the boundary study).


Thanks. I’m not trying to escape our zoned high school (Blair, likely to remain so) but I would be disappointed to lose access to Northwood etc since my kids are immersion track at SCES/SSIMS and I’ve been assuming they had the option to stay with friends. I guess none of us are safe! 🙃
Anonymous
Post 05/27/2025 19:51     Subject: Re:Initial boundary options for Woodward study area are up
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I cannot make heads or tails of these options. Clearly need to get to one of the boundary meetings cause it's hard to see the before and after of each option.


The interactive map is actually really helpful once you get the hang of it. You can put up the layer for current HS or MS boundaries and then toggle each of the new options on and off one by one. You can also click on any address and it will tell you the MS and HS for all 4 options: https://maulfoster.maps.arcgis.com/apps/instant/basic/index.html?appid=03a8d9fa2f3e4d30938bd4868af3d0cc



Ok. Thank you! This helped.

Option 3 has some wild consequences, particularly for Kennedy. How on earth would MCPS explain the logic of that boundary?


Kennedy is the weakest dcc school. You can lottery to another school.


I wouldn't bank on that. It's not clear the DCC or NEC will continue to exist. Particularly if Taylor gets what he wants with the regional school model.


I get that anything is on the table but has this specifically come up?


Taylor mentioned it at one of the BoE meetings as one of the things they are re-evaluating (in the context of the program analysis, which is tied into the boundary study).
Anonymous
Post 05/27/2025 19:41     Subject: Re:Initial boundary options for Woodward study area are up
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I cannot make heads or tails of these options. Clearly need to get to one of the boundary meetings cause it's hard to see the before and after of each option.


The interactive map is actually really helpful once you get the hang of it. You can put up the layer for current HS or MS boundaries and then toggle each of the new options on and off one by one. You can also click on any address and it will tell you the MS and HS for all 4 options: https://maulfoster.maps.arcgis.com/apps/instant/basic/index.html?appid=03a8d9fa2f3e4d30938bd4868af3d0cc



Ok. Thank you! This helped.

Option 3 has some wild consequences, particularly for Kennedy. How on earth would MCPS explain the logic of that boundary?


Kennedy is the weakest dcc school. You can lottery to another school.


I wouldn't bank on that. It's not clear the DCC or NEC will continue to exist. Particularly if Taylor gets what he wants with the regional school model.


I get that anything is on the table but has this specifically come up?
Anonymous
Post 05/27/2025 19:39     Subject: Initial boundary options for Woodward study area are up
Option 3 makes BCC over capacity from the start -- it is the one school with the smallest footprint and it cannot be expanded, not a portable, not a classroom, not a bathroom. Option 3 also forces the Summit Hills area students to ride the bus to Whitman. Those students are the least likely to have parents with cars -- many use public transit. They are the students most likely to work and to take care of siblings. It means parents cannot attend sporting events, it means less school attendance. At the same time, the main bus routes in that area are being shut down by WMATA. The interactive maps can do cartwheels, it won't fix issues like this if you don't understand/ dont' care about your student population and its needs.
Anonymous
Post 05/27/2025 19:35     Subject: Re:Initial boundary options for Woodward study area are up
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I cannot make heads or tails of these options. Clearly need to get to one of the boundary meetings cause it's hard to see the before and after of each option.


The interactive map is actually really helpful once you get the hang of it. You can put up the layer for current HS or MS boundaries and then toggle each of the new options on and off one by one. You can also click on any address and it will tell you the MS and HS for all 4 options: https://maulfoster.maps.arcgis.com/apps/instant/basic/index.html?appid=03a8d9fa2f3e4d30938bd4868af3d0cc



Ok. Thank you! This helped.

Option 3 has some wild consequences, particularly for Kennedy. How on earth would MCPS explain the logic of that boundary?


Kennedy is the weakest dcc school. You can lottery to another school.


I wouldn't bank on that. It's not clear the DCC or NEC will continue to exist. Particularly if Taylor gets what he wants with the regional school model.