Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MCPS easily could post a table of elective courses by school. They do not do this because it would highlight the inequity across the system.

In the case of CS, some middle schools offer a course that is more challenging, provides the prerequisite to an AP in HS or serves to fulfill the MSDE tech requirement such that it frees up an elective spot in HS. Guess where that access is prevalent vs. a MS choosing to provide a course that doesn't have those benefits...

Are you trying to hint that wealthy districts have "better" CS classes in MS?

Eh. My 9th grader in a Bethesda high school just took AP Computer Science Principles without having any CS experience. It's easy and meets the tech requirement. She's on track to take a dozen APs before she graduates, but is not interested in computer science. It's not really important which CS you take in middle school or whether you take any at all - the important courses for that subject are all in high school anyway. Just go with student preference and course availability, OP. Don't stress about it.

Taking APCSP without the prerequisite requires an exception from the administration. Having it count for the tech requirement requires that it be coded in the registration system correctly by the school. Once more, guess where each practice is prevalent...

That's just plain wrong.

Yet it continues to happen all across the district for both AP class, electives, and even new pilot courses.

Why is it that the majority of pilot courses come from a handful of schools? Why is it that even though the county is currently conducting a program analysis, no survey has been sent to secondary students to understand the type of programs they would like to see? Why is that the website for this same program study doesn’t link to a consolidated list of all the current programs with relevant info instead of requiring someone to click through all the school profiles?

You are both right and wrong. What posters don't like is that you cherry-pick the evidence you want, and ignore the facts that do not dovetail into your narrative of discrimination. It's not ALL about wealthy clusters getting better service.

Administrative competency is school-dependent:

I've had kids at BCC, in downtown Bethesda and Walter Johnson, in north Bethesda. The BCC website is a mess, and it's not intuitive to find the link to BCC courses. My kid was just told that the AP she had signed up for next year is full of seniors already and she can't have a seat, which is a bummer, because it was a double period AP and she needs to rework her high school schedule to take pre-requisites into account, etc. Such course cancellations can and do happen in every school, but they happen less in schools that are well run. When my oldest kid attended Walter Johnson, the place was run like clockwork, he got all the AP courses he signed up for, and the course bulletin was clearly laid out and easily accessible. And it was easy to understand why: the Principal at the time was very efficient and no-nonsense, and she hired people like her (with a few exceptions). The smooth operation of your school depends on the administration in that school, and some of them can be damn well incompetent, even in wealthy clusters!

Secondary schools have programming leeway:

I don't disagree with you that MCPS schools in poorer clusters may have fewer advanced courses in general, because they have fewer demands for some courses and cannot justify adding certain courses (hiring the teacher, reserving that room, at the expense of other classes). MCPS is built to allow each school to select what they offer, in addition to the basic core courses, to suit the majority of the student body.

Equity and the consequences of privilege:

We have not experienced pilot courses in the schools my kids attended, but I do know that Prometheum boards were debuted at my kids' elementary, many years ago, by PTA funds - aka, rich people money - and that the success of that program led to MCPS buying these boards for the whole school system. This is how it works. Everyone benefits, eventually, when wealthy families decide they want to try something new, and persuade their public school system to invest in new tech, or new educational programs, for the entirety of the student body. I remind you, PP, that magnet schools and specialized trade schools were DELIBERATELY placed in lower-performing, more affordable neighborhoods of MoCo to encourage wealthy families to stay where they were and free up desirable seats in those programs for the less-privileged students! MCPS has a long history of pushing for equity.

The problem is that MCPS claims they are pushing for equity yet not do some simple things that would ensure equity. Students and families don’t get to choose the principal and all the staff in a school they just have to deal with how it’s run similar to how that just have to deal with whatever the school population makeup may be. Fewer demands for classes does not mean no demand or desire. People may not request what they don’t know is available. Additionally different cultures have different deference to schools and how they operate. Many assume incorrectly that everything will just be available and administrators will have the training and foresight to push for new programming or to even survey if their school community wants new things.

I did a limited test of this with my kids and their friends who are engaged and top academic students. When they took a look at the full MCPS course book in comparison to what classes they could take at their school, they were floored to find classes they would have interest in taking but never knew existed. The students didn’t express interest in a course or ask if there could be other options because they never thought that was a possibility.

A large part of what you describe is just the nature of public school, OP. Even in private, you don't get to choose your principal or specific teachers or specific classes, you pick the school as a package deal. You get that, right? Education, unless you homeschool with a curriculum you create yourself from scratch, will never be entirely customizable.

As for cultural differences in regards to compliance and not rocking the boat... it's sometimes hard to distinguish that from having or not having money and education and the assertive confidence that goes with it - which also explains why families in poorer neighborhoods might not push back against their school administration in the same way as families from richer neighborhoods. A lot of these families are working several jobs and barely keeping their head above water.

We're Asian, and come from a culture that respects elders and educators enormously. There is no talking back or questioning the professor or the school where we come from, unless there is a very serious abuse or cheating issue! But we're also educated and wealthy, and now we live here and see how "pushy" Caucasian Americans ask for stuff all the time. So when our oldest was in MCPS, I quickly understood that not all courses are offered at all schools, that sometimes I could request a different teacher at the discretion of the Principal, that there were faster tracks available (in math and language) than the ones written on the slides and info packets distributed by the schools, and also that some pre-requisites could be waived. All by talking to other parents, reading this website and joining the PTAs at our kids' schools. Reading DC2's high school listserve is eye-opening: people demand the most ridiculous changes to accommodate their families and children all the time. Last one today: changing the date of the AP Psych make-up exam because it conflicts with Memorial weekend plans and prom! They expect white glove service from a public school! It makes me laugh, but the reality is that by doing so, they push administrators into catering mode, and eventually they do win concessions from the school. Apparently the College Board has approved a different make-up date for this exam. It would never have crossed my mind to ask for that, even now after years of living here and morphing into what I consider to be "pushy Mom"

What are the unadvertised faster tracks?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MCPS easily could post a table of elective courses by school. They do not do this because it would highlight the inequity across the system.

In the case of CS, some middle schools offer a course that is more challenging, provides the prerequisite to an AP in HS or serves to fulfill the MSDE tech requirement such that it frees up an elective spot in HS. Guess where that access is prevalent vs. a MS choosing to provide a course that doesn't have those benefits...

Are you trying to hint that wealthy districts have "better" CS classes in MS?

Eh. My 9th grader in a Bethesda high school just took AP Computer Science Principles without having any CS experience. It's easy and meets the tech requirement. She's on track to take a dozen APs before she graduates, but is not interested in computer science. It's not really important which CS you take in middle school or whether you take any at all - the important courses for that subject are all in high school anyway. Just go with student preference and course availability, OP. Don't stress about it.

Taking APCSP without the prerequisite requires an exception from the administration. Having it count for the tech requirement requires that it be coded in the registration system correctly by the school. Once more, guess where each practice is prevalent...

That's just plain wrong.

Yet it continues to happen all across the district for both AP class, electives, and even new pilot courses.

Why is it that the majority of pilot courses come from a handful of schools? Why is it that even though the county is currently conducting a program analysis, no survey has been sent to secondary students to understand the type of programs they would like to see? Why is that the website for this same program study doesn’t link to a consolidated list of all the current programs with relevant info instead of requiring someone to click through all the school profiles?

You are both right and wrong. What posters don't like is that you cherry-pick the evidence you want, and ignore the facts that do not dovetail into your narrative of discrimination. It's not ALL about wealthy clusters getting better service.

Administrative competency is school-dependent:

I've had kids at BCC, in downtown Bethesda and Walter Johnson, in north Bethesda. The BCC website is a mess, and it's not intuitive to find the link to BCC courses. My kid was just told that the AP she had signed up for next year is full of seniors already and she can't have a seat, which is a bummer, because it was a double period AP and she needs to rework her high school schedule to take pre-requisites into account, etc. Such course cancellations can and do happen in every school, but they happen less in schools that are well run. When my oldest kid attended Walter Johnson, the place was run like clockwork, he got all the AP courses he signed up for, and the course bulletin was clearly laid out and easily accessible. And it was easy to understand why: the Principal at the time was very efficient and no-nonsense, and she hired people like her (with a few exceptions). The smooth operation of your school depends on the administration in that school, and some of them can be damn well incompetent, even in wealthy clusters!

Secondary schools have programming leeway:

I don't disagree with you that MCPS schools in poorer clusters may have fewer advanced courses in general, because they have fewer demands for some courses and cannot justify adding certain courses (hiring the teacher, reserving that room, at the expense of other classes). MCPS is built to allow each school to select what they offer, in addition to the basic core courses, to suit the majority of the student body.

Equity and the consequences of privilege:

We have not experienced pilot courses in the schools my kids attended, but I do know that Prometheum boards were debuted at my kids' elementary, many years ago, by PTA funds - aka, rich people money - and that the success of that program led to MCPS buying these boards for the whole school system. This is how it works. Everyone benefits, eventually, when wealthy families decide they want to try something new, and persuade their public school system to invest in new tech, or new educational programs, for the entirety of the student body. I remind you, PP, that magnet schools and specialized trade schools were DELIBERATELY placed in lower-performing, more affordable neighborhoods of MoCo to encourage wealthy families to stay where they were and free up desirable seats in those programs for the less-privileged students! MCPS has a long history of pushing for equity.

The problem is that MCPS claims they are pushing for equity yet not do some simple things that would ensure equity. Students and families don’t get to choose the principal and all the staff in a school they just have to deal with how it’s run similar to how that just have to deal with whatever the school population makeup may be. Fewer demands for classes does not mean no demand or desire. People may not request what they don’t know is available. Additionally different cultures have different deference to schools and how they operate. Many assume incorrectly that everything will just be available and administrators will have the training and foresight to push for new programming or to even survey if their school community wants new things.

I did a limited test of this with my kids and their friends who are engaged and top academic students. When they took a look at the full MCPS course book in comparison to what classes they could take at their school, they were floored to find classes they would have interest in taking but never knew existed. The students didn’t express interest in a course or ask if there could be other options because they never thought that was a possibility.

A large part of what you describe is just the nature of public school, OP. Even in private, you don't get to choose your principal or specific teachers or specific classes, you pick the school as a package deal. You get that, right? Education, unless you homeschool with a curriculum you create yourself from scratch, will never be entirely customizable.

As for cultural differences in regards to compliance and not rocking the boat... it's sometimes hard to distinguish that from having or not having money and education and the assertive confidence that goes with it - which also explains why families in poorer neighborhoods might not push back against their school administration in the same way as families from richer neighborhoods. A lot of these families are working several jobs and barely keeping their head above water.

We're Asian, and come from a culture that respects elders and educators enormously. There is no talking back or questioning the professor or the school where we come from, unless there is a very serious abuse or cheating issue! But we're also educated and wealthy, and now we live here and see how "pushy" Caucasian Americans ask for stuff all the time. So when our oldest was in MCPS, I quickly understood that not all courses are offered at all schools, that sometimes I could request a different teacher at the discretion of the Principal, that there were faster tracks available (in math and language) than the ones written on the slides and info packets distributed by the schools, and also that some pre-requisites could be waived. All by talking to other parents, reading this website and joining the PTAs at our kids' schools. Reading DC2's high school listserve is eye-opening: people demand the most ridiculous changes to accommodate their families and children all the time. Last one today: changing the date of the AP Psych make-up exam because it conflicts with Memorial weekend plans and prom! They expect white glove service from a public school! It makes me laugh, but the reality is that by doing so, they push administrators into catering mode, and eventually they do win concessions from the school. Apparently the College Board has approved a different make-up date for this exam. It would never have crossed my mind to ask for that, even now after years of living here and morphing into what I consider to be "pushy Mom"

Exactly. I too have learned that pushing can yield to different results. Unfortunately, many don’t know that nor do they have then understanding and time to push for more. Which is why CO should be pushing for a level of standardization across the district.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Foundations of CS is the class that counts for Tech Credit and is offered in some middle schools an enables skipping AP CS Principles.

The you have Programming 1 (not tech credit, usually C/C++, decades-obsolete course), and then AP CS A (Java) aka "Programming 2".

If your student is interested in CS, at the level of home hobbyist before HS, you need to take Foundations of CS in middle school or 9th and then fight to skip Programming 1 in HS.
Or go to a SMACS program that runs through this curriculum at accelerated pace equivalent to 2 courses per year.

I will add to PP's post that if your kid is not interested in pursuing more computer science, then skipping Foundations of CS and just taking AP Computer Science Principles is a good idea, because you get an AP for it.

But AP CSP is not available in middle school the way that FoCS is, which is only in some middle schools.

Is the issue that you feel AP CSP in grade 9 is too "easy" and that the true computer science brains need to start AP CS (Java) in Grade 9? I was told not much was taught in Foundations of Computer Science Principles and that entering in AP CSP and then AP Java was a good trajectory for a kid interested in Computer Science.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MCPS easily could post a table of elective courses by school. They do not do this because it would highlight the inequity across the system.

In the case of CS, some middle schools offer a course that is more challenging, provides the prerequisite to an AP in HS or serves to fulfill the MSDE tech requirement such that it frees up an elective spot in HS. Guess where that access is prevalent vs. a MS choosing to provide a course that doesn't have those benefits...

Are you trying to hint that wealthy districts have "better" CS classes in MS?

Eh. My 9th grader in a Bethesda high school just took AP Computer Science Principles without having any CS experience. It's easy and meets the tech requirement. She's on track to take a dozen APs before she graduates, but is not interested in computer science. It's not really important which CS you take in middle school or whether you take any at all - the important courses for that subject are all in high school anyway. Just go with student preference and course availability, OP. Don't stress about it.

Taking APCSP without the prerequisite requires an exception from the administration. Having it count for the tech requirement requires that it be coded in the registration system correctly by the school. Once more, guess where each practice is prevalent...

That's just plain wrong.

Yet it continues to happen all across the district for both AP class, electives, and even new pilot courses.

Why is it that the majority of pilot courses come from a handful of schools? Why is it that even though the county is currently conducting a program analysis, no survey has been sent to secondary students to understand the type of programs they would like to see? Why is that the website for this same program study doesn’t link to a consolidated list of all the current programs with relevant info instead of requiring someone to click through all the school profiles?

You are both right and wrong. What posters don't like is that you cherry-pick the evidence you want, and ignore the facts that do not dovetail into your narrative of discrimination. It's not ALL about wealthy clusters getting better service.

Administrative competency is school-dependent:

I've had kids at BCC, in downtown Bethesda and Walter Johnson, in north Bethesda. The BCC website is a mess, and it's not intuitive to find the link to BCC courses. My kid was just told that the AP she had signed up for next year is full of seniors already and she can't have a seat, which is a bummer, because it was a double period AP and she needs to rework her high school schedule to take pre-requisites into account, etc. Such course cancellations can and do happen in every school, but they happen less in schools that are well run. When my oldest kid attended Walter Johnson, the place was run like clockwork, he got all the AP courses he signed up for, and the course bulletin was clearly laid out and easily accessible. And it was easy to understand why: the Principal at the time was very efficient and no-nonsense, and she hired people like her (with a few exceptions). The smooth operation of your school depends on the administration in that school, and some of them can be damn well incompetent, even in wealthy clusters!

Secondary schools have programming leeway:

I don't disagree with you that MCPS schools in poorer clusters may have fewer advanced courses in general, because they have fewer demands for some courses and cannot justify adding certain courses (hiring the teacher, reserving that room, at the expense of other classes). MCPS is built to allow each school to select what they offer, in addition to the basic core courses, to suit the majority of the student body.

Equity and the consequences of privilege:

We have not experienced pilot courses in the schools my kids attended, but I do know that Prometheum boards were debuted at my kids' elementary, many years ago, by PTA funds - aka, rich people money - and that the success of that program led to MCPS buying these boards for the whole school system. This is how it works. Everyone benefits, eventually, when wealthy families decide they want to try something new, and persuade their public school system to invest in new tech, or new educational programs, for the entirety of the student body. I remind you, PP, that magnet schools and specialized trade schools were DELIBERATELY placed in lower-performing, more affordable neighborhoods of MoCo to encourage wealthy families to stay where they were and free up desirable seats in those programs for the less-privileged students! MCPS has a long history of pushing for equity.

The problem is that MCPS claims they are pushing for equity yet not do some simple things that would ensure equity. Students and families don’t get to choose the principal and all the staff in a school they just have to deal with how it’s run similar to how that just have to deal with whatever the school population makeup may be. Fewer demands for classes does not mean no demand or desire. People may not request what they don’t know is available. Additionally different cultures have different deference to schools and how they operate. Many assume incorrectly that everything will just be available and administrators will have the training and foresight to push for new programming or to even survey if their school community wants new things.

I did a limited test of this with my kids and their friends who are engaged and top academic students. When they took a look at the full MCPS course book in comparison to what classes they could take at their school, they were floored to find classes they would have interest in taking but never knew existed. The students didn’t express interest in a course or ask if there could be other options because they never thought that was a possibility.

A large part of what you describe is just the nature of public school, OP. Even in private, you don't get to choose your principal or specific teachers or specific classes, you pick the school as a package deal. You get that, right? Education, unless you homeschool with a curriculum you create yourself from scratch, will never be entirely customizable.

As for cultural differences in regards to compliance and not rocking the boat... it's sometimes hard to distinguish that from having or not having money and education and the assertive confidence that goes with it - which also explains why families in poorer neighborhoods might not push back against their school administration in the same way as families from richer neighborhoods. A lot of these families are working several jobs and barely keeping their head above water.

We're Asian, and come from a culture that respects elders and educators enormously. There is no talking back or questioning the professor or the school where we come from, unless there is a very serious abuse or cheating issue! But we're also educated and wealthy, and now we live here and see how "pushy" Caucasian Americans ask for stuff all the time. So when our oldest was in MCPS, I quickly understood that not all courses are offered at all schools, that sometimes I could request a different teacher at the discretion of the Principal, that there were faster tracks available (in math and language) than the ones written on the slides and info packets distributed by the schools, and also that some pre-requisites could be waived. All by talking to other parents, reading this website and joining the PTAs at our kids' schools. Reading DC2's high school listserve is eye-opening: people demand the most ridiculous changes to accommodate their families and children all the time. Last one today: changing the date of the AP Psych make-up exam because it conflicts with Memorial weekend plans and prom! They expect white glove service from a public school! It makes me laugh, but the reality is that by doing so, they push administrators into catering mode, and eventually they do win concessions from the school. Apparently the College Board has approved a different make-up date for this exam. It would never have crossed my mind to ask for that, even now after years of living here and morphing into what I consider to be "pushy Mom"

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MCPS easily could post a table of elective courses by school. They do not do this because it would highlight the inequity across the system.

In the case of CS, some middle schools offer a course that is more challenging, provides the prerequisite to an AP in HS or serves to fulfill the MSDE tech requirement such that it frees up an elective spot in HS. Guess where that access is prevalent vs. a MS choosing to provide a course that doesn't have those benefits...

Are you trying to hint that wealthy districts have "better" CS classes in MS?

Eh. My 9th grader in a Bethesda high school just took AP Computer Science Principles without having any CS experience. It's easy and meets the tech requirement. She's on track to take a dozen APs before she graduates, but is not interested in computer science. It's not really important which CS you take in middle school or whether you take any at all - the important courses for that subject are all in high school anyway. Just go with student preference and course availability, OP. Don't stress about it.

Taking APCSP without the prerequisite requires an exception from the administration. Having it count for the tech requirement requires that it be coded in the registration system correctly by the school. Once more, guess where each practice is prevalent...

That's just plain wrong.

Yet it continues to happen all across the district for both AP class, electives, and even new pilot courses.

Why is it that the majority of pilot courses come from a handful of schools? Why is it that even though the county is currently conducting a program analysis, no survey has been sent to secondary students to understand the type of programs they would like to see? Why is that the website for this same program study doesn’t link to a consolidated list of all the current programs with relevant info instead of requiring someone to click through all the school profiles?

You are both right and wrong. What posters don't like is that you cherry-pick the evidence you want, and ignore the facts that do not dovetail into your narrative of discrimination. It's not ALL about wealthy clusters getting better service.

Administrative competency is school-dependent:

I've had kids at BCC, in downtown Bethesda and Walter Johnson, in north Bethesda. The BCC website is a mess, and it's not intuitive to find the link to BCC courses. My kid was just told that the AP she had signed up for next year is full of seniors already and she can't have a seat, which is a bummer, because it was a double period AP and she needs to rework her high school schedule to take pre-requisites into account, etc. Such course cancellations can and do happen in every school, but they happen less in schools that are well run. When my oldest kid attended Walter Johnson, the place was run like clockwork, he got all the AP courses he signed up for, and the course bulletin was clearly laid out and easily accessible. And it was easy to understand why: the Principal at the time was very efficient and no-nonsense, and she hired people like her (with a few exceptions). The smooth operation of your school depends on the administration in that school, and some of them can be damn well incompetent, even in wealthy clusters!

Secondary schools have programming leeway:

I don't disagree with you that MCPS schools in poorer clusters may have fewer advanced courses in general, because they have fewer demands for some courses and cannot justify adding certain courses (hiring the teacher, reserving that room, at the expense of other classes). MCPS is built to allow each school to select what they offer, in addition to the basic core courses, to suit the majority of the student body.

Equity and the consequences of privilege:

We have not experienced pilot courses in the schools my kids attended, but I do know that Prometheum boards were debuted at my kids' elementary, many years ago, by PTA funds - aka, rich people money - and that the success of that program led to MCPS buying these boards for the whole school system. This is how it works. Everyone benefits, eventually, when wealthy families decide they want to try something new, and persuade their public school system to invest in new tech, or new educational programs, for the entirety of the student body. I remind you, PP, that magnet schools and specialized trade schools were DELIBERATELY placed in lower-performing, more affordable neighborhoods of MoCo to encourage wealthy families to stay where they were and free up desirable seats in those programs for the less-privileged students! MCPS has a long history of pushing for equity.

The problem is that MCPS claims they are pushing for equity yet not do some simple things that would ensure equity. Students and families don’t get to choose the principal and all the staff in a school they just have to deal with how it’s run similar to how that just have to deal with whatever the school population makeup may be. Fewer demands for classes does not mean no demand or desire. People may not request what they don’t know is available. Additionally different cultures have different deference to schools and how they operate. Many assume incorrectly that everything will just be available and administrators will have the training and foresight to push for new programming or to even survey if their school community wants new things.

I did a limited test of this with my kids and their friends who are engaged and top academic students. When they took a look at the full MCPS course book in comparison to what classes they could take at their school, they were floored to find classes they would have interest in taking but never knew existed. The students didn’t express interest in a course or ask if there could be other options because they never thought that was a possibility.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Foundations of CS is the class that counts for Tech Credit and is offered in some middle schools an enables skipping AP CS Principles.

The you have Programming 1 (not tech credit, usually C/C++, decades-obsolete course), and then AP CS A (Java) aka "Programming 2".

If your student is interested in CS, at the level of home hobbyist before HS, you need to take Foundations of CS in middle school or 9th and then fight to skip Programming 1 in HS.
Or go to a SMACS program that runs through this curriculum at accelerated pace equivalent to 2 courses per year.

I will add to PP's post that if your kid is not interested in pursuing more computer science, then skipping Foundations of CS and just taking AP Computer Science Principles is a good idea, because you get an AP for it.

But AP CSP is not available in middle school the way that FoCS is, which is only in some middle schools.

Anonymous wrote:Do you have to go to your boundary high school in mcps? I thought you could go to a different school if you wanted to?

You have to unless you're part of one of the consortia, you apply to a special program, or you get a COSA for a unique hardship.

Do you have to go to your boundary high school in mcps? I thought you could go to a different school if you wanted to?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MCPS easily could post a table of elective courses by school. They do not do this because it would highlight the inequity across the system.

In the case of CS, some middle schools offer a course that is more challenging, provides the prerequisite to an AP in HS or serves to fulfill the MSDE tech requirement such that it frees up an elective spot in HS. Guess where that access is prevalent vs. a MS choosing to provide a course that doesn't have those benefits...

Are you trying to hint that wealthy districts have "better" CS classes in MS?

Eh. My 9th grader in a Bethesda high school just took AP Computer Science Principles without having any CS experience. It's easy and meets the tech requirement. She's on track to take a dozen APs before she graduates, but is not interested in computer science. It's not really important which CS you take in middle school or whether you take any at all - the important courses for that subject are all in high school anyway. Just go with student preference and course availability, OP. Don't stress about it.

Taking APCSP without the prerequisite requires an exception from the administration. Having it count for the tech requirement requires that it be coded in the registration system correctly by the school. Once more, guess where each practice is prevalent...

That's just plain wrong.

Yet it continues to happen all across the district for both AP class, electives, and even new pilot courses.

Why is it that the majority of pilot courses come from a handful of schools? Why is it that even though the county is currently conducting a program analysis, no survey has been sent to secondary students to understand the type of programs they would like to see? Why is that the website for this same program study doesn’t link to a consolidated list of all the current programs with relevant info instead of requiring someone to click through all the school profiles?

You are both right and wrong. What posters don't like is that you cherry-pick the evidence you want, and ignore the facts that do not dovetail into your narrative of discrimination. It's not ALL about wealthy clusters getting better service.

Administrative competency is school-dependent:

I've had kids at BCC, in downtown Bethesda and Walter Johnson, in north Bethesda. The BCC website is a mess, and it's not intuitive to find the link to BCC courses. My kid was just told that the AP she had signed up for next year is full of seniors already and she can't have a seat, which is a bummer, because it was a double period AP and she needs to rework her high school schedule to take pre-requisites into account, etc. Such course cancellations can and do happen in every school, but they happen less in schools that are well run. When my oldest kid attended Walter Johnson, the place was run like clockwork, he got all the AP courses he signed up for, and the course bulletin was clearly laid out and easily accessible. And it was easy to understand why: the Principal at the time was very efficient and no-nonsense, and she hired people like her (with a few exceptions). The smooth operation of your school depends on the administration in that school, and some of them can be damn well incompetent, even in wealthy clusters!

Secondary schools have programming leeway:

I don't disagree with you that MCPS schools in poorer clusters may have fewer advanced courses in general, because they have fewer demands for some courses and cannot justify adding certain courses (hiring the teacher, reserving that room, at the expense of other classes). MCPS is built to allow each school to select what they offer, in addition to the basic core courses, to suit the majority of the student body.

Equity and the consequences of privilege:

We have not experienced pilot courses in the schools my kids attended, but I do know that Prometheum boards were debuted at my kids' elementary, many years ago, by PTA funds - aka, rich people money - and that the success of that program led to MCPS buying these boards for the whole school system. This is how it works. Everyone benefits, eventually, when wealthy families decide they want to try something new, and persuade their public school system to invest in new tech, or new educational programs, for the entirety of the student body. I remind you, PP, that magnet schools and specialized trade schools were DELIBERATELY placed in lower-performing, more affordable neighborhoods of MoCo to encourage wealthy families to stay where they were and free up desirable seats in those programs for the less-privileged students! MCPS has a long history of pushing for equity.

Anonymous wrote:Foundations of CS is the class that counts for Tech Credit and is offered in some middle schools an enables skipping AP CS Principles.

The you have Programming 1 (not tech credit, usually C/C++, decades-obsolete course), and then AP CS A (Java) aka "Programming 2".

If your student is interested in CS, at the level of home hobbyist before HS, you need to take Foundations of CS in middle school or 9th and then fight to skip Programming 1 in HS.
Or go to a SMACS program that runs through this curriculum at accelerated pace equivalent to 2 courses per year.

I will add to PP's post that if your kid is not interested in pursuing more computer science, then skipping Foundations of CS and just taking AP Computer Science Principles is a good idea, because you get an AP for it.

Foundations of CS is the class that counts for Tech Credit and is offered in some middle schools an enables skipping AP CS Principles.

The you have Programming 1 (not tech credit, usually C/C++, decades-obsolete course), and then AP CS A (Java) aka "Programming 2".

If your student is interested in CS, at the level of home hobbyist before HS, you need to take Foundations of CS in middle school or 9th and then fight to skip Programming 1 in HS.
Or go to a SMACS program that runs through this curriculum at accelerated pace equivalent to 2 courses per year.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MCPS easily could post a table of elective courses by school. They do not do this because it would highlight the inequity across the system.

In the case of CS, some middle schools offer a course that is more challenging, provides the prerequisite to an AP in HS or serves to fulfill the MSDE tech requirement such that it frees up an elective spot in HS. Guess where that access is prevalent vs. a MS choosing to provide a course that doesn't have those benefits...

Are you trying to hint that wealthy districts have "better" CS classes in MS?

Eh. My 9th grader in a Bethesda high school just took AP Computer Science Principles without having any CS experience. It's easy and meets the tech requirement. She's on track to take a dozen APs before she graduates, but is not interested in computer science. It's not really important which CS you take in middle school or whether you take any at all - the important courses for that subject are all in high school anyway. Just go with student preference and course availability, OP. Don't stress about it.

Taking APCSP without the prerequisite requires an exception from the administration. Having it count for the tech requirement requires that it be coded in the registration system correctly by the school. Once more, guess where each practice is prevalent...

That's just plain wrong.

Yet it continues to happen all across the district for both AP class, electives, and even new pilot courses.

Why is it that the majority of pilot courses come from a handful of schools? Why is it that even though the county is currently conducting a program analysis, no survey has been sent to secondary students to understand the type of programs they would like to see? Why is that the website for this same program study doesn’t link to a consolidated list of all the current programs with relevant info instead of requiring someone to click through all the school profiles?

What are you talking about? The fact is there is no prerequisite for APCSP, nor is there an exception from the administration needed.