I never trust reading MCPS threads anymore since the crazy alt-right people have been hired to attack it.

None of the responses seem intelligent or measured.

It’s a bummer. We can’t have an intelligent conversation about these things.

I think they got new PR people because that letter was much better written than ones in the past. It was almost convincing.

But I absolutely don't believe they can make this happen. And the details were pretty fuzzy (although I didn't read the links). I just don't understand how these "theme" schools are gong to work. I suspect they will be trendy crap filler (medical sciences! performing arts!) that will pull teachers and resources away from teaching solid, important classes like pre-calculus, biology, English.

I also don't believe their thing about kids driving past other IB programs to get to RM. There aren't that many IB programs in the County. My kid went to RMIB, and there were kids from Whtiman and WJ there, but they don't drive by BCC or Kennedy to get there. One of the reasons my kid chose RMIB is that WJ had watered down the Apex program so much by allowing basically everybody in it. It's still "better than nothing" but is no longer a cohort of kids that really want an intense academic experience.

If they cared about giving kids accelerated opportunities, they could do it without these stupid trendy "theme" schools. They could let teachers start teaching more challenging curricula -- which I think a lot of them would do. They could get rid of honors for all and actually have advanced English classes, particularly in middle school where they are really needed. They could give English teachers an extra planning period so they could provide more substantive feedback on written work. They could develop a better science curriculum and make real labs available to kids more often. Instead they are going to waste a lot of money on reinventing wheels, in a way that will not be as effective as more obvious and basic approaches to serving the needs of advanced learners. Honestly, thank God for the AP program -- I'm not a huge fan of AP or College Board's rote learning method -- but at least it is a solid curriculum that actually teaches something, and MCPS can't monkey too much with what the teachers are teaching there.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did folks see the email from MCPS about the program changes (also at this link: https://ww2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/publicinfo/community/school-year-2024-2025/Community-Message-20250730-b.html )? Do you think this could possibly be an actual change of approach that will carry through in other ways as well to better serve advanced and gifted students throughout MCPS?

A lot of what they cite is true of middle school magnets and elementary school CESs as well,--might this be a sign they will expand seats for those as well? ("what we’re really facing is a classic supply-and-demand problem: too many students chasing too few seats, burdened by long commutes and uneven program quality and availability. Thousands apply to specialized programs, but with only a handful of openings, most are left on the sidelines.")

And the question about "Why would we continue the practice of denying talented students an opportunity to thrive?" could easily be asked about the lack of enriched/advanced classes at the elementary and middle school level as well (they've said elsewhere they're planning to do that at all high schools.)

Might this also indicate a change for the better at those levels too? Or are there ways to use this expressed commitment to betted advocate for those changes?

Already attempted and not filled for two years in a row.

Wait, are you saying there are unfilled CES and middle school magnet seats? I don't think that's true, aren't there far more eligible kids than seats?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a Trojan horse. They are NOT going to expand acceleration. They will lower the criteria and rigor for all.

There will be significant turnover on the BOE, for the McKnight disaster and for this disaster. We pay $3.65 Billion in county taxes for this??

OMG, not 3.5 Billion😱. Like that’s soo much money for 160k and 25k staff. What shall we do. OMG let’s think, how can we race to the pay and pay everyone less and spend less on education?

How about we employ quality leadership, for which we pay plenty?

Or, build new schools for the rotting structures that house our east county school communities?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a Trojan horse. They are NOT going to expand acceleration. They will lower the criteria and rigor for all.

There will be significant turnover on the BOE, for the McKnight disaster and for this disaster. We pay $3.65 Billion in county taxes for this??

OMG, not 3.5 Billion😱. Like that’s soo much money for 160k and 25k staff. What shall we do. OMG let’s think, how can we race to the pay and pay everyone less and spend less on education?

Anonymous wrote:This is a Trojan horse. They are NOT going to expand acceleration. They will lower the criteria and rigor for all.

There will be significant turnover on the BOE, for the McKnight disaster and for this disaster. We pay $3.65 Billion in county taxes for this??

If what they’re doing to ELC is any indication, hell no to all of this. Gifted students need to be challenged in a cohort of their peers. This acceleration for all is acceleration for none.

This, an ode to mediocracy, is when I knew that this school district's commitment to the extraordinary excellence of our magnet programs, has ended.

https://ww2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/publicinfo/community/school-year-2024-2025/Community-Message-20250730-b.html

Anonymous wrote:Delusional, OP. That announcement was pathetic and arrogant. MCPS is committed to ignoring community concerns and gaslighting the public.

They straight-up confessed that the regional IB programs are so inferior that students prefer longer bus rides to avoid them, and used that as justification to kill the successful IB program.

MCPS is absolutely committed to following through at MS and ES level, which is why they obliterated TPMS, CES, and ELC.

The tall poppies must be cut! The crabs must pull each other down! Harrison Bergeron is their
instruction manual.

When we first moved here ten years ago, I was impressed by the gifted programming offered by MCPS. It stood out amount our choices of where to move to. But now, it would not have the same allure.

The message was PR spin.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Delusional, OP. That announcement was pathetic and arrogant. MCPS is committed to ignoring community concerns and gaslighting the public.

They straight-up confessed that the regional IB programs are so inferior that students prefer longer bus rides to avoid them, and used that as justification to kill the successful IB program.

MCPS is absolutely committed to following through at MS and ES level, which is why they obliterated TPMS, CES, and ELC.

The tall poppies must be cut! The crabs must pull each other down! Harrison Bergeron is their instruction manual.

Do you mind telling us how they "obliterated" TPMS? Because I drove by the other day and the school was right there.

See https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/45/1249568.page#29158473

And if you don't know about the lottery, you're just completely out of the loop.

So, the item you linked is about the schedule change, which is not something MCPS did. The schedule change, while messaged/handled miserably by the school-level administrator, was a done deal the moment that the teachers voted on it. There was nothing anyone could do at that point. It was a labor issue, not something the Central Office did to the school.

As for the lottery, you do realize that happened to all MS magnet programs, right? Why was only TPMS "obliterated?"

On her kid’s school matters.

Anonymous wrote:Did folks see the email from MCPS about the program changes (also at this link: https://ww2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/publicinfo/community/school-year-2024-2025/Community-Message-20250730-b.html )? Do you think this could possibly be an actual change of approach that will carry through in other ways as well to better serve advanced and gifted students throughout MCPS?

A lot of what they cite is true of middle school magnets and elementary school CESs as well,--might this be a sign they will expand seats for those as well? ("what we’re really facing is a classic supply-and-demand problem: too many students chasing too few seats, burdened by long commutes and uneven program quality and availability. Thousands apply to specialized programs, but with only a handful of openings, most are left on the sidelines.")

And the question about "Why would we continue the practice of denying talented students an opportunity to thrive?" could easily be asked about the lack of enriched/advanced classes at the elementary and middle school level as well (they've said elsewhere they're planning to do that at all high schools.)

Might this also indicate a change for the better at those levels too? Or are there ways to use this expressed commitment to betted advocate for those changes?

Already attempted and not filled for two years in a row.

MCPS can word salad any idea they want - the problem is everything they roll out is crap. Half-assed, not enough training for those who are supposed to utilize whatever new theory they bring up next, not enough resources (teachers or materials or support), etc.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Delusional, OP. That announcement was pathetic and arrogant. MCPS is committed to ignoring community concerns and gaslighting the public.

They straight-up confessed that the regional IB programs are so inferior that students prefer longer bus rides to avoid them, and used that as justification to kill the successful IB program.

MCPS is absolutely committed to following through at MS and ES level, which is why they obliterated TPMS, CES, and ELC.

The tall poppies must be cut! The crabs must pull each other down! Harrison Bergeron is their instruction manual.

Do you mind telling us how they "obliterated" TPMS? Because I drove by the other day and the school was right there.

See https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/45/1249568.page#29158473

And if you don't know about the lottery, you're just completely out of the loop.

So, the item you linked is about the schedule change, which is not something MCPS did. The schedule change, while messaged/handled miserably by the school-level administrator, was a done deal the moment that the teachers voted on it. There was nothing anyone could do at that point. It was a labor issue, not something the Central Office did to the school.

As for the lottery, you do realize that happened to all MS magnet programs, right? Why was only TPMS "obliterated?"

This is a Trojan horse. They are NOT going to expand acceleration. They will lower the criteria and rigor for all.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Delusional, OP. That announcement was pathetic and arrogant. MCPS is committed to ignoring community concerns and gaslighting the public.

They straight-up confessed that the regional IB programs are so inferior that students prefer longer bus rides to avoid them, and used that as justification to kill the successful IB program.

MCPS is absolutely committed to following through at MS and ES level, which is why they obliterated TPMS, CES, and ELC.

The tall poppies must be cut! The crabs must pull each other down! Harrison Bergeron is their instruction manual.

Do you mind telling us how they "obliterated" TPMS? Because I drove by the other day and the school was right there.

See https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/45/1249568.page#29158473

And if you don't know about the lottery, you're just completely out of the loop.