Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DS applied last year and DD this year. Last year he had to fill out different applications for the different programs. This year there was only one application. There was still a place to list awards and extracurriculars. That did not change between last year and this year. What struck me as odd was how some kids DD knew applied to 10+ programs. That’s kind of nuts. Is the application process too easy? Now there are loads of waitlists to delve into. One kid got into 7 programs. There will now be 6 (or up to 7 if he decides to just go to home school) spots that will jump down to waitlist. Seems like a lot of work for MCPS but oh well!

How? My kid was only eligible for 6 (3 Poolesville, RMIB, regional IB, Einstein VAC) and actually applied to 4.

They were DCC. 2 Wheaton applications, regional IB at Kennedy, Blair stem, Blair CAP, probably the leadership program at Kennedy, RMIB. Poolesville? I don’t remember what else, but definitely DCC kids had lots they could apply too.

DCC I counted 12 possible.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DS applied last year and DD this year. Last year he had to fill out different applications for the different programs. This year there was only one application. There was still a place to list awards and extracurriculars. That did not change between last year and this year. What struck me as odd was how some kids DD knew applied to 10+ programs. That’s kind of nuts. Is the application process too easy? Now there are loads of waitlists to delve into. One kid got into 7 programs. There will now be 6 (or up to 7 if he decides to just go to home school) spots that will jump down to waitlist. Seems like a lot of work for MCPS but oh well!

How? My kid was only eligible for 6 (3 Poolesville, RMIB, regional IB, Einstein VAC) and actually applied to 4.

They were DCC. 2 Wheaton applications, regional IB at Kennedy, Blair stem, Blair CAP, probably the leadership program at Kennedy, RMIB. Poolesville? I don’t remember what else, but definitely DCC kids had lots they could apply too.

Anonymous wrote:DS applied last year and DD this year. Last year he had to fill out different applications for the different programs. This year there was only one application. There was still a place to list awards and extracurriculars. That did not change between last year and this year. What struck me as odd was how some kids DD knew applied to 10+ programs. That’s kind of nuts. Is the application process too easy? Now there are loads of waitlists to delve into. One kid got into 7 programs. There will now be 6 (or up to 7 if he decides to just go to home school) spots that will jump down to waitlist. Seems like a lot of work for MCPS but oh well!

How? My kid was only eligible for 6 (3 Poolesville, RMIB, regional IB, Einstein VAC) and actually applied to 4.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the central office did a really good job. For application based magnets, there is no cohort criteria like middle school.

Just wonder why no cohort criteria for high school magnet ? because high schools have AP courses while middle schools courses choice limited ?

I think this is true. The HS already have way more enrichment options for anyone who wants to take advantage.

But now the MS supposedly have "enrichment courses" but they still have peer cohort criteria.

There are a lot more HS magnet seats than MS magnet seats.

and that's part of the problem. There are more ES magnet seats than MS magnet seats, too. It's like an hour glass, where the MS magnet is the bottleneck. I don't know what MCPS is thinking to choke the MS magnet seats.

DS applied last year and DD this year. Last year he had to fill out different applications for the different programs. This year there was only one application. There was still a place to list awards and extracurriculars. That did not change between last year and this year. What struck me as odd was how some kids DD knew applied to 10+ programs. That’s kind of nuts. Is the application process too easy? Now there are loads of waitlists to delve into. One kid got into 7 programs. There will now be 6 (or up to 7 if he decides to just go to home school) spots that will jump down to waitlist. Seems like a lot of work for MCPS but oh well!

Why exactly does anyone think that the teacher and local magnet school selection committee was not doing a good a job and their duties needed to be taken over by the central office?

In our experience, the magnet teachers and local administrators know their programs and are very dedicated while the central office of filled with failed administrators whose only skill is being able to kiss up to other central office staff. The central office is filled with people who failed in the classroom, failed in local school administrators and who contribute very little if anything to the actual success of students or programs. Yet here they are once again stripping teachers of any decisioning making authority and supplementing their own.

Its wrong to strip excellent teachers of a decision making role that they had excelled at in the past. Instead lets significantly lesson the duties of the central office. let them go and hire people that work in the local schools to work with students

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the central office did a really good job. For application based magnets, there is no cohort criteria like middle school.

Just wonder why no cohort criteria for high school magnet ? because high schools have AP courses while middle schools courses choice limited ?

I think this is true. The HS already have way more enrichment options for anyone who wants to take advantage.

But now the MS supposedly have "enrichment courses" but they still have peer cohort criteria.

MS at most has two enriched classes per grade. One if you don’t consider the math track coming out of compacted math to be inherently enriched since they’re no longer doing the cohort AIM.

HS has regular, honors, and AP, plus some IB options depending on the school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the central office did a really good job. For application based magnets, there is no cohort criteria like middle school.

What is “cohort criteria “?

From the middle school magnets FAQ:

7. Can you clarify what “availability of an academic peer group” means?

One of the criteria considered was the availability of an academic peer group within the local school. This is demonstrated when there is a cohort of 20 or more students in the same middle school with a similar academic profile and ability which serves as an academic peer group. Students who perform at high levels may or may not be invited to the program based on the availability of a similar academic peer group at their middle school.

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/uploadedFiles/curriculum/specialprograms/middle/FAQs%202020.pdf

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This and the fact they took most of the application away.

That was a good thing. The previous high school magnet application was more complicated than a college application. It was ridiculous.

The old system
Wasn’t complicated. You could tailor (but didn’t have to) your essay to each specific program
And that was so much better. Plus you could list all your outside interests, awards and reasons why this program was best for you.
It was taken away and made everyone the same.

You just explained in detail how the old application was complicated, and the new application is much simpler. Thank you.

Anonymous wrote:I think the central office did a really good job. For application based magnets, there is no cohort criteria like middle school.

What is “cohort criteria “?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This and the fact they took most of the application away.

That was a good thing. The previous high school magnet application was more complicated than a college application. It was ridiculous.

The old system
Wasn’t complicated. You could tailor (but didn’t have to) your essay to each specific program
And that was so much better. Plus you could list all your outside interests, awards and reasons why this program was best for you.
It was taken away and made everyone the same.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the central office did a really good job. For application based magnets, there is no cohort criteria like middle school.

Just wonder why no cohort criteria for high school magnet ? because high schools have AP courses while middle schools courses choice limited ?

I think this is true. The HS already have way more enrichment options for anyone who wants to take advantage.

But now the MS supposedly have "enrichment courses" but they still have peer cohort criteria.

There are a lot more HS magnet seats than MS magnet seats.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the central office did a really good job. For application based magnets, there is no cohort criteria like middle school.

Just wonder why no cohort criteria for high school magnet ? because high schools have AP courses while middle schools courses choice limited ?

I think this is true. The HS already have way more enrichment options for anyone who wants to take advantage.

But now the MS supposedly have "enrichment courses" but they still have peer cohort criteria.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the central office did a really good job. For application based magnets, there is no cohort criteria like middle school.

Just wonder why no cohort criteria for high school magnet ? because high schools have AP courses while middle schools courses choice limited ?

I think this is true. The HS already have way more enrichment options for anyone who wants to take advantage.

All of the eigth graders we expected to get placed in an IB program did, in fact, get placed.