Anonymous
Post 06/05/2017 13:43     Subject: Why w school students not preferred in Blair magnet
Anonymous wrote:Many students from W-schools, my DD included, choose not to apply for or attend the Blair magnet program because the quality of education sucks.

The magnet program is open to anyone at Blair who wants the pretext of a challenge and has been watered down accordingly.

My 2 cents.


Can I suggest that we don't respond to this poster? They obviously didn't have someone attend Blair SMAC and don't know the requirements or the curriculum or the students that attend.

I would hazard a guess that their student did not get into magnet programs and they have made this up. There is plenty of data to measure the strength of the curriculum and the requirements to attend SMAC. It's just not for everyone.
Anonymous
Post 06/05/2017 12:02     Subject: Why w school students not preferred in Blair magnet
Anonymous wrote:No. It means anyone in the whole school can take high level magnet courses if they have taken certain AP courses.

No, Blair isn't comparable to W Schools http://reportcard.msde.maryland.gov/.

You can also take certain classes at a university if you have taken certain AP courses. In most high schools, AP classes are the most rigorous classes you can take. At Blair SMAC they are very often the prereq for magnet electives. Yes 11th and 12th grade magnet electives are open to non magnet students who have fulfilled the prereqs but only a handful of students get to take these. There is also a huge difference in the high school education of a student who takes one or two magnet electives in 11th and 12th grade and a magnet student who has taken four magnet science and math classes every semester for four years and who has done the Senior Research Project.

Your second comment is harder to address because I am not sure if I have the energy to make a nuanced argument to someone who might not get or appreciate nuance.
Blair is a big school with a large and diverse population. There are at least a thousand high performing kids at the school between the magnet, CAP and some of the neighborhood kids. These kids do very well and the honors and AP classes in all subjects are taught at the same level, with the same curriculum and same quality of teaching as the W schools. An earlier post from this morning provided a detailed comparison of Blair vs. W schools from parents who had kids in both programs. I suggest you read it.
Anonymous
Post 06/05/2017 12:02     Subject: Why w school students not preferred in Blair magnet
Anonymous wrote:No. It means anyone in the whole school can take high level magnet courses if they have taken certain AP courses.

No, Blair isn't comparable to W Schools http://reportcard.msde.maryland.gov/.


Similar to RMIB..qualified non-IB kids can take individual IB electives.
Anonymous
Post 06/05/2017 11:55     Subject: Why w school students not preferred in Blair magnet
Anonymous wrote:Many students from W-schools, my DD included, choose not to apply for or attend the Blair magnet program because the quality of education sucks.

The magnet program is open to anyone at Blair who wants the pretext of a challenge and has been watered down accordingly.

My 2 cents.


Chose or had the choice made for her? Sucks is rather a strong word for a magnet program that is widely acclaimed unless it is coming from someone offering sour grapes.
Anonymous
Post 06/05/2017 11:15     Subject: Why w school students not preferred in Blair magnet
Anonymous wrote:No. It means anyone in the whole school can take high level magnet courses if they have taken certain AP courses.

No, Blair isn't comparable to W Schools http://reportcard.msde.maryland.gov/.


I don't think anyone is arguing that Blair as a school is as high performing as a so-called W school. The question is whether the Blair magnets are equivalent to a school on the Western side of the county. Several folks on this thread, with experience in both, say Blair SMAC is "better" for a very high performing kid than any other high school in the county.

None of which has anything to do with OP's ridiculous assertion that her own child is somehow discriminated against coming from a Bethesda/Potomac/Chevy Chase middle school.
Anonymous
Post 06/05/2017 10:50     Subject: Why w school students not preferred in Blair magnet
No. It means anyone in the whole school can take high level magnet courses if they have taken certain AP courses.

No, Blair isn't comparable to W Schools http://reportcard.msde.maryland.gov/.
Anonymous
Post 06/05/2017 10:47     Subject: Why w school students not preferred in Blair magnet
And you think that means that magnet classes are open to the whole school?
Anonymous
Post 06/05/2017 10:34     Subject: Why w school students not preferred in Blair magnet
Anonymous wrote:Look at the pre-reqs here. If you do not take advanced science 1 (magnet only class) you can not take any other classes other than certain electives open to 11th /12 th graders.

https://mbhs.edu/departments/magnet/courses_sci.php

From http://mbhs.edu/departments/math/: There are also several mathematics courses offered by the Magnet Program that are available to any Blair students who have completed the appropriate prerequisites. Students completing A.P. Calculus may take Multivariable Calculus and Differential Equations (also known as Magnet Analysis 2) or Linear Algebra. Those completing Precalculus or higher may take Applied Statistics. Discrete Mathematics is offered for those who have completed Precalculus with Analysis and A.P. Computer Science. Finally, if a student manages to finish Multivariable Calculus and Differential Equations before graduation, he/she may move onto Complex Analysis. Some of these courses may have additional prerequisites or other requirements; please see the Magnet Program's webpages and/or your guidance counselor for more information.

From http://mbhs.edu/departments/science/: There are also several science courses offered by the Magnet Program that are available to any 11th and 12th grade Blair student who has completed the appropriate prerequisites. Students who have completed Honors Physics and are taking/have completed A.P. Calculus may take Quantum Physics or Thermodynamics. Students who are taking/have completed just A.P. Calculus can take Optics. Those who have completed Honors Chemistry can take Materials Science or Plate Tectonics and Oceanography. Honors Chemistry and Honors Physics are the prerequisites for Astronomy. Students who have completed Honors Chemistry and Algebra II with Analysis can take Analytical Chemistry. Those completing Honors Chemistry, Honors Physics, and Precalculus with Analysis can take Physical Chemistry. Those who complete Honors Biology and Honors Chemistry may take Genetics, Cell Physiology, or Marine Biology. Students who have taken Honors Physics and are taking/have completed Magnet Analysis II (AKA Multivariable Calculus and Differential Equations) can take Mathematical Physics. Finally, there are no prerequisites for 11th and 12th graders who wish to take the very popular Origins of Science. Some of these courses may have additional prerequisites or other requirements; please see the Magnet Program's webpages and/or your guidance counselor for more information.

AP is essentially the prerequisite for entrance to advanced magnet courses. Magnet students can take these courses after the magnet sequence. Hence the magnet sequence is basically an AP sequence, no?

Anonymous
Post 06/05/2017 09:39     Subject: Why w school students not preferred in Blair magnet
Look at the pre-reqs here. If you do not take advanced science 1 (magnet only class) you can not take any other classes other than certain electives open to 11th /12 th graders.

https://mbhs.edu/departments/magnet/courses_sci.php
Anonymous
Post 06/05/2017 09:38     Subject: Why w school students not preferred in Blair magnet
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Many students from W-schools, my DD included, choose not to apply for or attend the Blair magnet program because the quality of education sucks.

The magnet program is open to anyone at Blair who wants the pretext of a challenge and has been watered down accordingly.

My 2 cents.


Sorry you did not take the time to learn more about the program.. Certain magnet electives (which don't start till junior year) are open to on-magnet students if there is space and if the student has met the same pre-rec requirements as the magnet student. That is very different than opening the classes to anyone at Blair. I know there are a variety of good programs in MCPS but only Poolesville and Blair offer the high level and variety of offerings in SMAC.[/quote]
Want to echo the PP's response to the earlier poster whose daughter chose not to apply. According to the program administrator there are typically a couple of spots available for non-magnet students to enroll in 11th and 12th grade magnet electives as long as they have completed prereqs for these electives so none of the 9th and 10th grade magnet classes have non magnet students and the 11th and 12th grade magnet classes have a handful of non magnet students.
We are zoned for a W school and I took the trouble to find and speak to several W families who had sent kids to Blair for magnet/CAP and many of these families had also sent siblings of these children through their home W school. The consensus was that the SMAC program was head and shoulders above anything available in a W school ito curriculum and peer group. The non magnet classes (English, Social Studies, Foreign Language) were comparable. If your child is enrolled in an honors or AP class English or Social Studies class at Blair it will be exactly like a similar honors or AP class in a W school. It is a large and diverse school but there are 700 extremely high performing students (400 from magnet, 300 from CAP) and a couple hundred high performing students from the general student population, many of whom come from UMC, highly educated families living in Takoma Park and Four Corners etc. There are enough high performing students to fill many honors and AP classes in every grade. The school is very well run and (unlike DCUM) the kids coexist very well. Lots of different kinds of kids at Blair (hey, isn't that what you want in a public school?!) and there is a sphere for each to shine. There were two areas where Blair did not compare favorable to the W schools that some of the W families I spoke to mentioned. The first was foreign language instruction which is not good for some reason. The second is that many of the W athletic teams do better so if your child is a serious soccer player for example (this is a hypothetical example, I have no idea which athletic teams are good at Blair) they might be better off on a W team. Not sure about the reason although I do notice that many of the soccer players on our W varsity team have also been on expensive club teams for years.
Based on what I learned and based on my child shadowing at his W school and at Blair's SMAC program, he chose Blair. It was not even close especially after the shadowing - he found the atmosphere at Blair much more intellectually stimulating and more vibrant. It was a careful decision and he is very happy. It is a great school, period.
Anonymous
Post 06/05/2017 09:35     Subject: Why w school students not preferred in Blair magnet
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Many students from W-schools, my DD included, choose not to apply for or attend the Blair magnet program because the quality of education sucks.

The magnet program is open to anyone at Blair who wants the pretext of a challenge and has been watered down accordingly.

My 2 cents.


Sorry you did not take the time to learn more about the program.. Certain magnet electives (which don't start till junior year) are open to on-magnet students if there is space and if the student has met the same pre-rec requirements as the magnet student. That is very different than opening the classes to anyone at Blair. I know there are a variety of good programs in MCPS but only Poolesville and Blair offer the high level and variety of offerings in SMAC.


Too bad you don't understand the state of magnets in MCPS. Poolesville bears no comparison to the Blair magnet because it is a whole school magnet.

The magnet courses at Blair are open to non-magnet students if you want them and for the most part have taken an AP course or two. In other words, the magnet sequence is being equated to AP courses anyone could take! W-schools, in my opinion, give a better AP experience in rigor and content.


Where are you getting your information from? Poolesville SMAC is directly comparable to Blair SMAC. It has the same curriculum just a different application area. The first two years of the magnet are not open to non-magnet students. As stated above some electives are open to non-magnet students if there are extra seats after magnets students are enrolled and they have the background (as it should be).
Anonymous
Post 06/05/2017 09:26     Subject: Why w school students not preferred in Blair magnet
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Many students from W-schools, my DD included, choose not to apply for or attend the Blair magnet program because the quality of education sucks.

The magnet program is open to anyone at Blair who wants the pretext of a challenge and has been watered down accordingly.

My 2 cents.


Sorry you did not take the time to learn more about the program.. Certain magnet electives (which don't start till junior year) are open to on-magnet students if there is space and if the student has met the same pre-rec requirements as the magnet student. That is very different than opening the classes to anyone at Blair. I know there are a variety of good programs in MCPS but only Poolesville and Blair offer the high level and variety of offerings in SMAC.


Too bad you don't understand the state of magnets in MCPS. Poolesville bears no comparison to the Blair magnet because it is a whole school magnet.

The magnet courses at Blair are open to non-magnet students if you want them and for the most part have taken an AP course or two. In other words, the magnet sequence is being equated to AP courses anyone could take! W-schools, in my opinion, give a better AP experience in rigor and content.
Anonymous
Post 06/05/2017 09:00     Subject: Why w school students not preferred in Blair magnet
on-magnet = non magnet
Anonymous
Post 06/05/2017 08:59     Subject: Why w school students not preferred in Blair magnet
Anonymous wrote:Many students from W-schools, my DD included, choose not to apply for or attend the Blair magnet program because the quality of education sucks.

The magnet program is open to anyone at Blair who wants the pretext of a challenge and has been watered down accordingly.

My 2 cents.


Sorry you did not take the time to learn more about the program.. Certain magnet electives (which don't start till junior year) are open to on-magnet students if there is space and if the student has met the same pre-rec requirements as the magnet student. That is very different than opening the classes to anyone at Blair. I know there are a variety of good programs in MCPS but only Poolesville and Blair offer the high level and variety of offerings in SMAC.
Anonymous
Post 06/05/2017 08:54     Subject: Why w school students not preferred in Blair magnet
Many students from W-schools, my DD included, choose not to apply for or attend the Blair magnet program because the quality of education sucks.

The magnet program is open to anyone at Blair who wants the pretext of a challenge and has been watered down accordingly.

My 2 cents.