Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No the combined magnets SMACS and CAPS is only 12% not 20% of the Blair students -which is less than 400 kids most of whom are in CAPS not SMACs. SMACs is tiny.

A large number of which live in-boundary, to begin with...

Yes, in boundary students make up the largest cohorts in these programs/

v
Not true, The majority aren’t even from the DCC let alone Blair. Most feed from Takoma but those aren’t all inbounds. They wouldn’t be majority either if it wasn’t for the set aside seats. They have to anchor 25 seats for TP or they would be taken up on merit by west county kids.

Correct, the majority of Blair Magnet students are from Takoma which is in the DCC and boundary for Blair.

They went to Takoma magnet from other parts of the county that doesn’t make them IB to Blair. The only way they get as many local kids into Takoma MS is to lower the standards and make it so 25 spots don’t have to compete with the rest of Bethesda

I don't know where to start. First. There are 100 students enrolled per year in Blair SMACs. That means that there are 400 science magnet students in total at Blair. CAP typically has 75 students per year (300 in total) but I seem to remember that they might have increased the spots to 100 per year - I don't know for sure. So there are at least 700 and potentially 800 students at Blair who are in SMAC magnet and in CAP. The SMAC magnet admits students from 16 MCPS high schools. The high school cluster that sends the most students is Wootton. The middle school that sends the most students is Takoma Park (approximately half of the students in SMACs went to TPMS magnet) but that does not mean that the students who came from Takoma Park Magnet live in takoma park because it is a *magnet* middle school. There is a strong representation of students from the Silver Spring area but I think there are actually more students from the Western part of the county (from Bethesda/Rockville. Potomac). CAP is a DCC program but there are some students from outside of the DCC who are eligible to attend because they attended a DCC middle school. So for example you have kids who live in Bethesda who went to the humanities magnet in Eastern who now attend CAP.
The non magnet classes are great . It is a large school with a large number of high performing in bounds students from the neighborhoods around Blair. My magnet child has received an excellent education in English and History in particular at Blair. The teachers have been wonderful and the peer group (comprised of Magnet and neighborhood kids) has been wonderful. Of course, my child has only taken AP and honors classes for these non Magnet classes but my point is that whether his non magnet classes have 2 Magnet kids or 15 Magnet kids, it does not matter too much the quality of instruction and of the peer group is wonderful. Blair also has a very vibrant community - tons of clubs, and a highly engaged group of parents. The administration is also great. In other words, it is a great school. I personally like that my child gets a fantastic STEM education while still enjoying all the benefits of being in a diverse and academically rigorous public high school.

I don't know too much about how TJ compares. It is larger and more homogeneous. Blair magnet kids seem to do better ito test scores, college admissions and science competitions but I am not sure how much it matters if Blair has 43 Intel/Regeneron finalists over the last 20 years and TJ has 16 - we are really splitting hairs at this point!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No the combined magnets SMACS and CAPS is only 12% not 20% of the Blair students -which is less than 400 kids most of whom are in CAPS not SMACs. SMACs is tiny.

A large number of which live in-boundary, to begin with...

Yes, in boundary students make up the largest cohorts in these programs/

v
Not true, The majority aren’t even from the DCC let alone Blair. Most feed from Takoma but those aren’t all inbounds. They wouldn’t be majority either if it wasn’t for the set aside seats. They have to anchor 25 seats for TP or they would be taken up on merit by west county kids.

Correct, the majority of Blair Magnet students are from Takoma which is in the DCC and boundary for Blair.

I don't think that is the case. The Blair magnet students have about half from Takoma. So that leaves the other half definitely not from the Blair boundary. For those from Takoma, many are from the TPMS magnet program and not in-bound either.

So overall, students from the Blair boundary are certainly not the "majority".

Sorry to burst your bubble, but they are...

--SMCS parent

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

TJ is not a better school yet, but will be in 3 years.

Why? Because when Blair moves to Kennedy the OOB students wont attend??

Two reasons.

1. MS admission pattern changed. They are no longer challenging top students in the county to the max, preparing them for Blair. There used to be several 8th graders every year acing Functions.
2. Blair still kind of admits on merit, but not really because all the have is MAP, grades, COGAT. 3 years ago, there was a comprehensive test, resume, letters of recommendation. Once current sophomores graduate, Blair won't be the same. It will still be good, but not the same.

This is all bogus. You are woefully uninformed. Current Freshman all went trough the exact same process as current Sophomores. Nothing changed. The only thing that has changed for next year's class is the test used. Everything else application-wise is the same. You are confusing this w/ MSM changes (& BTW this year's 6th grade class at TPMS seems great). Just can it.

I love Blair and hope that you are right, so please forgive me for not replying point by point.

Also, BTW, the freshman Functions class is full. There aren't just "a few." It seems you mean well, but your fears carry so much bias. Tread carefully, and check your judgments. Current 7th grade and up are on exactly the same program/app process as 10th graders (except that starting last year w/ current 8th graders, it was online, and they used Cogat instead of the test that Pearson had designed, which I personally think is a shame). Also, reserve judgment on the current MSM program and kids. FWIW, the MS program has not changed except for introducing coding earlier as many kids are exposed to it earlier (this decision had nothing to do w/ admin process just general increase in tech savvy of kids overall). Some of what people think of as "ability" is really high proficiency resulting from extreme enrichment and prep. I like the idea of getting more kids in who haven't had those options (preferably in ES, so they can get some enrichment). And, frankly, the county just needs more program slots.

Yes, more slots and more locations, give us one reasons MCPS shouldn’t be serving the top 10% this well or whomever can do the work well and not slow down the class or course. Why gut the rest of the curriculum so much. So sad.

Whichever one your kids go to OP. Your kids are the best.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No the combined magnets SMACS and CAPS is only 12% not 20% of the Blair students -which is less than 400 kids most of whom are in CAPS not SMACs. SMACs is tiny.

A large number of which live in-boundary, to begin with...

Yes, in boundary students make up the largest cohorts in these programs/

v
Not true, The majority aren’t even from the DCC let alone Blair. Most feed from Takoma but those aren’t all inbounds. They wouldn’t be majority either if it wasn’t for the set aside seats. They have to anchor 25 seats for TP or they would be taken up on merit by west county kids.

Correct, the majority of Blair Magnet students are from Takoma which is in the DCC and boundary for Blair.

I don't think that is the case. The Blair magnet students have about half from Takoma. So that leaves the other half definitely not from the Blair boundary. For those from Takoma, many are from the TPMS magnet program and not in-bound either.

So overall, students from the Blair boundary are certainly not the "majority".

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No the combined magnets SMACS and CAPS is only 12% not 20% of the Blair students -which is less than 400 kids most of whom are in CAPS not SMACs. SMACs is tiny.

A large number of which live in-boundary, to begin with...

Yes, in boundary students make up the largest cohorts in these programs/

v
Not true, The majority aren’t even from the DCC let alone Blair. Most feed from Takoma but those aren’t all inbounds. They wouldn’t be majority either if it wasn’t for the set aside seats. They have to anchor 25 seats for TP or they would be taken up on merit by west county kids.

Correct, the majority of Blair Magnet students are from Takoma which is in the DCC and boundary for Blair.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No the combined magnets SMACS and CAPS is only 12% not 20% of the Blair students -which is less than 400 kids most of whom are in CAPS not SMACs. SMACs is tiny.

A large number of which live in-boundary, to begin with...

Yes, in boundary students make up the largest cohorts in these programs/

Not true, The majority aren’t even from the DCC let alone Blair. Most feed from Takoma but those aren’t all inbounds. They wouldn’t be majority either if it wasn’t for the set aside seats. They have to anchor 25 seats for TP or they would be taken up on merit by west county kids.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

TJ is not a better school yet, but will be in 3 years.

Why? Because when Blair moves to Kennedy the OOB students wont attend??

Two reasons.

1. MS admission pattern changed. They are no longer challenging top students in the county to the max, preparing them for Blair. There used to be several 8th graders every year acing Functions.
2. Blair still kind of admits on merit, but not really because all the have is MAP, grades, COGAT. 3 years ago, there was a comprehensive test, resume, letters of recommendation. Once current sophomores graduate, Blair won't be the same. It will still be good, but not the same.

This is all bogus. You are woefully uninformed. Current Freshman all went trough the exact same process as current Sophomores. Nothing changed. The only thing that has changed for next year's class is the test used. Everything else application-wise is the same. You are confusing this w/ MSM changes (& BTW this year's 6th grade class at TPMS seems great). Just can it.

I love Blair and hope that you are right, so please forgive me for not replying point by point.

Also, BTW, the freshman Functions class is full. There aren't just "a few." It seems you mean well, but your fears carry so much bias. Tread carefully, and check your judgments. Current 7th grade and up are on exactly the same program/app process as 10th graders (except that starting last year w/ current 8th graders, it was online, and they used Cogat instead of the test that Pearson had designed, which I personally think is a shame). Also, reserve judgment on the current MSM program and kids. FWIW, the MS program has not changed except for introducing coding earlier as many kids are exposed to it earlier (this decision had nothing to do w/ admin process just general increase in tech savvy of kids overall). Some of what people think of as "ability" is really high proficiency resulting from extreme enrichment and prep. I like the idea of getting more kids in who haven't had those options (preferably in ES, so they can get some enrichment). And, frankly, the county just needs more program slots.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

TJ is not a better school yet, but will be in 3 years.

Why? Because when Blair moves to Kennedy the OOB students wont attend??

Two reasons.

1. MS admission pattern changed. They are no longer challenging top students in the county to the max, preparing them for Blair. There used to be several 8th graders every year acing Functions.
2. Blair still kind of admits on merit, but not really because all the have is MAP, grades, COGAT. 3 years ago, there was a comprehensive test, resume, letters of recommendation. Once current sophomores graduate, Blair won't be the same. It will still be good, but not the same.

This is all bogus. You are woefully uninformed. Current Freshman all went trough the exact same process as current Sophomores. Nothing changed. The only thing that has changed for next year's class is the test used. Everything else application-wise is the same. You are confusing this w/ MSM changes (& BTW this year's 6th grade class at TPMS seems great). Just can it.

I love Blair and hope that you are right, so please forgive me for not replying point by point.

They are correct. The county has left admissions for these programs up to the schools and hasn't overhauled it at this time. However, I would expect many of the innovations from the MS changes to work their way into the HS criteria over time, but that's just a guess.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

TJ is not a better school yet, but will be in 3 years.

Why? Because when Blair moves to Kennedy the OOB students wont attend??

Two reasons.

1. MS admission pattern changed. They are no longer challenging top students in the county to the max, preparing them for Blair. There used to be several 8th graders every year acing Functions.
2. Blair still kind of admits on merit, but not really because all the have is MAP, grades, COGAT. 3 years ago, there was a comprehensive test, resume, letters of recommendation. Once current sophomores graduate, Blair won't be the same. It will still be good, but not the same.

This is all bogus. You are woefully uninformed. Current Freshman all went trough the exact same process as current Sophomores. Nothing changed. The only thing that has changed for next year's class is the test used. Everything else application-wise is the same. You are confusing this w/ MSM changes (& BTW this year's 6th grade class at TPMS seems great). Just can it.

I love Blair and hope that you are right, so please forgive me for not replying point by point.

Anonymous wrote:No the combined magnets SMACS and CAPS is only 12% not 20% of the Blair students -which is less than 400 kids most of whom are in CAPS not SMACs. SMACs is tiny.

Wrong yet AGAIN! Wow, I hope you aren't a TJ grad because that would make them look really bad! (It's like you're really content to fail repeatedly or just a big believer in fake news). As I & several others have said, Blair magnet has about 100 in each grade. CAP is in addition to that.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

TJ is not a better school yet, but will be in 3 years.

Why? Because when Blair moves to Kennedy the OOB students wont attend??

Two reasons.

1. MS admission pattern changed. They are no longer challenging top students in the county to the max, preparing them for Blair. There used to be several 8th graders every year acing Functions.
2. Blair still kind of admits on merit, but not really because all the have is MAP, grades, COGAT. 3 years ago, there was a comprehensive test, resume, letters of recommendation. Once current sophomores graduate, Blair won't be the same. It will still be good, but not the same.

This is all bogus. You are woefully uninformed. Current Freshman all went trough the exact same process as current Sophomores. Nothing changed. The only thing that has changed for next year's class is the test used. Everything else application-wise is the same. You are confusing this w/ MSM changes (& BTW this year's 6th grade class at TPMS seems great). Just can it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No the combined magnets SMACS and CAPS is only 12% not 20% of the Blair students -which is less than 400 kids most of whom are in CAPS not SMACs. SMACs is tiny.

A large number of which live in-boundary, to begin with...

Yes, in boundary students make up the largest cohorts in these programs/

Did not used to be the case, but with new rules, who knows.

There are no new rules for HS magnets

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No the combined magnets SMACS and CAPS is only 12% not 20% of the Blair students -which is less than 400 kids most of whom are in CAPS not SMACs. SMACs is tiny.

A large number of which live in-boundary, to begin with...

Yes, in boundary students make up the largest cohorts in these programs/

Did not used to be the case, but with new rules, who knows.