Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Chart from chat gbt on medium taxes paid.

Estimated Median Annual Property Taxes by High School Cluster
High School Cluster Median Home Value Estimated Median Annual Property Tax
Walt Whitman $990,000 $8,613
Winston Churchill $905,000 $7,873
Bethesda-Chevy Chase (BCC) $830,000 $7,221
Thomas S. Wootton $700,000 $6,090
Montgomery Blair (Silver Spring) $650,000 $5,655
Walter Johnson $560,000 $4,872
James Hubert Blake (Silver Spring) $550,000 $4,785
Richard Montgomery $510,000 $4,437
John F. Kennedy (Silver Spring) $500,000 $4,350
Quince Orchard $420,000 $3,654
Springbrook (Silver Spring) $450,000 $3,915
Northwood (Silver Spring) $475,000 $4,138
Gaithersburg $365,000 $3,175
Northwest $345,000 $3,002
Wheaton (Silver Spring) $425,000 $3,698
Albert Einstein (Silver Spring) $400,000 $3,480
Poolesville $375,000 $3,263
Damascus $350,000 $3,045
Clarksburg $325,000 $2,907
Seneca Valley $300,000 $2,610
Watkins Mill $275,000 $2,393
Paint Branch $250,000 $2,175
Blair High School (Silver Spring) $650,000 $5,655

You just used a bunch of electricity to produce this. Did you think it would be useful in some way? It's not.

It is when Blair families pay more than WJ families.

Anonymous wrote:The community is not upset because “change can feel uncertain,” as MCPS keeps trying to message. We are upset because there has been no outreach to those who would be most impacted (students in grades 4–7 and their parents) by this proposed plan, and consequently few are even aware of the massive changes that would affect them.

The plan makes inequity worse. Few high FARMS URMs would travel to the HSs where most criteria-based programs would be housed. This will lessen diversity in those schools.

Additionally the plan would take away access to renowned, established programs, and sequester many to attend inferior substitutes, thereby increasing inequity,

The sample model budget is just a sliver of the enormous amount of taxpayer money this proposed plan will cost.

Many communities would be disrupted and placed into regions without being given opportunities to have a meaningful voice and influence. Just like that BOE member would not want an involuntary transfer to teach ELD just because she is certified in it, many communities do not want to be involuntarily transferred into a region they did not consent to.

It makes much more sense to build more programs in areas that demonstrate want or need, and put the money towards fixing the inequity: strengthen K–8 core subjects in all schools.

Yes, this! As a former teacher and current elementary parent, I have been dismayed by MCPS. We moved to Montgomery County for the schools, and I have been dismayed at the many of the curricular choices of MCPS, especially Benchmark, which was horrible.

I have had to take a far more active role in homeschooling my kids than I ever imagined I would take as a full-time working parent to make up for curricular gaps and ensure my kids have a well-rounded education. I’m dismayed at the excessive screen time and movies shown at school, the preponderance of low-quality graphic novels, the lack of novel study, the substitute teachers who have shown my elementary student Mr. Beast videos and other garbage on YouTube instead of teaching, etc.

I believe in the value of public education, and I am the child of a public school teacher. I received an excellent public education myself, and I am dismayed at the state of public education here in MoCo. I don’t know if it’s just this area or if it’s the impact of what ed tech has done to education, but I understand now why so many families turn to private school.

When we have such terrible test scores, why on earth are they focusing on creating excessively complex, specialty programming? How about ensuring each high school has high-quality curriculum, enough teachers and paraeductors, and strong AP classes, humanities and arts programming, etc.

They don’t need a new regional programming model, they need to get back to the very basics of providing a high-quality public education for all students.

Anonymous wrote:Chart from chat gbt on medium taxes paid.

Estimated Median Annual Property Taxes by High School Cluster
High School Cluster Median Home Value Estimated Median Annual Property Tax
Walt Whitman $990,000 $8,613
Winston Churchill $905,000 $7,873
Bethesda-Chevy Chase (BCC) $830,000 $7,221
Thomas S. Wootton $700,000 $6,090
Montgomery Blair (Silver Spring) $650,000 $5,655
Walter Johnson $560,000 $4,872
James Hubert Blake (Silver Spring) $550,000 $4,785
Richard Montgomery $510,000 $4,437
John F. Kennedy (Silver Spring) $500,000 $4,350
Quince Orchard $420,000 $3,654
Springbrook (Silver Spring) $450,000 $3,915
Northwood (Silver Spring) $475,000 $4,138
Gaithersburg $365,000 $3,175
Northwest $345,000 $3,002
Wheaton (Silver Spring) $425,000 $3,698
Albert Einstein (Silver Spring) $400,000 $3,480
Poolesville $375,000 $3,263
Damascus $350,000 $3,045
Clarksburg $325,000 $2,907
Seneca Valley $300,000 $2,610
Watkins Mill $275,000 $2,393
Paint Branch $250,000 $2,175
Blair High School (Silver Spring) $650,000 $5,655

You just used a bunch of electricity to produce this. Did you think it would be useful in some way? It's not.

Chart from chat gbt on medium taxes paid.

Estimated Median Annual Property Taxes by High School Cluster
High School Cluster Median Home Value Estimated Median Annual Property Tax
Walt Whitman $990,000 $8,613
Winston Churchill $905,000 $7,873
Bethesda-Chevy Chase (BCC) $830,000 $7,221
Thomas S. Wootton $700,000 $6,090
Montgomery Blair (Silver Spring) $650,000 $5,655
Walter Johnson $560,000 $4,872
James Hubert Blake (Silver Spring) $550,000 $4,785
Richard Montgomery $510,000 $4,437
John F. Kennedy (Silver Spring) $500,000 $4,350
Quince Orchard $420,000 $3,654
Springbrook (Silver Spring) $450,000 $3,915
Northwood (Silver Spring) $475,000 $4,138
Gaithersburg $365,000 $3,175
Northwest $345,000 $3,002
Wheaton (Silver Spring) $425,000 $3,698
Albert Einstein (Silver Spring) $400,000 $3,480
Poolesville $375,000 $3,263
Damascus $350,000 $3,045
Clarksburg $325,000 $2,907
Seneca Valley $300,000 $2,610
Watkins Mill $275,000 $2,393
Paint Branch $250,000 $2,175
Blair High School (Silver Spring) $650,000 $5,655

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The slides are posted now:

https://go.boarddocs.com/mabe/mcpsmd/Board.nsf/files/DMHQPL6A4844/$file/Boundary%20Studies%20Program%20Analysis%20Update%20251016%20PPT.pdf

link doesn't work

https://go.boarddocs.com/mabe/mcpsmd/Board.nsf/files/DMHTYU79B310/$file/10.16.25%20BOE%20Presentation%20-%20Boundary%20Study%20and%20Program%20Analysis%20REV.pdf

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did you all catch the transportation slide? This confirmed the dcum rumor that students would need their own transportation to their home high school (earlier than the regular neighborhood bus) and then would ride to the program high school from there. That is actually worse than the current not-awesome magnet bus transportation set up. Only families who can accommodate this can consider these programs.

They should assume the kids that participate in the programs will be disproportionately wealthy compared with those that don't.

I would really prefer no programs to this mess. Just strengthen local schools.

+1. This is going to be an utter mess.

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Anonymous wrote:What are the program groupings for region 1?

Brand new and not up online yet. The changes I remember is that they are sending the criteria-based humanities program from BCC (bad) to Whitman (much worse), and that they are letting Einstein keep only the music part of the performing arts magnet (theater and dance at Northwood.)

Einstein also has medical science and healthcare

Einstein has no advanced science and math classes so what does this look like.

9th and 10th grade - honors bio and honors chem, cohorted
11th and 12 grade science are IB Bio and IB Physics
And a "Biomedical" sequence

Math is Algebra 1 in 9th grade, Algebra 2 in 10th, and then for 11th and 12th it says "secondary math pathway"

So, they aren’t adding any5ing. Algebra in 9th is the slowest path.

Yes, this is also my observation. This "special biomedical science program" is subpar than what a normal HS can offer to a high-achiever. For a student who would like to become a doctor, they'd better stay in local HS, take AP classes, and their resume would look better than those go through this program.

So why should taxpayers give millions more than we already pay for these underwhelming and inequitable programs?

We should focus on strengthening our core subjects, especially in K–8, which is where the inequity starts, as Maloo and I think Stewart pointed out. If we need to spend more taxpayer money, spend it on fixing the actual source of the inequity.

This is what is needed. Not a great program shuffle

1,000 percent this.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The slides are posted now:

https://go.boarddocs.com/mabe/mcpsmd/Board.nsf/files/DMHQPL6A4844/$file/Boundary%20Studies%20Program%20Analysis%20Update%20251016%20PPT.pdf

link doesn't work

It was when they posted it earlier. Strange.

Anonymous wrote:The slides are posted now:

https://go.boarddocs.com/mabe/mcpsmd/Board.nsf/files/DMHQPL6A4844/$file/Boundary%20Studies%20Program%20Analysis%20Update%20251016%20PPT.pdf

link doesn't work

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What are the program groupings for region 1?

Brand new and not up online yet. The changes I remember is that they are sending the criteria-based humanities program from BCC (bad) to Whitman (much worse), and that they are letting Einstein keep only the music part of the performing arts magnet (theater and dance at Northwood.)

Einstein also has medical science and healthcare

Einstein has no advanced science and math classes so what does this look like.

9th and 10th grade - honors bio and honors chem, cohorted
11th and 12 grade science are IB Bio and IB Physics
And a "Biomedical" sequence

Math is Algebra 1 in 9th grade, Algebra 2 in 10th, and then for 11th and 12th it says "secondary math pathway"

So, they aren’t adding any5ing. Algebra in 9th is the slowest path.

Yes, this is also my observation. This "special biomedical science program" is subpar than what a normal HS can offer to a high-achiever. For a student who would like to become a doctor, they'd better stay in local HS, take AP classes, and their resume would look better than those go through this program.

I'm curious - is IB Bio and IB Physics less advanced than the AP versions?

Depends on who you ask but no, nor is in math. This will not help kids trying to get into medical school.

Correct. IB courses are generally less advanced than AP versions, but IB does have HL courses which are deeper.

A teacher who testified today noted that IB lets kids take the exam in their first language. AP exams don’t have that option. So in high ELL schools, IB has a benefit.

You assume that students are highly literate in their home languages. As an ELD teacher, I can tell you that this is an assumption that can't be made. Students may speak their home languages with fluency, but reading and writing in their home languages are additional skills.

What percentage of your students are illiterate in their home languages? Are there not any EML students that are academically advanced but face a a language barrier? Because obviously, not all students (not even all the White English speaking ones) are taking IB exams. So do you really think there aren't any students that benefit from being able to take IB exams in their home languages? Like all the EML students are illiterate and bring no assets to our community?

The community is not upset because “change can feel uncertain,” as MCPS keeps trying to message. We are upset because there has been no outreach to those who would be most impacted (students in grades 4–7 and their parents) by this proposed plan, and consequently few are even aware of the massive changes that would affect them.

The plan makes inequity worse. Few high FARMS URMs would travel to the HSs where most criteria-based programs would be housed. This will lessen diversity in those schools.

Additionally the plan would take away access to renowned, established programs, and sequester many to attend inferior substitutes, thereby increasing inequity,

The sample model budget is just a sliver of the enormous amount of taxpayer money this proposed plan will cost.

Many communities would be disrupted and placed into regions without being given opportunities to have a meaningful voice and influence. Just like that BOE member would not want an involuntary transfer to teach ELD just because she is certified in it, many communities do not want to be involuntarily transferred into a region they did not consent to.

It makes much more sense to build more programs in areas that demonstrate want or need, and put the money towards fixing the inequity: strengthen K–8 core subjects in all schools.

Anonymous wrote:I can't believe they are literally naming their upcoming engagement as "information sessions" yet pretending they collect feedback at them, and the board seems to be buying it.

The BOE buys everything that MCPS tells them. They are a full rubber-stamp operation.

Anonymous wrote:Did they present anything about MS programs? This is what parents in grades 4 and 5 care about most right now. I want to make sure my kid’s MS program aligns with whatever their HS ends up offering since transportation won’t be provided. We’re in a spot in the DCC where we could end up at 2-3 different middle and high schools

No, they said that's still to come. But Taylor suggested that the middle school program changes would be minor.

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What are the program groupings for region 1?

Brand new and not up online yet. The changes I remember is that they are sending the criteria-based humanities program from BCC (bad) to Whitman (much worse), and that they are letting Einstein keep only the music part of the performing arts magnet (theater and dance at Northwood.)

Einstein also has medical science and healthcare

Einstein has no advanced science and math classes so what does this look like.

9th and 10th grade - honors bio and honors chem, cohorted
11th and 12 grade science are IB Bio and IB Physics
And a "Biomedical" sequence

Math is Algebra 1 in 9th grade, Algebra 2 in 10th, and then for 11th and 12th it says "secondary math pathway"

So, they aren’t adding any5ing. Algebra in 9th is the slowest path.

Yes, this is also my observation. This "special biomedical science program" is subpar than what a normal HS can offer to a high-achiever. For a student who would like to become a doctor, they'd better stay in local HS, take AP classes, and their resume would look better than those go through this program.

I'm curious - is IB Bio and IB Physics less advanced than the AP versions?

Depends on who you ask but no, nor is in math. This will not help kids trying to get into medical school.

Correct. IB courses are generally less advanced than AP versions, but IB does have HL courses which are deeper.

A teacher who testified today noted that IB lets kids take the exam in their first language. AP exams don’t have that option. So in high ELL schools, IB has a benefit.

You assume that students are highly literate in their home languages. As an ELD teacher, I can tell you that this is an assumption that can't be made. Students may speak their home languages with fluency, but reading and writing in their home languages are additional skills.

This is true, and the reason many send their kids to immersion schools despite already speaking the language.

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:If MCPS's goal is to stop fighting for seats for magnet programs, it can just add programs. It does not need to enact a regional model.

Or, they can have advanced and equal course offerings at all schools.

Equality is not equitable.

What is the context for your comment? Maybe it’s not serious. I think having advanced and equal course offerings at all schools would be both equal and equitable. More importantly, we could dispense with either word and call it fair.

I am entirely serious. Let's take a look at regional IB programs (NOT Richard Montgomery), beginning on testing results starting at Table D3.

https://ww2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/sharedaccountability/reports/2025/240206_2024_APIB_Exam%20Enroll%20Part%20and%20Perf.pdf

Compare BCC results and for example, Springbrook results. Equal IB programs, but not equal results. Now I ask you to reflect on why that occurs.

BCC has a foundation that spends close to a quarter of a million dollars a year on academic support for students.

Put that kind of money into Watkins Mill and see what happens.

Where does the foundation get the money?

Donations.
https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/521948149/202500279349300010/full

That’s crazy. Their assists and fundraising and they cannot help other schools. That should not be allowed.

B-CC has many lower-income students. Not just the 25% or so on FARMs, but many who don’t qualify but are from lower-income families in subsidized housing on East-West Highway in Silver Spring. Those students greatly benefit from the funds the foundation raises, including from tutoring and college counseling/help with applications.

All students should get tutoring and college help.

I think it is great the BCC has raised all this money to help kids. This is a good thing. The problem is when the impact of this money leads MCPS to invest more resources in BCC because its programs are so "successful" and choose not to invest in other schools that can't raise that amount of money from parents. That is how inequity feeds off of itself.