Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, I know a retired MoCo cop who led security teams at mcps schools, and I got the lowdown on all schools in terms of safety. So, there's that. You can't truly compare data unless they break it down by race and SES. Ie: imagine comparing upper class white males at any W school, Blair, Sherwood, Paint Branch, etc. Chances are their scores would be comparable. The big difference that lots of folks on here seem hesitant to admit is that some schools in MoCo have extremely high rates of farms, behavior issues, etc. While most kids won't be fazed by this, some might. And since you can't pick your kid's friends, the best you can do is put them in an environment where a lot of students are college bound and likely to take school seriously. That's all. And I don't think there's anything racist about that since it really isn't a race issue at all. Rather, it's SES, behavior, and a general attitude towards education. And the proof is in the pudding: low income kids often thrive academically in schools where they are in the minority and are surrounded by middle to upper class students. There was actually a MoCo study that randomly placed low income families on housing assistance in two parts of the county...and shocker, the kids in the more affluent area at the better schools fared much better.

Again, lots of this doesn't apply to YOUR solidly upper class kid who will likely do well at any school in the county. But studies show that poor kids do better when they are in schools where the majority of kids are not poor. This is common sense to most of us, but numerous studies across the country demonstrate this as well.

Yup. And a recent MoCo study confirmed the same. Unfortunately, it also underscores that schools in MoCo are becoming more segregated in part due to "white flight" from the DCC. But your points are dead on.

- Parent who lives in Silver Spring. Love it, but wish the schools in my area were better.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, I know a retired MoCo cop who led security teams at mcps schools, and I got the lowdown on all schools in terms of safety. So, there's that. You can't truly compare data unless they break it down by race and SES. Ie: imagine comparing upper class white males at any W school, Blair, Sherwood, Paint Branch, etc. Chances are their scores would be comparable. The big difference that lots of folks on here seem hesitant to admit is that some schools in MoCo have extremely high rates of farms, behavior issues, etc. While most kids won't be fazed by this, some might. And since you can't pick your kid's friends, the best you can do is put them in an environment where a lot of students are college bound and likely to take school seriously. That's all. And I don't think there's anything racist about that since it really isn't a race issue at all. Rather, it's SES, behavior, and a general attitude towards education. And the proof is in the pudding: low income kids often thrive academically in schools where they are in the minority and are surrounded by middle to upper class students. There was actually a MoCo study that randomly placed low income families on housing assistance in two parts of the county...and shocker, the kids in the more affluent area at the better schools fared much better.

Again, lots of this doesn't apply to YOUR solidly upper class kid who will likely do well at any school in the county. But studies show that poor kids do better when they are in schools where the majority of kids are not poor. This is common sense to most of us, but numerous studies across the country demonstrate this as well.

Yup. And a recent MoCo study confirmed the same. Unfortunately, it also underscores that schools in MoCo are becoming more segregated in part due to "white flight" from the DCC. But your points are dead on.

- Parent who lives in Silver Spring. Love it, but wish the schools in my area were better.

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand people's issues. My kids home HS would have been fine (mostly 'white' for the haters on here) but my kid wanted more of a challenge. Got into both RM & Blair, and they (not me as a parent) chose Blair as it held their interest more. They visited both schools during a whole day w/o me, and still chose it. Is RM smaller and prettier? You betcha. They still chose Blair as it was where they wanted to go. Were we nervous to send them? Yes. Different demographics than home school? Yes. Are they happy and thriving there? Yes. It was the more challenging courses they needed and the peer group too. My kid made the right choice for them, but it isn't the right choice for everybody.

Anonymous wrote:Well, I know a retired MoCo cop who led security teams at mcps schools, and I got the lowdown on all schools in terms of safety. So, there's that. You can't truly compare data unless they break it down by race and SES. Ie: imagine comparing upper class white males at any W school, Blair, Sherwood, Paint Branch, etc. Chances are their scores would be comparable. The big difference that lots of folks on here seem hesitant to admit is that some schools in MoCo have extremely high rates of farms, behavior issues, etc. While most kids won't be fazed by this, some might. And since you can't pick your kid's friends, the best you can do is put them in an environment where a lot of students are college bound and likely to take school seriously. That's all. And I don't think there's anything racist about that since it really isn't a race issue at all. Rather, it's SES, behavior, and a general attitude towards education. And the proof is in the pudding: low income kids often thrive academically in schools where they are in the minority and are surrounded by middle to upper class students. There was actually a MoCo study that randomly placed low income families on housing assistance in two parts of the county...and shocker, the kids in the more affluent area at the better schools fared much better.

Again, lots of this doesn't apply to YOUR solidly upper class kid who will likely do well at any school in the county. But studies show that poor kids do better when they are in schools where the majority of kids are not poor. This is common sense to most of us, but numerous studies across the country demonstrate this as well.

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand people's issues. My kids home HS would have been fine (mostly 'white' for the haters on here) but my kid wanted more of a challenge. Got into both RM & Blair, and they (not me as a parent) chose Blair as it held their interest more. They visited both schools during a whole day w/o me, and still chose it. Is RM smaller and prettier? You betcha. They still chose Blair as it was where they wanted to go. Were we nervous to send them? Yes. Different demographics than home school? Yes. Are they happy and thriving there? Yes. It was the more challenging courses they needed and the peer group too. My kid made the right choice for them, but it isn't the right choice for everybody.

Anonymous wrote:Here are some facts from this thread:
04/07/2014 19:21
First of all, The Post's Challenge Index is merely a measure of how many kids are taking AP tests. Blair is the largest school in the state of Maryland, and a lot of those kids are not college-bound. The college-bound kids, they're doing just fine, as the college admission results indicate every year.
04/07/2014 20:09
The Intel Science winners are from the Magnet yes, but any kid who is high in math/science can take those classes. It's the same at RM- kids can take the IB classes and don't have to 'test' in.
04/07/2014 22:07
If you can provide evidence a student is qualified to take the magnet-level math/science, there is space, and the teacher agrees, any Blair student can take any class. It isn't any more difficult.
04/08/2014 09:29
To be fair, I am not sure this was always the policy at Blair. Is it possible that the new principal instituted this policy fairly recently? Benefit of doubt for the haters.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Link doesn't work

Sorry!!!

Here it is:
http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/OLO/Resources/Files/OLO%20Report%202014-7%20Final.pdf

MCPS HIGH SCHOOLS: In this report, MCPS’ 11 high-poverty high schools are referred to as
“consortia and consortia-like schools” to reflect their common demographics and strategies to engage
students. These high schools consist of Blake, Paint Branch, and Springbrook in the Northeast
Consortium; Montgomery Blair, Northwood, Kennedy, Einstein, and Wheaton in the Downcounty
Consortium; and Gaithersburg, Watkins Mill, and Seneca Valley high schools.

MCPS’ other 14 high schools, referred to as non-consortia or low-poverty high schools in this report,
consist of Bethesda-Chevy Chase, Churchill, Clarksburg, Damascus, Walter Johnson, Magruder,
Richard Montgomery, Northwest, Poolesville, Quince Orchard, Rockville, Sherwood, Whitman, and
Wootton high schools.

Anonymous wrote:09:29 Are you saying Renay Johnson may be responsible for the policy? I hear she got rid of counselors being assigned for magnet students and many experienced teachers are resigning from the magnet program. Is it true?