Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I also forgot to mention that the Blair boosters seem to have a chip on their shoulder about Poolesville. As soon as Blair is criticized they seem to think it is to boost Poolesville. I looked at their website and I don't think Poolesville needs boosting.

I spoke to my neighbor who has a kid in the magnet and she feels that the Blair magnet kids think that Poolesville is far more rigorous.

So leave Poolesville out of this discussion.

For my child, I'd pick RM. But that is my preference.

How would the kids in the Blair magnet have any idea how rigorous the Poolesville magnet is? How would the kids in the Poolesville magnet have any idea how rigorous the Blair magnet is?

Many of them went to the same prep school and go to the same tutors for SAT, math, ..... There are also many other reasons.

Anonymous wrote:I also forgot to mention that the Blair boosters seem to have a chip on their shoulder about Poolesville. As soon as Blair is criticized they seem to think it is to boost Poolesville. I looked at their website and I don't think Poolesville needs boosting.

I spoke to my neighbor who has a kid in the magnet and she feels that the Blair magnet kids think that Poolesville is far more rigorous.

So leave Poolesville out of this discussion.

For my child, I'd pick RM. But that is my preference.

How would the kids in the Blair magnet have any idea how rigorous the Poolesville magnet is? How would the kids in the Poolesville magnet have any idea how rigorous the Blair magnet is?

I also forgot to mention that the Blair boosters seem to have a chip on their shoulder about Poolesville. As soon as Blair is criticized they seem to think it is to boost Poolesville. I looked at their website and I don't think Poolesville needs boosting.

I spoke to my neighbor who has a kid in the magnet and she feels that the Blair magnet kids think that Poolesville is far more rigorous.

So leave Poolesville out of this discussion.

For my child, I'd pick RM. But that is my preference.

The issue isn't about having opportunities to excel. The issue is a comparison between the Blair CAP and RM IB.

The answer comes down to a few simple things.
1. There seems to be evidence that the Blair principal is trying to assimilate two very good programs into the regular population and essentially destroy the programs.
2. According to newsreports Superintendent Starr says he has nothing to do with it.
3. The RM IB program, which is rigorous, can't be dismantled because it is accredited by the IB group.
4. The CAP program is, according to posters, easier than the RM IB, and if things go the way they are become easier.

So, it comes down to what the OP wants------a rigorous education or a program that can give an easy path to graduation.

No need to start name calling and doing the usual DCUM stuff.

Anonymous wrote:Ugh!

This is just not civilized. High school is not the end-all of your life. There are many paths to success, and kids from this region are lucky to have many opportunities to excel in different schools.

+1!!!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is sad that one has to resort to name calling when incapable of defending their school based on facts. I have not seen falsehoods about Blair.

I looked at recent graduation rates and Blair was unimpressive. It is the biggest school in Montgomery County and has a lot of problems. Weak leadership with an agenda has not helped.

I know what the Silver Chips reported about the student asking about the magnet being assimilated with the regular high school is true.

Yes, a student asked the superintendent a question at a town hall...and.....

Ah, well, of course it would inconvenient to include Starr's answer to the question you keep trotting out: that he will not and cannot make changes to the magnets and has no plans to decrease anything.

That is how MCPS works. The principal simply guts the program and gets credit if she succeeds or gets blamed if she fails. It is her agenda and he lets her do whatever she wants.

OK, but seriously -- how is she gutting the program? I really want to know.

I know Starr doesn't like magnets and I believe he will do what he can to eliminate them. But what is this principal doing to gut the program, specifically?

Took away the counselors causing a lot of confusion. Opening magnet courses to the general population (as someone posted earlier in this thread), putting in too many new teachers who seem to be floundering at teaching magnet courses. With one more child who might enter the school, I am worried about where the principal is taking the school.


I know the union gave her an outstanding principal award and the PTA gang, who have special access to her, are drumming up congratulations. It seems that they know she is in trouble or may be in trouble. Usually, these awards signal something going on. I know something happened with a math teacher called PI or 2PI or something like that. I remember a newspaper article about him in which he said there were rumors that he changed grades. Please check the story for yourself to get an accurate read.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is sad that one has to resort to name calling when incapable of defending their school based on facts. I have not seen falsehoods about Blair.

I looked at recent graduation rates and Blair was unimpressive. It is the biggest school in Montgomery County and has a lot of problems. Weak leadership with an agenda has not helped.

I know what the Silver Chips reported about the student asking about the magnet being assimilated with the regular high school is true.

Yes, a student asked the superintendent a question at a town hall...and.....

Ah, well, of course it would inconvenient to include Starr's answer to the question you keep trotting out: that he will not and cannot make changes to the magnets and has no plans to decrease anything.

That is how MCPS works. The principal simply guts the program and gets credit if she succeeds or gets blamed if she fails. It is her agenda and he lets her do whatever she wants.

OK, but seriously -- how is she gutting the program? I really want to know.

I know Starr doesn't like magnets and I believe he will do what he can to eliminate them. But what is this principal doing to gut the program, specifically?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is sad that one has to resort to name calling when incapable of defending their school based on facts. I have not seen falsehoods about Blair.

I looked at recent graduation rates and Blair was unimpressive. It is the biggest school in Montgomery County and has a lot of problems. Weak leadership with an agenda has not helped.

I know what the Silver Chips reported about the student asking about the magnet being assimilated with the regular high school is true.

Yes, a student asked the superintendent a question at a town hall...and.....

Ah, well, of course it would inconvenient to include Starr's answer to the question you keep trotting out: that he will not and cannot make changes to the magnets and has no plans to decrease anything.

That is how MCPS works. The principal simply guts the program and gets credit if she succeeds or gets blamed if she fails. It is her agenda and he lets her do whatever she wants.

Ugh!

This is just not civilized. High school is not the end-all of your life. There are many paths to success, and kids from this region are lucky to have many opportunities to excel in different schools.

Anonymous wrote:It is sad that one has to resort to name calling when incapable of defending their school based on facts. I have not seen falsehoods about Blair.

I looked at recent graduation rates and Blair was unimpressive. It is the biggest school in Montgomery County and has a lot of problems. Weak leadership with an agenda has not helped.

I know what the Silver Chips reported about the student asking about the magnet being assimilated with the regular high school is true.

Yes, a student asked the superintendent a question at a town hall...and.....

Ah, well, of course it would inconvenient to include Starr's answer to the question you keep trotting out: that he will not and cannot make changes to the magnets and has no plans to decrease anything.

It is sad that one has to resort to name calling when incapable of defending their school based on facts. I have not seen falsehoods about Blair.

I looked at recent graduation rates and Blair was unimpressive. It is the biggest school in Montgomery County and has a lot of problems. Weak leadership with an agenda has not helped.

I know what the Silver Chips reported about the student asking about the magnet being assimilated with the regular high school is true.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Agree with PP. They have reverted back to two different coordinators. Hopefully programs will regain rigor. Not too hopeful though.

This reversion was at least 4 years ago, when my oldest kid entered CAP, and the coordinator was a woman at that time. And the coordinator has been the same woman for the past 5 years. So maybe the white-flight Poolesville booster is relying on extremely dated information?

It seems like this thread is being held hostage by the Blair desperadoes who seem to think that there are Poolesville boosters. Seriously, get a life. Poolesville does not need boosting. Just drive over to that school an look at what is happening to the whole area because of the school.

Get it over with. POOLESVILLE DOES NOT NEED BOOSTING.

As foe white flight, read the book Petrilli wrote before deciding against the Silver Spring/Takoma Park area.

You mean the guy at the very conservative Fordham Institute and Hoover Institution?

This is getting to be a freaky thread. I don't know anything about these Poolesville and white flight comments--clearly there's some past history between posters that I'm not familiar with. I'm new here.

I haven't seen anybody bashing Poolesville. But what I do see is that somebody keeps posting demonstrably untrue statements about the Blair magnets, and then gets hysterical when called on them.

Actually it seems like the Blair folks are very secure in their skin, rather it is the folks who think their school (RM, Poolesville, wherever) is the next W school who have some serious insecurities. I agree Poolesville needs no boosting - great quality of life, especially if you don't need to commute into the city. And some people have a tough time understanding that white flight from Silver Spring just isn't happening the way it used to, and people are moving into Silver Spring/TP and spending $1 million plus on small, old homes.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Agree with PP. They have reverted back to two different coordinators. Hopefully programs will regain rigor. Not too hopeful though.

This reversion was at least 4 years ago, when my oldest kid entered CAP, and the coordinator was a woman at that time. And the coordinator has been the same woman for the past 5 years. So maybe the white-flight Poolesville booster is relying on extremely dated information?

It seems like this thread is being held hostage by the Blair desperadoes who seem to think that there are Poolesville boosters. Seriously, get a life. Poolesville does not need boosting. Just drive over to that school an look at what is happening to the whole area because of the school.

Get it over with. POOLESVILLE DOES NOT NEED BOOSTING.

As foe white flight, read the book Petrilli wrote before deciding against the Silver Spring/Takoma Park area.