Anonymous wrote:Did they say whether each school will have at most one section of each class or whether in some schools there might be 2 or more?

Anonymous wrote:
Grade 5 students whose parents had opted them out of testing for the middle school magnet programs also are being considered for the enriched and accelerated courses. Middle school principals are reviewing their incoming Grade 6 student data and notification of individual student placements will be sent to parents in early April.

For questions about programming, parents may contact Accelerated and Enriched Instruction, 240.740.3110. After individual placement notifications occur in April, questions about course(s) availability, sections, and scheduling may be directed to your middle school principal.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone know how they will decide who will be able to take the new enriched classes? PP mentioned schools have had a list for a month.

Presumably all the kids who got 99s in 2 or more areas (especially composite) who were rejected from the magnets--the "20 peer cohort" groups. How far they go down into the 90s after that will likely vary and depend on how many "top scorers" they have, then available spots in terms of how large they plan for those sections to be.

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone know how they will decide who will be able to take the new enriched classes? PP mentioned schools have had a list for a month.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids are at Pyle, and neither was in the HGC although they are smart kids and engaged students. Most of their friends at Pyle are similar regardless of whether they attended the HGC. What has been most disappointing to me at Pyle is the lack of quality of the teaching. It makes little difference what the course descriptions say and how smart the peer group is if the teachers themselves are not engaged in the material and don’t encourage class discussions or thinking beyond the set materials. So unless the teachers are being trained to new standards for the differentiated classes, I can’t see them providing anything like the experience of what the magnets do.

I fail to see how you can confidently make this generalization. Unless you've traveled with your child(ren) throughout the day from grade 6 to grade 8, you simply cannot state that teachers aren't engaged.

This is another ignorant statement made by an entitled parent, as I see it.

So if this is indeed the case - b/c perhaps you've done your own study - you times 50 other similar parents would indeed squash a teacher's desire to reach beyond any instructional guide.

Anonymous wrote:My kids are at Pyle, and neither was in the HGC although they are smart kids and engaged students. Most of their friends at Pyle are similar regardless of whether they attended the HGC. What has been most disappointing to me at Pyle is the lack of quality of the teaching. It makes little difference what the course descriptions say and how smart the peer group is if the teachers themselves are not engaged in the material and don’t encourage class discussions or thinking beyond the set materials. So unless the teachers are being trained to new standards for the differentiated classes, I can’t see them providing anything like the experience of what the magnets do.

Anonymous wrote:My kids are at Pyle, and neither was in the HGC although they are smart kids and engaged students. Most of their friends at Pyle are similar regardless of whether they attended the HGC. What has been most disappointing to me at Pyle is the lack of quality of the teaching. It makes little difference what the course descriptions say and how smart the peer group is if the teachers themselves are not engaged in the material and don’t encourage class discussions or thinking beyond the set materials. So unless the teachers are being trained to new standards for the differentiated classes, I can’t see them providing anything like the experience of what the magnets do.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:New course description:

This course is built around the core Grade 6 social studies curriculum that includes historical content from early civilizations, the empires of Greece and Rome, the dynasties of China, and civilizations of the first millennium. Cohort students will go beyond this core however as they learn additional content, explore deeper connections to today, engage in investigative inquiry to strengthen their writing through Document Based Questions, and enhance their learning through relevant literature connections.


Existing course description in some of the MS - 2016-17 Advanced World Studies 6 (7897)

This course provides enriched opportunities for learning about ancient world history. Building on the current four units of Grade 6 world studies [Greece, Rome, China, etc..], students will deepen their understanding of the rich cultures and history from the earliest human settlements to great civilizations of the year 1000 CE. Students are challenged to analyze archaeological evidence, ask questions to further their knowledge, and understand history as an ongoing investigation. These historical thinking, reading, and writing skills support success in future Advanced Placement and honors social studies courses.

No kidding. Pyle has been missing the boat on this for several years. Parents have been screaming from the rooftops that it's needed for years...
I don't see all that much difference.

Sounds much better to me, especially surrounded by peer students who do their homework, pay attention and speak up in class, and are aiming for better than MoC Community College (which is a WRITTEN goal of C2.0: be able to get in to that community college. they also have a fast track degree for MCPS students who want to be eSOl teachers with MCPS).

That would happen regardless of the change in curriculum. Even without this "new" change, those same 5th graders going into 6th would've been assigned to take this existing Advanced World Studies class. All of DC's HGC friends had this same Advanced class.

Are your kids at Pyle? Ours are and their 4&5th grade HGC pulled from 8-10 ES’ most of which do not roll up to Pyle. So he did not have “all his HGC friends” in his MS classes. That would have been great, since those are some good buddies now all over the county but not the case for Pyle students.

I’m talking about level setting peers within each classroom in order to challenge and teach to ability. Not attempt to teach to 3-6 abilities in the same classroom. I am not talking about “my kid took the same class as everyone,” I am talking about who is sitting in the classroom.. mS needs differentiation. Badly.

Anonymous wrote:wait till more upcounty parents hear about this. If they find out their kids are missing out on enriched classes at the home school, they are going to be pissed. My kids aren't in MS yet but by the time they get there i for sure would want this at their school.