Well I’m still waiting to hear what went down at this morning’s Board of Education meeting. (I was at work.) Evidently a group of Eastern Middle School magnet parents was planning to attend and try to either speak or hold up signs in support of retaining the 8 period block schedule. I don’t expect to see an MCPS press release on that. (Although things did get heated around the issue of community involvement in the budget process.)
The Middle School Magnet Consortium schools, from what I understand recently got a reprieve. Those whole school programs were started several years ago with a federal grant that funded teachers teaching on an 8 period schedule. When the grant money ran out, MCPS stepped in to fill the gap. In this tight budget year however, that funding was going to be eliminated and they too were slated to go to 7 periods like most middle schools in the county.
Federal stimulus money to the rescue! The funding–and the 8 period schedule–was restored.
Which begs the question: Where’s the support for Eastern?
Not to put too fine point on it, but if the money isn’t found for Eastern, for the system to pay the teachers for the extra work in order for the magnet to operate in the best interest of these highly gifted students, it will only confirm to me MCPS hostility to GT education and its determination to eliminate application magnets. Regardless of all the talk of “services.”
[...] Finally, in an ironic coincidence — or maybe not — some students from the Loiederman whole school magnet spoke and thanked the BOE for reinstating their 8 periods. [...]