Incoming freshman class reduced

Blair expects some relief in its overcrowding next school year as a result of a significantly lower number of incoming freshmen, according to Downcounty Consortium (DCC) numbers released to school officials on Feb. 16.

Preliminary numbers after the first round of the eighth-grade choice process in February indicated that Blair would take 516 freshmen, over 200 fewer than the preliminary count from one year ago. This number does not include the Communication Arts Program (CAP) and Magnet students who will attend Blair, said Blair Academies Coordinator Susan Ragan, so it will increase. Currently, next year's population should be between 3,000 and 3,100, according to PTSA Co-President Fran Rothstein, which is 160 to 260 fewer students than Blair has this year.

The incoming freshman class could include 125 to 175 more students after counting future CAP and Magnet students depending on whether or not they live within the DCC, according to Ragan. When students move in and out of the DCC between now and the beginning of the 2005-2006 school year, the count for the incoming class is expected to increase by about 50 students, according to Ragan.Between February and May of last year, the number of incoming Blair freshmen increased by over 100 students, and by the beginning of the school year, Blair enrolled 946 freshmen. Current DCC freshmen also have the option to switch to another high school within the DCC and begin their actual academy courses as 10th graders at another school.

Erick Lang, former Director for Consortia Initiatives, assured the DCC community last year that the number of students entering Blair and Albert Einstein High School, both overwhelmingly overcrowded schools, would be capped at a certain number to help relieve overcrowding for the 2005-2006 school year.

But acting Director for Consortia Initiatives Ida Louise Polcari would not comment on what measures the DCC took to decrease the number of incoming freshmen at Blair because the DCC must present the information to the Board of Education before releasing information to the public. Next school year, Northwood High School will have a freshman and a sophomore class, which contributed to Blair's overcrowding relief.

According to Ragan, 87 percent of eighth graders were given their first-choice high school, as opposed to 95 percent last school year. Additionally, students who chose their home school as their first-choice school were automatically assigned to that school.

Freshman Keshia McIlwain, whose home school is Northwood, was initially attracted to Blair mainly because of its large size. "Everybody told me they liked Blair and that it was big," said McIlwain. "I have a lot of friends here, but I guess since it's such a big school, I [would] just say, 'Hi, got to go to class.'" Now Blair's size is the reason she is considering attending Einstein.

The "Change of Choice" forms for current freshmen who wish to switch DCC high schools were made available on Feb. 18 to students. If a student wishes to change schools, he or she must fill out the forms to do so by March 14, which is also the deadline for the second-round of requests for those who did not receive their first-choice school.

Blair DCC cluster co-coordinator Joe Zillo is concerned about freshmen being made fully aware of the academy choices. Additionally, Zillo says there should be better communication between the DCC schools. "If [DCC high schools] don't start thinking as five high schools, none of this is going to work," he said. "We are no longer one high school; we are five high schools in one consortium. What happens to one school affects our school."

Also, Zillo was frustrated by the lack of interaction between the DCC office and parents following this year's selection process; he feels that the DCC has not presented detailed information about the success of the Consortium's first year or how freshmen feel about the programs, which he says can be solved through better communication. "Students, parents and the community must be operating as a DCC," he said.

The PTSA hopes that next year will bring Blair some long-awaited relief from overcrowding as promised by MCPS. "The Blair community deserves better than it has gotten over the past few years in terms of lowering the numbers," said Rothstein.

PTSA Co-President Betsy Scroggs said that the Blair facility is being "pounded to death" due to overcrowding and that the DCC must provide relief starting next school year. "They have to get [the population] down. It's going to happen, [because] the school system said that's what they're going to do," said Scroggs.