Recent experiences with Marshall HS
![[Post New]](/jforum/templates/default/images/icon_minipost_new.gif){kind=icon}
Anonymous
|
Our first kid will be starting at Marshall next year so this isn’t a should we thread…kid will be attending it. Also not an AP vs. IB discussion. How is the administration? The teachers? Any classes your kids really enjoyed? Hated? How are the IB classes? When did your
kids decide IB diploma or not? |
Anonymous
| Anyone? |
Anonymous
| Excellent school-flies under the orbit of Langley/McLean. |
Anonymous
| What about Madison? |
Anonymous
It seems like there's a lot of dissatisfaction there now with the new principal and the standards-based grading implemented at Madison. Maybe it's just a few people venting here. |
Anonymous
OP here-my kids are slated for Marshall but have friends going/who go to Madison since we are in Vienna. It gets a lot of community support from Vienna. Good at band, sports. Can’t really speak for other things. I was hoping more feedback on Marshall and IB. |
Anonymous
My kid is a junior at Marshall and overall it's been a great experience. I guess there are cliques, but every kid seems to find their niche and I feel like there's a lot of support to help them thrive. My kid is not doing an IB diploma, but is doing several IB courses. I've been impressed with the level of challenge and the availability of the teachers for feedback and guidance. I went to Kilmer's IB night the other night and they had current IB students speak. The kids seemed intelligent, driven, well-adjusted. |
Anonymous
| What's the drug situation like? Recent communications (fatal car accident, overdose etc.) have me very concerned. |
Anonymous
This is not a problem unique to Marshall HS. It's prevalent all over FCPS and beyond. |
Anonymous
Understood. But the question was specific to Marshall? Please kindly answer regarding your experience with the prevalence of drugs and drinking |
Anonymous
Because that’s an impossible question to ask PP. It really is dependent on a kid’s peer group more than the school kid attends. |
Anonymous
There is more poverty in Marshal than the other schools that's why there are drug ods. And kids skipping class drunk in the morning |
Anonymous
I believe there was one OD recently. Marshall has more poverty compared to the well off schools nearby. And lastly, it’s cute that you think it’s the poor kids doing drugs. Is your opinion from personal experience with Marshall btw? |
Anonymous
This is the obvious and correct answer. |
Anonymous
| I have a child at Marshall and it has been a good experience, overall. Many of the teachers are great, while a few have been mediocre and uncommunicative. The comments about peer group are true, as with any school. Yes, there is drug use/drinking but from what I have seen and heard, it is not rampant and it really does depend on who your child hangs out with. Many of the students are extremely driven in both academics and extra circulars. You will hear lots on this board about IB being inferior to AP, or that Marshall has "more poverty" than other schools in area. (People who say that must not have a clue what real poverty looks like, because what they really mean is people who are working class or truly middle class). Yes, there is certainly a more diverse group of people at Marshall but that is by far one of the greatest strengths of the school in my opinion. My child has friends from so many different cultural backgrounds and its amazing to see them all interact. My child is not doing the full IB diploma but is taking several IB courses and most have been extremely challenging. The courses are taught with a focus on deep understanding of the material and the ability to analyze and extrapolate. Unlike tests that I remember from HS, you cannot memorize and dump it all after the test is over. These classes will prepare your child for college coursework in a way that, in my opinion, will set them up to be ahead of the curve compared to other students. I have heard that some schools liberally dole out As and that grade inflation is everywhere. This has not been my experience at Marshall. Students have to work for their grades. Yes, I will say some of the regular classes are fairly easy to do well in, but the students taking IB are held to a very high standard. If your child is studious and academically inclined, he/she will easily find a cohort of like minded peers that will push them to achieve, as well as teachers who are supportive. |