Can anyone talk to me about the YSP (Young Scholars Program)? Worth trying to "sell" DD on this?
![[Post New]](/jforum/templates/default/images/icon_minipost_new.gif){kind=icon}
Anonymous
|
DD got a letter inviting her to the YSP, which I had never heard of. I've searched these boards and asked one friend whose kids didn't attend it (not enrolled in MCPS) but who knows kids who have, and I think I have a general idea of what it's about.
It sounds kind of fun, but so far DD (3rd grade) is skeptical, and I don't blame her. She said she'd rather read all Saturday morning, lol... but she's not an introvert, and she is an only child, so I suspect she might like it. That is-- if it weren't virtual, which she mostly doesn't care for. I attended G&T programs and some nerd camps and this sounds like it includes the more interesting aspects of those, and hopefully no homework/test prep? But I haven't gotten a real feel for the kinds of things they do, projects, etc. Anyone have a kid who tried it and liked it-- or didn't like it, and dropped out? All experiences welcome! |
Anonymous
|
Mine adored it, and voluntarily stuck with it all three years, even after heading to a CES program (and well after her dad and I were totally over getting up early to drive her!)
She's a science-y kid, and did reasonably well in compacted math, although she's not necessarily a math lover. She'd always felt like the elementary science curriculum was lacking, that they just didn't do enough of it. She loved being able to learn more science stuff in a fun environment. They definitely didn't do any test prep-type stuff or have any homework, and it was all very relaxed and not lecture-y at all. I remember my daughter coming home after the first session saying, "And mom—there were NO FLIP CHARTS!" Lots of hands-on experiments and creative problem solving, using real-world scenarios to help understand more advanced concepts. They did things like egg drops and balloon cars, or working together as a group to find mathematical patterns in a sequence of numbers. I'd say it was more like enrichment than acceleration. They learned advanced concepts, but in a natural way, not necessarily trying to move them through the curriculum faster. She's now taking honors physics in 9th and says she's learning the mathematical underpinnings of a lot of the principles they learned about in YSP. For my kid, it was definitely worth it. I know others didn't think so, though, so YMMV. And I'm sure the instructor can make a big difference, too. They're all MCPS elementary teachers as far as I know, and the one she had the last two years was a CES teacher. I wouldn't say it dramatically advanced her academic career or anything, but it definitely helped my kid stay interested in science when the regular curriculum wouldn't have been enough. |
Anonymous
|
Agree with 10:28. My child did it for two years but quit after being admitted to the CES and becuase other extracurriculars were becoming more demanding in addition to the workload of the CES.
It was a fun way to get inside the local high school, to meet other similarly-oriented kids, and to do the kids of "gifted kid" puzzles and experiments that just were not available at the home school. |
Anonymous
| Weird I’ve never heard of it and my kid went to a CES. Is this only for certain schools? |
Anonymous
IDK, PP, but for what it's worth, my kid goes to a FOCUS school and is a URM. -OP |
Anonymous
|
Thanks for the input, PPs!
Also curious about anyone who declined this or tried it and didn't like it. -OP |
Anonymous
I’m the first respondent above. We were at a Focus school, but my DD is not a URM. I was told the recommendation came from her teacher from the previous year. I will say that one of the benefits was already knowing a few kids at her regional CES from the YSP program, but there wasn’t a substantial overlap between YSP and CES. But that was before they expanded the local CES programs, so I don’t know what it looks like now. I don’t know whether only certain schools send kids, though. I do know my (now-freshman) daughter’s first year was the first year for the program hosted at Blair, because I had a terrible time finding anything out about it. It piggybacks on the Saturday School infrastructure, which made it extra-confusing trying to find out about this mysterious YSP thing that isn’t mentioned in any of their literature. But the class is completely separate from those programs, which don’t require an invitation. As I understand it, the YSP program started with schools sending to the other Saturday School location (I can’t remember where that one is), and expanded to the Blair location a few years later. |
Anonymous
| What is URM? |
Anonymous
Under-represented minority. |
Anonymous
Under represented minority |
Anonymous
A kid who is Black or Hispanic. |
Anonymous
You forgot Native. |
Anonymous
Yes, it's for kids in Title I and Focus Schools, and for kids receiving FARMS in wealthier schools. The goal is to identify kids who might otherwise not be getting "enrichment" through parent-paid after-school robotics camp or whatever. It's actually the sort of the thing DCUM claims to love in theory - identify gifted kids in lower-income schools and plug in early enrichment to help level the playing field before magnet admissions begin. |