Loiederman vs. Sligo MS?

[Anonymous]

My daughter insisted that she apply for the Argyle/Loiderman/Parkland MS lottery even though we live out of bounds. I thought her chances were zilch, so I agreed, and now she somehow got a spot at Loiederman (we'd never ever won any lotteries that I can remember). That was her first choice between the three.

The main reason for my (obvious) lack of enthusiasm is that there are no buses and we live about a 20 min drive away. We are renting, however, and looking to find something more permanent, so moving is not out of the question, if the school is a really good fit.

DD is good at all subjects, but I'd say writing is her strong suit (she's currently in a CES program). She is taking dance and music lessons outside MCPS and although she's enjoying them, I wouldn't say that she's an outstanding performer in either.

We are zoned for Sligo currently and I expect most of her friends will be going there.

I expect she's also in the lottery pool for Takoma Park/Eastern, but I don't think those lotteries have taken place yet. Certainly if she gets into one of those programs, I'd pick them over Loiederman (her own preference is Eastern), but I am not sure how the timing will work (the deadline for Loiederman is Feb 4th). If we have to make a decision on Loiederman before the Eastern/Takoma results are out, can we say yes to Loiederman and then change our mind to take a spot at say Eastern?

Any advice is appreciated, especially from parents currently at Loiederman who had to make similar choices. If we move to the area, what high school(s) would she be assigned to?

[Anonymous]

No experience with Loiderman, but having gone through the processes for ES, MS and HS, I can tell you they usually don't ask for a decision until all the application/lottery/choice results are out. Definitely not one you're locked into.

But once everything's out, you'll probably only have a week or so to make a final decision. (You can always go back to your home MS if whatever decision you make doesn't work out, though.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My daughter insisted that she apply for the Argyle/Loiderman/Parkland MS lottery even though we live out of bounds. I thought her chances were zilch, so I agreed, and now she somehow got a spot at Loiederman (we'd never ever won any lotteries that I can remember). That was her first choice between the three.

The main reason for my (obvious) lack of enthusiasm is that there are no buses and we live about a 20 min drive away. We are renting, however, and looking to find something more permanent, so moving is not out of the question, if the school is a really good fit.

DD is good at all subjects, but I'd say writing is her strong suit (she's currently in a CES program). She is taking dance and music lessons outside MCPS and although she's enjoying them, I wouldn't say that she's an outstanding performer in either.

We are zoned for Sligo currently and I expect most of her friends will be going there.

I expect she's also in the lottery pool for Takoma Park/Eastern, but I don't think those lotteries have taken place yet. Certainly if she gets into one of those programs, I'd pick them over Loiederman (her own preference is Eastern), but I am not sure how the timing will work (the deadline for Loiederman is Feb 4th). If we have to make a decision on Loiederman before the Eastern/Takoma results are out, can we say yes to Loiederman and then change our mind to take a spot at say Eastern?

Any advice is appreciated, especially from parents currently at Loiederman who had to make similar choices. If we move to the area, what high school(s) would she be assigned to?

Wheaton HS

https://gis.mcpsmd.org/ServiceAreaMaps/LoiedermanMS.pdf

[Anonymous]

I don’t know anyone who picked Loiederman who stayed there past sixth grade. Not a great school. Lots of students transfer back to their home school. I wouldn’t do it - esp with no bus and a commute. Sligo is a good school!

[Anonymous]

My DD went to Sligo and we regret it. The teaching was not good and she was not prepared for high school. I don’t know if Loiderman is better though.

[Anonymous]

You can definitely go to Eastern or TPMS if she gets in and decline Loiderman for that reason. And you should. I had one kid at one of the magnet schools and the other at Sligo and it was a completely different experience. (The magnet being much better).

[Anonymous]

I mean, yeah, the magnets are better than Sligo, but Sligo wins by a mile over Loiederman

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I mean, yeah, the magnets are better than Sligo, but Sligo wins by a mile over Loiederman

If your kid is artsy they can take a much greater variety of classes at Loiederman. Sligo has 4 arts/music teachers; Loiederman has 15.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I mean, yeah, the magnets are better than Sligo, but Sligo wins by a mile over Loiederman

I agree to this. We have a kid at Sligo now and the school is well-run. We had one at Loiderman a few years ago. I don’t recommend the drive unless your kid is really focused on performing arts. Personally, I would not relocate to the surrounding area either. You are further out and the area is not too charming.

[Anonymous]

I have a kid who is extremely focused on performing arts, and so we know a fair number of Loiderman kids through various youth theater activities (professional and community).

The kids who are happiest at Loiderman are the kids who live breathe and sleep musical theater. For them, getting to create a cohort of similarly-minded peers and having the additional music/dance/acting instruction was really rewarding.

The kids we knew who were just kind of "meh" about the arts, or who had relatively strong home MS options, ended up transferring back.

[Anonymous]

Stay best to Loiederman and you can always change their mind. The kids in the arts program generally self-segregate. Academics are good at Loiederman but socially it can be tuff. Loiederman has an accelerated math track.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Stay best to Loiederman and you can always change their mind. The kids in the arts program generally self-segregate. Academics are good at Loiederman but socially it can be tuff. Loiederman has an accelerated math track.

Sorry, say yes.

[Anonymous]

I have a seventh grader at Loiederman who is very happy. We are out of bounds and it’s been worth the drive for us - in addition to the arts focus and classes that weren’t available at our home MS, the block schedule works really well for our kid. Many parents carpool and there is a form to sign up if you want a way to lighten the driving.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I mean, yeah, the magnets are better than Sligo, but Sligo wins by a mile over Loiederman

If your kid is artsy they can take a much greater variety of classes at Loiederman. Sligo has 4 arts/music teachers; Loiederman has 15.

Loiederman allows for 8 classes so you can take two arts classes and still take a foreign language or three arts and wait on foreign language.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Stay best to Loiederman and you can always change their mind. The kids in the arts program generally self-segregate. Academics are good at Loiederman but socially it can be tuff. Loiederman has an accelerated math track.

This is OP -- thanks, that's useful. Excuse my ignorance, but I thought there wasn't a separate arts program -- don't all students take additional arts courses? Or is that that they are available but not mandatory? Also, can you elaborate a bit on the social aspect and the math track?