Transportation for middle school magnet consortium -- out of bounds

[Anonymous]

My son is interested in one of the schools in the magnet consortium and we are out of bounds. I realize this is premature, as we would have to get in via lottery, but I also would like us to have realistic conversations about the options. Both parents in our family have jobs that aren't particularly flexible in the afternoon so we would need to hire somebody to pick him up or otherwise figure something out. Are there bus or carpool services? Places people go to hire somebody to do this? Would love any insight/tips, so I can look into it and see if this is something we can afford.

[Anonymous]

Have you checked the school's bus schedules to see if the magnet routes con close to you? There should be a link for bus routes on the school's web page. Some have a separate link for magnet routes.

[Anonymous]

There are no buses for out-of-area students attending the Consortium (lottery) programs. I gather some programs help facilitate carpools once the school year starts, but I wouldn’t count on that.

But you might check the school’s regular bus routes and see if there’s a stop that might be close enough to a parent’s office, a family member’s home, or a convenient Ride On bus route that might get them the rest of the way home.

[Anonymous]

Definitely check Ride On schedules / routes. They’re free for students.

[Anonymous]

All 3 MSMC schools have carpool request forms on their web sites, like this:

https://www2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/argylems/news/news-index/2022/carpool-22---23/

[Anonymous]

We go to loeiderman and it offers EBB free of charge Monday thru Thursday until 5:30. I dunno if other two schools have something similar. And it doesn’t start right away, maybe at the end of Sept. there are 3 sessions with different interests and sports. Hope it helps

[Anonymous]

That’s another reason why the test in magnets are slightly more desirable due to the fact there is transportation. BUT, most kids from the Consortium do in fact carpool! Makes everyone’s life much better.

[Anonymous]

OP, this was my main concern with the lottery magnets as well. BUT I spoke to a few families at the open houses who have carpools. The admin puts together a list you can join and workout a carpool near you. They also have after school activities often which might stretch the day out further. There's also a program (I forget the name) similar to after care, but on a middle-school level. We plan on applying for the 2 magnets my kid likes, then joining a carpool share. We can easily drive mornings and hope somebody else can return the favor in afternoons. We hadn't realized how many students within 5 miles actually go there. Turns out quite a handful we didn't know about. I saw them at open houses or asked around.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, this was my main concern with the lottery magnets as well. BUT I spoke to a few families at the open houses who have carpools. The admin puts together a list you can join and workout a carpool near you. They also have after school activities often which might stretch the day out further. There's also a program (I forget the name) similar to after care, but on a middle-school level. We plan on applying for the 2 magnets my kid likes, then joining a carpool share. We can easily drive mornings and hope somebody else can return the favor in afternoons. We hadn't realized how many students within 5 miles actually go there. Turns out quite a handful we didn't know about. I saw them at open houses or asked around.

The afternoon pick up will be hard if parents work. You will probably need to rotate. We did not find the school worth it and transferred back.