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Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS)
College Gardens IB PYP
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Anonymous
| Anyone could comment on the quality of the IB/PYP at College Gardens? Much appreciated |
Anonymous
| How do you define quality? I believe they are the only one in MCPS so there is not much to compare them to... |
Anonymous
Is it good program? Can you compare it to the gifted program? I am coming from Canada where our child was accepted into a highly gifted school. Now, we have to move to DC and we do not know if we should try getting him into a similar program ( it looks like we missed the deadline and that anyway there is a lottery??) or to go the IB/PYP.What is the difference between the IB/PYP in Virginia and the one of Maryland. Some colleagues just advised us to stay away from DC schools. Maybe we should remain in Canada I would appreciate if you would have some genuine thoughts you can share with me on this difficult topic.
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Anonymous
| It's a good school in a good school district. I'm not sure how the IB program compares to others, though. If I lived in that district, I would definitely send my child there. As it is, we're about to start at a small private school about 15 minutes from there that is an IB PYP candidate school. |
Anonymous
| If you are considering leaving a gifted program for College Gardens, contact the school directly, ask to speak with their IB PYP Coordinator about what they offer. Are all the teachers trained in IB PYP? Is the principal and administration trained in IB PYP? Ask the school if they would put you in contact with parents or the PTA to help answer your questions. Do some research on the demographic. Ask about class sizes, logistics and class schedules. Since you are relocating from another country, being well informed on the differences of IB schools before your move would be the best. Not all IB schools are the same nor are they all of the same standard. |
Anonymous
| College Gadrens is a good school but should not in anyway be thought of as a school for gifted children. It serves children from a broad range of abilities and backgrounds. I think you will find that true in most MCPS schools..though based on demographics some schools are more homogeneous than others. |
Anonymous
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I have a completely unsubstantiated feeling that College Gardens is one of the elementary schools where they tried to un-track gifted students, based on the philosophy that every child has gifts and a challenging curriculum should be accessible to all.
It's hard to argue with that on paper -- of course it's true -- but if you have a child who requires significant acceleration you may find yourself in an environment where the administration doesn't believe in it. In some cases, this philosophy is a smokescreen for eliminating GT programs. Again, it's more a recollection I have of some discussions about this, so you should validate this by searching archives and maybe looking at other websites or listservs about MCPS GT, but it's something to be aware of. |
Anonymous
| Thanks for posting your thoughts. You just confirm my very first intuitive thoughts. Would the MCPS GT take in students from a Canadian equivalent Program? Any advice of where I should start inquiring about such a process? It is overwhelming… If we were to make an effort for one year and put our child in a private school, are there any chances to be accepted from private to GT for the next year? We will not be able to have him in the private for ever. Can you recommend any useful websites , giving more info on the GT Programs? Thanks. |
Anonymous
I forgot to mention that we do not live in any cluster yet. We are looking at renting and we first want to decide over a school and go from there.. what is difference between the GT in Virginia vs. Maryland? Thanks |
Anonymous
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IB schools are not schools for only the gifted.
You are correct in deciding on the school before choosing the neighborhood. Check out the website below... www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org |