Recent Eastern Magnet Experiences

[Anonymous]

I know there are a lot of old threads on this topic, but I am looking for feedback from current families in the Humanities Magnet program at Eastern. Specifically:

--What is the workload like? How much homework should we honestly expect?
--How difficult is the grading? Are Bs and Cs common in magnet classes?
--How is the school administration and counseling team in terms of communicating with parents and following 504/IEP accommodations?
--What is the lunch/recess situation like?

Thank you. We were offered a spot and will talk to families directly, but any and all recent feedback is appreciated.

[Anonymous]

1) Homework load depends a ton on your individual kid and their desire/ability to do homework in the margins of their day, like when they finish something else or on the bus. But, in general, I'd expect 1.5 hours of homework per night in 6th grade, not counting long-term assignment work.

2) On the report cards, Bs are common, Cs are not. But almost every kid gets at least one "holy crap" grade on an assignment because they wrong too little, or too much, or failed to read the rubric. Kids who have been coddled a bit in home schools for being special excellent reading snowflakes often take those initial "holy crap" grades hard.

3) No experience with IEPs, but I've found the magnet coordinator to be excellent at communicating with parents. At the teacher level, it varies of course but there is a general expectation that kids will advocate for themselves before involving their parents.

4) There is no recess in middle school. There are two lunch periods, and kids often eat outside. There is a daily pick-up soccer game that is a good way for magnet and non-magnet kids to get to know each other.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the replies. Appreciate it. This is OP. Are you happy overall with the experience?

[Anonymous]

The program is known for being actively hostile to kids with IEPs and 504 plans and not following them. Try to talk to actual parents.

[Anonymous]

1) Sometimes it was two hours of homework a night, and other times maybe just an hour. Almost always some work to complete on the weekends.

2) On the Report Cards - mostly As with one B one quarter. But some assignments were low grades, but was able to redo for a higher grade.

3) This can be a tough program for some kids with IEPs. It depends on your student and what their accommodations / needs are. Some of the teachers are great at following though with our kid, but others were not. Overall, the case manager has been very supportive, but actual follow-through / support in some of the classes was a battle. Many of the assignments are group work, and we were told cannot be modified, due to the group nature of the work. Actually, in the beginning we were told the curriculum could not be modified at all because it is a magnet, but extra time is allowed - which can lead to stressful piling up of work and getting behind in major projects. The group work put alot of social pressure and conflict on my kid because of some of his challenges (executive functioning, organization, etc), and the other kids depending on his work being on time.

4) The lunchroom - loud and crowded, but some kids eat quickly and then go to the media center.

[Anonymous]

Sixth grade is hard. Very hard. I’m still not sure if it is because the expectations are uniquely high that year or if it is because the kids need to develop core skills which are hard at first but make the remaining years earlier.

Our DD had to write papers in the first semester of 6th grade that were similar to what I wrote in college. Sixth grade, especially the first semester, required some parent snowplowing. But kids figure it out quickly and I found the homework time diminished in subsequent years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sixth grade is hard. Very hard. I’m still not sure if it is because the expectations are uniquely high that year or if it is because the kids need to develop core skills which are hard at first but make the remaining years earlier.

Our DD had to write papers in the first semester of 6th grade that were similar to what I wrote in college. Sixth grade, especially the first semester, required some parent snowplowing. But kids figure it out quickly and I found the homework time diminished in subsequent years.

Interesting. My son found 7th grade to be a much heavier workload with the independent research project and history day. Although 6th grade was demanding as well. 8th seemed to have the least amount of pressure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:1) Sometimes it was two hours of homework a night, and other times maybe just an hour. Almost always some work to complete on the weekends.

2) On the Report Cards - mostly As with one B one quarter. But some assignments were low grades, but was able to redo for a higher grade.

3) This can be a tough program for some kids with IEPs. It depends on your student and what their accommodations / needs are. Some of the teachers are great at following though with our kid, but others were not. Overall, the case manager has been very supportive, but actual follow-through / support in some of the classes was a battle. Many of the assignments are group work, and we were told cannot be modified, due to the group nature of the work. Actually, in the beginning we were told the curriculum could not be modified at all because it is a magnet, but extra time is allowed - which can lead to stressful piling up of work and getting behind in major projects. The group work put alot of social pressure and conflict on my kid because of some of his challenges (executive functioning, organization, etc), and the other kids depending on his work being on time.

4) The lunchroom - loud and crowded, but some kids eat quickly and then go to the media center.

NP. Wanted to add on to the group work comment that many kids in the program tend to be either quirky or arrogant and domineering or both. I am not talking about the kids with IEPs. The share of these kids at Eastern is just really high and it can be really challenging to work with those kids even for NT kids. There are some really nice, socially adept kids too but just fewer than you might find in a regular program, in the experience of DD.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sixth grade is hard. Very hard. I’m still not sure if it is because the expectations are uniquely high that year or if it is because the kids need to develop core skills which are hard at first but make the remaining years earlier.

Our DD had to write papers in the first semester of 6th grade that were similar to what I wrote in college. Sixth grade, especially the first semester, required some parent snowplowing. But kids figure it out quickly and I found the homework time diminished in subsequent years.

Interesting. My son found 7th grade to be a much heavier workload with the independent research project and history day. Although 6th grade was demanding as well. 8th seemed to have the least amount of pressure.

NP. I agree 7th grade was harder and there were many, many hours of homework particularly leading up to deadlines. What I feel is really unfair is that DD did so much work in the program, way more than kids at other middle schools, but the B's on her report card are going to hurt her chances of getting into the magnet HS of her choice. She shouldn't be docked for that. It makes absolutely no sense. She should be rewarded for working so hard, not punished.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sixth grade is hard. Very hard. I’m still not sure if it is because the expectations are uniquely high that year or if it is because the kids need to develop core skills which are hard at first but make the remaining years earlier.

Our DD had to write papers in the first semester of 6th grade that were similar to what I wrote in college. Sixth grade, especially the first semester, required some parent snowplowing. But kids figure it out quickly and I found the homework time diminished in subsequent years.

Interesting. My son found 7th grade to be a much heavier workload with the independent research project and history day. Although 6th grade was demanding as well. 8th seemed to have the least amount of pressure.

NP. I agree 7th grade was harder and there were many, many hours of homework particularly leading up to deadlines. What I feel is really unfair is that DD did so much work in the program, way more than kids at other middle schools, but the B's on her report card are going to hurt her chances of getting into the magnet HS of her choice. She shouldn't be docked for that. It makes absolutely no sense. She should be rewarded for working so hard, not punished.

On the other hand, my kid who didn’t get offered a slot from the lottery has no work and easy A’s at his home school, but is reading books for 8 year olds and isn’t given meaningful writing feedback or projects. Also isn’t eligible to apply to CAP and several other HS magnets because only DCC and out-of-bounds magnet kids get access to all those programs. I empathize because I don’t think your daughter should be docked. But even with straight A’s, my kid isn’t guaranteed a HS magnet seat and certainly didn’t get an enriching middle school experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sixth grade is hard. Very hard. I’m still not sure if it is because the expectations are uniquely high that year or if it is because the kids need to develop core skills which are hard at first but make the remaining years earlier.

Our DD had to write papers in the first semester of 6th grade that were similar to what I wrote in college. Sixth grade, especially the first semester, required some parent snowplowing. But kids figure it out quickly and I found the homework time diminished in subsequent years.

Interesting. My son found 7th grade to be a much heavier workload with the independent research project and history day. Although 6th grade was demanding as well. 8th seemed to have the least amount of pressure.

NP. I agree 7th grade was harder and there were many, many hours of homework particularly leading up to deadlines. What I feel is really unfair is that DD did so much work in the program, way more than kids at other middle schools, but the B's on her report card are going to hurt her chances of getting into the magnet HS of her choice. She shouldn't be docked for that. It makes absolutely no sense. She should be rewarded for working so hard, not punished.

Easy solution there - send her to her home school and let someone who really wants the spot even if it means Bs take it.

[Anonymous]

My child is in the ces now and is given a lot of time to work on assignments during the school day. Is that not the case at the eastern magnet program?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My child is in the ces now and is given a lot of time to work on assignments during the school day. Is that not the case at the eastern magnet program?

The kids are given time in class to work on big projects over the course of the 3 years. So, if they are working on a documentary, there will be time in school to work with their group and under teacher supervision. However, the big projects take even more time than is available in school to do well, and smaller day-to-day assignments are expected to be completed at home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1) Sometimes it was two hours of homework a night, and other times maybe just an hour. Almost always some work to complete on the weekends.

2) On the Report Cards - mostly As with one B one quarter. But some assignments were low grades, but was able to redo for a higher grade.

3) This can be a tough program for some kids with IEPs. It depends on your student and what their accommodations / needs are. Some of the teachers are great at following though with our kid, but others were not. Overall, the case manager has been very supportive, but actual follow-through / support in some of the classes was a battle. Many of the assignments are group work, and we were told cannot be modified, due to the group nature of the work. Actually, in the beginning we were told the curriculum could not be modified at all because it is a magnet, but extra time is allowed - which can lead to stressful piling up of work and getting behind in major projects. The group work put alot of social pressure and conflict on my kid because of some of his challenges (executive functioning, organization, etc), and the other kids depending on his work being on time.

4) The lunchroom - loud and crowded, but some kids eat quickly and then go to the media center.

NP. Wanted to add on to the group work comment that many kids in the program tend to be either quirky or arrogant and domineering or both. I am not talking about the kids with IEPs. The share of these kids at Eastern is just really high and it can be really challenging to work with those kids even for NT kids. There are some really nice, socially adept kids too but just fewer than you might find in a regular program, in the experience of DD.

Interesting comment about "quirky ... arrogant ... domineering kids...challenging to work with ..even for NT kids." You preface that with "not talking about the IEP kids", but then say it's difficult for NT kids to work with the kids you've labelled as difficult, imply the kids having problems with are "not neurotypical" "not nice" and "not socially adept". It's a little stigmatic the way you view kids who are not NT. Maybe you should self-reflect on that.

DC did not find the group work or social relationships to be the challenging at all. Kids were very kind to each other, amazed by each other's talents and interests, respected differences and supported each other. Frankly, quirkiness was something to be accepted not stigmatized. There was far more bullying and social dominance at our home MS. Kids at EMS magnet had their own special interests but the social friendships were deep. In fact, my DC's lifelong closest friends are the ones she went to Eastern with.

YMMV of course.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1) Sometimes it was two hours of homework a night, and other times maybe just an hour. Almost always some work to complete on the weekends.

2) On the Report Cards - mostly As with one B one quarter. But some assignments were low grades, but was able to redo for a higher grade.

3) This can be a tough program for some kids with IEPs. It depends on your student and what their accommodations / needs are. Some of the teachers are great at following though with our kid, but others were not. Overall, the case manager has been very supportive, but actual follow-through / support in some of the classes was a battle. Many of the assignments are group work, and we were told cannot be modified, due to the group nature of the work. Actually, in the beginning we were told the curriculum could not be modified at all because it is a magnet, but extra time is allowed - which can lead to stressful piling up of work and getting behind in major projects. The group work put alot of social pressure and conflict on my kid because of some of his challenges (executive functioning, organization, etc), and the other kids depending on his work being on time.

4) The lunchroom - loud and crowded, but some kids eat quickly and then go to the media center.

NP. Wanted to add on to the group work comment that many kids in the program tend to be either quirky or arrogant and domineering or both. I am not talking about the kids with IEPs. The share of these kids at Eastern is just really high and it can be really challenging to work with those kids even for NT kids. There are some really nice, socially adept kids too but just fewer than you might find in a regular program, in the experience of DD.

Interesting comment about "quirky ... arrogant ... domineering kids...challenging to work with ..even for NT kids." You preface that with "not talking about the IEP kids", but then say it's difficult for NT kids to work with the kids you've labelled as difficult, imply the kids having problems with are "not neurotypical" "not nice" and "not socially adept". It's a little stigmatic the way you view kids who are not NT. Maybe you should self-reflect on that.

DC did not find the group work or social relationships to be the challenging at all. Kids were very kind to each other, amazed by each other's talents and interests, respected differences and supported each other. Frankly, quirkiness was something to be accepted not stigmatized. There was far more bullying and social dominance at our home MS. Kids at EMS magnet had their own special interests but the social friendships were deep. In fact, my DC's lifelong closest friends are the ones she went to Eastern with.

YMMV of course.

I had the opposite conclusion from that message. It sounded like PP was saying that kids that didn’t have IEPs or other identified learning or behavioral challenges were arrogant and domineering and frankly unpleasant and that was difficult for other kids to deal with.