Pyle or eastern Humanities/communication program?

[Anonymous]

Johnson has been the principal there for at least five years and he is wonderful. I’m not sure why the focus on someone who has long been gone is the focus.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DP whose child is also considering accepting the spot at Eastern. I don’t mean to hijack the thread, but I thought OP might be interested too — how’s the administration at Eastern (principal/assistant principal/magnet coordinator)?

Not a fan of the magnet coordinator, and I don't understand the parents who think he's great. There are issues with the program and he is totally uninterested in trying to solve them. People who are in the program know what these issues are.

I'm one of the Eastern parent PPs and I have no idea what you are talking about here. The magnet coordinator has been nothing but supportive to my child in their 2.5 years in the program, and the only parents I hear complaining about "issues" are folks whose kids are struggling for the first time in their academic careers. The program is hard, and anyone considering a spot for their child should know that it is rigorous and time consuming and the teachers have extremely high (and sometimes inflexible) standards. But those aren't "issues." They are features, not bugs, for the kids for whom the Humanities magnet is a good fit.

[Anonymous]

I’m not as rah-rah as a lot of the parents here. My child finished last year, so her last half of 7th and all of 8th was virtual. Eastern had the same problems as the rest of MCPS. Prior to Covid, the lunch room was not handled well by administration. Maybe my expectations were too high going in (and we definitely didn’t get a full experience), but I didn’t think the curriculum or teachers were worth the long commute. The science instruction was particularly bad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DP whose child is also considering accepting the spot at Eastern. I don’t mean to hijack the thread, but I thought OP might be interested too — how’s the administration at Eastern (principal/assistant principal/magnet coordinator)?

Not a fan of the magnet coordinator, and I don't understand the parents who think he's great. There are issues with the program and he is totally uninterested in trying to solve them. People who are in the program know what these issues are.

I'm one of the Eastern parent PPs and I have no idea what you are talking about here. The magnet coordinator has been nothing but supportive to my child in their 2.5 years in the program, and the only parents I hear complaining about "issues" are folks whose kids are struggling for the first time in their academic careers. The program is hard, and anyone considering a spot for their child should know that it is rigorous and time consuming and the teachers have extremely high (and sometimes inflexible) standards. But those aren't "issues." They are features, not bugs, for the kids for whom the Humanities magnet is a good fit.

I could've written this exact thing myself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DP whose child is also considering accepting the spot at Eastern. I don’t mean to hijack the thread, but I thought OP might be interested too — how’s the administration at Eastern (principal/assistant principal/magnet coordinator)?

Not a fan of the magnet coordinator, and I don't understand the parents who think he's great. There are issues with the program and he is totally uninterested in trying to solve them. People who are in the program know what these issues are.

I'm one of the Eastern parent PPs and I have no idea what you are talking about here. The magnet coordinator has been nothing but supportive to my child in their 2.5 years in the program, and the only parents I hear complaining about "issues" are folks whose kids are struggling for the first time in their academic careers. The program is hard, and anyone considering a spot for their child should know that it is rigorous and time consuming and the teachers have extremely high (and sometimes inflexible) standards. But those aren't "issues." They are features, not bugs, for the kids for whom the Humanities magnet is a good fit.

I’m not sure if it’s the same parents responding about how rigorous and hard the curriculum is, but I don’t agree with that. That’s what they’re trying to sell you. None of the students I talked to thought it was overly difficult.
And you’re sticking your head in the sand if you think the only issues are raised by struggling students. It’s not a perfect program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DP whose child is also considering accepting the spot at Eastern. I don’t mean to hijack the thread, but I thought OP might be interested too — how’s the administration at Eastern (principal/assistant principal/magnet coordinator)?

Not a fan of the magnet coordinator, and I don't understand the parents who think he's great. There are issues with the program and he is totally uninterested in trying to solve them. People who are in the program know what these issues are.

I'm one of the Eastern parent PPs and I have no idea what you are talking about here. The magnet coordinator has been nothing but supportive to my child in their 2.5 years in the program, and the only parents I hear complaining about "issues" are folks whose kids are struggling for the first time in their academic careers. The program is hard, and anyone considering a spot for their child should know that it is rigorous and time consuming and the teachers have extremely high (and sometimes inflexible) standards. But those aren't "issues." They are features, not bugs, for the kids for whom the Humanities magnet is a good fit.

I’m not sure if it’s the same parents responding about how rigorous and hard the curriculum is, but I don’t agree with that. That’s what they’re trying to sell you. None of the students I talked to thought it was overly difficult.
And you’re sticking your head in the sand if you think the only issues are raised by struggling students. It’s not a perfect program.

NP. What issues are you referring to then? Serious question. My kid finished eighth last year and I am not sure what you are referring to. Who are these students that you talked to?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My child was accepted to the eastern humanities program. Would you select to go there over Pyle middle school?
Transportation won’t be an issue, more asking from an education and social standpoint. Pros and cons?

If it is any help to you, several of my DCs friends turned down Eastern for Pyle. Just would not even consider it due to the commute and perception that it only is marginally better than what is available in the advanced curriculum at Pyle.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DP whose child is also considering accepting the spot at Eastern. I don’t mean to hijack the thread, but I thought OP might be interested too — how’s the administration at Eastern (principal/assistant principal/magnet coordinator)?

Not a fan of the magnet coordinator, and I don't understand the parents who think he's great. There are issues with the program and he is totally uninterested in trying to solve them. People who are in the program know what these issues are.

I'm one of the Eastern parent PPs and I have no idea what you are talking about here. The magnet coordinator has been nothing but supportive to my child in their 2.5 years in the program, and the only parents I hear complaining about "issues" are folks whose kids are struggling for the first time in their academic careers. The program is hard, and anyone considering a spot for their child should know that it is rigorous and time consuming and the teachers have extremely high (and sometimes inflexible) standards. But those aren't "issues." They are features, not bugs, for the kids for whom the Humanities magnet is a good fit.

I’m not sure if it’s the same parents responding about how rigorous and hard the curriculum is, but I don’t agree with that. That’s what they’re trying to sell you. None of the students I talked to thought it was overly difficult.
And you’re sticking your head in the sand if you think the only issues are raised by struggling students. It’s not a perfect program.

I'm a teacher myself (different district) so I give a LOT of leeway, and know the ins and outs of teaching and administration. The magnet coordinator is not effective. He's the sort of classic administrator you could imagine being promoted and promoted because he's ineffectual. There's a way to teach rigorously and have high standards. That's not what's going on at Eastern in some of the classes.

OP, go into it with open eyes. Your child could love it, but also it's not perfect, and you have to count on there being issues, even if your child is "perfect" like PP (lol).

[Anonymous]

It’s an odd setup to put the magnet kids into the general Eastern population. I’d hoped it would open my sheltered child’s eyes a little, but she finished with not one friend from the general population. From our experience the divide between the magnet and comprehensive kids is big.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DP whose child is also considering accepting the spot at Eastern. I don’t mean to hijack the thread, but I thought OP might be interested too — how’s the administration at Eastern (principal/assistant principal/magnet coordinator)?

Not a fan of the magnet coordinator, and I don't understand the parents who think he's great. There are issues with the program and he is totally uninterested in trying to solve them. People who are in the program know what these issues are.

I'm one of the Eastern parent PPs and I have no idea what you are talking about here. The magnet coordinator has been nothing but supportive to my child in their 2.5 years in the program, and the only parents I hear complaining about "issues" are folks whose kids are struggling for the first time in their academic careers. The program is hard, and anyone considering a spot for their child should know that it is rigorous and time consuming and the teachers have extremely high (and sometimes inflexible) standards. But those aren't "issues." They are features, not bugs, for the kids for whom the Humanities magnet is a good fit.

I’m not sure if it’s the same parents responding about how rigorous and hard the curriculum is, but I don’t agree with that. That’s what they’re trying to sell you. None of the students I talked to thought it was overly difficult.
And you’re sticking your head in the sand if you think the only issues are raised by struggling students. It’s not a perfect program.

NP. What issues are you referring to then? Serious question. My kid finished eighth last year and I am not sure what you are referring to. Who are these students that you talked to?

You want names of children?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My child was accepted to the eastern humanities program. Would you select to go there over Pyle middle school?
Transportation won’t be an issue, more asking from an education and social standpoint. Pros and cons?

If it is any help to you, several of my DCs friends turned down Eastern for Pyle. Just would not even consider it due to the commute and perception that it only is marginally better than what is available in the advanced curriculum at Pyle.

I have heard many parents complain about the English classes at Pyle. It was very frustrating to them, especially given the peer group at Pyle.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DP whose child is also considering accepting the spot at Eastern. I don’t mean to hijack the thread, but I thought OP might be interested too — how’s the administration at Eastern (principal/assistant principal/magnet coordinator)?

Not a fan of the magnet coordinator, and I don't understand the parents who think he's great. There are issues with the program and he is totally uninterested in trying to solve them. People who are in the program know what these issues are.

I'm one of the Eastern parent PPs and I have no idea what you are talking about here. The magnet coordinator has been nothing but supportive to my child in their 2.5 years in the program, and the only parents I hear complaining about "issues" are folks whose kids are struggling for the first time in their academic careers. The program is hard, and anyone considering a spot for their child should know that it is rigorous and time consuming and the teachers have extremely high (and sometimes inflexible) standards. But those aren't "issues." They are features, not bugs, for the kids for whom the Humanities magnet is a good fit.

I’m not sure if it’s the same parents responding about how rigorous and hard the curriculum is, but I don’t agree with that. That’s what they’re trying to sell you. None of the students I talked to thought it was overly difficult.
And you’re sticking your head in the sand if you think the only issues are raised by struggling students. It’s not a perfect program.

NP. What issues are you referring to then? Serious question. My kid finished eighth last year and I am not sure what you are referring to. Who are these students that you talked to?

My child would have been in the same year group as yours. Surprise, surprise, different people have different opinions.
I can’t honestly believe you had no issues with virtual learning and thought it was great, but more power to you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s an odd setup to put the magnet kids into the general Eastern population. I’d hoped it would open my sheltered child’s eyes a little, but she finished with not one friend from the general population. From our experience the divide between the magnet and comprehensive kids is big.

We appreciate this aspect, but it's also a rough place. My child has been spat upon at lunch, pushed/shoved, has had their sweater torn in the hallways. There is only one bathroom, all the others are closed, so my child purposefully avoids needing to use the restroom while at school (yikes).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s an odd setup to put the magnet kids into the general Eastern population. I’d hoped it would open my sheltered child’s eyes a little, but she finished with not one friend from the general population. From our experience the divide between the magnet and comprehensive kids is big.

I'm genuinely not trying to be snarky, but maybe the bolded is the issue? If a child is trying to navigate racial/ethnic and class differences for the very first time in 6th grade, it's going to be harder than if they had been in a more integrated environment all along.

My Eastern Humanities kid has plenty of non-magnet friends, because it's not just magnet kids in creative writing club, or student government, or orchestra, or cross country, or whatever. There are plenty of comprehensive kids who have the same hobbies as the magnet kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DP whose child is also considering accepting the spot at Eastern. I don’t mean to hijack the thread, but I thought OP might be interested too — how’s the administration at Eastern (principal/assistant principal/magnet coordinator)?

Not a fan of the magnet coordinator, and I don't understand the parents who think he's great. There are issues with the program and he is totally uninterested in trying to solve them. People who are in the program know what these issues are.

I'm one of the Eastern parent PPs and I have no idea what you are talking about here. The magnet coordinator has been nothing but supportive to my child in their 2.5 years in the program, and the only parents I hear complaining about "issues" are folks whose kids are struggling for the first time in their academic careers. The program is hard, and anyone considering a spot for their child should know that it is rigorous and time consuming and the teachers have extremely high (and sometimes inflexible) standards. But those aren't "issues." They are features, not bugs, for the kids for whom the Humanities magnet is a good fit.

I’m not sure if it’s the same parents responding about how rigorous and hard the curriculum is, but I don’t agree with that. That’s what they’re trying to sell you. None of the students I talked to thought it was overly difficult.
And you’re sticking your head in the sand if you think the only issues are raised by struggling students. It’s not a perfect program.

NP. What issues are you referring to then? Serious question. My kid finished eighth last year and I am not sure what you are referring to. Who are these students that you talked to?

My child would have been in the same year group as yours. Surprise, surprise, different people have different opinions.
I can’t honestly believe you had no issues with virtual learning and thought it was great, but more power to you.

+1