Private school in MoCo for bright child

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are thinking of going private for middle school for our son. He is bright (accepted into CES program at MCPS) and we live in northern-ish Montgomery County. DS is a very sweet kid, not outgoing or particularly talented in sports. Would prefer to stay in MoCo due to the commute.

Any suggestions?

Sandy Spring Friends if you can afford it, St. Peter's if you're looking at more affordable option.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are thinking of going private for middle school for our son. He is bright (accepted into CES program at MCPS) and we live in northern-ish Montgomery County. DS is a very sweet kid, not outgoing or particularly talented in sports. Would prefer to stay in MoCo due to the commute.

Any suggestions?

At MS you might be better staying in MCPS if you have good options. Based on your stated location, the most rigorous schools near you would be Bullis. St Andrews and Sandy Spring also should be close. If you come down further, you have Prep and Landon. A PP also mentioned Norwood. But that’s a K-8 so it may not be worth coming in just for MS.

There are definite benefits to coming to Norwood for MS. They do a great job both socially and academically. Plus, your child would get support from Norwood for HS placement. Of course, if you are willing to go to a competitive school downtown, I'd apply to those at the same time you apply to Norwood. Not that I think those schools are stronger for MS, just that you might as well make life easier if that's your end goal.

Norwood doesn’t offer advanced math classes until 6th grade (mixed with 7th graders). So if your kid is coming from MCPS compacted math they will be several years ahead. Norwood’s Bridges curriculum is a year behind Eureka math. So an MCPS kid that did math 4/5 and then 5/6 in MCPS will be really bored. The good news is that your child will read actual books in private school versus the online excerpts in MCPS MS English curriculum.

Are HS credits important to you? In MCPS you can earn all of your HS World Language credits in middle school. Going private in MS will require your kid to do a placement test for 9th grade if you return to MCPS. I’ve seen private school kids that took Spanish K-8 in private on lot test out of Spanish I for MCPS.

6th grade math wasn't mixed with 7th graders last year (but it has been in the past so it is hard to tell if this was a one-time occurrence).

If you are going to continue in private school through HS, might as well get used to the different math trajectory now. Private schools do not go at the clip pace as public schools (even in HS) but that doesn't always mean it is inferior. Our older child was a "math kid" and was happy with math once 6th grade math started at Norwood. They have done very well in the most advanced classes at their private HS. Before 6th we offered to supplement (not by advancement through topics they were studying in school, but via breadth).

If your kid lives and breathes math and STEM, then sure, a public magnet could be the way to go. But keep in mind that even a kid who seems destined for math/STEM at younger ages may become a humanities kid in HS or college. Two of my kids have flipped in opposite directions. One seemed all math at younger ages and now is full-on humanities for HS/college. Another was very artsy (and still is) and was reluctant to be put into the high math group at younger ages but has leaned heavy to STEM in HS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are thinking of going private for middle school for our son. He is bright (accepted into CES program at MCPS) and we live in northern-ish Montgomery County. DS is a very sweet kid, not outgoing or particularly talented in sports. Would prefer to stay in MoCo due to the commute.

Any suggestions?

Not Montgomery county, but Glenelg Country has been great for our gifted kid. They will let you move along at a faster rate if you need it. They really aren't into holding kids back. It has felt like a tailored approach with a lot of teacher support. Check out the Facebook page to see where their class of 22 grads are headed - a lot of bright kids.