CES My child is not interested

[Anonymous]

Not crazy at all and from what you describe I'd turn it down. You're not missing out on something amazing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We declined CES for that reason and also the longer commute. Not crazy at all.

Same. No regrets.

[Anonymous]

Not crazy, especially if your DC is happy and challenged and logistics would be difficult.
If enrichment is import to you though, check with your school about what ELC will be like. It sounds amazing at schools where the regroup for reading, less great at other schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not crazy, especially if your DC is happy and challenged and logistics would be difficult.
If enrichment is import to you though, check with your school about what ELC will be like. It sounds amazing at schools where the regroup for reading, less great at other schools.

Yes. Our school is not sharing how the ELC will be implemented exactly until they are trained this summer for the program.

[Anonymous]

I turned down a CES slot for my son last year -- he was very opposed to leaving the school that he has been in since kindergarten. I could have forced the issue but he has special education needs, and he's very attached to his friends and his school. Obvously I don't know what it would have been like had he gone -- I'm sure there would have been some academic benefits -- but neither of us have any regrets.

[Anonymous]

Many many kids decline. It is so overrated. My daughter went one year and returned to home school. Still talks about how mean the CES kids were and no one else in the school liked talking to them. She tried to leave at winter break but they really pushed her to stay the whole year to adjust. It was a big mistake. The commute was awful and she had to leave her sports team that practiced after school.

If your kid doesn’t want to go, just refuse and keep them happy.

[Anonymous]

People encourage you to to decline, haha.
Think about it.

[Anonymous]

What is ELC?

[Anonymous]

ELC enriched literary curriculum From MCPS Website..."The Enriched Literacy Curriculum provides advanced, rigorous instruction to fourth and fifth grade students in their local school. Select elementary schools implement the Enriched Literacy Curriculum within the English Language Arts instructional block, while addressing grade-level standards and making explicit connections across content areas. The curriculum provides instructional opportunities with complex literary and informational texts, writing instruction based on developing the writer through writing process and writing workshop, and establishes an instructional atmosphere that promotes critical and creative thinking. The curriculum uses best practices in gifted education research and incorporates components of supplemental programs including: Jacob’s Ladder Reading Comprehension Program, Junior Great Books, William and Mary Language Arts Units, and Lucy Calkins Unit of Study in Writing." Some of this curriculum is the same as used at the CES schools

[Anonymous]

Just food for thought:

-Is the home school ELC teacher as good as the CES teacher? Curriculum maybe the same but teachers matter.

- What will be the compacted math class size in home school? What will be the compacted math class size in the CES?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just food for thought:

-Is the home school ELC teacher as good as the CES teacher? Curriculum maybe the same but teachers matter.

- What will be the compacted math class size in home school? What will be the compacted math class size in the CES?

I'm not sure the home school can answer this yet, they are still getting information about the ELC and being trained this summer. And they cannot tell me numbers so far about ELC.

[Anonymous]

Some schools are not actually doing a separate class for ELC. They are just putting everyone in ELC and the schools that are doing that haven’t been able to do the full program. That’s because some kids don’t want to do the extra work so the whole class cannot. Find out if that’s the case at your school before you decide. But people often turn down Center seats. You know your kid best. Lots of families decide it’s not worth the extra work in elementary school especially if their child has a lot of extracurriculars. You will know if your kid needs it or not - mostly because they seem bored at school or are acting out when you know they are super bright. The Center was originally intended to be a safe haven for academically gifted kids who felt like outliers at their schools, who benefit from having peers and teachers who get their natural curiosity and interest in learning. It’s a terrific program and for the kids who really need that challenge and environment and the peers, it’s terrific. If your child is thriving at their home school both socially and academically, probably no need to change things up. It’s a big social shift for two years and then to go back to their home school. Being in a Center or not doesn’t affect your chances of getting into a middle school magnet so there may be another opportunity later if she feels ready to make a move.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some schools are not actually doing a separate class for ELC. They are just putting everyone in ELC and the schools that are doing that haven’t been able to do the full program. That’s because some kids don’t want to do the extra work so the whole class cannot. Find out if that’s the case at your school before you decide. But people often turn down Center seats. You know your kid best. Lots of families decide it’s not worth the extra work in elementary school especially if their child has a lot of extracurriculars. You will know if your kid needs it or not - mostly because they seem bored at school or are acting out when you know they are super bright. The Center was originally intended to be a safe haven for academically gifted kids who felt like outliers at their schools, who benefit from having peers and teachers who get their natural curiosity and interest in learning. It’s a terrific program and for the kids who really need that challenge and environment and the peers, it’s terrific. If your child is thriving at their home school both socially and academically, probably no need to change things up. It’s a big social shift for two years and then to go back to their home school. Being in a Center or not doesn’t affect your chances of getting into a middle school magnet so there may be another opportunity later if she feels ready to make a move.

This is really helpful. Thank you!

[Anonymous]

We also declined it. Our DD really likes her home school, and we asked about what ELC would look like there and they pull out the ELC kids anyway the reading specialist said-so I didn't see a huge difference. Plus, we really didn't like the principal at the CES school-she seemed annoyed by everything and all the questions (during an FAQ session of all things), as well as really ambivalent during the tour. I know the principal doesn't teach but they do set the tone for the school. So those things plus the fact that the class size at the CES was even larger, and a 40 min bus ride away made it not appealing. I think it really depends on how your child is doing at their home school.

[Anonymous]

Don’t do it if you kid isn’t particular interested in more challenge and is happy and thriving in home school. We didn’t and are really glad we didn’t. Kid is thriving in ELC which definitely has more writing and books. All schools have compacted math so that’s not a big draw for the CES.

Definitely ensure that your school is not putting all students in ELC as that is not the purpose of the curriculum. Ours started the ELC program this year with the 4th grade class that will be 5th graders next year and will continue on from there.