Eastern MS Magnet vs Westland MS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where do you live that you are IB for Westland but the commute to Eastern is equidistant? We are closer than any of the Westland boundary to Eastern and the commute is why we didn’t consider it.

It's a 25 minute from many parts of the BCC cluster that are east of BCC or Wisconsin Ave generally. That drive was far shorter than walking to the bus stop, waiting, and then riding the bus to Westland.

But isn't east of WI inbounds for Silver Creek, not Westland? We are inbounds for Silver Creek and the commute to Eastern is much worse for us than for Silver Creek. And the Eastern bus comes much, much earlier than the Silver Creek bus (though both are way too early for my night owl).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know a couple of kids living in Bethesda who went to Eastern/Takoma then Blair. The commute is brutal, and there have been problems with behavioral problems on the bus. The parents organized a carpool because it got so bad. My youngest goes to Westland, and despite a much shorter commute, I pick her up as well, because the afternoon bus is always full of fights and screams, and it's stressing out my kid. Imagine what it's like with a longer commute (and a change of buses!).

So even though attending families have always had great things to say about the magnet content in the Eastern/Takoma/Blair middle and high school, there are some operational downsides.

Also, since the kids I know have either already graduated or are in their senior year, the parents have realized that it makes college admissions harder, or at least, doesn't make them easier. Kids compete with their cohort, and it's really hard to stand out among magnet peers. Just FYI...

Middle school magnet doesn’t have anything to do with college. But that said, DC and Eastern friends ended up at top 20 schools, Ivies or Stanford. Not true for all kids because there is wide socioeconomic diversity, and, unfortunately, many brilliant Eastern kids choose less expensive schools or schools closer to home for financial reasons.

Blair magnet kids are actually helped at Ivies due to Blair magnet’s rep (science/math not CAP) plus many Blair mag students actually get full rides to UMD and prefer that because many will go on to grad programs & UMD has good programs.

Not sure what the bus situation was but magnet buses were always lovely - no fighting. Magnet kids only on those buses, and they are too busy with school to bother fighting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where do you live that you are IB for Westland but the commute to Eastern is equidistant? We are closer than any of the Westland boundary to Eastern and the commute is why we didn’t consider it.

It's a 25 minute from many parts of the BCC cluster that are east of BCC or Wisconsin Ave generally. That drive was far shorter than walking to the bus stop, waiting, and then riding the bus to Westland.

But isn't east of WI inbounds for Silver Creek, not Westland? We are inbounds for Silver Creek and the commute to Eastern is much worse for us than for Silver Creek. And the Eastern bus comes much, much earlier than the Silver Creek bus (though both are way too early for my night owl).

A significant part of east of Wisc is CCES, zoned to Westland, but still not a bad drive from ChCh.

RCFES and Rosemary Hills are 15 mins from Eastern. NCCES - from this neighborhood you have to take the Beltway, which also makes it quick.

All of the above is if you are doing an AM carpool. If you are relying on the bus, then, yes, it’s a long bus ride, as long or longer than to Westland

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know a couple of kids living in Bethesda who went to Eastern/Takoma then Blair. The commute is brutal, and there have been problems with behavioral problems on the bus. The parents organized a carpool because it got so bad. My youngest goes to Westland, and despite a much shorter commute, I pick her up as well, because the afternoon bus is always full of fights and screams, and it's stressing out my kid. Imagine what it's like with a longer commute (and a change of buses!).

So even though attending families have always had great things to say about the magnet content in the Eastern/Takoma/Blair middle and high school, there are some operational downsides.

Also, since the kids I know have either already graduated or are in their senior year, the parents have realized that it makes college admissions harder, or at least, doesn't make them easier. Kids compete with their cohort, and it's really hard to stand out among magnet peers. Just FYI...

Middle school magnet doesn’t have anything to do with college. But that said, DC and Eastern friends ended up at top 20 schools, Ivies or Stanford. Not true for all kids because there is wide socioeconomic diversity, and, unfortunately, many brilliant Eastern kids choose less expensive schools or schools closer to home for financial reasons.

Blair magnet kids are actually helped at Ivies due to Blair magnet’s rep (science/math not CAP) plus many Blair mag students actually get full rides to UMD and prefer that because many will go on to grad programs & UMD has good programs.

Not sure what the bus situation was but magnet buses were always lovely - no fighting. Magnet kids only on those buses, and they are too busy with school to bother fighting.

These programs are a stepping stone. DC and many of their friends at the TPMS magnet ended up at the Blair magnet. It's not crazy hard but does provide a level of depth and rigor not present at schools like Westland.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where do you live that you are IB for Westland but the commute to Eastern is equidistant? We are closer than any of the Westland boundary to Eastern and the commute is why we didn’t consider it.

It's a 25 minute from many parts of the BCC cluster that are east of BCC or Wisconsin Ave generally. That drive was far shorter than walking to the bus stop, waiting, and then riding the bus to Westland.

But isn't east of WI inbounds for Silver Creek, not Westland? We are inbounds for Silver Creek and the commute to Eastern is much worse for us than for Silver Creek. And the Eastern bus comes much, much earlier than the Silver Creek bus (though both are way too early for my night owl).

A significant part of east of Wisc is CCES, zoned to Westland, but still not a bad drive from ChCh.

RCFES and Rosemary Hills are 15 mins from Eastern. NCCES - from this neighborhood you have to take the Beltway, which also makes it quick.

All of the above is if you are doing an AM carpool. If you are relying on the bus, then, yes, it’s a long bus ride, as long or longer than to Westland

CCES is not zoned to Westland. It is zoned to Silver Creek.

[Anonymous]

I'll counter that we chose our home school over Eastern bc of the high homework load and social dynamics. I think it depends a lot on your kid: Will they require constant nudging about homework? Will seeing a lot of fights and chaos in the hallways heighten their anxiety?

The answer to both of these questions was a resounding yes for our child. We also wanted to be able to walk to school and have neighborhood friends.

Our feeling was that our kid has plenty of time for a rigorous workload later in life. Eleven years old seemed like a time to build friendships, extracurriculars, and confidence. Also academics, of course, but not at the expense of the rest.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know a couple of kids living in Bethesda who went to Eastern/Takoma then Blair. The commute is brutal, and there have been problems with behavioral problems on the bus. The parents organized a carpool because it got so bad. My youngest goes to Westland, and despite a much shorter commute, I pick her up as well, because the afternoon bus is always full of fights and screams, and it's stressing out my kid. Imagine what it's like with a longer commute (and a change of buses!).

So even though attending families have always had great things to say about the magnet content in the Eastern/Takoma/Blair middle and high school, there are some operational downsides.

Also, since the kids I know have either already graduated or are in their senior year, the parents have realized that it makes college admissions harder, or at least, doesn't make them easier. Kids compete with their cohort, and it's really hard to stand out among magnet peers. Just FYI...

Middle school magnet doesn’t have anything to do with college. But that said, DC and Eastern friends ended up at top 20 schools, Ivies or Stanford. Not true for all kids because there is wide socioeconomic diversity, and, unfortunately, many brilliant Eastern kids choose less expensive schools or schools closer to home for financial reasons.

Blair magnet kids are actually helped at Ivies due to Blair magnet’s rep (science/math not CAP) plus many Blair mag students actually get full rides to UMD and prefer that because many will go on to grad programs & UMD has good programs.

Not sure what the bus situation was but magnet buses were always lovely - no fighting. Magnet kids only on those buses, and they are too busy with school to bother fighting.

These programs are a stepping stone. DC and many of their friends at the TPMS magnet ended up at the Blair magnet. It's not crazy hard but does provide a level of depth and rigor not present at schools like Westland.

I would argue that it's more the kid than the middle school.
Were they part of the universal screening cohorts? Our neighborhood is relatively far from Silver Spring and we know several kids who turned down the MS magnets. Those same kids got offers for multiple HS magnets including Blair while a few kids they know from the TPMS magnet did not get any.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'll counter that we chose our home school over Eastern bc of the high homework load and social dynamics. I think it depends a lot on your kid: Will they require constant nudging about homework? Will seeing a lot of fights and chaos in the hallways heighten their anxiety?

The answer to both of these questions was a resounding yes for our child. We also wanted to be able to walk to school and have neighborhood friends.

Our feeling was that our kid has plenty of time for a rigorous workload later in life. Eleven years old seemed like a time to build friendships, extracurriculars, and confidence. Also academics, of course, but not at the expense of the rest.

The answer to both those questions is no for our chid but we also wanted a more relaxed MS experience without the hassle of figuring out transportation every day and more time in the mornings and afternoons so we made the same decision as PP. For HS DD did decide on a magnet.

[Anonymous]

Is it easier to get into a HS magnet from a MS magnet? Also, how is the experience of going from Eastern MS to BCC?