Pyle vs Takoma Park Magnet

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My now sixth grader turned down both Eastern and TP spots because she didn’t want the commute and wanted to be with her friends. She has one friend who stayed at each program and are loving it, but the couple of other kids who started at a magnet came back to their home school within the first month. Sixth grade is hard enough without having the make new friends, but I think it really depends on the kid.

Did they come back, if you know, bec of friend/social issues, or didn't like the magnet programming, or long commute or something else?

[Anonymous]

Difficult to get to and from during bad weather and that cuts into any homework / EC / sports time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My now sixth grader turned down both Eastern and TP spots because she didn’t want the commute and wanted to be with her friends. She has one friend who stayed at each program and are loving it, but the couple of other kids who started at a magnet came back to their home school within the first month. Sixth grade is hard enough without having the make new friends, but I think it really depends on the kid.

Did they come back, if you know, bec of friend/social issues, or didn't like the magnet programming, or long commute or something else?

DC has friends who came back the first few weeks too. Bethesda/Potomac schools but not Pyle. I think they didn't like the classes and the other kids enough to justify the commute. There are a lot of drama types who all want to be the main character which can make for a difficult classroom dynamic sometimes. I know some kids who finally found their group there but others who felt like it was not for them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My now sixth grader turned down both Eastern and TP spots because she didn’t want the commute and wanted to be with her friends. She has one friend who stayed at each program and are loving it, but the couple of other kids who started at a magnet came back to their home school within the first month. Sixth grade is hard enough without having the make new friends, but I think it really depends on the kid.

We're struggling with the decision between Eastern and North Bethesda. Strong home MS, but Eastern has the amazing focus on writing/reading/communications which is unique and MCPS middle school English is just horrible. Long commute and lack of elective choice due to magnet focus.

Commute from North Bethesda is not bad. It's probably the only part of Bethesda that has a decent commute due to the bus stop being the first one on one route. Whitman cluster I'd be a hard no but based on where you live I'd take a closer look.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My now sixth grader turned down both Eastern and TP spots because she didn’t want the commute and wanted to be with her friends. She has one friend who stayed at each program and are loving it, but the couple of other kids who started at a magnet came back to their home school within the first month. Sixth grade is hard enough without having the make new friends, but I think it really depends on the kid.

We're struggling with the decision between Eastern and North Bethesda. Strong home MS, but Eastern has the amazing focus on writing/reading/communications which is unique and MCPS middle school English is just horrible. Long commute and lack of elective choice due to magnet focus.

Commute from North Bethesda is not bad. It's probably the only part of Bethesda that has a decent commute due to the bus stop being the first one on one route. Whitman cluster I'd be a hard no but based on where you live I'd take a closer look.

Where are the bus stops located, is there a website? Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My now sixth grader turned down both Eastern and TP spots because she didn’t want the commute and wanted to be with her friends. She has one friend who stayed at each program and are loving it, but the couple of other kids who started at a magnet came back to their home school within the first month. Sixth grade is hard enough without having the make new friends, but I think it really depends on the kid.

Did they come back, if you know, bec of friend/social issues, or didn't like the magnet programming, or long commute or something else?

DC has friends who came back the first few weeks too. Bethesda/Potomac schools but not Pyle. I think they didn't like the classes and the other kids enough to justify the commute. There are a lot of drama types who all want to be the main character which can make for a difficult classroom dynamic sometimes. I know some kids who finally found their group there but others who felt like it was not for them.

This is helpful PP, thank you.

[Anonymous]

Struggling with this decision for my child. They have a wonderful group of friends, and they are very happy socially. I worry about that situation not being as good at TPMS. Is it worth risking that to go there versus Pyle? Wish I knew more about Pyle.

[Anonymous]

Does anyone know if you turn down Eastern or TPMS whether you will be reviewed again for the lottery in 7th grade?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone know if you turn down Eastern or TPMS whether you will be reviewed again for the lottery in 7th grade?

Nope. One chance only

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's better if your child likes STEM. TPMS is a great school but the three kids we know who did this returned to Whitman. The commute was not worth it.

They did not make it to Blair.

Not true. Whitman is one of the only schools that kids will turn down Blair for, partly because it's far

It's true.
They simply didn't make it to Blair.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone know if you turn down Eastern or TPMS whether you will be reviewed again for the lottery in 7th grade?

No.

[Anonymous]

Deadline is tomorrow, and we cant decide what to do. The science in particular seems amazing at TPMS, but I do worry about the social aspect for my kid, who has really great friends now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Deadline is tomorrow, and we cant decide what to do. The science in particular seems amazing at TPMS, but I do worry about the social aspect for my kid, who has really great friends now.

If you’re still deciding, you can slats accept the spot and then back out before school starts.

[Anonymous]

The social dynamics at TPMS will be a little different. The magnet may have a higher percentage of intensely academic kids who don't socialize as much. This was the case a few years ago before the lottery but it may have changed. There is a segment of TPMS non-magnet that is a lot like Pyle in terms of MC/UMC white families who value education, but the parents also like to put down Bethesda for whatever reason so just be aware of that. TPMS has more socieoeconomic diversity than Pyle but not as much as the other schools around it. If socialization outside of school is a priority it will be a negative. DC did a lot with home school friends through 6th and part of 7th but by 8th they were no longer friends but friendly.

[Anonymous]

I guess if your child has had trouble making friends at their elementary TPMS would be a positive but I was thinking of kids coming in with a lot of friends from their neighborhood school already.