From HGC to non-magnet middle school - what's it been like for your child?

[Anonymous]

I am the poster PP quoted. We are not a Pyle and I know Pyle has lots of high performing kids..but even at Pyle, you have to know it is not the same peer group. Does that mean your child won't learn and be happy no? Are the magnets at a higher level..yes, imo.

[Anonymous]

I know a lot of Pyle kids at Takoma with my kid-because it's better

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At times disappointing..however I don't think my child wishes she had applied to a Magnet middle. Her HGC friends were heading back to our neighborhood school so the idea of going to a magnet alone was not appealing. The commute would have interfered with outside interests. Perhaps it would have been different if she had applied and been rejected. She can apply for HS if she chooses.

This was exactly our thought process. We zone for Pyle, so we also didn't feel like there would be any real disadvantage to returning to the home school, certainly not enough to override the commute, loss of EC time, and social impact concerns. So our kid did not apply to any magnets. Would be interested in hearing from parents of kids who returned from HGC to Pyle.

How is Pyle different from other middle schools vis-a-vis there being any "real disadvantage"?

I just meant that it seemed kids we knew were happy there and it seemed it would be sufficiently high-performing for our purposes...i.e., good enough. Takoma might well be more challenging, but the commute would mean no ECs and frankly we're too lazy to do it. And none of our kid's HGC friends are going to Takoma, so the most important peer group for our kid would be at Pyle.

[Anonymous]

I know kids who went to the neighborhood MS from the HGC (from a "W" high school cluster). One was happy he had more time for sports but the rest were either underwhelmed/disappointed with the academic content and expectations. The work just isn't as interesting or as challenging.

[Anonymous]

The other thing thing to think about is HS. A number of HGC kids who went back to home MS, then didn't get into Blair or RM.... Choices do make a difference.....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The other thing thing to think about is HS. A number of HGC kids who went back to home MS, then didn't get into Blair or RM.... Choices do make a difference.....

Sure, but there's no guarantee that they would have gotten in if they had gone to MS magnet. Blair takes 100 kids and there are 400 in the HGCs.

[Anonymous]

That is certainly correct, however- for Eastern/Takoma it's the Blair bus, so no new routes to learn. Of course people who don't go to a magnet middle get in, but More who do go get in in larger numbers.

[Anonymous]

On the flip side, a couple TPMS kids and Eastern kids also get rejected by Blair/RM. no guarantees anywhere.

[Anonymous]

What are the art, music, and PE/sports offerings like at the magnet middle schools? Are they different than at the non-magnet middle schools?

[Anonymous]

TPMS has a daily TV show, and a class to go along with it. The bands/orchestra are big. My kid not a big art/FACS kid- but the same as other places.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What are the art, music, and PE/sports offerings like at the magnet middle schools? Are they different than at the non-magnet middle schools?

The TPMS band and orchestra program is unparalleled in the county (and state for that matter). The teacher is a gem, and the groups are top-notch. They take first place in virtually every competition they enter.

[Anonymous]

OP here - so it sounds like that even at the some of the better middle schools the slower pace and reduced workload can be a disappointment for some students who enjoyed the HGC. Thanks all.

[Anonymous]

It was a year off for mine.

[Anonymous]

I think it's just far from Takoma (and Blair) and pulls from neighborhoods with high SES so there tend to be a lot of highly-motivated, HGC- or magnet-qualified kids who choose not to go.
I'm sure there are those for whom Pyle would not be a good fit, but IMHO I think those students are really really really exceptional. i.e. genius-level rather than just very very bright and "highly gifted."

My niece decided not to continue from an HGC to Takoma/Blair a few years ago and go to Pyle and Whitman instead. It was a great decision for her as she had a lot of extracurriculars she wanted to be involved in and didn't want to spend two hours on bus each day. She had no problem finding a peer-group of equally smart and motivated kids at Pyle/Whitman but maybe if she was in a school in a neighborhood closer to Takoma/Blair she wouldn't have been so lucky.

She is at a Harvard-Princeton-Yale Ivy (don't want to say the school as you could probably identify her).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At times disappointing..however I don't think my child wishes she had applied to a Magnet middle. Her HGC friends were heading back to our neighborhood school so the idea of going to a magnet alone was not appealing. The commute would have interfered with outside interests. Perhaps it would have been different if she had applied and been rejected. She can apply for HS if she chooses.

This was exactly our thought process. We zone for Pyle, so we also didn't feel like there would be any real disadvantage to returning to the home school, certainly not enough to override the commute, loss of EC time, and social impact concerns. So our kid did not apply to any magnets. Would be interested in hearing from parents of kids who returned from HGC to Pyle.

How is Pyle different from other middle schools vis-a-vis there being any "real disadvantage"?

[Anonymous]

I am PP and should clarify that I meant that if she were in a neighborhood closer to Takoma/Blair the HGC kids would probably choose to go to the magnets instead of their home schools which would have meant the home school was less of a great choice.