Cold Spring ES

[Anonymous]

HGC are in a period of transition. I would not plan around my 2 year old's path. Seems like MCPS is moving towards an "enriched program" at many schools. It will open up access to many more kids but likely be more similar to the standard curriculum..similar to Fairfax County or what they do in middle schools currently.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
From the responses (and what I have read on DCUM in general), it seems that my kid has a 4 in 50ish chance of going to Cold Spring HGC and even if he does not, will get a decent shot at a good challenging education.

I think that's a bit presumptuous considering your child is still years away from kindergarten. This year, there were 20 schools that fed into the Fox Chapel program. Roughly 2000 third graders with 54 spots available at FC. There are 32 schools that feed into Cold Spring.... probable closer to 3000 students for 80 spots. So 2 in 75 would be the odds. But truthfully, this isn't a lottery based on odds. You're going to need a truly gifted child to get accepted to the program. There are so many brilliant children that end up on the waitlist and never get in. I think you are counting your chickens FAR before they hatch.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have lived in MoCo for the last 2 years, since we relocated for my husband's job. We have a 2.5 year old and thinking about purchasing. The decision boils down to affordability, child's schooling (I am very heavily in favor of public schools) and real estate as a long term investment.

We are considering 4 ESs- 1. Cold Spring 2. Travilah 3. Stone Mill 4. Wayside.

Questions I have-
1. Do Cold Spring kids in grade 3 get to go to the HGC classes or are those separate? Do Cold Spring kids have to test into the HGC program like say, a Travilah 3rd grader to be a part of HGC instruction curriculum?
2. How many Cold Spring kids go to Tacoma Park MS gifted program? If they dont test into that program, they continue onto Cabin John/Wooton?
3. Do you think it is worth paying $200K more to get into Cold Spring ES over say, Travilah?
4. Is it true that Cold Spring is going to get renovated in 2019 (that's when I expect DC to start ES)- Where are classes held and who teaches them in the interim period when schools are being renovated?

Thank you all.

1. No. Classes are separate. They go if they make the HGC.
2. Some do and some don't. Don't fixate on magnet.
3. I think it's worth $200k for the location, not the school, difference.
4. This is not necessary true. What drives Rev/Ex (whether and when a school gets renovated) is changing. Under the new factors, Cold Spring will almost certainly not get renovated at its present utilization. The school will need to be rezoned with other children from other areas before renovation happens. This is possible.

[Anonymous]

Aren't there some physical issues at Cold Spring..open classroom design?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Aren't there some physical issues at Cold Spring..open classroom design?

Correct

[Anonymous]

The class sizes are getting so small that they are now having split grade classes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
From the responses (and what I have read on DCUM in general), it seems that my kid has a 4 in 50ish chance of going to Cold Spring HGC and even if he does not, will get a decent shot at a good challenging education.

I think that's a bit presumptuous considering your child is still years away from kindergarten. This year, there were 20 schools that fed into the Fox Chapel program. Roughly 2000 third graders with 54 spots available at FC. There are 32 schools that feed into Cold Spring.... probable closer to 3000 students for 80 spots. So 2 in 75 would be the odds. But truthfully, this isn't a lottery based on odds. You're going to need a truly gifted child to get accepted to the program. There are so many brilliant children that end up on the waitlist and never get in. I think you are counting your chickens FAR before they hatch.

One nit to pick with the data - cold spring serves only elementary schools in Churchill and Wootton cluster. So there are only 10 - 11 elementary schools. You might be thinking of clear spring?

(May be the probability calculation of the OP is correct since there are two HGC classes to serve a much smaller population.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
From the responses (and what I have read on DCUM in general), it seems that my kid has a 4 in 50ish chance of going to Cold Spring HGC and even if he does not, will get a decent shot at a good challenging education.

I think that's a bit presumptuous considering your child is still years away from kindergarten. This year, there were 20 schools that fed into the Fox Chapel program. Roughly 2000 third graders with 54 spots available at FC. There are 32 schools that feed into Cold Spring.... probable closer to 3000 students for 80 spots. So 2 in 75 would be the odds. But truthfully, this isn't a lottery based on odds. You're going to need a truly gifted child to get accepted to the program. There are so many brilliant children that end up on the waitlist and never get in. I think you are counting your chickens FAR before they hatch.

One nit to pick with the data - cold spring serves only elementary schools in Churchill and Wootton cluster. So there are only 10 - 11 elementary schools. You might be thinking of clear spring?

(May be the probability calculation of the OP is correct since there are two HGC classes to serve a much smaller population.)

Yet it has the highest average scores right?

[Anonymous]

Not the previous poster, but I was curious to see what the scores in years past were. Saw last year's thread that listed HGC test scores for 2016, before MCPS decided to no longer provide them to parents.

2016 average HGC scores of students admitted by cluster:
Barnsley: V-132, Q-134, NV-127
Chevy Chase: V-137, Q-135, NV-129
Clearspring: V-129, Q-132, NV- 126
Cold Spring: V-136, Q-144, NV- 137
Fox Chapel: V-131 Q-135 NV-127
Drew: V-128, Q-131, NV -122
Pine Crest/Oak View: V-129, Q- 126, NV- 122

[Anonymous]

CSES is a wonderful school, the gifted center as well as the whole school. Our child went there as it was our home school and then also got into the GT program there. The 5th grade teacher is wonderful and she has been there for a very long time. She is very well respected and we were very happy with her, she teaches English and does some wonderful projects with the kids. My kid who is now in TPMS (STEM magnet) does less challenging projects in middle school as compared to what this teacher taught them in 5th grade. They do plenty of writing and reading projects and a wonderful Shakespeare play towards the end of the year where the kids and parents as well as former students participate and have a wonderful time.My child was certainly well prepared for TPMS magnet because of CSES.
Overall, I would give CSES a 10/10!

[Anonymous]

Is this average admitted score or average test score of the cluster?

Anonymous wrote:Not the previous poster, but I was curious to see what the scores in years past were. Saw last year's thread that listed HGC test scores for 2016, before MCPS decided to no longer provide them to parents.

2016 average HGC scores of students admitted by cluster:
Barnsley: V-132, Q-134, NV-127
Chevy Chase: V-137, Q-135, NV-129
Clearspring: V-129, Q-132, NV- 126
Cold Spring: V-136, Q-144, NV- 137
Fox Chapel: V-131 Q-135 NV-127
Drew: V-128, Q-131, NV -122
Pine Crest/Oak View: V-129, Q- 126, NV- 122

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The class sizes are getting so small that they are now having split grade classes.

Yeah, that school is as good as gone. After Crown will be built, they will move Fallsgrove out and Falls Chapel/Copenhaven into Ritchie Park and the rest to Beverly Farms.

They should had worked with Horizon Hill and Montgomery Square to get them over to the school years ago. Too late now. With no new increase in enrollment and Wayside and Beverly Farms under capacity by 20%, Cold Spring will never get a rebuild. They will get dispersed and HGC will move to Wayside.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The class sizes are getting so small that they are now having split grade classes.

Yeah, that school is as good as gone. After Crown will be built, they will move Fallsgrove out and Falls Chapel/Copenhaven into Ritchie Park and the rest to Beverly Farms.

They should had worked with Horizon Hill and Montgomery Square to get them over to the school years ago. Too late now. With no new increase in enrollment and Wayside and Beverly Farms under capacity by 20%, Cold Spring will never get a rebuild. They will get dispersed and HGC will move to Wayside.

Amazing that mcps would close a school rather than changing the boundaries when so much capacity is needed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is this average admitted score or average test score of the cluster?

Anonymous wrote:Not the previous poster, but I was curious to see what the scores in years past were. Saw last year's thread that listed HGC test scores for 2016, before MCPS decided to no longer provide them to parents.

2016 average HGC scores of students admitted by cluster:
Barnsley: V-132, Q-134, NV-127
Chevy Chase: V-137, Q-135, NV-129
Clearspring: V-129, Q-132, NV- 126
Cold Spring: V-136, Q-144, NV- 137
Fox Chapel: V-131 Q-135 NV-127
Drew: V-128, Q-131, NV -122
Pine Crest/Oak View: V-129, Q- 126, NV- 122

According to the thread I saw, it was average admitted score of the kids who were offered admission that year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is this average admitted score or average test score of the cluster?

Anonymous wrote:Not the previous poster, but I was curious to see what the scores in years past were. Saw last year's thread that listed HGC test scores for 2016, before MCPS decided to no longer provide them to parents.

2016 average HGC scores of students admitted by cluster:
Barnsley: V-132, Q-134, NV-127
Chevy Chase: V-137, Q-135, NV-129
Clearspring: V-129, Q-132, NV- 126
Cold Spring: V-136, Q-144, NV- 137
Fox Chapel: V-131 Q-135 NV-127
Drew: V-128, Q-131, NV -122
Pine Crest/Oak View: V-129, Q- 126, NV- 122

According to the thread I saw, it was average admitted score of the kids who were offered admission that year.

FWIW, I think the county uses some kind of cut-off HGC score as an in-pool, and then uses other benchmark as part of admission. I really don't think the HGC testing is an end-all-be-all kind of a deal and IMO it should not be. For my kids' year, my impression was they looked at a bunch of scores, overall performance, and teacher input.