Einstein VAC or Blar?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Einstein is very good for artsy kids but unfortunately doesn’t offer as much to kids who are interested in other pursuits. For example, there is no stem based academy.

It doesn't have a STEM academy but a kid with those interests would do renaissance academy and take the various advanced and AP math and science options, or do IB and take those math and science courses. It certainly doesn't have all the STEM offerings as Blair though, which is much larger and has the magnet.

I went to the open house at Einstein in the fall. It was very disappointing. There was no discussion at all about academics and then it was one presentation after another of performing arts. For a kid that is not interested or talented in the arts, the school isn't appealing.

After the performances, parents and prospective students were invited to visit classes and Main Street to speak with teachers and students from the different academies...

That is only partially true. There was no invitation to visit classes. There were booths along main street that included the academies but were mainly focused on extracurriculars- primarily arts and sports.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Einstein is very good for artsy kids but unfortunately doesn’t offer as much to kids who are interested in other pursuits. For example, there is no stem based academy.

It doesn't have a STEM academy but a kid with those interests would do renaissance academy and take the various advanced and AP math and science options, or do IB and take those math and science courses. It certainly doesn't have all the STEM offerings as Blair though, which is much larger and has the magnet.

I went to the open house at Einstein in the fall. It was very disappointing. There was no discussion at all about academics and then it was one presentation after another of performing arts. For a kid that is not interested or talented in the arts, the school isn't appealing.

So you didn't like their open house. This doesn't mean children cannot learn math and science at a high level there.

Well it didn't speak well for the school. Literally not one word at the open house was focused on academics. Why is that acceptable?

That aside, hopefully you are correct and students are learning math and science. But all students are forced to pick an academy and there are no academies that are geared toward kids who are stem focused.

My kid actually isn't stem focused but was still turned off by the focus on performing arts. Most kids attend their assigned DCC high school so the schools should have academies for a broader range of interests.

[Anonymous]

Well it didn't speak well for the school. Literally not one word at the open house was focused on academics. Why is that acceptable?

I do think the open house should have had more information about academics and Einstein's IB program.
My kid will go there as a freshman because of the IB option.
http://einsteinhs.wixsite.com/ibdiploma
The top half of this page shows where Einstein IB kids went to college in 2016.
https://bit.ly/2JUni5A
I would be curious about hearing from Einstein parents about what the IB experience was like. My kid isn't there yet, so I don't know, but it seemed like a great option for a kid who isn't just a STEM or just a communications arts kid but wants a comprehensive, college-oriented challenge.

[Anonymous]

ValrieP wrote:My son has gotten into Blair and was very excited about taking their art classes whom he was informed by his teacher had the best art program in the county. Recently his best friend, who is going to Einstein informed him that Einstein is a visual and performing arts school and that they were the best high school in the county for the arts. I never researched Einstein because all my son ever talked about was Blair, but now he wants to go Einstein. After researching Einstein, I get multiple videos of flash mobs, dance concert, jazz concerts, positive theatre reviews,"Poms division champions", and the Visual Art Center (VAC). Now all he talks about is how badly he wants to go to this school. However, I'm a little hesitant because I don't know what these artists are doing after they graduate. I only see things about their arts, but what about their academics and experiences?



So which will be better Einstein VAC or Blair?



Also if you know any Einstein alumni, what were their experiences?

Whichever school your kid goes to, get him tutor to help him edit. Your grammar is ghastly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Einstein is very good for artsy kids but unfortunately doesn’t offer as much to kids who are interested in other pursuits. For example, there is no stem based academy.

It doesn't have a STEM academy but a kid with those interests would do renaissance academy and take the various advanced and AP math and science options, or do IB and take those math and science courses. It certainly doesn't have all the STEM offerings as Blair though, which is much larger and has the magnet.

I went to the open house at Einstein in the fall. It was very disappointing. There was no discussion at all about academics and then it was one presentation after another of performing arts. For a kid that is not interested or talented in the arts, the school isn't appealing.

So you didn't like their open house. This doesn't mean children cannot learn math and science at a high level there.

Well it didn't speak well for the school. Literally not one word at the open house was focused on academics. Why is that acceptable?

That aside, hopefully you are correct and students are learning math and science. But all students are forced to pick an academy and there are no academies that are geared toward kids who are stem focused.

My kid actually isn't stem focused but was still turned off by the focus on performing arts. Most kids attend their assigned DCC high school so the schools should have academies for a broader range of interests.

Okay. I agree with you. I would have liked to have seen more of a focus on academics at the Open House as well. I attended two years ago, when DC was an 8th grader. I talked at length with an English teacher who was manning the booth for one of the student publications. I also spoke to the heads of the Renaissance and IB academies. I did have to seek them out. I also attended Open Houses at Northwood and Blair. They had more formal academic presentations. Blair had sample classes; one English teacher walked us through a few stanzas of Beowolf! Northwood had a presentation about AP classes in particular. I could recommend to the principal at Einstein that the faculty do these presentations, but the truth is, Einstein is fairly popular in the DCC lottery already. My DC and I chose Einstein despite its non-academic Open House.

[Anonymous]

How does one go about taking partial classes there ;art) yet attending academics at home school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How does one go about taking partial classes there ;art) yet attending academics at home school?

It happens all the time for students who attend vocational/career classes at Edison High. They get bused there for half the day. Also, middle school students who don't have Algebra II at their home schools get bused to high schools for 1st period Algebra II. I've heard of very advanced middle schoolers taking French IV at the local high school. You wouldn't believe how busy the buses are in this county. Heck, some students even attend RICA for half the day, but you don't get to apply.

[Anonymous]

23:47 here. I was wrong about the bus for students who attend VAC part-time. Looks like it's self-transportation only for the part-timers. Too bad they can't just hop on the Edison bus.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:23:47 here. I was wrong about the bus for students who attend VAC part-time. Looks like it's self-transportation only for the part-timers. Too bad they can't just hop on the Edison bus.

This brochure explains it all.
http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/uploadedFiles/schools/vac/apply/2017%20VAC%20APPLICATION%20PROCESS.pdf

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So where am I now? I'm a student at MICA, one of the top art schools in the nation, on almost a full ride, and I just illustrated my first book this year. My peers are in schools like RISD, SCAD, Cornell, CalArts, SVA, Pratt, NYU Tisch School of the arts, Havard, Pointe University, and the list goes on. I just talk to one of my VAC peers who's going to Parsons, and she's a fashion intern living in NYC. One of my friends took theatre at Einstein, and he now on a Netflix show, another friend of mind was a dancer at Einstein, and she's working on opening her own dance studio around the community. The things Einstein students go on and do are amazing.

PP, how common is it for a VAC grad to get "an almost full ride" at MICA? We have not found MICA to be very forthcoming about scholarship info. When we toured it, we got the sense that it's aiming to be more of a thinking person's art school; how are the academics, in your experience? And what are your plans after graduation?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So where am I now? I'm a student at MICA, one of the top art schools in the nation, on almost a full ride, and I just illustrated my first book this year. My peers are in schools like RISD, SCAD, Cornell, CalArts, SVA, Pratt, NYU Tisch School of the arts, Havard, Pointe University, and the list goes on. I just talk to one of my VAC peers who's going to Parsons, and she's a fashion intern living in NYC. One of my friends took theatre at Einstein, and he now on a Netflix show, another friend of mind was a dancer at Einstein, and she's working on opening her own dance studio around the community. The things Einstein students go on and do are amazing.

PP, how common is it for a VAC grad to get "an almost full ride" at MICA? We have not found MICA to be very forthcoming about scholarship info. When we toured it, we got the sense that it's aiming to be more of a thinking person's art school; how are the academics, in your experience? And what are your plans after graduation?

Not common, but not impossible. My biggest advice knows what you want. In 8th grade, I wanted to be a Storyboard Artist for an animation studio, and not once had I ever consider otherwise. VAC has great connections to the art schools so MICA and a few other big art schools came to us to check our portfolios, and MICA liked me so much they gave me a card and really pushed me for a private interview with my mother. MICA really like the assignments VAC made us do, I recall him loving our "Scientific bug project". After that interview, I was in a "special pool" of students competing for big scholarships, and after I got my rewards package from all the schools I applied to, I wanted to see if I could squeeze more money out of MICA by saying "Hey RISD and SAIC (MICA competitors) offer me this much..." and so I thought of it as a business ,and like I said MICA really wanted me, so they gave me 2 more grants, now my mom doesn't have to worry about paying for my education. My Academics classes are mostly "discussion" base, but only because those are the type of classes I register for. I take classes like Lit of American South, Critical Theory, Modernism and After, Europe of the Dark ages, etc. If I wanted to, I always have the option to take a JHU class, because MICA does have a partnership with them. My plans after graduation are hopefully getting a Storyboard Artist internship, and moving down to CA, considering the fact that animation students are in high demand.

[Anonymous]

They use to have this on their website, I don't know why they took it off.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgiyKDe353s&t=468s

[Anonymous]

It's bad enough that people are expected to know what they want to do before they get to college. Now they are expected to know what they want to do before they get to high school, and then be able to choose the correct high school. No pressure.

I would hope that Einstein has enough science and math to prepare students to be engineers and Blair has enough arts to nurture and inspire budding artists.

[Anonymous]

Yes, of course Einstein has a full range of math and science classes, and many students there are not involved in the arts. The VAPA program is essentially a series of elective classes plus a portfolio. You can easily complete the requirements for VAPA while also taking advanced math and science classes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, of course Einstein has a full range of math and science classes, and many students there are not involved in the arts. The VAPA program is essentially a series of elective classes plus a portfolio. You can easily complete the requirements for VAPA while also taking advanced math and science classes.

No one is questioning whether they have a full range of math and science classes at Einstein. The issue is that students are required to pick an academy at Einstein and there are none that are focused at all on STEM. The other issue is that the school is not doing a good job of explaining/promoting it's academic offerings by having an open house that is focused on the arts. Einstein is our home school and it is disappointing.