TAG programs

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am trying to figure out how to navigate PG County schools before moving to the area, and it seems like whether your kid gets into TAG programs makes all the difference in middle school and then high school. So...what if my kid DOESN'T get into TAG programs? Move out to Howard or elsewhere at that point? How high is the threshhold? How much of an advantage is it to have educated and involved parents vs being an actually truly exceptional kid?

The child must get an IQ score above the 80% on the OLSAT to be considered for TAG. My child didn’t pass the first time but we had private testing done and her new score was over 80.

Other options are charter schools, Arts programs, local middle schools or administrative transfers to other middle schools. Then of course there is private school. How old are your kids? If they haven’t started yet you have 7 years to figure it out.

Where did you have the private testing done? How much did it cost? Dad has a score of 89 on the non verbal and 30 on the verbal. :/. But I really like her elementary so I am thinking of leaving it alone until 3rd grade. Is it too hard to get into the TAG center by then?

We went to a private psychologist (maybe a PsyD) near Annapolis. You can go to any professional who can administer an IQ test. If you child had the OLSAT in the last year (maybe 2?) it has to be a different test. All the school needs is a final score in a report from the doctor. You do not need a full academic screening which is super expensive.

We paid less than $300 but that is only because I called around to a lot of different places. I had quotes as high as $1000. UMD does it and has a sliding scale but they were more money than the private person we used.

We stayed at our neighborhood school but we wanted to get her identified so we had options.

It is harder to get into a TAG center at later grades but not impossible. Depends on your TAG center assignment.

Can you expand on this? Does being in a neighborhood school pull-out program, or just TAG identified, mean you can continue to an MS TAG program, or are those only for kids who went to the special ES centers? What options does identification give you?

A neighborhood TAG program makes you eligible for any TAG middle school but there are only so many seats at each school. If you are not at at TAG elementary center you must enter the lottery at 5th grade for entry into 6th.
If you go to a TAG center elementary school prior before 6th grade you get automatic entry to the TAG middle school program.
If you are zoned for Tasker, Kenmoor or Walker Mill middle schools you have a very good chance of entry via the lottery at 6th grade.
If you are zoned for Greenbelt you have an almost zero chance of getting in. All of their seats go to kids with continuity from TAG centers.
Parents and residents really need to advocate for a new TAG center in the North of the county.

So if your kid is TAG identified and in, say, Greenbelt ES, they will go to Greenbelt MS, there just won't br space for them in the TAG classes? That sucks. I've heard the school is a very different experience depending.

That isn't clear. I have heard some people say that kids that are inbounds are placed in the TAG stream but technically they aren't supposed to do that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ok I need some advice: my daughter attends Seabrook elementary and it is a lovely school and we are zoned for Glenarden Woods, which gets mixed reviews. She got a 30 on the verbal/English component and an 89 on the logic/non verbal component of the OLSAT, which was bizarre. I think if we had her retested she would get a higher score overall, but is it worth it? Or should I try for 3rd grade? Will it be impossible to get into Glenarden Woods in 3rd grade? The middle school we are zoned for (Thomas Johnson) is absolutely terrible.

I would keep her at Seabrook since you are happy there and then see how things are going. Folks in PGCPS are always thinking 2 steps ahead and many times their plans don't work out for them because whatever school they have in their plan isn't a good fit for their kids.
I know several families who went through the hassle of TAG/French Immersion/Montessori so they have a guaranteed path to a good middle school and then realize that those programs aren't all sunshine and rainbows and they end up back at the neighborhood school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ok I need some advice: my daughter attends Seabrook elementary and it is a lovely school and we are zoned for Glenarden Woods, which gets mixed reviews. She got a 30 on the verbal/English component and an 89 on the logic/non verbal component of the OLSAT, which was bizarre. I think if we had her retested she would get a higher score overall, but is it worth it? Or should I try for 3rd grade? Will it be impossible to get into Glenarden Woods in 3rd grade? The middle school we are zoned for (Thomas Johnson) is absolutely terrible.

I would keep her at Seabrook since you are happy there and then see how things are going. Folks in PGCPS are always thinking 2 steps ahead and many times their plans don't work out for them because whatever school they have in their plan isn't a good fit for their kids.
I know several families who went through the hassle of TAG/French Immersion/Montessori so they have a guaranteed path to a good middle school and then realize that those programs aren't all sunshine and rainbows and they end up back at the neighborhood school.

This is what I was thinking, but at the same time I am worried about middle school (Thomas Johnson is unacceptable by my fairly low standards).. My son is at Judith Hoyer Montessori and DD at Seabrook is happier than he is.

[Anonymous]

So is there TAG pull-out at the charter/speciality schools? When we toured our neighborhood elementary we were pleasantly surprised and the principal commented that people leave for the charter and/or specialty schools and do not have a good experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So is there TAG pull-out at the charter/speciality schools? When we toured our neighborhood elementary we were pleasantly surprised and the principal commented that people leave for the charter and/or specialty schools and do not have a good experience.

There is at Specialty programs. I don’t know about charters but I doubt they are required to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So is there TAG pull-out at the charter/speciality schools? When we toured our neighborhood elementary we were pleasantly surprised and the principal commented that people leave for the charter and/or specialty schools and do not have a good experience.

My DC is tag-identified and at a specialty school- the pull-out program is very inconsistent from year to year. It is obvious that there is not a lot of emphasis on it, and some years there has been no pull-out at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am trying to figure out how to navigate PG County schools before moving to the area, and it seems like whether your kid gets into TAG programs makes all the difference in middle school and then high school. So...what if my kid DOESN'T get into TAG programs? Move out to Howard or elsewhere at that point? How high is the threshhold? How much of an advantage is it to have educated and involved parents vs being an actually truly exceptional kid?

The child must get an IQ score above the 80% on the OLSAT to be considered for TAG. My child didn’t pass the first time but we had private testing done and her new score was over 80.

Other options are charter schools, Arts programs, local middle schools or administrative transfers to other middle schools. Then of course there is private school. How old are your kids? If they haven’t started yet you have 7 years to figure it out.

Where did you have the private testing done? How much did it cost? Dad has a score of 89 on the non verbal and 30 on the verbal. :/. But I really like her elementary so I am thinking of leaving it alone until 3rd grade. Is it too hard to get into the TAG center by then?

We went to a private psychologist (maybe a PsyD) near Annapolis. You can go to any professional who can administer an IQ test. If you child had the OLSAT in the last year (maybe 2?) it has to be a different test. All the school needs is a final score in a report from the doctor. You do not need a full academic screening which is super expensive.

We paid less than $300 but that is only because I called around to a lot of different places. I had quotes as high as $1000. UMD does it and has a sliding scale but they were more money than the private person we used.

We stayed at our neighborhood school but we wanted to get her identified so we had options.

It is harder to get into a TAG center at later grades but not impossible. Depends on your TAG center assignment.

Can you expand on this? Does being in a neighborhood school pull-out program, or just TAG identified, mean you can continue to an MS TAG program, or are those only for kids who went to the special ES centers? What options does identification give you?

A neighborhood TAG program makes you eligible for any TAG middle school but there are only so many seats at each school. If you are not at at TAG elementary center you must enter the lottery at 5th grade for entry into 6th.
If you go to a TAG center elementary school prior before 6th grade you get automatic entry to the TAG middle school program.
If you are zoned for Tasker, Kenmoor or Walker Mill middle schools you have a very good chance of entry via the lottery at 6th grade.
If you are zoned for Greenbelt you have an almost zero chance of getting in. All of their seats go to kids with continuity from TAG centers.
Parents and residents really need to advocate for a new TAG center in the North of the county.

So if your kid is TAG identified and in, say, Greenbelt ES, they will go to Greenbelt MS, there just won't br space for them in the TAG classes? That sucks. I've heard the school is a very different experience depending.

No, this isn't true. If your normal zoned middle school is Greenbelt MS and you are TAG identified, you get pulled into the TAG program regardless of where you went to elementary. If your normal zoned middle school is for example, Buck Lodge or Hyattsville Middle, and you did not go to the TAG specialty program, you will most likely not get space in Greenbelt Middle School.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am trying to figure out how to navigate PG County schools before moving to the area, and it seems like whether your kid gets into TAG programs makes all the difference in middle school and then high school. So...what if my kid DOESN'T get into TAG programs? Move out to Howard or elsewhere at that point? How high is the threshhold? How much of an advantage is it to have educated and involved parents vs being an actually truly exceptional kid?

The child must get an IQ score above the 80% on the OLSAT to be considered for TAG. My child didn’t pass the first time but we had private testing done and her new score was over 80.

Other options are charter schools, Arts programs, local middle schools or administrative transfers to other middle schools. Then of course there is private school. How old are your kids? If they haven’t started yet you have 7 years to figure it out.

Where did you have the private testing done? How much did it cost? Dad has a score of 89 on the non verbal and 30 on the verbal. :/. But I really like her elementary so I am thinking of leaving it alone until 3rd grade. Is it too hard to get into the TAG center by then?

We went to a private psychologist (maybe a PsyD) near Annapolis. You can go to any professional who can administer an IQ test. If you child had the OLSAT in the last year (maybe 2?) it has to be a different test. All the school needs is a final score in a report from the doctor. You do not need a full academic screening which is super expensive.

We paid less than $300 but that is only because I called around to a lot of different places. I had quotes as high as $1000. UMD does it and has a sliding scale but they were more money than the private person we used.

We stayed at our neighborhood school but we wanted to get her identified so we had options.

It is harder to get into a TAG center at later grades but not impossible. Depends on your TAG center assignment.

Can you expand on this? Does being in a neighborhood school pull-out program, or just TAG identified, mean you can continue to an MS TAG program, or are those only for kids who went to the special ES centers? What options does identification give you?

A neighborhood TAG program makes you eligible for any TAG middle school but there are only so many seats at each school. If you are not at at TAG elementary center you must enter the lottery at 5th grade for entry into 6th.
If you go to a TAG center elementary school prior before 6th grade you get automatic entry to the TAG middle school program.
If you are zoned for Tasker, Kenmoor or Walker Mill middle schools you have a very good chance of entry via the lottery at 6th grade.
If you are zoned for Greenbelt you have an almost zero chance of getting in. All of their seats go to kids with continuity from TAG centers.
Parents and residents really need to advocate for a new TAG center in the North of the county.

So if your kid is TAG identified and in, say, Greenbelt ES, they will go to Greenbelt MS, there just won't br space for them in the TAG classes? That sucks. I've heard the school is a very different experience depending.

No, this isn't true. If your normal zoned middle school is Greenbelt MS and you are TAG identified, you get pulled into the TAG program regardless of where you went to elementary. If your normal zoned middle school is for example, Buck Lodge or Hyattsville Middle, and you did not go to the TAG specialty program, you will most likely not get space in Greenbelt Middle School.

That's pretty unfair to folks who don't live inbounds for Greenbelt. I bet if someone contested it that they would have to change that policy. You are in essence giving certain people preference and I don't think that is allowed in non-charter schools.

[Anonymous]

I doubt it. The alternative would be that TAG identified kids receive no services in the building with a TAG program, which would probably be a bigger legal issue than providing them services in their neighborhood school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I doubt it. The alternative would be that TAG identified kids receive no services in the building with a TAG program, which would probably be a bigger legal issue than providing them services in their neighborhood school.

No the alternate would be that they receive pull out services like the rest of kids at local middle school. I believe that is what Kenmoor was doing prior to Tasker opening. I find it completely unfair that kids at Greenbelt Elementary school have 100% odds at getting into a TAG MS program making the kids at other ES in the feeding area have a 0% chance.

I have no skin in the game because I live out of bounds but if I lived in UP or College Park I'd be pissed.

[Anonymous]

I think this has been asked and answered, but just in case: if a child is TAG identified and remains in a comprehensive program (as opposed to say a TAG magnet like Glenarden Woods or Greenbelt Middle), they WILL receive pull-out TAG programming. The district is required to provide this service. At least they are supposed to.

Our experience with pull-out was good. But I'm not going to gloss over it. The magnet experience was better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think this has been asked and answered, but just in case: if a child is TAG identified and remains in a comprehensive program (as opposed to say a TAG magnet like Glenarden Woods or Greenbelt Middle), they WILL receive pull-out TAG programming. The district is required to provide this service. At least they are supposed to.

Our experience with pull-out was good. But I'm not going to gloss over it. The magnet experience was better.

Our 2nd grader is TAG identified and got a spot at Glenarden Woods, that we turned down (based on talking to other parents who have had kids there-bus ride too long, too much homework, too intense for a 7yo). Stayed at local elementary hoping that the TAG pull-out programming would be ok. It wasn’t so we are now at a private school and are much happier.

[Anonymous]

My son is a 2nd grader at Glenarden Woods. I actually don't find the homework too much, although my son would disagree since, according to him, any work is too much. Yes, there is more than when he was at his neighborhood school, but we've found that it really just requires more time management. The assignments that are assigned are longer, but he usually has 2 days to a week to finish it, so as long as he doesn't leave it to the last minute he has plenty of time to complete it doing little bits at a time.

As far as it being more intense, I believe that comes down to the child and the teacher. My son's teacher spent the first couple months showing the students exactly how she wanted the work done. Then she stopped all the hand holding and expected them to continue working how she showed them, which was definitely an adjustment. My son struggled at the beginning of the second quarter, but now I've noticed a very big improvement, especially in his writing and his independence.

The bus ride....that is what almost made us turn down the placement. My son is on the bus for an hour in the afternoon. At the beginning of the year I was able to pick up him up from school, but he has since chosen to ride the bus.

In the end I think sending my son to Glenarden Woods was the best decision for him. He would have been fine at our neighborhood school (and we were happy with our neighborhood school), but I'm hoping he will learn better work habits at Glenarden since he is one that will not learn unless he is pushed and he will receive that push at Glenarden whereas he would have succeeded without trying at our neighborhood school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My son is a 2nd grader at Glenarden Woods. I actually don't find the homework too much, although my son would disagree since, according to him, any work is too much. Yes, there is more than when he was at his neighborhood school, but we've found that it really just requires more time management. The assignments that are assigned are longer, but he usually has 2 days to a week to finish it, so as long as he doesn't leave it to the last minute he has plenty of time to complete it doing little bits at a time.

As far as it being more intense, I believe that comes down to the child and the teacher. My son's teacher spent the first couple months showing the students exactly how she wanted the work done. Then she stopped all the hand holding and expected them to continue working how she showed them, which was definitely an adjustment. My son struggled at the beginning of the second quarter, but now I've noticed a very big improvement, especially in his writing and his independence.

The bus ride....that is what almost made us turn down the placement. My son is on the bus for an hour in the afternoon. At the beginning of the year I was able to pick up him up from school, but he has since chosen to ride the bus.

In the end I think sending my son to Glenarden Woods was the best decision for him. He would have been fine at our neighborhood school (and we were happy with our neighborhood school), but I'm hoping he will learn better work habits at Glenarden since he is one that will not learn unless he is pushed and he will receive that push at Glenarden whereas he would have succeeded without trying at our neighborhood school.

And what was your neighboring school?

[Anonymous]

Does anyone here have experience with the TAG programs at Capitol Heights Elementary and Walker Mill Middle? My boys were both given spots at Capitol Heights (will be 5th and 2nd grade next school year) and I'm faced with the decision of pulling them out of their current private school in DC for the TAG opportunity or staying put. Currently, we're zoned for Walker Mill Middle for TAG, but we're looking to move in the next year and want to center our location on the best Middle/High School options.