Please explain MoCo High Schools to me

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
As a foreigner, it took me YEARS to understand what our options were in our neck of the woods, and that's with going to public meetings, looking at the MCPS website, and talking to other parents.

And it's only a few weeks ago that I realized my rising 9th grader would be in classes with older students because high school classes are mixed age! It's so normal here that no one thought to tell me, or write it out on documents (I also didn't understand what "credits" or "gpa" meant. Now I do.). In my home country, unless someone repeats a grade, that never happens.

In conclusion, do you research. I suggest you start with the MCPS website. You can also email your school counselor.

Why is it such a big deal that your kid would have some classes with students who are a bit older?

There is an incredibly large maturity gap between 14 and 17, and even if the kids are all working on a specific subject matter, more life experience and maturity can have consequences in the classroom. I feel as if my child might be at a disadvantage academically and socially in this situation. I was told that one AP class in particular would have seniors in it. They will probably be really nice, but... Since I had a K-12 education grouped by age, I have no reassuring personal experience of a mixed-age classroom.

Maybe? Maybe not? But generally that's how things work, sometimes you're at a disadvantage and sometimes you're at an advantage.

As a teacher who has classes with mixed grades (drama) I can tell you that for many, many kids, it's a wonderful experience. They meet kids from grades (and academic "levels") that they never would meet otherwise. And they all get along quite well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We didn’t know any of this when we moved to MoCo.
I still don’t understand, what are your options if you live in 20817. Our kids are 5 and 3 but are there any immersion or high school “options”?

There are Chinese, French and Spanish immersion programs. There are highly gifted programs starting in 4th grade that you child must test into. Very few kids get into that. There is an RM IB program that also must be tested into. In 20817, your homes schools will be very competitive because your kids’ peers will come from homes where an emphasis is put on education. It is like this elsewhere in the county, but not as overwhelmingly a where you live.

What are are the logistics and locations of these programs? Right now we can easily get to about seven ES schools and maybe two middle schools and three HS (bcc, Whitman, WJ), do any of them house year special programs? We both work so transportation is a concern, so is quality of life due to kids or our commutes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m very lost on this whole thing. My friend’s son in Wheaton area was able to apply to several schools. But we are in the Seneca Valley cluster. Does that mean our only options are SVHS, Poolesville magnets and Thomas Edison? As for Poolesville, I a have high achieving student who is in compacted math but was not selected for MS magnet. Humanities and Ecology would be of the most interest, but are you unlikely to get in if not already in magnet program? Also, my child is currently in 7th grade. When does this process for HS start?

Your options are SVHS, Edison, Poolesville Magnets and Richard Montgomery magnet IB. Apply to all. Why not?

Process starts at the beginning of 8th grade. My DD started to study for the exam during end of 7th grade, using Khan Academy and an SAT book. Don't buy into the hype of test prep companies. They teach from commercially available books and have no clue about the actual exam. Great grades in MAP, PARCC, and through out middle school is required.

There is no magic formula about who gets in where.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m very lost on this whole thing. My friend’s son in Wheaton area was able to apply to several schools. But we are in the Seneca Valley cluster. Does that mean our only options are SVHS, Poolesville magnets and Thomas Edison? As for Poolesville, I a have high achieving student who is in compacted math but was not selected for MS magnet. Humanities and Ecology would be of the most interest, but are you unlikely to get in if not already in magnet program? Also, my child is currently in 7th grade. When does this process for HS start?

Your options are SVHS, Edison, Poolesville Magnets and Richard Montgomery magnet IB. Apply to all. Why not?

Process starts at the beginning of 8th grade. My DD started to study for the exam during end of 7th grade, using Khan Academy and an SAT book. Don't buy into the hype of test prep companies. They teach from commercially available books and have no clue about the actual exam. Great grades in MAP, PARCC, and through out middle school is required.

There is no magic formula about who gets in where.

The OP's children are only 5 and 3. So they would consider gift ES and magnet MS first.

As for the HS magnet - now they changed it to CogAT.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We didn’t know any of this when we moved to MoCo.
I still don’t understand, what are your options if you live in 20817. Our kids are 5 and 3 but are there any immersion or high school “options”?

There are Chinese, French and Spanish immersion programs. There are highly gifted programs starting in 4th grade that you child must test into. Very few kids get into that. There is an RM IB program that also must be tested into. In 20817, your homes schools will be very competitive because your kids’ peers will come from homes where an emphasis is put on education. It is like this elsewhere in the county, but not as overwhelmingly a where you live.

What are are the logistics and locations of these programs? Right now we can easily get to about seven ES schools and maybe two middle schools and three HS (bcc, Whitman, WJ), do any of them house year special programs? We both work so transportation is a concern, so is quality of life due to kids or our commutes.

If your kids are 5 and 3, the HS program landscape could change well before you 5 year old is in HS. I wouldn’t bother thinking about it now. The lottery for immersion programs for K next year is open now. You should apply now if you’re interested. There is Spanish immersion at Rock Creek Forest that continues at Westland (B-CC cluster schools). There is Chinese at Potomac ES. Not sure where the French is. MCPS will provide transportation if you get in but it can be a long time on the bus for little kids. The Center for Enriched Stidies is for 4th and 5th grade, and with universal screening now you don’t have to do much to have your kid considered. Look at the immersion programs on the website if you’re interested.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:the down county consortium (DCC) includes the Wheaton area and yes you can apply to one of a handful of schools

for other parts of MoCo, you just go to the school you are zoned for

but come on, this is a lazy post op...

Not true!
https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/curriculum/specialprograms/high/

[Anonymous]

Here's the elementary immersion website. Deadline for applying for rising K is in late April but I have heard you need to get an MCPS ID number before you can apply so for kids who don't have one yet, that may require an extra step.

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/curriculum/specialprograms/admissions/immersion.aspx

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
As a foreigner, it took me YEARS to understand what our options were in our neck of the woods, and that's with going to public meetings, looking at the MCPS website, and talking to other parents.

And it's only a few weeks ago that I realized my rising 9th grader would be in classes with older students because high school classes are mixed age! It's so normal here that no one thought to tell me, or write it out on documents (I also didn't understand what "credits" or "gpa" meant. Now I do.). In my home country, unless someone repeats a grade, that never happens.

In conclusion, do you research. I suggest you start with the MCPS website. You can also email your school counselor.

Why is it such a big deal that your kid would have some classes with students who are a bit older?

There is an incredibly large maturity gap between 14 and 17, and even if the kids are all working on a specific subject matter, more life experience and maturity can have consequences in the classroom. I feel as if my child might be at a disadvantage academically and socially in this situation. I was told that one AP class in particular would have seniors in it. They will probably be really nice, but... Since I had a K-12 education grouped by age, I have no reassuring personal experience of a mixed-age classroom.

Yes, AP classes will have seniors in them. Come on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m very lost on this whole thing. My friend’s son in Wheaton area was able to apply to several schools. But we are in the Seneca Valley cluster. Does that mean our only options are SVHS, Poolesville magnets and Thomas Edison? As for Poolesville, I a have high achieving student who is in compacted math but was not selected for MS magnet. Humanities and Ecology would be of the most interest, but are you unlikely to get in if not already in magnet program? Also, my child is currently in 7th grade. When does this process for HS start?

Your options are SVHS, Edison, Poolesville Magnets and Richard Montgomery magnet IB. Apply to all. Why not?

Process starts at the beginning of 8th grade. My DD started to study for the exam during end of 7th grade, using Khan Academy and an SAT book. Don't buy into the hype of test prep companies. They teach from commercially available books and have no clue about the actual exam. Great grades in MAP, PARCC, and through out middle school is required.

There is no magic formula about who gets in where.

The OP's children are only 5 and 3. So they would consider gift ES and magnet MS first.

As for the HS magnet - now they changed it to CogAT.

I think you have OP confused w/ a PP. OP has a 7th grader.

But, agree about the Cogat. Does anyone know if MCPS plans to use it again for HS apps? I've heard it isn't a very good indicator at this level and that they just used it because it was cheap and they lost the rights to the other test.

[Anonymous]

"who is in compacted math but was not selected for MS magnet."

It is a little easier to get into HS magnets than MS magnets. There are also more HS programs within each HS to figure out before you "know" that a magnet is the best answer.

[Anonymous]

But, agree about the Cogat. Does anyone know if MCPS plans to use it again for HS apps? I've heard it isn't a very good indicator at this level and that they just used it because it was cheap and they lost the rights to the other test.

Didn't "lose the rights". The contract was up, and MCPS was ready to move on to something else that wasn't so easily test-prepped for.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m very lost on this whole thing. My friend’s son in Wheaton area was able to apply to several schools. But we are in the Seneca Valley cluster. Does that mean our only options are SVHS, Poolesville magnets and Thomas Edison? As for Poolesville, I a have high achieving student who is in compacted math but was not selected for MS magnet. Humanities and Ecology would be of the most interest, but are you unlikely to get in if not already in magnet program? Also, my child is currently in 7th grade. When does this process for HS start?

First of all - congratulations! Your child will be in a brand new building at Seneca Valley with access to a lot of new programs as well as an existing IB program.

Understanding all of the options available for students in different geographical areas was one of the problems identified in the Metis study of choice programs in the county. https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/uploadedFiles/info/choice/ChoiceStudyReport-Version2-20160307.pdf

One of the changes that MCPS has made is to provide a individualized letter for each student based on their address for all of the programs that they are eligible to apply for in high school. My 8th grader got this letter hardcopy in September and in the myMCPS Portal in the documents folder. It provided links to all of the various programs for information and also online application. MCPS is also providing access to more programs that were specialty programs within a school. For example, Gaithersburg HS has a Project Lead the Way Biomed program that this year students from Magruder, Watkins Mill, and Clarksburg(?) were allowed to apply to.

Parents are notified in 3rd grade and 5th grade about testing for CES and Middle School magnet programs via letter and phone calls. Other option programs such as the language immersion programs are also heavily advertised (although I don't know about letters since my kids are too old for that.)