pros and cons of CES?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Try it, OP. If your child is not happy, they can always return to their home school.

My DD’s best friend is at our home school, but despite this, and the longer, more annoying commute, she LOVES the more stimulating atmosphere and the fact that school time isn’t filled with too much boring repetition and class management issues.

Please try!!!

+1
In addition it will be a be better preparation for magnet middle school.

[Anonymous]

It’s a lot of writing and the grading is much less forgiving than grade 3. There’s a lot of homework, including nightly language arts homework for periods of time (and everyday for math, but that would be the same at home school) and longer term projects. The bus ride can be long.

I think it’s been worthwhile, but knowing the workload ahead of time would have been nice. My child is overall happy to be in the program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s a lot of writing and the grading is much less forgiving than grade 3. There’s a lot of homework, including nightly language arts homework for periods of time (and everyday for math, but that would be the same at home school) and longer term projects. The bus ride can be long.

I think it’s been worthwhile, but knowing the workload ahead of time would have been nice. My child is overall happy to be in the program.

Homework load depends on the center. My kid had very little language arts homework, some homework for bigger projects, and daily math.

[Anonymous]

I have a child in CES currently and a child who graduated from CES. Their homeschool wasn’t far from the CES school so that helped a lot (the older one is in MS now and it’s the same cluster). If they had a long bus ride, we probably wouldn’t have sent them. However—at older child’s promotion ceremony they read each 5th graders favorite memories from ES and a lot of the CES kids said the bus rides, so there’s that!

Pros—work is definitely more engaging and challenging. Lots of fun projects, fun extras like school plays, made new friends.

Cons—more homework, lost some friends by moving schools, missed old friends (but play sports with them so still see them).

Because my oldest didn’t get into a magnet middle, going back to a regular curriculum was hard (global humanities and math are advanced, but English is not at all, and that was the hardest adjustment—it’s a huge step backwards, which was frustrating after two years of an intense English curriculum).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A key point of CES that many parents forget is that only the reading/writing is enriched. It is essentially a humanities based program. The math is compacted and is the same level/material as any other local elementary school.

At our CES ONLY WRITING/English is enriched. The rest of the curriculum is not. Another thing to add is that many parents think the CES kids are well behaved and smart, no they are also
Many goof balls and troublemakers in the class which does inhibit learning at times.

[Anonymous]

Academically the CES was a great fit, socially it was awful. The kids were so competitive, sometimes mean, it really set DD back in terms of socioemotional health and happiness. She lost her old social connections due to the busy schedule and entered middle school a loner (which she was not in 3rd). DH and I are not sorry we tried it, but in hindsight we wish we had pulled her after it was clear it was a poor fit in that respect. She’s a brilliant self motivated kid who enjoyed the curriculum, but would have been just fine without it. You know your child. My recommendation is to try it to see, easy enough to return to the home school if it’s not a great fit. A few kids did so each year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Academically the CES was a great fit, socially it was awful. The kids were so competitive, sometimes mean, it really set DD back in terms of socioemotional health and happiness. She lost her old social connections due to the busy schedule and entered middle school a loner (which she was not in 3rd). DH and I are not sorry we tried it, but in hindsight we wish we had pulled her after it was clear it was a poor fit in that respect. She’s a brilliant self motivated kid who enjoyed the curriculum, but would have been just fine without it. You know your child. My recommendation is to try it to see, easy enough to return to the home school if it’s not a great fit. A few kids did so each year.

My child had the opposite experience. We thought it would be very competitive, but it was instead supportive. Each kid seemed to know that they all had their strengths and weaknesses. They were all smart, but in different ways. The kids in her class worked well together on projects. Maybe, she was lucky and had a great class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Academically the CES was a great fit, socially it was awful. The kids were so competitive, sometimes mean, it really set DD back in terms of socioemotional health and happiness. She lost her old social connections due to the busy schedule and entered middle school a loner (which she was not in 3rd). DH and I are not sorry we tried it, but in hindsight we wish we had pulled her after it was clear it was a poor fit in that respect. She’s a brilliant self motivated kid who enjoyed the curriculum, but would have been just fine without it. You know your child. My recommendation is to try it to see, easy enough to return to the home school if it’s not a great fit. A few kids did so each year.

My child had the opposite experience. We thought it would be very competitive, but it was instead supportive. Each kid seemed to know that they all had their strengths and weaknesses. They were all smart, but in different ways. The kids in her class worked well together on projects. Maybe, she was lucky and had a great class.

We had the opposite issue, as well. DD had developed school anxiety because of taunting students in 2nd and 3rd. That disappeared in the local CES classes and she was much happier.

[Anonymous]

We are also considering. Does anyone have experience with Chevy Chase ES program?

[Anonymous]

I am not sure I would enroll my son again. He is a clever kid but not highly gifted. He went from being the smart, high achieving kid in his class, which I think he really enjoyed, to being an average kid in CES, nothing special in his words. It wasn't that he couldn't do the work, his teachers said he was fine, but he lost some confidence. I think he really thrived with the feedback from peers and teachers that he was clever. That disappeared when he went to CES because there were some about 5 or 6 really and truly brilliant kids in his class so in his mind he could never be the best at anything. I like that he was challenged but he just doesn't have that confidence like he used to about school.
He plays sports year-round and the time lost commuting is tough when he has to rush to get to sports.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Academically the CES was a great fit, socially it was awful. The kids were so competitive, sometimes mean, it really set DD back in terms of socioemotional health and happiness. She lost her old social connections due to the busy schedule and entered middle school a loner (which she was not in 3rd). DH and I are not sorry we tried it, but in hindsight we wish we had pulled her after it was clear it was a poor fit in that respect. She’s a brilliant self motivated kid who enjoyed the curriculum, but would have been just fine without it. You know your child. My recommendation is to try it to see, easy enough to return to the home school if it’s not a great fit. A few kids did so each year.

My child had the opposite experience. We thought it would be very competitive, but it was instead supportive. Each kid seemed to know that they all had their strengths and weaknesses. They were all smart, but in different ways. The kids in her class worked well together on projects. Maybe, she was lucky and had a great class.

Ours was similarly chill. There were a few kids who put tons of pressure on themselves, but that seemed like more of an individual thing than a factor of the environment. It didn’t really spill over into comparisons with other kids.

I can say for sure, though, that my kid would not be half the writer she is today without the CES. She was ahead of grade level, so she never got any feedback at all from previous teachers, but her writing wasn’t anywhere near her reading level at the start of 4th grade. It was rough at first, and we had to work with her to learn to accept and incorporate feedback, but it made a world of difference. The Eastern magnet program was a much easier transition (writing-wise, at least) because she’d already done the hard work in a fairly nurturing environment.

Also, I think it depends, but it’s not universal that kids lose connections from their old school. It takes a concerted effort, but if they really want to, it’s possible to maintain friendships they can pick back up in middle school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Academically the CES was a great fit, socially it was awful. The kids were so competitive, sometimes mean, it really set DD back in terms of socioemotional health and happiness. She lost her old social connections due to the busy schedule and entered middle school a loner (which she was not in 3rd). DH and I are not sorry we tried it, but in hindsight we wish we had pulled her after it was clear it was a poor fit in that respect. She’s a brilliant self motivated kid who enjoyed the curriculum, but would have been just fine without it. You know your child. My recommendation is to try it to see, easy enough to return to the home school if it’s not a great fit. A few kids did so each year.

My child had the opposite experience. We thought it would be very competitive, but it was instead supportive. Each kid seemed to know that they all had their strengths and weaknesses. They were all smart, but in different ways. The kids in her class worked well together on projects. Maybe, she was lucky and had a great class.

My child had a similar experience. For what it is worth, my child was at Oak View, and the teachers seemed to work hard to minimize competition between the CES kids. I have one of those kids who puts a lot of pressure on themselves, rather than really being interested in competition with other kids, and the Oak View teachers also helped to manage those tendencies, for which I was very appreciative.

I will echo another poster, though, and say that this is not the Center for the Universally Well-Behaved and Compliant. There is a mix of high achieving people-pleasers, gifted but unorganized scatterbrains, lovable weirdos trying out personas, and bright but defiant troublemakers who will probably go on to found the next Tesla.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are also considering. Does anyone have experience with Chevy Chase ES program?

Congratulations! Our DC is at (well, sort-of right now) the CES program at CCES, and it has been a fantastic experience. What makes the program are the teachers. They have been incredibly dedicated and creative, and were really able to engage and challenge our DC. Our DC loved all the individual and group projects. I know others may disagree about the value of the CES program, for whatever reason, but the CES program made all the difference for our DC, and were it not for the logistics of getting to Eastern or Takoma Park, we'd be continuing with the magnet programs. If we knew then what we know now, we would have made the decision immediately to send our DC to the CCES CES program. The only real downside is that the CES kids do not really have much opportunity to mix with the home school kids; lunch is pretty much it. So you end up having two schools in the same building, and I suspect that some home school families resent that. Also, as much as you might try, it's just hard to stay as involved in the school compared to your homeschool. I guess transportation logistics also matter; the bus was easy and quick for us, but some kids ride an hour or more to get to school.

[Anonymous]

The logistics are a real hassle for parents. You need to be ready and willing for two years of it. The bus ride is lively and fun, for the most part. If you can reduce it, though, your child will have more free time. It is hard to move away from friends, but if your child is on a team or other activity, keep them involved and their ties with old friends can remain. Middle school magnets are much harder to get into than elementary, and your child may reunite with old friends in middle school.

Your child may make wonderful new friends, too. Friends who keep him on his toes and make him laugh and share a different kind of wavelength. If your child is socially happy now, he is likely to find his place in the CES, too. There will be a few arrogant kids whose parents have been praising them too much. There are many kind and amazing kids. There are goofy awkward kids. PP described them so nicely! In our experience, almost all will be far better behaved and more engaged in class than homeschool. There is a lot of wit and humor and laughter.

Academics are infinitely better. There is just no comparison. None. Math is actually better, too, because they go through so much faster and have time for extra projects. The principal will try very hard to get you to stay at the home school, but they cannot give your child that kind of constant enrichment. The CES is a place where acceleration and aptitude are embraced instead of accommodated. The classmates MAKE the class... they are bright and fast and funny. The CES teachers work very hard and give lots of feedback. If your child hates to read, I would hesitate, because there is a lot of reading and most of the kids love to discuss their books together.

Online CES has been way less work than it was in school, but still some enrichment and generally livelier than my other, younger DC who is still in regular school (but going to CES next year). One kid looks forward to the Zoom meetings. The other endures them.

Congrats OP. Try it!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are also considering. Does anyone have experience with Chevy Chase ES program?

Congratulations! Our DC is at (well, sort-of right now) the CES program at CCES, and it has been a fantastic experience. What makes the program are the teachers. They have been incredibly dedicated and creative, and were really able to engage and challenge our DC. Our DC loved all the individual and group projects. I know others may disagree about the value of the CES program, for whatever reason, but the CES program made all the difference for our DC, and were it not for the logistics of getting to Eastern or Takoma Park, we'd be continuing with the magnet programs. If we knew then what we know now, we would have made the decision immediately to send our DC to the CCES CES program. The only real downside is that the CES kids do not really have much opportunity to mix with the home school kids; lunch is pretty much it. So you end up having two schools in the same building, and I suspect that some home school families resent that. Also, as much as you might try, it's just hard to stay as involved in the school compared to your homeschool. I guess transportation logistics also matter; the bus was easy and quick for us, but some kids ride an hour or more to get to school.

Thank you so much for taking time to describe your experience, this is very helpful!