Anyone residing in upper MoCo sends DC to Takoma Primary Magnet?

[Anonymous]

06:10 - Except the "Downcounty Consortium" does not include BCC, Whitman, etc....though I wish it did. That is why I don't consider those clusters downcounty.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I had a child a TPES many years ago and from what I understand, the program has been so whittled away and so watered down as to be unrecognizable. A shell of it's former self. Sad. but it was never about academic excellence. Like most MCPS magnets, its original purpose was to keep middle class, educated families in the down county. Down county being silver spring east and near the Beltway. Generally, MCPS is hostile to the very notion that the needs of every child cannot be met in the child's home school. On either end of the spectrum.

That's interesting because when I read the website and view the Power point presentation from the last open house, it really sounds good. I'm turned off by their insistence that if you submit your child for testing and are offered a spot, you are expected to attend. That seems a bit overbearing. I am considering the program but wish it were true that every child's needs can be met in the home school. I don't think my kid's needs are being met at all, there are too many remedial readers in the classroom. Not their fault, they just don't speak English at home so they don't get much support with homework.

I frankly don't understand the MoCo approach. Why is it OK to group in math but not reading? Our DC is in upper elementary. She has been reading fluently since about 4 1/2. I never understood why she would be grouped w/ non readers in pre-K, K and 1st. Can't be helpful to her or the non-readers?! Now she is reading at the high school level and she is in an HGC, so many of her peers are also strong readers. Does anyone have any insight as to why the grouping seems to be an anathema in reading?

To OP, the HGC's start in 4th grade (I know that's a long way off), and at least there should be one much closer to you.

I have also heard that the TPES program is not the same/as good as it used to be, but don't have any direct experience.

[Anonymous]

My kids in MoCo were grouped for reading - one did the TPMS magnet and another did immersion (so it was reading in a different language, but still). The difference in both cases was, the grouping for reading was within the same class but kids were seated at different tables, while for math the kids were pulled out and sent to classes with kids from a higher grade or two.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kids in MoCo were grouped for reading - one did the TPMS magnet and another did immersion (so it was reading in a different language, but still). The difference in both cases was, the grouping for reading was within the same class but kids were seated at different tables, while for math the kids were pulled out and sent to classes with kids from a higher grade or two.

the point is that in math, kids are grouped across a much wider spectrum (always) whereas in reading kids are only grouped with the students who are in their heterogenous class. If you're grouping in math across 120 kids in a grade (or more if cross-grade), you are going to have enough in each small group cohort to make worthwhile groupings according to skill.

If you are grouping for reading across one heterogenous class, then you will invariably end up with a situation where each class has one kid who is reading 2 or more grades ahead, but they are not getting any reading instruction that is relevant to their skill set because there is only one of them in each class.

Why, I still don't understand.

[Anonymous]

OP, how far upcounty are we talking? If you are in Germantown or Olney or north of those, you're probably talking about a 60 mile RT drive. That's an awful lot of driving. Also, please keep in mind the traffic. If you are taking 270, it's a parking lot in the morning. On the other end, TPES is not right on the Beltway. You need to head intown through pretty serious traffic. Have you made the drive during rush hour? The program seems nice, but I'm not sure how far it really deviates from the regular MoCo curriculum. I think the main benefit is that all parents in the program would be involved, which is unlike our current ES experience. If you stay in your home school, I'd make plans to meet with the principal to discuss what options for enrichment/acceleration s/he can offer for next year. Lastly, I'd like to note that I am slowly coming to grips with the amount of supplementation I'm likely to be doing if we are at our homeschool next year. I might be tempted to let it slide but I've got one of those intense kids who actually likes to do school work and she won't let me off the hook. If you are spending 3 hours on the commute, you could just as well be spending it doing some home schooling. I don't mean to be discouraging, just be real about the fact that commuting in this area can be draining before you commit yourself. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Consider homeschooling instead. That's what we may do next year (after a disapointing experience with MCPS kindergarten in Clarksburg this year.)

Here's a good book to get started: Creative Home Schooling by Lisa Rivera

And a local listserv for homeschooling gifted kids in MD:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DCMetro_gifted_homeschooling

And a national one:
http://giftedhomeschoolers.org

[Anonymous]

It's a commitment in terms of driving, but I'd probably do it if my child got in. There's a limit though. I wouldn't drive two hours each way a day.

[Anonymous]

Anybody get a letter yet?

[Anonymous]

I called Takoma Park asking when decision letters would be sent out and, lamely, they said not until mid-May (and it sound like it might not even be this end of this week, but rather the beginning of next).

I'm irritated because it's necessary for us to start planning for next year. DC is asking where school will be next year, and I don't know what to say. Inexcusable.