Leaving Clemente/TPMS STEM Magnet for Robert Frost - would you do it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. To be clear we are currently already doing the magnet. We’d be leaving for 7th and 8th. We know what the magnet is like. It’s fine but not the end all be all we thought it could have been. That said we’ve only been there for the pandemic so maybe it would be different in person. I imagine our kid would be in accelerated math if we departed so that seems locked in.

Does that change anything? Child would be moving to a new home school with new kids.

If you can make the driving work, let the child choose.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. To be clear we are currently already doing the magnet. We’d be leaving for 7th and 8th. We know what the magnet is like. It’s fine but not the end all be all we thought it could have been. That said we’ve only been there for the pandemic so maybe it would be different in person. I imagine our kid would be in accelerated math if we departed so that seems locked in.

Does that change anything? Child would be moving to a new home school with new kids.

If you can make the driving work, let the child choose.

Remember with COVID, all the current 6th graders will be new going into 7th so it will not be the typical year. Kids will know each other from online but that's it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. To be clear we are currently already doing the magnet. We’d be leaving for 7th and 8th. We know what the magnet is like. It’s fine but not the end all be all we thought it could have been. That said we’ve only been there for the pandemic so maybe it would be different in person. I imagine our kid would be in accelerated math if we departed so that seems locked in.

Does that change anything? Child would be moving to a new home school with new kids.

I have a 6th grader at TPMS. I don’t know if it’s fair to judge the magnet program based on this year of distance learning. That said, if my kid was miserable, I’d let them switch to the home school, as ling as it seemed like an issue that would be better at the home school.

[Anonymous]

The benefit of the magnet is the cohort and working together with like minded peers. Distance learning just doesn’t build relationships like being in person will. Plus, some of the usual science clubs aren’t running this year. (e.g. Science Olympiad)
I would definitely stay for 7th grade and get a sense of in- person. You can always go back to your home school if transportation doesn’t work out.

-parent of Clemente MSCS alum

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. To be clear we are currently already doing the magnet. We’d be leaving for 7th and 8th. We know what the magnet is like. It’s fine but not the end all be all we thought it could have been. That said we’ve only been there for the pandemic so maybe it would be different in person. I imagine our kid would be in accelerated math if we departed so that seems locked in.

Does that change anything? Child would be moving to a new home school with new kids.

I think if your child does not care you prefer not commuting I would just do Frost. If you have a kid that lives and breathes science and math I would keep him in the magnet but if he's so so on it I would value the advantages of being at the neighborhood school more. It's harder to participate in school activities if you are at a magnet and not close and it's much harder to visit friends. My child turned down TPMS for those reasons.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. To be clear we are currently already doing the magnet. We’d be leaving for 7th and 8th. We know what the magnet is like. It’s fine but not the end all be all we thought it could have been. That said we’ve only been there for the pandemic so maybe it would be different in person. I imagine our kid would be in accelerated math if we departed so that seems locked in.

Does that change anything? Child would be moving to a new home school with new kids.

I have a 6th grader at TPMS. I don’t know if it’s fair to judge the magnet program based on this year of distance learning. That said, if my kid was miserable, I’d let them switch to the home school, as ling as it seemed like an issue that would be better at the home school.

Another TPMS sixth grade magnet parent here. My kids magnet experience is so much better than their elementary experience that I wouldn’t consider switching under any circumstance. The school is organized and efficiently run with strong leadership. The teachers - magnet or not - are without exception excellent, strong academically and they clearly care about their kids. And the kids are engaged and friendly to one another, even on Zoom. Obviously your child might be having a different experience, but I’d be concerned about going back to a situation like my child’s elementary experience where the kids are disruptive and mean and the teachers overwhelmed and inexperienced and where classroom disruptions rather than learning dominate.

[Anonymous]

Uh that doesn't happen at Frost. You make it sound like it's a school for delinquents. Where did your child go to school in elementary because our MCPS elementary experience was just fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our family is considering leaving a STEM Magnet for Robert Frost due to wanting to avoid a terrible commute.

Does anyone have experience with these programs and is throwing away a magnet education stupid in this case?

In the past the magnets were great but at this point, I imagine there's a comparable peer cohort at Frost. The 2021 magnets are smart kids picked randomly from a pool but no longer the high-scorers of years past. I think they're still great but certainly not worth a long commute.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our family is considering leaving a STEM Magnet for Robert Frost due to wanting to avoid a terrible commute.

Does anyone have experience with these programs and is throwing away a magnet education stupid in this case?

In the past the magnets were great but at this point, I imagine there's a comparable peer cohort at Frost. The 2021 magnets are smart kids picked randomly from a pool but no longer the high-scorers of years past. I think they're still great but certainly not worth a long commute.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our family is considering leaving a STEM Magnet for Robert Frost due to wanting to avoid a terrible commute.

Does anyone have experience with these programs and is throwing away a magnet education stupid in this case?

In the past the magnets were great but at this point, I imagine there's a comparable peer cohort at Frost. The 2021 magnets are smart kids picked randomly from a pool but no longer the high-scorers of years past. I think they're still great but certainly not worth a long commute.

Irrelevant because op’s kid is a current sixth grader selected before the pandemic.

[Anonymous]

Frost has a very strong math team. The mathcount team beat TPMS a few times.

[Anonymous]

I'll give you a different perspective. My kid is now in a HS magnet and was also in the ES magnet.

DC did not bother applying to MS magnet due to the commute. In hindsight, DC agrees that DC should have applied. MS was suuupper boring for DC. DC got straight As without even trying. The writing assignments were subpar; science was slow. English/Social studies was easy.

I have a younger DC in non magnet MS in the "enriched" classes, and from what I have seen, not much has changed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'll give you a different perspective. My kid is now in a HS magnet and was also in the ES magnet.

DC did not bother applying to MS magnet due to the commute. In hindsight, DC agrees that DC should have applied. MS was suuupper boring for DC. DC got straight As without even trying. The writing assignments were subpar; science was slow. English/Social studies was easy.

I have a younger DC in non magnet MS in the "enriched" classes, and from what I have seen, not much has changed.

Statements like this are more impactful when you identify the school your child goes to.

[Anonymous]

This seems like an old post. What did you do OP?

[Anonymous]

We were in a similar situation. My child loves Frost. He did not want to get up early for Clemente. He actually likes the teachers better at Frost. He recommends it 200 percent!!
only thing is that computer science program is not there but overall the school, teachers and the kids rock at Frost.
The magnet school actually recommended we go to the new school as they encouraged neighborhood friends..etc.