From those who came from private to MoCo how was your transition and when did you transition in?
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Anonymous
| We are in private in DC but considering moving to Maryland either for middle school or high school (or really both). Middle would be Westland most likely. Thank you. |
Anonymous
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9th grade from small private K-8 to a W school. Very easy transition.
Pluses: DC does a fall sport so that was a great way to meet people early DC did a shadow day in the winter so had some sense of the school There were new kids, both new to the area and quite a few coming from private schools Negatives: DC had only taken Alg 1 in 8th grade (that's all that was offered in our K-8) and is a year behind the accelerated group of kids in math. The unanticipated consequence was that in 9th grade the kids in Geometry were not the brightest so the class moved a little slowly. Not a problem later because then DC was in a group with the smart kids from the grade behind. It was a little hard to make sure DC was in the right classes since we were new to the system. But the shadow day was helpful because DC knew she wanted to take AP NSL in 9th so that helped define the social studies track. She ended up in a lower language class than was appropriate because the MCPS numbering is a little different than private schools. Level 2 in private is more equvalent to level 3 in MCPS. Entering at MS would eliminate these issues to a large extent. |
Anonymous
She took AP NSL in 9th grade? Which school offers that? NSL is a 10th grade subject. US History is offered in 9th grade. Did she take APUSH? |
Anonymous
Yes. Our school offers AP NSL to some 9th graders, all of whom then take APUSH in 10th. It's really the only way to take APUSH unless you repeat US history in 11th or 12th grade (which hardly any of them do, APUSH is almost all 10th graders). I think there are about 60 kids on this track so it's not too unusual. |
Anonymous
| Hi. I don't want to hijack the thread but I have 2 kids entering MoCo for 8th and 11th from private (out of state). I'm wondering was APUSH and NSL are? |
Anonymous
NSL - National, State & Local Govt USH - US History AP - Advanced Placement |
Anonymous
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AP NSL to become available for freshmen
BY COMMON SENSE STAFF ? NOVEMBER 12, 2010 Next year, the Advanced Placement National State and Local Government (AP NSL) course, formerly offered exclusively to students in 10th-12th grade, will be available to all freshmen as well. Social studies department Resource Teacher Gaytania Maslow proposed the extension of the course to freshmen. Principal Dr. Michael Doran, Maslow and other staff members in the social studies department believe that if Wootton is going to provide freshmen with the opportunity to take a challenging course, it would be sensible to offer a more manageable course such as AP NSL. AP US History is currently available to freshmen, but it is one of the most rigorous AP classes offered at Wootton. Before changing anything, however, Maslow and Doran visited other high schools in Montgomery County to gather feedback about the performance of their freshmen in the course. After receiving positive feedback from high schools such as Walt Whitman, Walter Johnson and Richard Montgomery, Doran confirmed the decision to open the course to all incoming freshmen. He believes that AP NSL is a more reasonable opportunity to offer to freshmen because it would be easier to handle. “If we’re going to offer AP courses, it seems to make sense to offer a course that’s a better fit for the students,” Doran said. “If they don’t like it, they don’t have to take it; it’s always been up to them.” Social studies teacher Fevronia Cresham sees eye to eye with Doran. “I think AP NSL would be more accessible than AP US History to freshmen,” Cresham said. “It could be really good training for freshmen if they make the effort. It prepares them for the more challenging AP classes.” AP US History (AP US) is a more rigorous course than AP NSL because of its curriculum, which covers a greater period of history and therefore calls for a wider recollection of information. The essay topics are also more specifically delineated than those in AP US. The advanced course demands more time and effort from freshmen than they are used to. “[AP US] is a bit harder than AP NSL, which is why NSL might be a better entry for freshmen into an AP course,” Maslow said. Through taking AP NSL, freshmen could develop the AP skills necessary to transition smoothly and be successful in more difficult AP courses available to 10th graders. Also, a student who chooses to take AP NSL during freshman year would would be able to take the NSL HSA test in 9th grade. This means that there would be fewer exams for sophomore students to take during the HSAs. “We’re trying to encourage more students to become involved in AP courses,” said Maslow. “I think it could be very good training for freshmen if they make the effort.” Based on Wootton’s reputation, Maslow does not anticipate that freshmen will struggle with the course. “Students at Wootton who take challenging courses don’t just take them; they do well in them too,” Maslow said. “We’re always looking to have students take more rigorous courses, and it seems to me like it matches students’ skill sets.” |
Anonymous
And to clarify, AP NSL is AP US Government. Moco uses AP NSL because NSL is a required course (and used to be a required HSA but that got dropped last year). T For the pp with the 11th grader he could take APUSH as an 11th grader if he wanted. There are some new 11th graders in my DCs class. |
Anonymous
| I'm the PP with the two kids coming in in 8th and 11th. Thank you for the clarification. As an aside, how hard do you think the transition will be for 11th grade? DS has been in private school in another state and they don't take any AP classes until 11th grade there. FWIW he's been recommended for all APs for next year (if he were staying at that school). I think he'd be in Advanced Honors Spanish, French II, Calculus AB Honors, AP US History, AP English, and AP Chem. Not sure how this will translate to the MoCo schools....? |
Anonymous
| Same PP as above -- to clarify, he's been recommended for all the APs he'd be eligible for at his current school as a HS junior. I get the sense he might be in more APs in a public school setting but not really sure. |
Anonymous
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PP that sounds like a pretty typical junior MCPS schedule. Our school recommends limiting APs to 4 in junior year but some kids take 5. The only thing to consider is whether he takes AP Calc instead of honors. Either is fine. If you are going to one of the Ws or BCC the AP classes are probably pretty comparable to your current school. One thing to look into - I know AP Bio is a double period class. AP Chem may be too. It not only takes more time but also counts as 2 grades. So you want to be sure he will do well in it. At our school AP Bio is reputed to be a very difficult class. Not sure about AP Chem. Has he taken Chem already? In MCPS the kids will have taken Chem in 10th. kids who do the AP science track tend to take AP Bio in 11th. Not sure if there is a particular reason. Of course there are some who take more than one AP science in a year.
My DC is taking 3 APs as a junior, but had already taken 2. Taking honors physics rather than AP bio or chem. A couple of things to consider - not sure what the elective requirements are coming in at 11th but you will want to make sure he plans for those if he needs to take them. It includes PE, which my DC had to do even though he is on 3 JV/V teams. There is also a health requirement (which you can do online in the summer if you want-many kids do) and a music/art requirement. You also want to make sure he is in at least some classes with other juniors to help with transition. I think AP English will be juniors only, not APUSH, not sure about AP Chem, probably for Calc, although it might be 12th graders on the regular math track as the juniors taking Calc are more likely to take AP Calc. But I suspect some of this is school specific so hopefully the guidance counselor can help you. Ours was pretty helpful. |
Anonymous
| PP again - thank you for your input re my 11th grader. It sounds like we should meet with the guidance counselor as soon as we know what high school he'll be attending. If we don't know until late June is it too late, or can you meet with anyone about this over the summer? I'm pretty clueless about how to work within a large public high school setting. |