Downcounty MS Options for Advanced Learners/GT, Please Advise
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Anonymous
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We live in NE DC but are seriously considering relocating to Eastern/Southern MoCo. We may make the move due to both a changing commute for one of us, and out of concern that our two bright, math and science-oriented children, in the middle elementary grades at a DCPS school, will not pushed or challenged in our weak neighborhood MS. Moreover, they may lack lottery luck to attend one of the better MS charters.
One of our children is a wildlife biology and gardening nut, the other is very attached to her telescope. They speak Chinese at home to one parent and are tutored in characters. Private school would be a stretch financially and we don't like the cocoon atmosphere. Also, since our children are of Asian descent, and we disliked being about the only Asians in our schools as teens, we'd like them to have a good many Asian classmates. We know of the Takoma Park MS math-science magnet, and how 5th graders are admitted, so we know parents can't plan for their children to attend this highly competitive program. Can anybody tell us what the story is with challenging middle school academics in the Downcounty Consortium? When we called a couple of the middle schools recently to ask about challenge for advanced learners, administrators we spoke to were vague about what sort of honors/advanced classes were offered outside the magnets (Takoma Park and Eastern). What sort of ms tracking/ability grouping is done in the DCC at the middle school level? Are there in fact honors/advanced classes outside the magnets? If yes, can kids just sign up for such classes, or are placement tests given to determine eligibility? Both of our kids have participated in MathTree and Johns Hopkins CTY camps for math, and did well. They also love to read but I'm not sure if they would qualify as reading "gifted" in MoCo parlance. We're leaning toward Takoma Park, so any information about advanced courses at that MS would be greatly appreciated. Silver Spring would also be an option - Red Line access is key. We can afford a home in the 600-700 K range. Thanks for the info. |
Anonymous
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Hmm, DCC options for advanced learners aren't what they are in Rockville (where the Asian kids are concentrated). If your kids strike out at the magnets, any chance of buying west?
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Anonymous
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Agree. I've heard decent things from neighbors about Silver Spring Int'l Middle School, but not really sure how strong it is in math and science.
I believe there's a Takoma Park neighborhood preference for TP Middle. You'd have to move by the time of the application, though, which is in the fall, I think. |
Anonymous
| White Oak MS has significant numbers of students who take Algebra in 6th Grade, Honors Geometry in 7th Grade, and Honors Algebra II in 8th Grade; I think there are now enough students at White Oak taking Algebra II by Grade 8th that it is offered on site (versus transporting White Oak students to Springbrook or Blake HS to take this class). Stonegate ES, Westover ES, Broad Acres ES, and Jackson Road ES (which is literally next door) feed into White Oak MS, and generally the homes in those communities are well within your price range. |
Anonymous
| That is more acceleration than we see in Rockville where they seem to be trimming down acceleration. 6th grade algebra is extremely rare..really only those who come from a GT magnet. Maybe we should all move east... |
Anonymous
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OP here. We didn't know that White Oaks offered such advanced math. Thanks very much for this info. Our plan is to buy before we apply to the Takoma magnet, shuttling between our DC and MD places during our last year in DCPS (5th grade). Sounds like our chances of cracking the magnet would be best from Takoma Park, particularly for a girl. Rockville would be a bear of a commute for one of us.
Does anybody know what happens to Takoma MS kids who, for some reason, aren't admitted to the magnet but can handle 6th or 7th grade algebra? Are they allowed to take math classes with the magnet kids? I'm waiting for the magnet coordinator to get back to me with the answer. We've heard that the magnet admits a few students internally, from 6th grade for 7th. Thanks again. |
Anonymous
Magnet parent here - all of my kids have attended the magnet at TPMS. *Your chances of getting in are higher if you live in-boundary for TPMS because 25 slots (I think) are reserved for in-boundary students. *Admission is gender-blind, so girl, boy, doesn't matter. The population is more boys than girls (and at Eastern, the opposite). *Non-magnet students do not take math w/magnet students. Don't know how they handle advanced math students who are not in the magnet. The coordinator is terrific, personable, and hugely helpful. |
Anonymous
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^ In our experience, it is a little easier for a girl to get in to the TK magnet. Our boy was initially rejected, our girl admitted, although I didn't see her as the stronger candidate. Fewer girls apply and their acceptance rate is higher, even if the magnet isn't striving for a 50-50 ratio. Our boy got in eventually. You don't have to take "no" for an answer wtih the magnet if your kid ends up at Takoma MS and has math talent/drive. We sent him to a Hopkins CTY sleep-away after 5th, had him tutored during 6th (where he was stuck in a regular math class), and helped him get involved in math competitions. The school came around eventually. He's at the Blair magnet.
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Anonymous
| I agree that there may be some advantage for girls at the MoCo middle and high school magnets. |
Anonymous
PP here. I don't see that your anecdote supports what you are saying. It is just an anecdote. It is illegal for the county to use gender as a criterion for admission purposes in any case. |
Anonymous
| Yeah, wouldn't your annecdotal lesson be more that it matters luck of the draw how strong a field there is in a given class year, PP? |
Anonymous
I agree. Also, as the coordinator explains at the open house, many factors go into the decision about who to accept/reject, including teacher recommendations, number of kids applying/accepting from a particular ES, and other factors. Testing/objective qualifications on paper are not the sole criteria. |
Anonymous
| 17:44 here. My kid went through the TPMS magnet and so we've been a part of numerous open houses, parent meetings, et cetera. I don't think any of us knows what goes on in the admissions meetings -- not the people here saying girls get an edge, and not the people saying they don't have any edge. But, it would seem that they've opened the door to "balancing" of some sort. We've heard the administrators say, in various ways, that it's not just about the tests and GPA from elementary school. They will not say explicitly that they are looking for racial or gender balance, because that would be against the law. But, for example, they say they try to "balance" across the country for geographic diversity. |
Anonymous
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OP again. Sounds like admissions to the magnets has a lot in common with applying to selective colleges! What are the magnet interviews like?
Has anybody had experiences outside the magnets or at White Oak? Is there challenge in non-magnet humanities and language courses? Like social studies? Spanish? Just in-class differentiation, like in DCPS, or actual advanced level middle school classes? My girls have often been bored in reading and social studies classes at their school. They are commonly taught subject matter they'd already learned at home, on their own, or via travel/museum visits. |
Anonymous
| My kid took fairly rigorous advanced classes at Takoma MS a decade ago. Not sure if they're still offered. Hope you hear from a PP with a kid(s) there now. |