ISO recent experience with Eastern MS communications magnet

[Anonymous]

Honestly, OP, you really won’t know how it will work for your kid until you’re there. Given that the bus ride will be manageable, it’s worth giving it a shot.

It’s not difficult to switch back to your home middle school if Eastern really isn’t a good fit, but if you pass on the opportunity now, you’ll never know. It doesn’t work the other way: your kid can’t move to Eastern later if their home school turns out to be excruciatingly boring and unchallenging.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Non-quirky kids sometimes have a harder time with friendships because so many kids are quirky. Many kids bond through drama productions, D&D, and if your child is not in to that it will be more difficult socially. DC continued to mostly socialize with friends from their old school.

This description of kids was not at all our experience. My DC did not do any theater at Eastern nor did DC every play or know anyone who played D & D.

DC reads a lot, watches a ton of movies, likes history, played soccer and was welcoming of diverse races, incomes and gender/sexuality preferences. This described DC’s peers as well - male and female. Not a “quirky” kid in DC’s peer group, unless you count reading at an adult level “quirky”.

You are kidding yourself if you think your child's friend group is not quirky.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, OP, you really won’t know how it will work for your kid until you’re there. Given that the bus ride will be manageable, it’s worth giving it a shot.

It’s not difficult to switch back to your home middle school if Eastern really isn’t a good fit, but if you pass on the opportunity now, you’ll never know. It doesn’t work the other way: your kid can’t move to Eastern later if their home school turns out to be excruciatingly boring and unchallenging.

Said like a true Eastern parent. OP-your child sounds like they will do totally fine in their home school. Anyone that says middle school will be "excruciatingly boring" because it's not challenging is really uptight. At Eastern it could go either way. It's more risky. They could love it or really loathe their middle school experience. I don't think you should overthink too much. You don't live far away. Just have your child start there and then if it does not work out after the first few weeks put your child back at the regular school. They will lose nothing.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:IME kids tend to either really enjoy it or hate everything about it. Is your child a theatre kid? Do they like to read a lot for fun and write stories or do art projects in their free time? Are they a little quirky and did they have trouble finding their tribe in elementary? The main group of kids that love this program would say yes to all those questions. There are exceptions but every year there is a core group like this.

I think this is pretty fair. The standards are high, as is the workload, particularly in the 6th grade. The kids who are happiest are the ones who would be acting, or making little movies, or reading nonfiction, or writing stories/screenplays in their free time anyway. In that way, it's like any magnet - the happiest kids at TPMS magnet are probably the ones who would learn programming languages and push themselves in math no matter what.

Do you have specific questions or concerns? How long would the bus ride be for your child? How much do they enjoy the core subjects of the magnet (ELA, world history, media)? How much time has your child spent in economically and racially diverse schools?

All of those things will play a role in whether your child loves or hates (or just tolerates) the program.

I think the workload in 7th is the most rigorous and time consuming. Our student enjoyed the program, but is a humanities kid through and through, is quirky as the PP mentioned, and most certainly found a great friend group there. There is most certainly a ton of work though, but for our kid the work was worth the peer group.

I think you'd find some families would say the more challenging work was worth putting up with the peer group.

And some (like me) would say it wasn’t. We did not feel Eastern was worth it compared to our strong middle school (have sent kids to both). Eastern has a lot of problems. I didn’t feel the teachers were amazing, but we do come from a home middle school with strong teachers so I think it also depends where you are coming from.

OP here. This makes me nervous. Can you share what part of the county you are coming from? I hear about problems in all middle schools but I'm aware that some are worse than others. Are you in the DCC or in another part of the county?

I didn't post that but lots of people agree with that poster's sentiments. A lot of kids are really unhappy with the program and leave. We heard it has a higher attrition rate than any other magnet. For some kids it's academic. You can search for information about a particular 6th grade teacher and the workload. You'll also find a fair number of kids who did not like the program's social dynamics. There are a lot of arrogant students. There are also nice students of course but I am pointing out what you see that you might not see as often in your regular school.

That particular 6th grade teacher was one issue we had. She very much played favorites.

I said quirky and it wasn’t code for LGBTQ. It’s dorky theatre type kids with very overbearing personalities. They reminded me off other students when I was in law school who just loved to belabor a point and hear themselves speak.

Which teacher was that? My kid attended Eastern and the only one I can think of is the Lit teacher, which is an optional class.

[Anonymous]

I’ve had 2 go through the program recently and can honestly say it’s been the best part of MCPS. Just a phenomenal program with a rigor and level of interdisciplinary learning you can’t get at many other places!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Non-quirky kids sometimes have a harder time with friendships because so many kids are quirky. Many kids bond through drama productions, D&D, and if your child is not in to that it will be more difficult socially. DC continued to mostly socialize with friends from their old school.

This description of kids was not at all our experience. My DC did not do any theater at Eastern nor did DC every play or know anyone who played D & D.

DC reads a lot, watches a ton of movies, likes history, played soccer and was welcoming of diverse races, incomes and gender/sexuality preferences. This described DC’s peers as well - male and female. Not a “quirky” kid in DC’s peer group, unless you count reading at an adult level “quirky”.

You are kidding yourself if you think your child's friend group is not quirky.

PP, TBH, you seem a little insecure. I’m not sure why you insist on calling smart kids “quirky”. Were you one of those bullies in ES who believed smart kids couldn’t be cool?

I absolutely love my kid’s friends at Eastern. They were kind, smart and supportive of each other and 10 years later they are all still BFFs even though they are scattered around the world.

But, OK, they’re “quirky”. Hope. that makes you feel better about yourself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Non-quirky kids sometimes have a harder time with friendships because so many kids are quirky. Many kids bond through drama productions, D&D, and if your child is not in to that it will be more difficult socially. DC continued to mostly socialize with friends from their old school.

This description of kids was not at all our experience. My DC did not do any theater at Eastern nor did DC every play or know anyone who played D & D.

DC reads a lot, watches a ton of movies, likes history, played soccer and was welcoming of diverse races, incomes and gender/sexuality preferences. This described DC’s peers as well - male and female. Not a “quirky” kid in DC’s peer group, unless you count reading at an adult level “quirky”.

You are kidding yourself if you think your child's friend group is not quirky.

PP, TBH, you seem a little insecure. I’m not sure why you insist on calling smart kids “quirky”. Were you one of those bullies in ES who believed smart kids couldn’t be cool?

I absolutely love my kid’s friends at Eastern. They were kind, smart and supportive of each other and 10 years later they are all still BFFs even though they are scattered around the world.

But, OK, they’re “quirky”. Hope. that makes you feel better about yourself.

I wouldn’t consider this a “recent experience” at Eastern. So much changed in MCPS since COVID and particularly magnet selections.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Non-quirky kids sometimes have a harder time with friendships because so many kids are quirky. Many kids bond through drama productions, D&D, and if your child is not in to that it will be more difficult socially. DC continued to mostly socialize with friends from their old school.

This description of kids was not at all our experience. My DC did not do any theater at Eastern nor did DC every play or know anyone who played D & D.

DC reads a lot, watches a ton of movies, likes history, played soccer and was welcoming of diverse races, incomes and gender/sexuality preferences. This described DC’s peers as well - male and female. Not a “quirky” kid in DC’s peer group, unless you count reading at an adult level “quirky”.

You are kidding yourself if you think your child's friend group is not quirky.

PP, TBH, you seem a little insecure. I’m not sure why you insist on calling smart kids “quirky”. Were you one of those bullies in ES who believed smart kids couldn’t be cool?

I absolutely love my kid’s friends at Eastern. They were kind, smart and supportive of each other and 10 years later they are all still BFFs even though they are scattered around the world.

But, OK, they’re “quirky”. Hope. that makes you feel better about yourself.

I wouldn’t consider this a “recent experience” at Eastern. So much changed in MCPS since COVID and particularly magnet selections.

Ah, but the ugly attitude of the PP who insists on calling bright kids “quirky” and describing them as unable to make friends with (by implication) normal kids is a nasty stereotype that existed before, during and after the pandemic.

It’s a stereotype that simply has never been true. Bright kids are perfectly capable of forming friendships and socializing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Non-quirky kids sometimes have a harder time with friendships because so many kids are quirky. Many kids bond through drama productions, D&D, and if your child is not in to that it will be more difficult socially. DC continued to mostly socialize with friends from their old school.

This description of kids was not at all our experience. My DC did not do any theater at Eastern nor did DC every play or know anyone who played D & D.

DC reads a lot, watches a ton of movies, likes history, played soccer and was welcoming of diverse races, incomes and gender/sexuality preferences. This described DC’s peers as well - male and female. Not a “quirky” kid in DC’s peer group, unless you count reading at an adult level “quirky”.

You are kidding yourself if you think your child's friend group is not quirky.

PP, TBH, you seem a little insecure. I’m not sure why you insist on calling smart kids “quirky”. Were you one of those bullies in ES who believed smart kids couldn’t be cool?

I absolutely love my kid’s friends at Eastern. They were kind, smart and supportive of each other and 10 years later they are all still BFFs even though they are scattered around the world.

But, OK, they’re “quirky”. Hope. that makes you feel better about yourself.

I wouldn’t consider this a “recent experience” at Eastern. So much changed in MCPS since COVID and particularly magnet selections.

+1. Basically OP needs advice of people who have kids in the school right now. Any pre-Covid experience may not be that relevant. Definitely not 10 years ago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Non-quirky kids sometimes have a harder time with friendships because so many kids are quirky. Many kids bond through drama productions, D&D, and if your child is not in to that it will be more difficult socially. DC continued to mostly socialize with friends from their old school.

This description of kids was not at all our experience. My DC did not do any theater at Eastern nor did DC every play or know anyone who played D & D.

DC reads a lot, watches a ton of movies, likes history, played soccer and was welcoming of diverse races, incomes and gender/sexuality preferences. This described DC’s peers as well - male and female. Not a “quirky” kid in DC’s peer group, unless you count reading at an adult level “quirky”.

You are kidding yourself if you think your child's friend group is not quirky.

PP, TBH, you seem a little insecure. I’m not sure why you insist on calling smart kids “quirky”. Were you one of those bullies in ES who believed smart kids couldn’t be cool?

I absolutely love my kid’s friends at Eastern. They were kind, smart and supportive of each other and 10 years later they are all still BFFs even though they are scattered around the world.

But, OK, they’re “quirky”. Hope. that makes you feel better about yourself.

I wouldn’t consider this a “recent experience” at Eastern. So much changed in MCPS since COVID and particularly magnet selections.

+1. Basically OP needs advice of people who have kids in the school right now. Any pre-Covid experience may not be that relevant. Definitely not 10 years ago.

I’m confused - what exactly has changed so much about the kinds of kids who are selected for the magnet? As I understand it, the process is now more open to all students because all are tested and submit to the candidate pool instead of having to opt in. But selection to the candidate pool still depends on having very high test scores, as it did before. What specific elements of the admission process have created what kind of specific changes in the candidate pool?

How on earth could the change in the selection process result in more “quirky” kids now than before? How could the selection process change created a pool of students that are less able to make friends than the pre-pandemic pool?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Non-quirky kids sometimes have a harder time with friendships because so many kids are quirky. Many kids bond through drama productions, D&D, and if your child is not in to that it will be more difficult socially. DC continued to mostly socialize with friends from their old school.

This description of kids was not at all our experience. My DC did not do any theater at Eastern nor did DC every play or know anyone who played D & D.

DC reads a lot, watches a ton of movies, likes history, played soccer and was welcoming of diverse races, incomes and gender/sexuality preferences. This described DC’s peers as well - male and female. Not a “quirky” kid in DC’s peer group, unless you count reading at an adult level “quirky”.

You are kidding yourself if you think your child's friend group is not quirky.

PP, TBH, you seem a little insecure. I’m not sure why you insist on calling smart kids “quirky”. Were you one of those bullies in ES who believed smart kids couldn’t be cool?

I absolutely love my kid’s friends at Eastern. They were kind, smart and supportive of each other and 10 years later they are all still BFFs even though they are scattered around the world.

But, OK, they’re “quirky”. Hope. that makes you feel better about yourself.

I wouldn’t consider this a “recent experience” at Eastern. So much changed in MCPS since COVID and particularly magnet selections.

+1. Basically OP needs advice of people who have kids in the school right now. Any pre-Covid experience may not be that relevant. Definitely not 10 years ago.

I’m confused - what exactly has changed so much about the kinds of kids who are selected for the magnet? As I understand it, the process is now more open to all students because all are tested and submit to the candidate pool instead of having to opt in. But selection to the candidate pool still depends on having very high test scores, as it did before. What specific elements of the admission process have created what kind of specific changes in the candidate pool?

How on earth could the change in the selection process result in more “quirky” kids now than before? How could the selection process change created a pool of students that are less able to make friends than the pre-pandemic pool?

I wrote that the kids could be exhausting and really belabor the point. The parents, too. If you can’t see why things have changed in ten years, no one is going to change your mind. Also, quirky isn’t a terrible term. I’m using it as “different” and I stand by that. My daughters class was quirky. Maybe your child’s class ten years ago wasn’t. Cool. No one is personally insulting your child. Mine went there too and would be included in the quirky.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Non-quirky kids sometimes have a harder time with friendships because so many kids are quirky. Many kids bond through drama productions, D&D, and if your child is not in to that it will be more difficult socially. DC continued to mostly socialize with friends from their old school.

This description of kids was not at all our experience. My DC did not do any theater at Eastern nor did DC every play or know anyone who played D & D.

DC reads a lot, watches a ton of movies, likes history, played soccer and was welcoming of diverse races, incomes and gender/sexuality preferences. This described DC’s peers as well - male and female. Not a “quirky” kid in DC’s peer group, unless you count reading at an adult level “quirky”.

You are kidding yourself if you think your child's friend group is not quirky.

PP, TBH, you seem a little insecure. I’m not sure why you insist on calling smart kids “quirky”. Were you one of those bullies in ES who believed smart kids couldn’t be cool?

I absolutely love my kid’s friends at Eastern. They were kind, smart and supportive of each other and 10 years later they are all still BFFs even though they are scattered around the world.

But, OK, they’re “quirky”. Hope. that makes you feel better about yourself.

I wouldn’t consider this a “recent experience” at Eastern. So much changed in MCPS since COVID and particularly magnet selections.

+1. Basically OP needs advice of people who have kids in the school right now. Any pre-Covid experience may not be that relevant. Definitely not 10 years ago.

+2

[Anonymous]

I have a current 10th grader who went to Eastern. In many ways, it was an excellent choice. She made good friends, was challenged academically, did some amazing in-depth projects, and grew in independence and confidence. Negatives included a challenging commute (long bus ride plus needed a parent to drive to/from the bus stop every day), long days (bus ride plus she did after-school band), a few teachers with what felt like inappropriately high expectations (especially the 6th grade teacher mentioned already), and that her friend group split up to multiple high schools and my kid ended up without close friends at the high school she chose. My younger kid is at our home middle school and the difference in academics is laughably huge; I wish they were getting the same kind of challenge and enrichment, but am grateful for the easier commute and the continuity in friends.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a current 10th grader who went to Eastern. In many ways, it was an excellent choice. She made good friends, was challenged academically, did some amazing in-depth projects, and grew in independence and confidence. Negatives included a challenging commute (long bus ride plus needed a parent to drive to/from the bus stop every day), long days (bus ride plus she did after-school band), a few teachers with what felt like inappropriately high expectations (especially the 6th grade teacher mentioned already), and that her friend group split up to multiple high schools and my kid ended up without close friends at the high school she chose. My younger kid is at our home middle school and the difference in academics is laughably huge; I wish they were getting the same kind of challenge and enrichment, but am grateful for the easier commute and the continuity in friends.

So your child would have done about half virtually? My child was a year ahead and I’m not commenting about several issues cause I don’t consider it all that relevant to OP, but I am shocked to hear anyone would consider it a good experience during COVID. Eastern was a shitshow. My kid had virtual classes that the teacher just didn’t show up to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a current 10th grader who went to Eastern. In many ways, it was an excellent choice. She made good friends, was challenged academically, did some amazing in-depth projects, and grew in independence and confidence. Negatives included a challenging commute (long bus ride plus needed a parent to drive to/from the bus stop every day), long days (bus ride plus she did after-school band), a few teachers with what felt like inappropriately high expectations (especially the 6th grade teacher mentioned already), and that her friend group split up to multiple high schools and my kid ended up without close friends at the high school she chose. My younger kid is at our home middle school and the difference in academics is laughably huge; I wish they were getting the same kind of challenge and enrichment, but am grateful for the easier commute and the continuity in friends.

So your child would have done about half virtually? My child was a year ahead and I’m not commenting about several issues cause I don’t consider it all that relevant to OP, but I am shocked to hear anyone would consider it a good experience during COVID. Eastern was a shitshow. My kid had virtual classes that the teacher just didn’t show up to.

History teacher just checked out and Science teacher read children's books such as "If You Give a Pig a Pancake."