Loiderman vs North Bethesda

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The orchestra and chorus at NB win a lot of prizes, fwiw.

This. My kids did both at NB. Teachers tough but very good. I’d definitely stick to NB if interest is chorus, orchestra, or band. I’d consider Loiederman if strong interest in dance or theatre; and if academics not as high of a priority.

[Anonymous]

Interested to see how many folks here that never actually had a student at Loiederman somehow know all about it.

[Anonymous]

To the PP or multiple PPs bashing Loiderman, make up your mind. Are you here to brag that your child is way more talented and brilliant than most kids their age, in which case of course a public middle school music program isn't going to be serving kids at their level? Or are you saying you think Loiderman's music problem should be able to challenge kids like your kid and it's problematic that they can't, in which case maybe stop trying to claim your child is some kind of peerless musical genius? You can't have it both ways.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Interested to see how many folks here that never actually had a student at Loiederman somehow know all about it.

Because parents do their research when their kids are of age to consider various special programs. Since DC2 was already many years into her instrument at the time of application, I was curious about Loiederman. I imagine the other posters writing on this thread did the same thing. I looked closely at Parkland MS for DC1 because he was interested in aerospace engineering at the time. Decided against it, for exactly the same reasons!

I know you're salty about the harsh truths some of us have been saying on this thread, but we wouldn't be posting if we hadn't actually done our homework and analyzed the pros and cons, PP. If I knew nothing about this, I wouldn't care or post. But in this situation, I want to write what I know so OP can make an informed decision.

Also, since I'm in western MoCo in a wealthy school cluster, I avoid bashing the rest of MoCo when it's clear the parents just have to deal with the school they have. I know parents with kids at Einstein and other high schools who have made it work for their kids, because they prioritize education and their kids are focused and have a nice group of friends. But OP's home school is North Bethesda, for goodness' sakes. You can't get much better than that. OP has a great option right in her neighborhood already.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To the PP or multiple PPs bashing Loiderman, make up your mind. Are you here to brag that your child is way more talented and brilliant than most kids their age, in which case of course a public middle school music program isn't going to be serving kids at their level? Or are you saying you think Loiderman's music problem should be able to challenge kids like your kid and it's problematic that they can't, in which case maybe stop trying to claim your child is some kind of peerless musical genius? You can't have it both ways.

I think people are saying that OP and other interested parents mustn't be led astray by the "magnet" designation, and believe that the program of this school is in any way top-notch. It does not select for talent or anything else, and can only do group teaching, which severely limits development in certain skills like music, where individual training is absolutely key. I can't judge their theater offering, it's not my specialty. It's not like the Takoma Park STEM magnet, which is both truly accelerated and in-depth in all math and science subjects, and which lends itself well to a traditional group learning environment.

(Also your questions and comparisons don't make sense, but that's besides the point.)

[Anonymous]

NP here, I think it's worth asking what is the quality of the core classes at Loiederman vs North Bethesda AND are the special arts electives worth it? It seems like Loiederman offers the same core classes as North Bethesda?
Also, what is the HW load in middle school at either school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Interested to see how many folks here that never actually had a student at Loiederman somehow know all about it.

Some of us did send our kids. Not a good experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP here, I think it's worth asking what is the quality of the core classes at Loiederman vs North Bethesda AND are the special arts electives worth it? It seems like Loiederman offers the same core classes as North Bethesda?
Also, what is the HW load in middle school at either school?

Most schools don’t have a lot of homework. The only advantage to loiderman is algebra in 6th but it’s not a good plan if your hs does not have multivariable calc as you may run out of math come junior year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP here, I think it's worth asking what is the quality of the core classes at Loiederman vs North Bethesda AND are the special arts electives worth it? It seems like Loiederman offers the same core classes as North Bethesda?
Also, what is the HW load in middle school at either school?

This is well put. In our individual experience, math and global humanities have been great at Loiederman. I think the English _curriculum_ is not worth much, but I don't blame the teachers for that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP here, I think it's worth asking what is the quality of the core classes at Loiederman vs North Bethesda AND are the special arts electives worth it? It seems like Loiederman offers the same core classes as North Bethesda?
Also, what is the HW load in middle school at either school?

This is well put. In our individual experience, math and global humanities have been great at Loiederman. I think the English _curriculum_ is not worth much, but I don't blame the teachers for that.

NP. The English curriculum is going to be terrible at all schools except for Eastern magnet. It's true county-wide.

OP, you could send your child to Loiderman, see how they do there, and always return to your home school if needed. But personally, I would not do that unless you are confident Loiderman is better. The commute to a new school, and having to make new friends as opposed to working off the ones you've built in ES, would give me real pause if the neighborhood school is solid.

What does your child want to do?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP here, I think it's worth asking what is the quality of the core classes at Loiederman vs North Bethesda AND are the special arts electives worth it? It seems like Loiederman offers the same core classes as North Bethesda?
Also, what is the HW load in middle school at either school?

This is well put. In our individual experience, math and global humanities have been great at Loiederman. I think the English _curriculum_ is not worth much, but I don't blame the teachers for that.

This is helpful, thank you!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To the PP or multiple PPs bashing Loiderman, make up your mind. Are you here to brag that your child is way more talented and brilliant than most kids their age, in which case of course a public middle school music program isn't going to be serving kids at their level? Or are you saying you think Loiderman's music problem should be able to challenge kids like your kid and it's problematic that they can't, in which case maybe stop trying to claim your child is some kind of peerless musical genius? You can't have it both ways.

I'm saying the band teacher isn't strong, well they aren't good. You have a very different experience with kids all in private lessons/orchestra's.

[Anonymous]

NP-seems like Loiderman has stronger theatre, dance and visual arts than NB but music is not as strong?
And test scores at NB are much higher (makes sense as different socioeconomic groups that attend)? NB also has way more entitled rich kids with outside resources who come from families with disposable income. As in every W school cluster.
Core classes seem similar...
People keep saying Loiderman not as good. Is that because other students are not as academically oriented or because teacher and admin quality is not as strong? Or the environment is unsafe?
Just trying to understand.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP-seems like Loiderman has stronger theatre, dance and visual arts than NB but music is not as strong?
And test scores at NB are much higher (makes sense as different socioeconomic groups that attend)? NB also has way more entitled rich kids with outside resources who come from families with disposable income. As in every W school cluster.
Core classes seem similar...
People keep saying Loiderman not as good. Is that because other students are not as academically oriented or because teacher and admin quality is not as strong? Or the environment is unsafe?
Just trying to understand.

We’ve said it you just don’t want to listen. The admin are not strong, the band teacher is terrible and there is no advantage. You choose your home school to self segregate so why choose another school? Very few band teachers are really good in MCPS. The core classes will be the same. But, it’s not a challenging school for music.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP here, I think it's worth asking what is the quality of the core classes at Loiederman vs North Bethesda AND are the special arts electives worth it? It seems like Loiederman offers the same core classes as North Bethesda?
Also, what is the HW load in middle school at either school?

This is well put. In our individual experience, math and global humanities have been great at Loiederman. I think the English _curriculum_ is not worth much, but I don't blame the teachers for that.

NP. The English curriculum is going to be terrible at all schools except for Eastern magnet. It's true county-wide.

OP, you could send your child to Loiderman, see how they do there, and always return to your home school if needed. But personally, I would not do that unless you are confident Loiderman is better. The commute to a new school, and having to make new friends as opposed to working off the ones you've built in ES, would give me real pause if the neighborhood school is solid.

What does your child want to do?

OP here--child is definitely interested in Loiederman--they are not wanting to be a professional in the arts, but love that this will be front and center of their middle school experience-- and likes that the same core classes are available like at home school. ES friends not all going to home school anyway so that's a non-factor. May give it a try! Thanks!