High expectation and no stress-- which high school in mcps is best ?

[Anonymous]

It's kid and parent dependent. My kid went to one of the Ws, took lots of APs, and was not overly stressed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's kid and parent dependent. My kid went to one of the Ws, took lots of APs, and was not overly stressed.

+1. Parent of a "W" sophomore. He's being challenged, and that is inherently stressful. It works for his personality, maybe not for others.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's kid and parent dependent. My kid went to one of the Ws, took lots of APs, and was not overly stressed.

+1. Parent of a "W" sophomore. He's being challenged, and that is inherently stressful. It works for his personality, maybe not for others.

Being challenged is not inherently stressful. It may be interesting, exciting, thought provoking, fun, but... it is not inherently stressful.

Stress is from unrealistic exceptions and measuring oneself by the ruler of others.

You need a class in psychology.

[Anonymous]

PP, you sound like a real treat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP, you sound like a real treat.

I was about to say that too!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's kid and parent dependent. My kid went to one of the Ws, took lots of APs, and was not overly stressed.

+1. Parent of a "W" sophomore. He's being challenged, and that is inherently stressful. It works for his personality, maybe not for others.

Being challenged is not inherently stressful. It may be interesting, exciting, thought provoking, fun, but... it is not inherently stressful.

Stress is from unrealistic exceptions and measuring oneself by the ruler of others.

You need a class in psychology.

You must have taken your Psychology class long time ago. The current thinking is very different. Kelly McGonigal wrote a lot about good stress.


https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/forget-what-youve-heard-stress-turns-out-its-actually-kelly-mcgonigal

[Anonymous]

People are generally happy with Walter Johnson. Plenty of challenge and rigor if you choose to take challenging courses but not as stressful as Whitman for example. Lots of non-academic clubs and activities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's kid and parent dependent. My kid went to one of the Ws, took lots of APs, and was not overly stressed.

+1. Parent of a "W" sophomore. He's being challenged, and that is inherently stressful. It works for his personality, maybe not for others.

Being challenged is not inherently stressful. It may be interesting, exciting, thought provoking, fun, but... it is not inherently stressful.

Stress is from unrealistic exceptions and measuring oneself by the ruler of others.

You need a class in psychology.

You must have taken your Psychology class long time ago. The current thinking is very different. Kelly McGonigal wrote a lot about good stress.


https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/forget-what-youve-heard-stress-turns-out-its-actually-kelly-mcgonigal

PP's Psyc 101 class didn't cover this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As a Sligo MS parent, it's nice to see that some people are very happy with the cluster, and Sligo is definitely a nice, nurturing environment with a responsive administration. The academics are not rigorous in any sense, in my opinion. The "advanced" classes still teach to a fairly low level of understanding (there is a huge gap between the struggling students and the high-achievers in all classes, which makes differentiation extremely difficult, and it basically does not happen), and there is minimal writing required and very little writing instruction given, although I understand 8th grade is an improvement.

As far as your student's interest in music, if he is interested in instrumental music, the VAPA at Einstein won't apply to him, as that is more theater. And Einstein's long-time and beloved music teacher is retiring, so we will have to wait to see what happens with the music program. Einstein does not have a full orchestra -- string orchestra and band are separate. I believe Blair is the only DCC school with a full orchestra.

Sorry to hear about your Sligo experience. Newport Mill served my child well, no complaints. NM offers English classes based on ability level. In math, they also keep grade level kids together, ex. 6th graders taking IM or 7th grades taking algebra are in the same class so that these above grade level kids can work through the material at a quicker pace. All other classes are mixed abilities.

Istramental music is a big part of VAPA at Einstein. My band child is loving it. Sad to see Ms. Rackey go

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People are generally happy with Walter Johnson. Plenty of challenge and rigor if you choose to take challenging courses but not as stressful as Whitman for example. Lots of non-academic clubs and activities.

What is your experience at Whiman? My DC was not stressed at Whitman but was appropriately challenged academically. There are lots of non academic activities at Whitman too (and I suspect other schools too).

[Anonymous]

10:17 poster -- could you please explain more about the instrumental music aspect of VAPA? I don't know much about what those opportunities are. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

10:17 -- just curious - does Newport Mills mix 6th grade IM students with on-grade level 7th grade students? Likewise, does it mix 7th grade algebra students with on-grade level 8th grade students?

At our middle school, this mixing happens and tends to keep the classes from moving deeper, as the on-grade level students have substantial trouble with the math concepts compared to the younger students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:10:17 poster -- could you please explain more about the instrumental music aspect of VAPA? I don't know much about what those opportunities are. Thanks!

here are some links to the VAPA program. Kids are able to take a variety of music performance and theory classes.

https://aehsvapa.wordpress.com

https://aehsvapa.wordpress.com/brochure14-15/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:10:17 poster -- could you please explain more about the instrumental music aspect of VAPA? I don't know much about what those opportunities are. Thanks!

here are some links to the VAPA program. Kids are able to take a variety of music performance and theory classes.

https://aehsvapa.wordpress.com

https://aehsvapa.wordpress.com/brochure14-15/

VAPA is an application-based program, right? I guess I always thought it was just visual arts, but if I have a kid into theatre or instrumental music, it might still be a good choice? That's actually really helpful information.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here, thanks for your input. We will check out The two clusters recommended. Will pass on any W school. DC wants to pursue music interest but also wants to be top 10% acadamically. Younger kids can fellow the feeding schools.

You should at least check it out. They are the top-tier HS MoCo.

Why? Do you think OP's child can't get a great education in a non W cluster? Do you think only kids who went to a "top tier" HS in MD get into great universities?

We passed on w clusters, too.