Best Pyramid in PG County?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They might also be able to expand 6-8th at Pullen. The school isn't at full capacity.

They should! It's a great engaged elem program and k-8 schools have shown better outcomes than middle school models.

[Anonymous]

My husband and I recently purchased in the Yorktown school area. We have heard that it is a strong school. Does anyone have recent experience with the school? Have there been any new updates on a possible closure?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you can get into the TAG program in elementary and attend school at one of the elementary TAG centers you'll be automatically sent to a TAG program in middle school. It's harder to lottery into a TAG middle school from a regular elementary. This may change as they add more middle school programs, but if you're offered an elementary slot take it, even if the commute is longer. And then if your TAG middle school grades support it you can get into the IB programs without having to test in. In my experience the TAG elementary an middle schools are excellent and worth it. I have heard from parents whose turned down an elementary TAG slot because their inbounds elementary school was good and kicked themselves when they did not lottery into the TAG program in middle school.

This largely depends on where you live. I was offered a TAG ES slot for Highland Park and declined and I have NO regrets. Since the new TAG center at Tasker started all the students who applied to Tasker and Kenmoor got in for 6th grade this year. Walker Mill also accepted everyone who applied. Greenbelt MS and Accokeek are another story. Folks who live in the Northern part of the County should put pressure on PGCPS to open a new TAG center somewhere....Maybe MLK or Eisenhower Middle School?

How do I start the process? I have a child in the 2nd grade at Bond Mill ES.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My husband and I recently purchased in the Yorktown school area. We have heard that it is a strong school. Does anyone have recent experience with the school? Have there been any new updates on a possible closure?

I wouldn't worry about closure. The facilities master plan lists a study to determine the feasibility of consolidation and lists 6 different elementary schools. Most of them are under enrolled. The schools are Yorktown, Rockledge, High Bridge, Tulip Grove, Whitehall and Kenilworth.
My limited experience with school consolidation is that they tend to close the school that is under performing and move the boundaries so those kids go to surrounding schools. An example is moving the TAG program out of Highland Park and into the under enrolled but highly regarded program at Capitol Heights. I doubt that they would close a high performing school like Yorktown or the newly renovated Tulip Grove.
And if they do, it will take YEARS. I also think it would be incredibly short sighted. As the Bowie middle schools and high school improves and the expansion of TAG middle school and other specialty programs for MS and HS increases, I predict more and more parents in the Bowie area will choose public school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My husband and I recently purchased in the Yorktown school area. We have heard that it is a strong school. Does anyone have recent experience with the school? Have there been any new updates on a possible closure?

My kids have been going to Yorktown since kindergarten and we love it. There have been a couple of lackluster teachers but no outright bad ones so far. The teachers and administration are extremely responsive to emails. I love the principal. I'm going to be sad when it's time to leave.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you can get into the TAG program in elementary and attend school at one of the elementary TAG centers you'll be automatically sent to a TAG program in middle school. It's harder to lottery into a TAG middle school from a regular elementary. This may change as they add more middle school programs, but if you're offered an elementary slot take it, even if the commute is longer. And then if your TAG middle school grades support it you can get into the IB programs without having to test in. In my experience the TAG elementary an middle schools are excellent and worth it. I have heard from parents whose turned down an elementary TAG slot because their inbounds elementary school was good and kicked themselves when they did not lottery into the TAG program in middle school.

This largely depends on where you live. I was offered a TAG ES slot for Highland Park and declined and I have NO regrets. Since the new TAG center at Tasker started all the students who applied to Tasker and Kenmoor got in for 6th grade this year. Walker Mill also accepted everyone who applied. Greenbelt MS and Accokeek are another story. Folks who live in the Northern part of the County should put pressure on PGCPS to open a new TAG center somewhere....Maybe MLK or Eisenhower Middle School?

How do I start the process? I have a child in the 2nd grade at Bond Mill ES.

MLK is over enrolled so I doubt they would put a TAG center there. Eisenhower is under enrolled (91% capacity) so that might be an option.

Are you part of the PTA at Bond Mill? Could you get a bunch of the PTA board members to help you advocate? I would make an appointment with Theresa Jackson and possibly Gladys Whitehead and show up with data. The number of kids who applied for Greenbelt MS and the number of kids who got in. Present a middle school that is under enrolled that could handle TAG programs as an option. That data used to be relatively easy to get but it isn't as easy now. In 2016 there was a total of 97 kids on the waitlist at Greenbelt and zero students were admitted through the lottery. You should go and testify at board meetings with the message of, 'we want to stay in PGCPS but the lack of opportunity at MS levels makes it impossible' and 'we want to stay in our local elementary school but we know that if we don't take the slot we won't have a good middle school option. We want to stay and make our good ES great". Talk about bussing and how kids who live in Laurel have to ride a bus up to an hour in order to go to Greenbelt. Go to the meet and greet sessions that Dr Goldson has and talk to her about it. She was instrumental in getting the TAG center at Tasker approved when she was in her previous position. Contact your school board member David Murray and Lupi Grady since her district feeds into Greenbelt and would benefit from a new TAG center. It takes work but they are open to ideas....or at least they were in 2016.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you can get into the TAG program in elementary and attend school at one of the elementary TAG centers you'll be automatically sent to a TAG program in middle school. It's harder to lottery into a TAG middle school from a regular elementary. This may change as they add more middle school programs, but if you're offered an elementary slot take it, even if the commute is longer. And then if your TAG middle school grades support it you can get into the IB programs without having to test in. In my experience the TAG elementary an middle schools are excellent and worth it. I have heard from parents whose turned down an elementary TAG slot because their inbounds elementary school was good and kicked themselves when they did not lottery into the TAG program in middle school.

This largely depends on where you live. I was offered a TAG ES slot for Highland Park and declined and I have NO regrets. Since the new TAG center at Tasker started all the students who applied to Tasker and Kenmoor got in for 6th grade this year. Walker Mill also accepted everyone who applied. Greenbelt MS and Accokeek are another story. Folks who live in the Northern part of the County should put pressure on PGCPS to open a new TAG center somewhere....Maybe MLK or Eisenhower Middle School?

How do I start the process? I have a child in the 2nd grade at Bond Mill ES.

MLK is over enrolled so I doubt they would put a TAG center there. Eisenhower is under enrolled (91% capacity) so that might be an option.

Are you part of the PTA at Bond Mill? Could you get a bunch of the PTA board members to help you advocate? I would make an appointment with Theresa Jackson and possibly Gladys Whitehead and show up with data. The number of kids who applied for Greenbelt MS and the number of kids who got in. Present a middle school that is under enrolled that could handle TAG programs as an option. That data used to be relatively easy to get but it isn't as easy now. In 2016 there was a total of 97 kids on the waitlist at Greenbelt and zero students were admitted through the lottery. You should go and testify at board meetings with the message of, 'we want to stay in PGCPS but the lack of opportunity at MS levels makes it impossible' and 'we want to stay in our local elementary school but we know that if we don't take the slot we won't have a good middle school option. We want to stay and make our good ES great". Talk about bussing and how kids who live in Laurel have to ride a bus up to an hour in order to go to Greenbelt. Go to the meet and greet sessions that Dr Goldson has and talk to her about it. She was instrumental in getting the TAG center at Tasker approved when she was in her previous position. Contact your school board member David Murray and Lupi Grady since her district feeds into Greenbelt and would benefit from a new TAG center. It takes work but they are open to ideas....or at least they were in 2016.

Also contact other schools PTA boards and see if they would be interested in helping to advocate. The more people making noise, the more likely you will get action.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My husband and I recently purchased in the Yorktown school area. We have heard that it is a strong school. Does anyone have recent experience with the school? Have there been any new updates on a possible closure?

We are LOVING it. We moved here partway through last school year when my daughter was in 4th grade. Now halfway through 5th. Great great group of teachers and kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My husband and I recently purchased in the Yorktown school area. We have heard that it is a strong school. Does anyone have recent experience with the school? Have there been any new updates on a possible closure?

We are LOVING it. We moved here partway through last school year when my daughter was in 4th grade. Now halfway through 5th. Great great group of teachers and kids.

What is your plan for next year?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My husband and I recently purchased in the Yorktown school area. We have heard that it is a strong school. Does anyone have recent experience with the school? Have there been any new updates on a possible closure?

We are LOVING it. We moved here partway through last school year when my daughter was in 4th grade. Now halfway through 5th. Great great group of teachers and kids.

What is your plan for next year?

The public middle - Samuel Ogle.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My husband and I recently purchased in the Yorktown school area. We have heard that it is a strong school. Does anyone have recent experience with the school? Have there been any new updates on a possible closure?

We are LOVING it. We moved here partway through last school year when my daughter was in 4th grade. Now halfway through 5th. Great great group of teachers and kids.

What is your plan for next year?

The public middle - Samuel Ogle.

I truly hope you are happy there - by that is when we bailed on PG schools.

[Anonymous]

PP, what went wrong there for you?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP, what went wrong there for you?

Low end PG kids which overwhelmed parents. More distractions than education due to constant interruptions. Pressure to grow up to fast and be bad, there is absolutely a stigma about being the smart kid who isn’t down.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is no sought after pyramid. There are quite a few very good local elementary schools- University Park for example.

However, many students try for the lottery magnets (not charters) such as french/Spanish/Chinese immersion, Montessori, TAG or arts. These specialties are very good options and they also give preference into sought after middle schools.

There are very few (no?) good middle schools that are not magnet middle schools. French immersion and Montessori go straight through middle school. TAG gives preference to the TAG middle school. Arts is a new application in 7th grade- highly competitive.

High school has several options, most of which are also specialty programs. Eleanor Roosevelt is largely seen as the "best" school in PG, particularly the Science and Tech program which is test in (based on tests and grades). There are several other specialty programs at ERHS that are considered very good options. There are also science and tech programs for mid and south county at Flowers and Oxon Hill.
Northwestern and Suitland have Visual and Performing arts programs which are considered quite good.
There is the Health Sciences program at Prince Georges community college which is a middle college program where students graduate with a hs diploma and an AA degree.
There is also a similar program with Aeronautical Science.
There is the IB program at Parkdale and the French Immersion program at Central.

I'm sure there are some schools and programs I'm missing, but in general, this is how it goes in PG. No pyramids. Lots of crossed fingers and applications.

New to PG. Is there a reason Bowie High is not listed?

[Anonymous]

My kids went to a highly regarded elementary, but we’re doing private for middle school. Planning on going back to public for high school. A lot of people I know did this.