Not to mention TPES (k-2) has the only ES STEM magnet. Also the ES are focus schools with smaller class sizes and enriched math classes starting in 1st. |
Didn’t more Blair SMCS students win Intel scholarships just last week than any private or TJ which is 5x larger. |
No, it's still there. |
Why the McLean School for science and math? I thought that McLean was for students who have learning differences. |
Takoma Park schools are a great choice for kids interested in STEM education. It's one of the reasons we elected to buy in TKPK. Real estate is less expensive in the DC area than the area we moved from so cost wasn't a factor. Places like Bethesda or Potomac didn't appeal to us, but to each her own... TPES (K - 2): Elementary magnet w/ small classes. math enrichment and dedicated STEM teacher PBES (3-5): Local CES program w/ roughly 25% participation TPMS (6-8): Middle school stem magnet with an in-boundary set-aside. Admission is otherwise impossible these days. Blair: (9-12): SMCS & CAP magnets, although there's no set-aside TPMS, prepares kids for these options |
Then there are a lot of students in the program who achieved the impossible. |
+1 PP's post is rife with confusion and disinformation. There are still regional CES programs. I know because I have a child in one. However, in larger elementary schools (like Piney Branch) with many capable kids, MCPS has opened local CES programs. This has increased the number of kids served by the program, and is generally good news all around because it frees up more spots for kids from smaller elementary schools in the regional programs. There is no cohort criteria for CES admission, unless your local elementary has a CES program of its own. There IS a cohort criteria for middle school magnets, but the county has compensated by ostensibly increasing enrichment opportunities at home schools with a large number of capable students. |
MCPS is not known for its STEM? ????Are you that clueless? MCPS leads STEM awards and competitions. |
| I’m not inclined to believe anyone who says budget isn’t an issue for 5 children. At $35k a year at least that’s nearly $200k per year on tuition. |
Yes, they're clueless, bitter or both. Blair’s small STEM magnet consistently wins more Intel Prizes and has more students in the U.S. Math Olympiad compared to any local public or private. |
It's true that roughly 75 out of roughly 12,000 students per grade get admitted to this program each year. |
Who cares. OP has 4 other kids. Get into a school cluster that will best serve those kids. The 1 will place in somewhere and be find. Or be with a high level peer group in local school and again, be fine. |
Actually there are two programs (the upcounty one, and the downcounty one). And more students are admitted than actually attend. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that not a lot of kids get into the MS math/sci magnet. |
It's true there's another magnet on the other side of the county but aside from the TKPK set-aside, there are roughly 75 students who attend the TPMS magnet out of a grade of 12K. |
| Magnet spots are as highly coveted as they are limited. With changes like universal screening, competition is stiffer than ever. |