Good public MS/HS vs Magnet in MS/HS
![[Post New]](/jforum/templates/default/images/icon_minipost_new.gif){kind=icon}
Anonymous
|
Hi everyone, I would really appreciate your input and advice on this. We are thinking of moving houses, and our children are in ES currently. Here are our two options:
1. Stay in our wonderful, walkable neighborhood where ES is great, but MS/HS are not good, and plan to go the Magnet Program route to avoid local schools. 2. Move to an area where the kids would be assigned to Churchill/Wooton/Whitman clusters. For the sake of argument, let's assume magnet admission can happen (I understand that it's probably its own can of worms, and is not at all guaranteed, but let's do away with that issue for now and just say we can go to magnet programs/schools in MoCo for middle and high school). The question then is: What's better: a 'good' high school in the area, or the magnet program in a not-so-good school? (What would you recommend we aim for? Do you have kids in magnet MS/HS programs and how do you think that compares to the regular 'good' MS/HS? What would you do if you were us and had to do it over again?) If you have comments on a specific MS, or a specific magnet program in the area, please share those as well..... Thanks!!!! |
Anonymous
|
First of all, I would carefully examine your idea about your MS/HS not being good. Remember that if a school has AP and other challenging classes (for HS), your child could thrive. Also, if you live in the DCC you have a couple of good non-magnet options (Blair and Einstein).
As for magnets ... I have direct experience with MS and HS magnets in downcounty schools and regular MS/HS in one of the clusters you mention. The depth and quality of what's taught in the magnets is significantly better than in even the most vaunted MS, in my opinion. If your child needs academic challenge, he/she will get it more readily in the magnets than in regular MS, along with a really amazing peer group. In HS, the magnets are great but there are more options for AP and other challenging classes, so the difference is less significant (although magnet and AP classes are very different). Again, though, if you kid wants real in-depth challenge and lots of critical thinking or highly specialized math/science etc. (not just "rigor"), in my opinion, the magnets are still the better choice. |
Anonymous
| What is your goal for HS for your kids? Best HS education or top-tier college admission? |
Anonymous
| Are you sure your children will get into the magnet ms/hs? That should be a consideration- will you still be okay with your zoned schools of your children go there as gen ed students. |
Anonymous
|
I have a child who attended ES HGC and MS magnet, now at a "good" West county school. While we love that DC is at the neighborhood school, which everyone says is very strong and has tons of AP classes, there is no comparison when it comes to the level of intellectual challenge.
There is something special about having a large peer group in the classroom which is intellectually fast, motivated and hard-working, and having teachers that know it and exploited. Our "high quality" HS is extremely boring and easy for DC. Teachers are continually discouraging or missing high performing or high ability students because they simply don't know how to recognize them. That said, we moved to this cluster as a safety net -- getting into the magnet programs can be a bit of a crap shoot since there are many more qualified kids than there are seats. It was a tough choice at the HS level whether to allow DC to apply to a HS magnet or insist on home school because the magnet is very far away. The extra 2 hours a day are not worth the trade off of intellectual challenge in HS, for us. |
Anonymous
Thanks to everyone who responded so far! To the 18:02 poster: yours is a very insightful question.  So, our goal is top-tier college admission, as much as that can be a goal of mine given the child will actually have to do all the work. But, shall we say, I want to do as much as I can to enable such admission if the child turns out to be willing to do what he needs to do. He is only in ES now, so, you know.
My personal experience has been that being in a very, very, very,very competitive program at stage n of your education actually compromises your chances of getting into a similarly high-tier program for stage n+1 of your education. That's also part of what I'm trying to figure out. I'd like a school/program where programs or groups exist to allow a high-performing kid to excel and to achieve admission to a top school, but where the competition is not so insane that the kid gets burnt out before even getting to college. I'm not sure if this exists. For the 18:16 poster, no, I am not sure they will get in as you probably never can be. I am definitely very grateful for any advice or input on how that process works or how to best prepare a kid to apply/get in..... Thanks to everyone again! When you say that you have experience with MS magnets, I assume you mean the Clemente school? We are in MoCo, so that would be our only MS option, right? Is anyone in Poolesville for HS? How has that experience been? |
Anonymous
No. Downcounty the MS magnets are at Takoma Park Middle School (math & science), and Eastern Middle School (humanities). |
Anonymous
|
If you want to go to HYP, you should go to the local HS in MCPS, (after going through HGC and Magnet MS) since a considerably lower number of students will be applying to HYP from the local school vs. Magnet HS and W HS.
Your GPA, high number of AP courses, High SAT scores - these are all in the hand of the student - regardless of if they are in W HS or non-W HS. GPA can take a hit if your child is in any of the magnet schools, however, it is offset because of other magnet school factors. At the HS level, what MCPS can provide for a non W or a W school is the same. |
Anonymous
|
OP - 18:02 here.
Our 3 kids went thru magnet HS and I have to tell you, even if your DC gets in, keeping up with the pace and rigor for 4 years is very difficult. It also doesn't guarantee you (as 21:50 stated) admission to top tier schools. I actually don't like parents setting such goals because it puts too much undue pressure on kids and, after all that, the chance of getting into HYP level schools is still very very very small and the disappointment very very big. |
Anonymous
+1 My kids have been in magnets since third grade. The rigor and quality is unmatched. But our goal was and is a high-quality education with like-minded peers, not college admissions. |
Anonymous
|
Thank you, just one more follow-up:
- For 22:26 poster, when you say your kids have been in magnets since 3rd grade, do you mean the Gifted and Talented program? I didn't think MoCo had magnets for ES? - For everyone who said great things about their magnet school experience, would you mind sharing which specific program your kids attended? - What is the difference (if there's any) between the magnet consortium (where, as I understand, if you live in the right area, you get to attend one of the three schools without any testing) and the test-based, admission-based magnet programs at Clemente (in our area)? You are so helpful; thanks again. |
Anonymous
|
Magnets in ES is called HGC. You apply to them at the begining of 3rd grade. And you go for two years to the HGC (Highly Gifted Center, aka Center programs) for 4th and 5th grade.
Beginning of 5th grade, you apply to the magnet MS and go to magnet MS for 6. 7 and 8th grade. Magnet consortia is a lottery system for out of consortia kids since seats are limited. All kids in that consortia will get into the consortia school. HGC, Magnet MS and Magnet HS are competitive process to get into. |
Anonymous
|
The quality of the magnet consortia schools (loiderman, parkland, etc.) is lower than the competitive magnets (Takoma, Clemente, Eastern).
|
Anonymous
Maybe so, but they still offer a motivated peer group and course offerings unavailable at regular middle schools. For example, at Argyle kids learn Scratch, Java Script and Python programming languages and at Parkland kids can take HS physics and intro to engineering. |
Anonymous
Sorry, I meant fourth grade. The Center for the Highly Gifted. One continued to the TPMS a magnet and then the Blair math magnet. The other continued to Eastern and the Richard Montgomery IB. |