Moving to MoCo over the summer - magnet programs

[Anonymous]

We will be moving to Montgomery county (Potomac/Rockville areas) over the summer, and have a rising 6th grader who is very interested in STEM and computers. Is it possible to apply for the STEM MS magnet program if we are new to county? If so, what tests would he need to take to qualify?

[Anonymous]

The test was December 5, so you just barely missed it. Honestly, I'd call and ask about protocols for transfer students.

[Anonymous]

They allow testing over the summer for new residents. I'd call and get the details now. I would talk directly with the magnet coordinators at the school, not the front office staff.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They allow testing over the summer for new residents. I'd call and get the details now. I would talk directly with the magnet coordinators at the school, not the front office staff.

Good advice. And just so you know, there are two STEM MS magnets--one at Takoma Park Middle School, the other at Roberto Clemente Middle School. Where you go depends on where you live. So I am sure it would be helpful if you have a general idea of what neighborhood you'll be moving to when contacting the school directly.

Good luck.

[Anonymous]

OK, great, I will call the magnet coordinators at the schools to find out. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Doesn't that just get kid on the wait list?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Doesn't that just get kid on the wait list?

Yes. OP, chances are extremely small (like practically non-existent, regrettably) that your child will be able to get in to the MS magnet, since at best your child would get on the waiting list and that barely moves. You can't enter the magnet after 6th grade, so your best bet is to bide your time and apply to the HS magnets. Not saying not to pursue TPMS or Clemente, but just realize that it is most likely not going to work out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Doesn't that just get kid on the wait list?

Yes. OP, chances are extremely small (like practically non-existent, regrettably) that your child will be able to get in to the MS magnet, since at best your child would get on the waiting list and that barely moves. You can't enter the magnet after 6th grade, so your best bet is to bide your time and apply to the HS magnets. Not saying not to pursue TPMS or Clemente, but just realize that it is most likely not going to work out.

This, but the truth is that it's a crapshoot for ANY kid in MCPS. There are many more highly gifted and hard-working kids than there are spots in any of the magnet programs.

[Anonymous]

Oh, I didn't realize that there were that few spots in the program. Is there a gifted program apart from the magnets, or is that it for middle school in MCPS?

[Anonymous]

I'm not a middle school parent, but here is what I've found in exploring the options for my kids in the coming years:

There is advanced tracking in MS for both English and Math. You'll see a lot of discussion on this site about the math program, but it boils down to a track that will have your child in Calculus or above by 12th grade.

What I've heard about the TPMS STEM magnet is that it's not a great fit for a kid who is just all around smart, but is rather for the kid who would be taking apart electronics and learning various computer languages in his/her spare time even if he/she wasn't in the magnet program.

That's what made me realize that we're not even going to try for that program for my oldest. Even if by some miracle we managed to do the tutoring to get her from "good at math, vaguely interested in science" into the program, she would be miserable because it would take constant tutoring to keep her there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oh, I didn't realize that there were that few spots in the program. Is there a gifted program apart from the magnets, or is that it for middle school in MCPS?

Here are the different MS programs:

http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/curriculum/specialprograms/middle/

In HS, there is the IB test-in program at Richard Montgomery HS. If you live in the RM cluster, your child would go through the MYP IB program at Julius West MS, and has the option to continue with the IB MYP in 9th and 10th. Then in 11th and 12th your DC can test in to the IB diploma program. From what I understand, there are some spots in the diploma program reserved for inbound RM cluster kids.

http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/curriculum/specialprograms/high/ib.aspx#tabs-4

http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/uploadedFiles/curriculum/specialprograms/high/0062.15_RichMontgomery%20HS%20Magnet_Web.pdf

[Anonymous]

We also moved to MoCo the summer before my ds entered 6th grade -- we only got here about a week before school started. From my research ahead of time since we didn't know we were moving here until late spring, well after the magnet middle school magnet classes had been formed, I figured there was no sense in jumping through the hoops just to be wait-listed.

My ds is just finishing 8th grade at Tilden and has applied to the STEM magnet at Blair for next year. He is also applying to the APEX AP in-school "magnet" program at Walter Johnson, his home high school.

We got him onto the advanced math track available for middle school under the current curriculum. Although the placement test only put him in the mid-level 6th grade math, it was clear after only a couple of weeks that it wasn't challenging at all (he's a math kid) so we fairly easily switched him to IM, so he then took algebra last year and is in geometry this year. The other "advanced" courses he's in such as English and Social Studies really don't seem all that advanced to me even though they have the label. So in name they are accelerated -- in practice, not to much.

Although we chose to live in MoCo rather than Fairfax County for a number of reasons, I do sometimes regret our choice in that I think Fairfax does a better job of offering a range of accelerated options. In MoCo the magnet slots are very few and I think there are many more kids who would benefit from acceleration in different subjects. My now 5th grader was bored in 3rd grade at our local school (that is highly regarded) and we were fortunate that she got into an HGC, which has been much more challenging academically. But I think a number of her friends at her home school could handle the HGC challenge/workload and there is insufficient opportunity to let kids thrive at various levels.

[Anonymous]

If you think your kid is truely gifted, you should move to Takoa Park MS distract. There are 25 slots reserved for local kids. If your kid can demonstract he belongs ngs to the program , he wil have a chance. You can move to other area after a year or so.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Doesn't that just get kid on the wait list?

No. Our DD was admitted this way when we moved to Silver Spring the summer before sixth grade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you think your kid is truely gifted, you should move to Takoa Park MS distract. There are 25 slots reserved for local kids. If your kid can demonstract he belongs ngs to the program , he wil have a chance. You can move to other area after a year or so.

Though it might be an extreme idea to choose a home solely for an educational opportunity, this would work. If Takoma Middle is your home school, and your son's test scores indicate he is capable of magnet-level math, he would have access to those classes.