Anyone here leave their private school for a highly gifted center program and regret it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Unfortunately, heard negatives about Barnsley HGC post 2.0 and post ES/P/I grading system, especially 5th grade.

PP, unless you provide specifics about those "negatives" you've heard (from whom?), your post does not contain any useful information.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've been reluctant to post because I am not sure how much things have changed at Barnsley since the introduction of C2.0 but I wanted to weigh in given some of the negative comments about the school. My child attended the HGC for a couple of years and is now in a middle school magnet. We were VERY happy. We loved the school, the teachers and the families. The principal prioritizes the social and emotional development of the children. There were only a couple of bullying incidents while he was there and the principal was really proactive and dealt with it immediately and effectively. He worked very hard to make sure the children knew they had to be nice to each other and that being mean or exclusionary was unacceptable. The social environment was much healthier than the one at our Bethesda area ES.
We liked the curriculum. As far as the kids are concerned, my impression is that in the HGCs the children are bright but they are not necessarily hard-working. In the middle school magnets, the kids are typically both bright and hard-working. I think it is easier to identify these children in fifth grade than in second grade. In second grade, you are able to identify potential better than capability. So, the middle school magnet program seems more rigorous and challenging than the HGC in our experience. I thought it would just be a sixth grade version of what he had in the HGC but it really seems more intense and challenging (in the best possible way). FYI last year, the acceptance rates for Eastern and Takoma Park were around 12%- not sure about this year. So, although there are plenty of bright children who do not apply, they are pretty selective. I am not sure which private school the OP is considering but from what I've heard anecdotally, the MCPS HGC and Middle school magnet programs are better than the vast majority of private schools. If the OP's child is attending one of the National Cathedral schools or Sidwell, I would buy his/her claim.

Unfortunately, heard negatives about Barnsley HGC post 2.0 and post ES/P/I grading system, especially 5th grade.

Can you explain more about what negatives you've heard about the 5th grade Barnsley HGC?

[Anonymous]

2.0 probably affected all of the centers not just Barnsley.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Which just shows that 50% are not in the top of their class and can not get into Magnet. This is another reason the OP should not leave private. She obviously felt Barnsley was not a good fit for k-3rd. So why risk the chance of going to their middle school if they do not get accepted to Magnet after HGC. More people apply and want Magnet than HGC and parents are shocked when they realize their kids weren't the most desirable. If I had the money for private and lived in the Barnsley neighborhood, I would never go public. But that is just my opinion.

I just looked up where Barnsley is. Now I understand the objection to Barnsley -- it's the "poor brown children = bad school" idea.

Really? That's a pretty solid middle-class area.

No offense but if it is a solid middle school area why is the FARMS and ESOL so high? Sounds like some middle class and a lot of poverty to me.

I'm the 14:04 poster who has kids at Barnsley.

I'm not sure if you're the same poster criticizing Barnsley or if there are several of you. Either way, I'm not even quite sure why the 30% FARMs rate is an issue? First off, it's not really that high. And, are you assuming that poor kids are not as intelligent, or are going to make trouble? If that's the case, and you're solely judging a school by how many poor/non-English speaking kids are in it, then you're not going to happy.

Personally, I don't think that just because a kid is 'poor', he's going to be stupid or unsuccessful. My point of view might be a bit different because my parents are immigrants, and grew up dirt poor in a 'third-world' country. But, guess what? When you come to this country, and you've seen how life is elsewhere, you're going to work your butt off to be successful. And, you expect the best for your kids. Obviously not true of all ESOL families, but don't generalize either way - good or bad.

If you met me in real life, I'm not even one of the 'cheerleader' type moms who raves and raves about her kids school. And, I've been on here complaining myself about MCPS in general. But, I do feel compelled to defend Barnsley here for some reason since it is my kids' school and my community. As a whole, within the limits of MCPS, it does a pretty good job and is a great ES.

I'm going to guess that the negative Barnsley posters have never even set foot inside the school. Or even know anyone who attends the school.

I'm not sure if the other poster is correct, and the HGC is there to bring up the 'quality' of the school or not. I don't know how MCPS decides these things. But, either way, it's been great for my kids. Before, we started, I was a little apprehensive about it being such a large school, but there have been some great benefits. There are some good after-school activities - LEGO club, Big Learning Science, etc, that my friends at other schools don't have as much variety in. My kids came home yesterday super excited about a 'Science Assembly' that they got to attend. So far this year, there has also been a 'Math' Assembly, and a magic show, and both kids have been on well thought out field trips over the years. Last year, there were so many parents who wanted to attend my DD's Kindergarten field trips, that they use a lotto system (just to give an example of how parents are involved).

Barnsley not only has the HGC, but also the GT/LD program, and that seems to allow for teachers who are talented at handling different student populations. The specials teachers - Music/Art/Math have all been quite good at what they do.

As far as 'diversity', honestly, I could care less how 'diverse' a school is. I'm not some crazy social liberal - I would NOT sacrifice my kids education solely for a diverse environment. I come from a multi-ethnic family, so there's enough diversity in my own family that it's not an issue. However, the diversity at Barnsley is an added bonus. There's not one majority minority group, so it feels like a balanced mix of families. I WOH, and also appreciate that there is a good mix of WOH and SAH parents.

[Anonymous]

PP again -
No offense to any 'crazy social liberals' intended. (My sister is one and she's wonderful!) Just was trying to make the point that 'diversity' isn't on the radar when considering my kids education.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Which just shows that 50% are not in the top of their class and can not get into Magnet. This is another reason the OP should not leave private. She obviously felt Barnsley was not a good fit for k-3rd. So why risk the chance of going to their middle school if they do not get accepted to Magnet after HGC. More people apply and want Magnet than HGC and parents are shocked when they realize their kids weren't the most desirable. If I had the money for private and lived in the Barnsley neighborhood, I would never go public. But that is just my opinion.

I just looked up where Barnsley is. Now I understand the objection to Barnsley -- it's the "poor brown children = bad school" idea.

Really? That's a pretty solid middle-class area.

No offense but if it is a solid middle school area why is the FARMS and ESOL so high? Sounds like some middle class and a lot of poverty to me.

I'm the 14:04 poster who has kids at Barnsley.

I'm not sure if you're the same poster criticizing Barnsley or if there are several of you. Either way, I'm not even quite sure why the 30% FARMs rate is an issue? First off, it's not really that high. And, are you assuming that poor kids are not as intelligent, or are going to make trouble? If that's the case, and you're solely judging a school by how many poor/non-English speaking kids are in it, then you're not going to happy.

Personally, I don't think that just because a kid is 'poor', he's going to be stupid or unsuccessful. My point of view might be a bit different because my parents are immigrants, and grew up dirt poor in a 'third-world' country. But, guess what? When you come to this country, and you've seen how life is elsewhere, you're going to work your butt off to be successful. And, you expect the best for your kids. Obviously not true of all ESOL families, but don't generalize either way - good or bad.

If you met me in real life, I'm not even one of the 'cheerleader' type moms who raves and raves about her kids school. And, I've been on here complaining myself about MCPS in general. But, I do feel compelled to defend Barnsley here for some reason since it is my kids' school and my community. As a whole, within the limits of MCPS, it does a pretty good job and is a great ES.

I'm going to guess that the negative Barnsley posters have never even set foot inside the school. Or even know anyone who attends the school.

I'm not sure if the other poster is correct, and the HGC is there to bring up the 'quality' of the school or not. I don't know how MCPS decides these things. But, either way, it's been great for my kids. Before, we started, I was a little apprehensive about it being such a large school, but there have been some great benefits. There are some good after-school activities - LEGO club, Big Learning Science, etc, that my friends at other schools don't have as much variety in. My kids came home yesterday super excited about a 'Science Assembly' that they got to attend. So far this year, there has also been a 'Math' Assembly, and a magic show, and both kids have been on well thought out field trips over the years. Last year, there were so many parents who wanted to attend my DD's Kindergarten field trips, that they use a lotto system (just to give an example of how parents are involved).

Barnsley not only has the HGC, but also the GT/LD program, and that seems to allow for teachers who are talented at handling different student populations. The specials teachers - Music/Art/Math have all been quite good at what they do.

As far as 'diversity', honestly, I could care less how 'diverse' a school is. I'm not some crazy social liberal - I would NOT sacrifice my kids education solely for a diverse environment. I come from a multi-ethnic family, so there's enough diversity in my own family that it's not an issue. However, the diversity at Barnsley is an added bonus. There's not one majority minority group, so it feels like a balanced mix of families. I WOH, and also appreciate that there is a good mix of WOH and SAH parents.

Nice post.

I'm PP who spoke about welcoming diversity at Barnsley and about going to a MCPS school with lots of diversity. To be clear - my point about "diversity" was that a population that has a greater range of SES or ethnic/racial backgrounds does NOT imply a student (and/or parent) population that is less engaged in learning. In fact, as you point out - sometimes it translates into much more involvement and investment as a family transitions into a new culture and language. It WILL mostly likely result in lower "average" test scores as children from ESOL families get up to speed with "english" but it doesn't mean those kids aren't smart, it doesn't mean they don't work hard and it definitely doesn't mean their parents don't care. So when saying I welcome diversity, it isn't just for the sake of diversity and it is not at the expense of my child's education - but I'd argue that it a "part of education" that is missing from other parts of the county saturated with high income neighborhoods.

[Anonymous]

What is the end goal for your kid's elementary education?

For me, as long as the curriculum is rigorous, my kid is developing good study and time management skills, there is positive growth in them as a citizen and human being - I am ok with private, HGC or public school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP again -
No offense to any 'crazy social liberals' intended. (My sister is one and she's wonderful!) Just was trying to make the point that 'diversity' isn't on the radar when considering my kids education.

PP, What do you think of the Barnsley HGC in relation to the rest of the school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Eastern this year had around 500 applicants (maybe 530 or so?) for 100 spots. But they admit more than 100 for those spots. So it's around 20%.

That's interesting. Last year we were told that Eastern and Takoma each had between 800-900 applicants. That is quite a drop since last year - I wonder why.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Eastern this year had around 500 applicants (maybe 530 or so?) for 100 spots. But they admit more than 100 for those spots. So it's around 20%.

That's interesting. Last year we were told that Eastern and Takoma each had between 800-900 applicants. That is quite a drop since last year - I wonder why.

my guess is 2.0

[Anonymous]

2.0 isn't in the MSs aside from math. And I would think it would bring the numbers up.

[Anonymous]

Diversity is great if the SES of the population is middle class or above. People in such schools applaud the diversity, and take pride in being liberals. Many times, these same people will frown upon diversity (of race) is it comes with low SES.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Eastern this year had around 500 applicants (maybe 530 or so?) for 100 spots. But they admit more than 100 for those spots. So it's around 20%.

That's interesting. Last year we were told that Eastern and Takoma each had between 800-900 applicants. That is quite a drop since last year - I wonder why.

my guess is 2.0

No, no, no. Everybody on DCUM was predicting record numbers of applications this year, because of horrible2.0thateverybodyhates. Now you're saying that the number of applications was low this year, because of horrible2.0thateverybodyhates. One or the other, please.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Diversity is great if the SES of the population is middle class or above. People in such schools applaud the diversity, and take pride in being liberals. Many times, these same people will frown upon diversity (of race) is it comes with low SES.

Diversity of income is also great. Meaning: diversity. Not meaning: schools where almost everybody is poor. Those aren't good for anybody, starting with the children who are poor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Eastern this year had around 500 applicants (maybe 530 or so?) for 100 spots. But they admit more than 100 for those spots. So it's around 20%.

That's interesting. Last year we were told that Eastern and Takoma each had between 800-900 applicants. That is quite a drop since last year - I wonder why.

my guess is 2.0

No, no, no. Everybody on DCUM was predicting record numbers of applications this year, because of horrible2.0thateverybodyhates. Now you're saying that the number of applications was low this year, because of horrible2.0thateverybodyhates. One or the other, please.

People hid from 2.0 in the HGCs but it came to them this year. Surely MS magnets next?