TPMS magnet alumni: input requested

[Anonymous]

My 5th grader and I attended the TPMS magnet open house last night. We are torn about attending, particularly as the commute door-to-door via bus would be >90 min in the morning, and carpool is unlikely to be an option. Scott made reference to the commute for folks in Gaithersburg/Rockville/Potomac, which is us. Plus, our home MS is a solid school.

1) So if you as a TPMS magnet alum spent ~3 hrs/day commuting, then looking back, was it worth it? Why or why not?

2) If you didn't continue on to Blair magnet or other HS magnet program, and instead went to home HS or other non-magnet HS, what do you think?

Thanks.

[Anonymous]

My son went to Tpms from north Bethesda area and is now at MIT. Going to tpms changed his life. The biggest thing that the magnet schools offer is the peer group that encourages able kids to push themselves to their abilities rather than coasting through middle school. I have a younger child who went to a good middle school but it is an entirely different education. She is well prepared for college and is a very strong student but the rigor and breadth that the magnets offer is amazing. My suggestion is that you start your child at the magnet. You can always switch out if it isn't working out, but you cannot switch in if you find the "regular" middle school is not doing the job.

[Anonymous]

Nephew is at MIT (turned down Harvard) went to a poor working class middle and high school in a rural southern town where football and basketball come second and third only to Jesus. He didn't really have a peer group. My point, if your kid is smart, a magnet school won't make a difference.

[Anonymous]

I think your child will miss out on a lot due to such a long commute. Have your child participate on a math team, learn to program on his/ her own that's a much better time spent then a 3 hour commute...signed a mom whose kids went to a regular school through 8th and was accepted first round to multiple magnets.

[Anonymous]

Sorry for typos above....typing quickly on phone.

[Anonymous]

I drive from Travilah past TPMS just about every day. It has NEVER taken 90 minutes. I did have a 75 minute drive the week before last.

Look at the bus schedule near your house. Instead of getting on the bus at the stop closest to your house, which usually requires a drive anyway, drive to the last stop before the bus gets on the highway.

Our closest stop is 60 minutes on the bus. The last stop is 23 on the best days and about 26 on average in the afternoon. Of course, there could be a 75 but only a hand full of times a year.

Look around on here. There are more ideas to cut the commute every year.

[Anonymous]

Great advice from the PP.

Riding the bus can also be a social opportunity for the kids. My DC uses the morning bus ride to sleep and/or read and the afternoon ride to socialize with friends. DC even has "bus friends" (kids that attend the other magnet that ride the same bus).

We've also found that since the magnet buses are running first thing in the morning and afternoon, buses run like clockwork, and we haven't experienced delays like we did with HGC bus.

[Anonymous]

Had two kids in TPMS and one in local good W middle school. Programs can't be compared.
All depends of children.
You can be very succesful in local school too. (Mathcound, Robotics, programming, CTY, camps etc.)
If your child is very social, likes different activites (sport, clubs etc) then stay in local school.
If your child is quirkly, go to TPMS even if it is long drive.
My two quirky ones needed TPMS. They could not get along with "normal" local kids, and barely survived in TPMS socially.
My other one is fine in local school and will be succesful in life without TPMS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Great advice from the PP.

Riding the bus can also be a social opportunity for the kids. My DC uses the morning bus ride to sleep and/or read and the afternoon ride to socialize with friends. DC even has "bus friends" (kids that attend the other magnet that ride the same bus).

We've also found that since the magnet buses are running first thing in the morning and afternoon, buses run like clockwork, and we haven't experienced delays like we did with HGC bus.

Except activity bus. That one is totaly unpredictable. I would say it is predictably will arrive very late...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Nephew is at MIT (turned down Harvard) went to a poor working class middle and high school in a rural southern town where football and basketball come second and third only to Jesus. He didn't really have a peer group. My point, if your kid is smart, a magnet school won't make a difference.

The plural of anecdote is not data.

[Anonymous]

Thanks all! Curious if there are any takers on the TPMS magnet to non-magnet HS route...

[Anonymous]

Just curious--why do people up county apply to the down county magnets when there is Roberto Clemente in Germantown?

[Anonymous]

Application to TPMS vs. RC is dependent on geographic location of your school.

[Anonymous]

I went to tpms from Damascus, and it was about 90 minutes. Well worth it

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I went to tpms from Damascus, and it was about 90 minutes. Well worth it

Thats not even possible. The Magnet application form clearly lists the elementary school coming under the high school clusters that are eligible to apply to TPMS/Easter or Clemente.