ISO recent experience with Eastern MS communications magnet

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Now that literature in the humanities is open to all Eastern students, not just those sixth graders in magnet, how do you think that will change your decisions about electives?

This was true when my child went through the program as well. It's not a new development. From my kid's reports, there were only a handful of academy kids who chose to take the class, and in some cases it took more than a year for my child to realize those kids weren't in the magnet. My child just thought they had the opposite schedule. From that, I can deduce that there was no great chasm between the abilities of the kids in the magnet and the kids who self-selected to take this elective.

What are “academy kids”? I’ve never heard that term used at Eastern.

It’s a phrase sometimes used by the school to refer to the non-magnet program. Sometimes they say “comprehensive program” instead.

No one at the school uses those terms. It's referenced somewhere on the school site on some pages that probably came from the 1990s.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is all really disheartening to hear as the parent of an incoming 6th grader who thrived in ELC but didn't draw a spot at Eastern despite being in the pool. He's assigned to HIGH for 6th grade, which I've heard is decent. He reads independently for fun and at a high level, but there's no real substitution for being taught to analyze text.

Are there better ELA options in high school? I'm a bit concerned that not getting a magnet spot now means my kid will be at a big disadvantage then, because peers who did attend Eastern will be miles ahead.

HIGH is great. Your child is not really missing much PP especially if you are at a school that has HIGH. HIGH at the home school is better than the history at Eastern and if your child reads for fun he should be fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is all really disheartening to hear as the parent of an incoming 6th grader who thrived in ELC but didn't draw a spot at Eastern despite being in the pool. He's assigned to HIGH for 6th grade, which I've heard is decent. He reads independently for fun and at a high level, but there's no real substitution for being taught to analyze text.

Are there better ELA options in high school? I'm a bit concerned that not getting a magnet spot now means my kid will be at a big disadvantage then, because peers who did attend Eastern will be miles ahead.

I wouldn't necessarily worry about HS at this point, particularly because your child is in a whole cohort of kids who might have thrived at a magnet but didn't get "lucky."

But one thing I would strongly advise you do is get involved in advocating for true Honors English to return to MCPS high schools. If you and others start now, you might have some impact by the time your child enters 9th grade. Right now, there is no differentiation for English until 10th or 11th grades. In 9th (and sometimes 10th) the only option is "Honors English 9" and "Honors English 10." That means every kid, no matter their level, is in the same English class. No cohorting, no differentiation.

It's a new policy, and there's still time to push back.

Thanks, PP. This is good advice. And I have a second grader, too, so any positive changes would affect him (and of course, the community as a whole!)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is all really disheartening to hear as the parent of an incoming 6th grader who thrived in ELC but didn't draw a spot at Eastern despite being in the pool. He's assigned to HIGH for 6th grade, which I've heard is decent. He reads independently for fun and at a high level, but there's no real substitution for being taught to analyze text.

Are there better ELA options in high school? I'm a bit concerned that not getting a magnet spot now means my kid will be at a big disadvantage then, because peers who did attend Eastern will be miles ahead.

HIGH is great. Your child is not really missing much PP especially if you are at a school that has HIGH. HIGH at the home school is better than the history at Eastern and if your child reads for fun he should be fine.

HIGH is at every school, but some have a HIGH-for-all model, which dilutes it.
And Eastern has more than HIGH. I would love to have a truly accelerated English class for kids who are on the Eastern waitlist.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is all really disheartening to hear as the parent of an incoming 6th grader who thrived in ELC but didn't draw a spot at Eastern despite being in the pool. He's assigned to HIGH for 6th grade, which I've heard is decent. He reads independently for fun and at a high level, but there's no real substitution for being taught to analyze text.

Are there better ELA options in high school? I'm a bit concerned that not getting a magnet spot now means my kid will be at a big disadvantage then, because peers who did attend Eastern will be miles ahead.

HIGH is great. Your child is not really missing much PP especially if you are at a school that has HIGH. HIGH at the home school is better than the history at Eastern and if your child reads for fun he should be fine.

Can you elaborate on this ? HIGH Vs eastern magnet humanities ? How they can be comparable ? I’m really asking the question not being sarcastic. Thanks

[Anonymous]

Eastern humanities: 7th grade research paper, interdisciplinary and rigorous. The rest mostly lectures and long worksheets that required short answers of a phrase or a few sentences. Occasional projects that might involve some art or acting. Reviews vary from thinking the assignments were fun and creative or a juvenile exercise more appropriate for elementary school kids and a waste of time.

HIGH: Several 2-3 page analytical papers each quarter. More reading assignments and longer reading assignments with more primary source material which was surprising. They do cover the same time periods and events. Final research paper similar to the Eastern one but shorter and less time given.

[Anonymous]

NP. Thank you . My DC went to CES in grade 4 and 5.Got an invitation Monday. Kind of confused as so close to the start of the school year. It helps a lot. Also my DC has to leave the house by 6:15 in order to get the bus at 6:35. So very confused about our decision . So does all the school offer HIGH ?

[Anonymous]

NP who had one kid go through Eastern and one in HIGH at the home middle school. Our experience with HIGH was not nearly as rigorous as what the PP at 14:12 described and was in no way comparable to Eastern. Much less writing and less detailed analyses. So the home school matters when making your decision, and you may find it useful to talk to anyone local who has had a kid go through HIGH at your middle school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP. Thank you . My DC went to CES in grade 4 and 5.Got an invitation Monday. Kind of confused as so close to the start of the school year. It helps a lot. Also my DC has to leave the house by 6:15 in order to get the bus at 6:35. So very confused about our decision . So does all the school offer HIGH ?

Yes, but it sounds like there’s variation in how they offer it at different schools. What is the home middle school?

[Anonymous]

Hoover

[Anonymous]

Thanks

[Anonymous]

I searched for it and I think it’s HIGH for all

[Anonymous]

OP reach out to parents in your local Hoover community. Several Hoover kids have left Eastern probably after concluding the commute was not worth it and one other we know does not like it. Worth hearing the good and bad.

[Anonymous]

Thank you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is all really disheartening to hear as the parent of an incoming 6th grader who thrived in ELC but didn't draw a spot at Eastern despite being in the pool. He's assigned to HIGH for 6th grade, which I've heard is decent. He reads independently for fun and at a high level, but there's no real substitution for being taught to analyze text.

Are there better ELA options in high school? I'm a bit concerned that not getting a magnet spot now means my kid will be at a big disadvantage then, because peers who did attend Eastern will be miles ahead.

At least your kid got CES. My kid was stuck in a school that didn’t even have ELC and just did Benchmark for the last 2 years. Sat in the CES waitlist for both heads, and now is on the Eastern/Takoma waitlists and at this point I am sure spots will not pop up.

This is an example of why MCOS needs to change the model for GT education. They should be creating classes within each school to address needs rather than sending kids away to a center/magnet.