Thoreau Middle School in Vienna
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Anonymous
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I was wondering if anyone could share their experiences with Thoreau Middle School with me. We recently moved in-boundary, and I couldn't find a lot of information, except back and forth about Thoreau/Jackson for advanced students (which ours is not, so it sounds like Jackson would not take our kid anyway). How are the teachers? Is there good support if remediation is needed or there is a misalignment of common core standards (where we're coming from) v. Virginia's own learning standards? What is the school community like, particularly for a shy kid who has not grown up with everyone in elementary school? Is the administration good? How does the "late bus" option work for activities?
TIA! |
Anonymous
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Some of these events may be of interest to you:
https://thoreaums.fcps.edu/node/2122 (We’re at Longfellow so can’t answer your questions directly)! |
Anonymous
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Hey OP,
I saw your post yesterday, but purposely waited 24 hrs + to respond. The good news is that the people who usually drag out these Thoreau threads with constant comparisons to Jackson did NOT respond. Yay! We can be low drama! I can only attribute that to the fact that you specifically were not interested in talking AAP. So, I've had kids at TMS for the past 3.5 yrs. (one was not in AAP and the other is in AAP at TMS). And like you, my non-AAP child moved into the zone just before 7th grade. In our case, it was Aug. before 7th grade. You said that you just moved in, so is your child currently attending an elem school that feeds into TMS? If so, then that is a good thing. Since my kid came from outside the feeder ESs, she knew no one on the first day. This was really hard (not knocking TMS -- it would have been the case for any MS that starts in 7th grade). We didn't think about it prior to her starting school, but it was difficult b/c everyone hooked up with their ES-posse and they assumed that everyone else had an ES-posse to glom onto for those first few days/weeks. Kids didn't notice that she was completely new b/c there were many kids that they didn't recognize -- and just assumed came from another ES feeder. It was hard. If your kid isn't going to a feeder ES now, I would think about switching over for the rest of the current school year. I know that is disruptive, but he'll be noticed as "the new kid" right away at the new school and that makes him special and other kids will want to figure him out. He'll have some friends going into MS. Again, none of this is about TMS -- it's just the logistics of moving and being new on the first day of MS. It sucks. Now, about TMS --- your kid will learn all he needs to know regardless of coming from a Common Core school. The teachers, like every FCPS MS, are available during the daily "study hall" 1/2 period and they often have a day or two where kids can get help after school. All FCPS MSs have late buses three days a week. There are various activities that they publicize. My kids aren't joiners, but once in awhile they would stay after. DC2 like the video game club. But there are things like Science Olympiad and Environmental Club and Pokemon club. It varies year to year and by the interests of kids. You will be assigned a late bus and it will have a different route/fewer stops than the regular bus assignment. So, your kid may need to get off at a different location and walk a little further to get home on late bus days. For us, the stop is the same, but the bus # is different for the late bus vs. the reg. bus. The administration is really good. Super organized. They have grown to have about 400 students more this year than they had just 2 yrs ago. It takes a pretty good administration to absorb that. When people ask if the teachers at X school are good, I always find that a vexing question b/c the teachers my kid has/had may not be the teachers your kid will have, and teachers come and go at any school. So, yes, I think they have good teachers.... of the 3.5 yrs my kids have been there, there has only been one teacher that seems like a dud... and he was a late addition this year when they were desperate for a tech teacher. All the rest of the teachers for math, engl, science, civics, history, theater, etc, etc. have seemed good to me from my limited interactions. They have been responsive on the few occassions that I emailed them. When your kids get to MS, you as a parent really are stepping back more and letting your kid handle the school stuff. So, I can't say that I really know the teachers. If you weren't able to go to the open house, maybe you can go to some of the upcoming events. Definitely reach out to Ms. Aguilar, Dir. of Student Services. She is great and will set your mind at ease. I'm pretty sure you are going to feel good about TMS once you have more interaction. And definitely think about helping with the PTA or volunteer with the theater/band/orchestra teachers. TMS tries to make the tumultuous middle school years calmer, but to still guide kids toward developing the self-management skills they need to transition to high school. |
Anonymous
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I'm not heavy on facts, since my kids went (and currently go) to Kilmer Middle, BUT my current Kilmer student has a bunch of Thoreau friends due to other Vienna activities, and they are super nice and welcoming.
That's really great for my middle schooler, because he'll be going to Madison next year, which is majorly composed of Thoreau kids (with a handful of Kilmer and Jackson strewn in). It really does seem like a friendly school. |
Anonymous
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There are so many feeder ES that your kid will be fine., especially in 7th grade. thereare only about 20 kids total from our ES and my kid made friends easily.... i5 or 6 in the friend group come from 4 different ES, so mostly all new.
PE is the easiest time to make friends as each period is a combination of a classes, so 75+ kids and they have time to chat and get to know each other while walking laps or playing games. I think there are mean cliquey kids everywhere, but my kid found a really friendly group. Downsize is the 5 friends will feed into 2 different high schools |
Anonymous
| Thank you! I did a search before posting, and all I saw was a bunch of drama about Thoreau v. Jackson, so it was hard to ferret out anything about Thoreau itself. I do appreciate your thoughtful responses! We will reach out to Ms. Aguilar to get anything we missed. |
Anonymous
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My kid did not go to Thoreau. But she is now a senior at Madison. The biggest thing I can say is the students from Thoreau are much better prepared for Madison band than from the other school.
Academically, I do not know. It is middle school, though, and middle schoolers are jerks. |
Anonymous
| This post is super helpful for us too. We have a rising 7th and 8th grader and we are anxious about the move. How diverse is TMS and Madison high school. We are South Asians/ Indians. |
Anonymous
Lots of south Asian/Indian kids. You'll fit right in. Not the majority, but your kids will not feel unusual at all. |
Anonymous
In general, Vienna is probably about 70% White, 10% East Asian and 10% south asian. You will fit right in. |
Anonymous
Thank you so much ! |
Anonymous
TMS is approx 20% Asian, 20% Hispanic, 5%AA, 5% mixed, and 50%white. |
Anonymous
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Thoreau is 18% Asian; Madison is 14% Asian.
Kids at Thoreau go to three high schools - Madison, Marshall, and Oakton - and the Oakton areas have the most Asian kids. |
Anonymous
| Thoreau just had a major sexual abuse scandal between a teacher and student. Google it. |
Anonymous
| PRINCIPAL WAS JUST ARESSTED |