OP, you can't expect the sun, the moon and the stars from any Arlington middle school. But at least Arlington lets kids take honors classes (they call them "intensified" classes) in all core subjects in 7th and 8th grades, as of this school year. Our friends in MoCo and Fairfax haven't had the option for acceleration in the same way. Their kids either test into super-duper all gifted classes, even all gifted schools, young, or don't (most don't). My eldest, in 9th grade at Washington-Liberty this year, wasn't able to start intensified classes until 8th grade, too little too late. Our kids have gone to TJMS and it's been OK, not great, not awful. They've had some good teachers, and some lousy ones. One good thing about TJ is that their classes are the smallest overall of the Arlington middle schools, because they enroll the fewest students. But the school is around 40% reduced/free meals, a mixed bag. We hire tutors for math, English and foreign language for our kids, and not because they're behind. They get a boost from the extra attention and support they get from the tutors. When my eldest got to W-L, she found that many of the other students in her "small pre-IB Diploma learning community" (same kids in English, World History and Biology) went to Dorothy Hamm. Same for her Chinese III class - the Dorothy Hamm students had a much better Chinese teacher than the TJMS students. We did summer immersion language study after 7th and 8th grades, which paid off to keep up with the Dorothy Hamm grads waiting at W-L. You should be OK wherever you land in Arlington for MS, but not if you expect too much.
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