Takoma Park Middle School quality?

[Anonymous]

PP. I should add that most of my child’s friends are not in the magnet program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
When did this happen? Parent of a current student and my kid’s experience bears absolutely no relation to what you have just described. Sounds like a completely different school (and my kid is an 8th grader).

2021-2022 year, first and only full year my child did there; I had one of those children who excelled during covid because no school drama.

I think there are big issues with TPMS being very bimodal; students in the honors/magnet classes don't have to witness the behavioral problems that were rampant in on-level and below.
And again, there were other middle schools I worked at where the behavior wasn't as consistent a problem. Of course as DCUM would expect, no consistent issues at Pyle and other "Big W" feeder schools.
But in contrast, White Oak and Parkland MS had reasonably well behaved students. Silver Spring International was worse; Silver Creek wasn't as violent, but the admin tolerated lots of poor behavior.

So last year? My current 8th grader reported nothing of the sort and is pretty well connected to all types of different groups of kids bc of sports. There are lots of classes that aren’t “bi modal”….all English classes, all non magnet science classes, PE/health, foreign language and all electives. Neither of my kids reports disruptive behavior. Some kids are disengaged to be sure but no outbursts, disrespecting the teacher, etc..

Also, would like to point out that although you are correct that many classes are non-magnet, the logistics of scheduling mean that magnet students tend to be sorted together into the non-magnet classes. Indeed, if you read between the lines, that was one of the reasons Deeny chose not to implement - if I recall the correct classes - not to implement magnet-level history at the time; the unspoken issue was if they did, then there would have been almost no mixing between regular and magnet schools. (I think since then a magnet-level social studies has been implemented.)

And the school behavior was bimodal; indeed if I needed to "bounce" an on-level student out of my class (a fairly common tactic at TPMS) for behavior issues, the magnet/honors teachers encouraged me to send the problematic student to their classes. Why? Because the honors/magnet students were there to learn and didn't socially tolerate the problematic behavior. Basically the problem behavior got the opposite of positive feedback from the honors/magnet students; nothing like 30 pairs of stink-eye from peers to shut down a class clown's antics.

As a parent of both a magnet and non-magnet student, I can tell that is definitely not true. All DC's non-magnet classes have a mix which according to them is comparable to the overall student body. My other child who was non-magnet similarly had many friends in the magnet they knew through their classes like advanced english, HIGH etc.

Second this. The kids are only together for the magnet for three classes (math, science and computer science), or apart for non magnet students for two (math and science). All the other classes they are mixed together with no distinction.

You've actually confirmed what I said about lack of mixing. Look at your own words: "non-magnet similarly had many friends in the magnet they knew through their classes like ADVANCED english". The magnet kids are NOT going into "on-level" courses, they are in the "honors" versions of the non-magnet classes, just like your non-magnet child. Yes there is mixing, there just isn't as much mixing as you pretend there was.

But not all students are in the honors and advance classes; and it is those students that I argue TPMS failed miserably, in comparison to other local middle schools with similar demographics.
The magnet kids were NOT taking classes with the students that were struggling academically, that were frustrated with school, that were acting out on that frustration, that had terrible home lives.

Those students existed at TPMS, as they exist at any and all schools; my argument is that TPMS - of the MANY MCPS schools I had experience with - had one of the worst behavioral models in place to deal with these issues. Other schools that I've mentioned, with similar demographics, like White Oak or Parkland, did a much better job of managing the MAJORITY of students needs and issues. Takoma Park might have been great for magnet and honors students, but it was not a great school for students who struggled academically, behaviorally, or socially. Again, I knew a number of parent whose children struggled at TPMS and pulled their child out of that school because they were unhappy with the administration's non-response to the issues raised.

Please stop denying that other people had poor experiences there. It's great if you had a terrific experience there, but not everyone did.

Do your kids go to TPMS? Because mine do, and I am pretty sure EVERYONE takes advanced English and History so I don't think your burn post hits the way you think it does.

Yes, my child went to TPMS. So sorry that you can't admit that not all students there had a fantastic time. In retrospect, I consider parents like you part of the problem with why a subset of students there were miserable; I assume your children are as unsympathetic and nasty as you.

I'm done here. The conclusion: TPMS is FANTASTIC if you are on the magnet/honors end of the spectrum. But not everyone there had a good time; it was a shithole for some.

Respectfully, you're assuming the school operates in ways it may not anymore since your kids graduated. They WENT there, aren't going there now, right? For example: the class levels, and there is a new principal, and we've had a whole pandemic.

It was one year ago; we were there for the pandemic. So we were there for the principal change. Sure, I'm happy to hope that with Deeny and DeGasperis gone thinks have changed, maybe for the better. Hope Martin has made it inclusive for all, that would be great.

OMG, so now you are citing two much loved long time staff members with amazing track records as the source of your dismay. No one is doubting that your kid didn’t enjoy their experience but your claims are farcical. The fact that you based your insistence on this false claim that there is a distinction between the haves and the have nots because some kids are not in advanced English just shows that you have lost the plot. Yes, last year (and this, and the year before) there was only one English class. For the entire school. Magnet and non magnet kids were mixed together with everyone taking advanced English! The distinctions between the smart kids and everyone else that you insist you are false. The classes are not routinely disruptive. Yes, your kid has a bad time. We get it, but your basic facts are wrong, which is why we are questioning if you are even familiar with the school.

And YOU, you keep not reading what I say. I'll try again.
If your magnet child was taking Magnet Geometry with Manchester (a great teacher) first period, that means none of the magnet students in first period Geometry can take English first period. Got it so far? Still with me?

When you combine the number and time slots for magnet classes, what you get is that there is a reduced set of time slots for regular classes for the magnet students to go into.
Still with me?

That means that the magnet and honors students still tend to track each other outside of magnet classes; it's just logisitcs. Are there regular classes exclusive to magnet students? Of course not, but it did mean the mixing was not as great as you claim. It simply can't be - and wasn't. Deeny herself admited this; indeed it was part of a TPMS decision not to add/include a potential magnet social studies to the mix a few years ago; with 4 dedicated magnet class, there would have been very low levels of mixing, and that was considered unacceptable and defeating one of the reasons to have a magnet school at TPMS.

I initially pointed out that my child, as well as several other children we knew, had a poor time at TPMS. And that of all the schools I had subbed at, TPMS was also one of my least favorite to sub at. It was the only school I was physically assaulted at, and I had quite a few schools repeatedly beg me to come back.

And my point has never been that there was haves and have nots: that's you claiming that was what I said. I mean there ARE haves and have nots in Takoma, but that wasn't the point. I added the comments about magnet vs on-level as a possible explanation why our experiences were so different; and it was less about haves vs have-nots as it was about magnet/honors vs on-level - and the differences these two groups can have towards school. And of course those two issues are intertwined, as they are in all of society.

I brought in simple facts about the logistic difficulty at ANY school of scheduling 1200 students to point out that there just isn't that many ways to stuff the magnet students into their other required classes in a way that truly mixes the students to counter claims that it was all one big happy family.

There was another person who said they subbed and thought it was lovely; I don't claim that person was lying or an administrator bullshitting; I assumed they had better experiences there than I did.

You, and folks like you, so can't stand the idea that someone didn't like TPMS that you have repeatedly called me a liar. I'm not lying.

So let's just agree to disagree on whether or not TPMS was a good school for ALL or a bad school for SOME.

CLEARLY haves and have nots is a proxy for the magnet and non magnet distinction you keep making. You are wrong by the way. There are no more than a handful of magnet kids in the non magnet classes. And HIGH is an advanced class but not a magnet class and that too is mixed.

I’m really sorry that both you and your child were allegedly assaulted. That is incredibly coincidental given that such events are extremely rare. Is there something about how you both interact that might have been the reason this happened?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m a new poster in this thread. My high achieving neurotypical child is in 8th grade magnet program and has had a fantastic experience at TPMS. Child has had 1-2 bad teachers out of 8 per year, which i think is a pretty good average. The others have been fantastic. child has had a couple of classes over the last 3 years that have had issues with student misbehavior, but i see that as pretty typical for middle school. Last year's 8th grade class had a small group of kids that caused very serious problems, including bullying. per my kid, those problems have evaporated this year since that cohort is now in high school.

Yeah, last year we did occasionally get notifications about incidents at lunch. I don’t recall a single one this year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
When did this happen? Parent of a current student and my kid’s experience bears absolutely no relation to what you have just described. Sounds like a completely different school (and my kid is an 8th grader).

2021-2022 year, first and only full year my child did there; I had one of those children who excelled during covid because no school drama.

I think there are big issues with TPMS being very bimodal; students in the honors/magnet classes don't have to witness the behavioral problems that were rampant in on-level and below.
And again, there were other middle schools I worked at where the behavior wasn't as consistent a problem. Of course as DCUM would expect, no consistent issues at Pyle and other "Big W" feeder schools.
But in contrast, White Oak and Parkland MS had reasonably well behaved students. Silver Spring International was worse; Silver Creek wasn't as violent, but the admin tolerated lots of poor behavior.

So last year? My current 8th grader reported nothing of the sort and is pretty well connected to all types of different groups of kids bc of sports. There are lots of classes that aren’t “bi modal”….all English classes, all non magnet science classes, PE/health, foreign language and all electives. Neither of my kids reports disruptive behavior. Some kids are disengaged to be sure but no outbursts, disrespecting the teacher, etc..

Also, would like to point out that although you are correct that many classes are non-magnet, the logistics of scheduling mean that magnet students tend to be sorted together into the non-magnet classes. Indeed, if you read between the lines, that was one of the reasons Deeny chose not to implement - if I recall the correct classes - not to implement magnet-level history at the time; the unspoken issue was if they did, then there would have been almost no mixing between regular and magnet schools. (I think since then a magnet-level social studies has been implemented.)

And the school behavior was bimodal; indeed if I needed to "bounce" an on-level student out of my class (a fairly common tactic at TPMS) for behavior issues, the magnet/honors teachers encouraged me to send the problematic student to their classes. Why? Because the honors/magnet students were there to learn and didn't socially tolerate the problematic behavior. Basically the problem behavior got the opposite of positive feedback from the honors/magnet students; nothing like 30 pairs of stink-eye from peers to shut down a class clown's antics.

As a parent of both a magnet and non-magnet student, I can tell that is definitely not true. All DC's non-magnet classes have a mix which according to them is comparable to the overall student body. My other child who was non-magnet similarly had many friends in the magnet they knew through their classes like advanced english, HIGH etc.

Second this. The kids are only together for the magnet for three classes (math, science and computer science), or apart for non magnet students for two (math and science). All the other classes they are mixed together with no distinction.

You've actually confirmed what I said about lack of mixing. Look at your own words: "non-magnet similarly had many friends in the magnet they knew through their classes like ADVANCED english". The magnet kids are NOT going into "on-level" courses, they are in the "honors" versions of the non-magnet classes, just like your non-magnet child. Yes there is mixing, there just isn't as much mixing as you pretend there was.

But not all students are in the honors and advance classes; and it is those students that I argue TPMS failed miserably, in comparison to other local middle schools with similar demographics.
The magnet kids were NOT taking classes with the students that were struggling academically, that were frustrated with school, that were acting out on that frustration, that had terrible home lives.

Those students existed at TPMS, as they exist at any and all schools; my argument is that TPMS - of the MANY MCPS schools I had experience with - had one of the worst behavioral models in place to deal with these issues. Other schools that I've mentioned, with similar demographics, like White Oak or Parkland, did a much better job of managing the MAJORITY of students needs and issues. Takoma Park might have been great for magnet and honors students, but it was not a great school for students who struggled academically, behaviorally, or socially. Again, I knew a number of parent whose children struggled at TPMS and pulled their child out of that school because they were unhappy with the administration's non-response to the issues raised.

Please stop denying that other people had poor experiences there. It's great if you had a terrific experience there, but not everyone did.

Do your kids go to TPMS? Because mine do, and I am pretty sure EVERYONE takes advanced English and History so I don't think your burn post hits the way you think it does.

Yes, my child went to TPMS. So sorry that you can't admit that not all students there had a fantastic time. In retrospect, I consider parents like you part of the problem with why a subset of students there were miserable; I assume your children are as unsympathetic and nasty as you.

I'm done here. The conclusion: TPMS is FANTASTIC if you are on the magnet/honors end of the spectrum. But not everyone there had a good time; it was a shithole for some.

Respectfully, you're assuming the school operates in ways it may not anymore since your kids graduated. They WENT there, aren't going there now, right? For example: the class levels, and there is a new principal, and we've had a whole pandemic.

It was one year ago; we were there for the pandemic. So we were there for the principal change. Sure, I'm happy to hope that with Deeny and DeGasperis gone thinks have changed, maybe for the better. Hope Martin has made it inclusive for all, that would be great.

OMG, so now you are citing two much loved long time staff members with amazing track records as the source of your dismay. No one is doubting that your kid didn’t enjoy their experience but your claims are farcical. The fact that you based your insistence on this false claim that there is a distinction between the haves and the have nots because some kids are not in advanced English just shows that you have lost the plot. Yes, last year (and this, and the year before) there was only one English class. For the entire school. Magnet and non magnet kids were mixed together with everyone taking advanced English! The distinctions between the smart kids and everyone else that you insist you are false. The classes are not routinely disruptive. Yes, your kid has a bad time. We get it, but your basic facts are wrong, which is why we are questioning if you are even familiar with the school.

And YOU, you keep not reading what I say. I'll try again.
If your magnet child was taking Magnet Geometry with Manchester (a great teacher) first period, that means none of the magnet students in first period Geometry can take English first period. Got it so far? Still with me?

When you combine the number and time slots for magnet classes, what you get is that there is a reduced set of time slots for regular classes for the magnet students to go into.
Still with me?

That means that the magnet and honors students still tend to track each other outside of magnet classes; it's just logisitcs. Are there regular classes exclusive to magnet students? Of course not, but it did mean the mixing was not as great as you claim. It simply can't be - and wasn't. Deeny herself admited this; indeed it was part of a TPMS decision not to add/include a potential magnet social studies to the mix a few years ago; with 4 dedicated magnet class, there would have been very low levels of mixing, and that was considered unacceptable and defeating one of the reasons to have a magnet school at TPMS.

I initially pointed out that my child, as well as several other children we knew, had a poor time at TPMS. And that of all the schools I had subbed at, TPMS was also one of my least favorite to sub at. It was the only school I was physically assaulted at, and I had quite a few schools repeatedly beg me to come back.

And my point has never been that there was haves and have nots: that's you claiming that was what I said. I mean there ARE haves and have nots in Takoma, but that wasn't the point. I added the comments about magnet vs on-level as a possible explanation why our experiences were so different; and it was less about haves vs have-nots as it was about magnet/honors vs on-level - and the differences these two groups can have towards school. And of course those two issues are intertwined, as they are in all of society.

I brought in simple facts about the logistic difficulty at ANY school of scheduling 1200 students to point out that there just isn't that many ways to stuff the magnet students into their other required classes in a way that truly mixes the students to counter claims that it was all one big happy family.

There was another person who said they subbed and thought it was lovely; I don't claim that person was lying or an administrator bullshitting; I assumed they had better experiences there than I did.

You, and folks like you, so can't stand the idea that someone didn't like TPMS that you have repeatedly called me a liar. I'm not lying.

So let's just agree to disagree on whether or not TPMS was a good school for ALL or a bad school for SOME.

Ok. Maybe you’re not “lying”, but you are unequivocally wrong. You are wrong about Advanced English and you are wrong about the composition of non magnet classes. For example my child, a magnet student has 3 other magnet students in PE. In history (which is cohosted), he has 7. Shall I go on? There is no heavy concentration of magnet students outside of the magnet classes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
When did this happen? Parent of a current student and my kid’s experience bears absolutely no relation to what you have just described. Sounds like a completely different school (and my kid is an 8th grader).

2021-2022 year, first and only full year my child did there; I had one of those children who excelled during covid because no school drama.

I think there are big issues with TPMS being very bimodal; students in the honors/magnet classes don't have to witness the behavioral problems that were rampant in on-level and below.
And again, there were other middle schools I worked at where the behavior wasn't as consistent a problem. Of course as DCUM would expect, no consistent issues at Pyle and other "Big W" feeder schools.
But in contrast, White Oak and Parkland MS had reasonably well behaved students. Silver Spring International was worse; Silver Creek wasn't as violent, but the admin tolerated lots of poor behavior.

So last year? My current 8th grader reported nothing of the sort and is pretty well connected to all types of different groups of kids bc of sports. There are lots of classes that aren’t “bi modal”….all English classes, all non magnet science classes, PE/health, foreign language and all electives. Neither of my kids reports disruptive behavior. Some kids are disengaged to be sure but no outbursts, disrespecting the teacher, etc..

Also, would like to point out that although you are correct that many classes are non-magnet, the logistics of scheduling mean that magnet students tend to be sorted together into the non-magnet classes. Indeed, if you read between the lines, that was one of the reasons Deeny chose not to implement - if I recall the correct classes - not to implement magnet-level history at the time; the unspoken issue was if they did, then there would have been almost no mixing between regular and magnet schools. (I think since then a magnet-level social studies has been implemented.)

And the school behavior was bimodal; indeed if I needed to "bounce" an on-level student out of my class (a fairly common tactic at TPMS) for behavior issues, the magnet/honors teachers encouraged me to send the problematic student to their classes. Why? Because the honors/magnet students were there to learn and didn't socially tolerate the problematic behavior. Basically the problem behavior got the opposite of positive feedback from the honors/magnet students; nothing like 30 pairs of stink-eye from peers to shut down a class clown's antics.

As a parent of both a magnet and non-magnet student, I can tell that is definitely not true. All DC's non-magnet classes have a mix which according to them is comparable to the overall student body. My other child who was non-magnet similarly had many friends in the magnet they knew through their classes like advanced english, HIGH etc.

Second this. The kids are only together for the magnet for three classes (math, science and computer science), or apart for non magnet students for two (math and science). All the other classes they are mixed together with no distinction.

You've actually confirmed what I said about lack of mixing. Look at your own words: "non-magnet similarly had many friends in the magnet they knew through their classes like ADVANCED english". The magnet kids are NOT going into "on-level" courses, they are in the "honors" versions of the non-magnet classes, just like your non-magnet child. Yes there is mixing, there just isn't as much mixing as you pretend there was.

But not all students are in the honors and advance classes; and it is those students that I argue TPMS failed miserably, in comparison to other local middle schools with similar demographics.
The magnet kids were NOT taking classes with the students that were struggling academically, that were frustrated with school, that were acting out on that frustration, that had terrible home lives.

Those students existed at TPMS, as they exist at any and all schools; my argument is that TPMS - of the MANY MCPS schools I had experience with - had one of the worst behavioral models in place to deal with these issues. Other schools that I've mentioned, with similar demographics, like White Oak or Parkland, did a much better job of managing the MAJORITY of students needs and issues. Takoma Park might have been great for magnet and honors students, but it was not a great school for students who struggled academically, behaviorally, or socially. Again, I knew a number of parent whose children struggled at TPMS and pulled their child out of that school because they were unhappy with the administration's non-response to the issues raised.

Please stop denying that other people had poor experiences there. It's great if you had a terrific experience there, but not everyone did.

Do your kids go to TPMS? Because mine do, and I am pretty sure EVERYONE takes advanced English and History so I don't think your burn post hits the way you think it does.

Yes, my child went to TPMS. So sorry that you can't admit that not all students there had a fantastic time. In retrospect, I consider parents like you part of the problem with why a subset of students there were miserable; I assume your children are as unsympathetic and nasty as you.

I'm done here. The conclusion: TPMS is FANTASTIC if you are on the magnet/honors end of the spectrum. But not everyone there had a good time; it was a shithole for some.

Respectfully, you're assuming the school operates in ways it may not anymore since your kids graduated. They WENT there, aren't going there now, right? For example: the class levels, and there is a new principal, and we've had a whole pandemic.

It was one year ago; we were there for the pandemic. So we were there for the principal change. Sure, I'm happy to hope that with Deeny and DeGasperis gone thinks have changed, maybe for the better. Hope Martin has made it inclusive for all, that would be great.

OMG, so now you are citing two much loved long time staff members with amazing track records as the source of your dismay. No one is doubting that your kid didn’t enjoy their experience but your claims are farcical. The fact that you based your insistence on this false claim that there is a distinction between the haves and the have nots because some kids are not in advanced English just shows that you have lost the plot. Yes, last year (and this, and the year before) there was only one English class. For the entire school. Magnet and non magnet kids were mixed together with everyone taking advanced English! The distinctions between the smart kids and everyone else that you insist you are false. The classes are not routinely disruptive. Yes, your kid has a bad time. We get it, but your basic facts are wrong, which is why we are questioning if you are even familiar with the school.

And YOU, you keep not reading what I say. I'll try again.
If your magnet child was taking Magnet Geometry with Manchester (a great teacher) first period, that means none of the magnet students in first period Geometry can take English first period. Got it so far? Still with me?

When you combine the number and time slots for magnet classes, what you get is that there is a reduced set of time slots for regular classes for the magnet students to go into.
Still with me?

That means that the magnet and honors students still tend to track each other outside of magnet classes; it's just logisitcs. Are there regular classes exclusive to magnet students? Of course not, but it did mean the mixing was not as great as you claim. It simply can't be - and wasn't. Deeny herself admited this; indeed it was part of a TPMS decision not to add/include a potential magnet social studies to the mix a few years ago; with 4 dedicated magnet class, there would have been very low levels of mixing, and that was considered unacceptable and defeating one of the reasons to have a magnet school at TPMS.

I initially pointed out that my child, as well as several other children we knew, had a poor time at TPMS. And that of all the schools I had subbed at, TPMS was also one of my least favorite to sub at. It was the only school I was physically assaulted at, and I had quite a few schools repeatedly beg me to come back.

And my point has never been that there was haves and have nots: that's you claiming that was what I said. I mean there ARE haves and have nots in Takoma, but that wasn't the point. I added the comments about magnet vs on-level as a possible explanation why our experiences were so different; and it was less about haves vs have-nots as it was about magnet/honors vs on-level - and the differences these two groups can have towards school. And of course those two issues are intertwined, as they are in all of society.

I brought in simple facts about the logistic difficulty at ANY school of scheduling 1200 students to point out that there just isn't that many ways to stuff the magnet students into their other required classes in a way that truly mixes the students to counter claims that it was all one big happy family.

There was another person who said they subbed and thought it was lovely; I don't claim that person was lying or an administrator bullshitting; I assumed they had better experiences there than I did.

You, and folks like you, so can't stand the idea that someone didn't like TPMS that you have repeatedly called me a liar. I'm not lying.

So let's just agree to disagree on whether or not TPMS was a good school for ALL or a bad school for SOME.

Ok. Maybe you’re not “lying”, but you are unequivocally wrong. You are wrong about Advanced English and you are wrong about the composition of non magnet classes. For example my child, a magnet student has 3 other magnet students in PE. In history (which is cohosted), he has 7. Shall I go on? There is no heavy concentration of magnet students outside of the magnet classes.

They have a warped view of reality. That poster's child bullied other students and complained about the consequences. They created their own problems but refused to take responsibility and just blamed everyone for the situation they created.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
When did this happen? Parent of a current student and my kid’s experience bears absolutely no relation to what you have just described. Sounds like a completely different school (and my kid is an 8th grader).

2021-2022 year, first and only full year my child did there; I had one of those children who excelled during covid because no school drama.

I think there are big issues with TPMS being very bimodal; students in the honors/magnet classes don't have to witness the behavioral problems that were rampant in on-level and below.
And again, there were other middle schools I worked at where the behavior wasn't as consistent a problem. Of course as DCUM would expect, no consistent issues at Pyle and other "Big W" feeder schools.
But in contrast, White Oak and Parkland MS had reasonably well behaved students. Silver Spring International was worse; Silver Creek wasn't as violent, but the admin tolerated lots of poor behavior.

So last year? My current 8th grader reported nothing of the sort and is pretty well connected to all types of different groups of kids bc of sports. There are lots of classes that aren’t “bi modal”….all English classes, all non magnet science classes, PE/health, foreign language and all electives. Neither of my kids reports disruptive behavior. Some kids are disengaged to be sure but no outbursts, disrespecting the teacher, etc..

Also, would like to point out that although you are correct that many classes are non-magnet, the logistics of scheduling mean that magnet students tend to be sorted together into the non-magnet classes. Indeed, if you read between the lines, that was one of the reasons Deeny chose not to implement - if I recall the correct classes - not to implement magnet-level history at the time; the unspoken issue was if they did, then there would have been almost no mixing between regular and magnet schools. (I think since then a magnet-level social studies has been implemented.)

And the school behavior was bimodal; indeed if I needed to "bounce" an on-level student out of my class (a fairly common tactic at TPMS) for behavior issues, the magnet/honors teachers encouraged me to send the problematic student to their classes. Why? Because the honors/magnet students were there to learn and didn't socially tolerate the problematic behavior. Basically the problem behavior got the opposite of positive feedback from the honors/magnet students; nothing like 30 pairs of stink-eye from peers to shut down a class clown's antics.

As a parent of both a magnet and non-magnet student, I can tell that is definitely not true. All DC's non-magnet classes have a mix which according to them is comparable to the overall student body. My other child who was non-magnet similarly had many friends in the magnet they knew through their classes like advanced english, HIGH etc.

Second this. The kids are only together for the magnet for three classes (math, science and computer science), or apart for non magnet students for two (math and science). All the other classes they are mixed together with no distinction.

Very true, my non-magnet kid is friends with many magnet kids whom they met in non-magnet classes. They seem to also be involved in many of the same EC's like math team, robotics club, and Difference Makers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
When did this happen? Parent of a current student and my kid’s experience bears absolutely no relation to what you have just described. Sounds like a completely different school (and my kid is an 8th grader).

2021-2022 year, first and only full year my child did there; I had one of those children who excelled during covid because no school drama.

I think there are big issues with TPMS being very bimodal; students in the honors/magnet classes don't have to witness the behavioral problems that were rampant in on-level and below.
And again, there were other middle schools I worked at where the behavior wasn't as consistent a problem. Of course as DCUM would expect, no consistent issues at Pyle and other "Big W" feeder schools.
But in contrast, White Oak and Parkland MS had reasonably well behaved students. Silver Spring International was worse; Silver Creek wasn't as violent, but the admin tolerated lots of poor behavior.

So last year? My current 8th grader reported nothing of the sort and is pretty well connected to all types of different groups of kids bc of sports. There are lots of classes that aren’t “bi modal”….all English classes, all non magnet science classes, PE/health, foreign language and all electives. Neither of my kids reports disruptive behavior. Some kids are disengaged to be sure but no outbursts, disrespecting the teacher, etc..

Also, would like to point out that although you are correct that many classes are non-magnet, the logistics of scheduling mean that magnet students tend to be sorted together into the non-magnet classes. Indeed, if you read between the lines, that was one of the reasons Deeny chose not to implement - if I recall the correct classes - not to implement magnet-level history at the time; the unspoken issue was if they did, then there would have been almost no mixing between regular and magnet schools. (I think since then a magnet-level social studies has been implemented.)

And the school behavior was bimodal; indeed if I needed to "bounce" an on-level student out of my class (a fairly common tactic at TPMS) for behavior issues, the magnet/honors teachers encouraged me to send the problematic student to their classes. Why? Because the honors/magnet students were there to learn and didn't socially tolerate the problematic behavior. Basically the problem behavior got the opposite of positive feedback from the honors/magnet students; nothing like 30 pairs of stink-eye from peers to shut down a class clown's antics.

As a parent of both a magnet and non-magnet student, I can tell that is definitely not true. All DC's non-magnet classes have a mix which according to them is comparable to the overall student body. My other child who was non-magnet similarly had many friends in the magnet they knew through their classes like advanced english, HIGH etc.

Second this. The kids are only together for the magnet for three classes (math, science and computer science), or apart for non magnet students for two (math and science). All the other classes they are mixed together with no distinction.

You've actually confirmed what I said about lack of mixing. Look at your own words: "non-magnet similarly had many friends in the magnet they knew through their classes like ADVANCED english". The magnet kids are NOT going into "on-level" courses, they are in the "honors" versions of the non-magnet classes, just like your non-magnet child. Yes there is mixing, there just isn't as much mixing as you pretend there was.

But not all students are in the honors and advance classes; and it is those students that I argue TPMS failed miserably, in comparison to other local middle schools with similar demographics.
The magnet kids were NOT taking classes with the students that were struggling academically, that were frustrated with school, that were acting out on that frustration, that had terrible home lives.

Those students existed at TPMS, as they exist at any and all schools; my argument is that TPMS - of the MANY MCPS schools I had experience with - had one of the worst behavioral models in place to deal with these issues. Other schools that I've mentioned, with similar demographics, like White Oak or Parkland, did a much better job of managing the MAJORITY of students needs and issues. Takoma Park might have been great for magnet and honors students, but it was not a great school for students who struggled academically, behaviorally, or socially. Again, I knew a number of parent whose children struggled at TPMS and pulled their child out of that school because they were unhappy with the administration's non-response to the issues raised.

Please stop denying that other people had poor experiences there. It's great if you had a terrific experience there, but not everyone did.

Do your kids go to TPMS? Because mine do, and I am pretty sure EVERYONE takes advanced English and History so I don't think your burn post hits the way you think it does.

Yes, my child went to TPMS. So sorry that you can't admit that not all students there had a fantastic time. In retrospect, I consider parents like you part of the problem with why a subset of students there were miserable; I assume your children are as unsympathetic and nasty as you.

I'm done here. The conclusion: TPMS is FANTASTIC if you are on the magnet/honors end of the spectrum. But not everyone there had a good time; it was a shithole for some.

Respectfully, you're assuming the school operates in ways it may not anymore since your kids graduated. They WENT there, aren't going there now, right? For example: the class levels, and there is a new principal, and we've had a whole pandemic.

It was one year ago; we were there for the pandemic. So we were there for the principal change. Sure, I'm happy to hope that with Deeny and DeGasperis gone thinks have changed, maybe for the better. Hope Martin has made it inclusive for all, that would be great.

OMG, so now you are citing two much loved long time staff members with amazing track records as the source of your dismay. No one is doubting that your kid didn’t enjoy their experience but your claims are farcical. The fact that you based your insistence on this false claim that there is a distinction between the haves and the have nots because some kids are not in advanced English just shows that you have lost the plot. Yes, last year (and this, and the year before) there was only one English class. For the entire school. Magnet and non magnet kids were mixed together with everyone taking advanced English! The distinctions between the smart kids and everyone else that you insist you are false. The classes are not routinely disruptive. Yes, your kid has a bad time. We get it, but your basic facts are wrong, which is why we are questioning if you are even familiar with the school.

And YOU, you keep not reading what I say. I'll try again.
If your magnet child was taking Magnet Geometry with Manchester (a great teacher) first period, that means none of the magnet students in first period Geometry can take English first period. Got it so far? Still with me?

When you combine the number and time slots for magnet classes, what you get is that there is a reduced set of time slots for regular classes for the magnet students to go into.
Still with me?

That means that the magnet and honors students still tend to track each other outside of magnet classes; it's just logisitcs. Are there regular classes exclusive to magnet students? Of course not, but it did mean the mixing was not as great as you claim. It simply can't be - and wasn't. Deeny herself admited this; indeed it was part of a TPMS decision not to add/include a potential magnet social studies to the mix a few years ago; with 4 dedicated magnet class, there would have been very low levels of mixing, and that was considered unacceptable and defeating one of the reasons to have a magnet school at TPMS.

I initially pointed out that my child, as well as several other children we knew, had a poor time at TPMS. And that of all the schools I had subbed at, TPMS was also one of my least favorite to sub at. It was the only school I was physically assaulted at, and I had quite a few schools repeatedly beg me to come back.

And my point has never been that there was haves and have nots: that's you claiming that was what I said. I mean there ARE haves and have nots in Takoma, but that wasn't the point. I added the comments about magnet vs on-level as a possible explanation why our experiences were so different; and it was less about haves vs have-nots as it was about magnet/honors vs on-level - and the differences these two groups can have towards school. And of course those two issues are intertwined, as they are in all of society.

I brought in simple facts about the logistic difficulty at ANY school of scheduling 1200 students to point out that there just isn't that many ways to stuff the magnet students into their other required classes in a way that truly mixes the students to counter claims that it was all one big happy family.

There was another person who said they subbed and thought it was lovely; I don't claim that person was lying or an administrator bullshitting; I assumed they had better experiences there than I did.

You, and folks like you, so can't stand the idea that someone didn't like TPMS that you have repeatedly called me a liar. I'm not lying.

So let's just agree to disagree on whether or not TPMS was a good school for ALL or a bad school for SOME.

Not really to the extent you propose.

Because if there is a magnet section of Geometry Period 1 there are 4/5 or 3/4 or 2/3 of 8th grade magnet kids NOT in math at that time (I don't know how many sections there are - 4?). 125 out of 400 kids per grade are in the magnet, so there are always going to be some who are free to take non magnet classes any given period. There might be fewer in the class, but not to such an extent that there are no magnet kids in any given regular English section. That's just not really possible in a school this large. Especially when you factor in electives that run cross-grade such as languages. My child does happen to be in the magnet, and said there are very few magnet kids in their English and SS classes. Spanish too.

I've definitely seen some behavior issues but nothing out of the ordinary with middle school.

I would also argue that it sounds like you were subbing at your own child's school. That could be clouding your perspective and experience for a number of reasons. 1.) You have emotional investment and are hyper-observant and 2.) it's kind of weird (no offense intended, maybe awkward is a better word).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
When did this happen? Parent of a current student and my kid’s experience bears absolutely no relation to what you have just described. Sounds like a completely different school (and my kid is an 8th grader).

2021-2022 year, first and only full year my child did there; I had one of those children who excelled during covid because no school drama.

I think there are big issues with TPMS being very bimodal; students in the honors/magnet classes don't have to witness the behavioral problems that were rampant in on-level and below.
And again, there were other middle schools I worked at where the behavior wasn't as consistent a problem. Of course as DCUM would expect, no consistent issues at Pyle and other "Big W" feeder schools.
But in contrast, White Oak and Parkland MS had reasonably well behaved students. Silver Spring International was worse; Silver Creek wasn't as violent, but the admin tolerated lots of poor behavior.

So last year? My current 8th grader reported nothing of the sort and is pretty well connected to all types of different groups of kids bc of sports. There are lots of classes that aren’t “bi modal”….all English classes, all non magnet science classes, PE/health, foreign language and all electives. Neither of my kids reports disruptive behavior. Some kids are disengaged to be sure but no outbursts, disrespecting the teacher, etc..

Also, would like to point out that although you are correct that many classes are non-magnet, the logistics of scheduling mean that magnet students tend to be sorted together into the non-magnet classes. Indeed, if you read between the lines, that was one of the reasons Deeny chose not to implement - if I recall the correct classes - not to implement magnet-level history at the time; the unspoken issue was if they did, then there would have been almost no mixing between regular and magnet schools. (I think since then a magnet-level social studies has been implemented.)

And the school behavior was bimodal; indeed if I needed to "bounce" an on-level student out of my class (a fairly common tactic at TPMS) for behavior issues, the magnet/honors teachers encouraged me to send the problematic student to their classes. Why? Because the honors/magnet students were there to learn and didn't socially tolerate the problematic behavior. Basically the problem behavior got the opposite of positive feedback from the honors/magnet students; nothing like 30 pairs of stink-eye from peers to shut down a class clown's antics.

As a parent of both a magnet and non-magnet student, I can tell that is definitely not true. All DC's non-magnet classes have a mix which according to them is comparable to the overall student body. My other child who was non-magnet similarly had many friends in the magnet they knew through their classes like advanced english, HIGH etc.

Second this. The kids are only together for the magnet for three classes (math, science and computer science), or apart for non magnet students for two (math and science). All the other classes they are mixed together with no distinction.

You've actually confirmed what I said about lack of mixing. Look at your own words: "non-magnet similarly had many friends in the magnet they knew through their classes like ADVANCED english". The magnet kids are NOT going into "on-level" courses, they are in the "honors" versions of the non-magnet classes, just like your non-magnet child. Yes there is mixing, there just isn't as much mixing as you pretend there was.

But not all students are in the honors and advance classes; and it is those students that I argue TPMS failed miserably, in comparison to other local middle schools with similar demographics.
The magnet kids were NOT taking classes with the students that were struggling academically, that were frustrated with school, that were acting out on that frustration, that had terrible home lives.

Those students existed at TPMS, as they exist at any and all schools; my argument is that TPMS - of the MANY MCPS schools I had experience with - had one of the worst behavioral models in place to deal with these issues. Other schools that I've mentioned, with similar demographics, like White Oak or Parkland, did a much better job of managing the MAJORITY of students needs and issues. Takoma Park might have been great for magnet and honors students, but it was not a great school for students who struggled academically, behaviorally, or socially. Again, I knew a number of parent whose children struggled at TPMS and pulled their child out of that school because they were unhappy with the administration's non-response to the issues raised.

Please stop denying that other people had poor experiences there. It's great if you had a terrific experience there, but not everyone did.

Do your kids go to TPMS? Because mine do, and I am pretty sure EVERYONE takes advanced English and History so I don't think your burn post hits the way you think it does.

Yes, my child went to TPMS. So sorry that you can't admit that not all students there had a fantastic time. In retrospect, I consider parents like you part of the problem with why a subset of students there were miserable; I assume your children are as unsympathetic and nasty as you.

I'm done here. The conclusion: TPMS is FANTASTIC if you are on the magnet/honors end of the spectrum. But not everyone there had a good time; it was a shithole for some.

Respectfully, you're assuming the school operates in ways it may not anymore since your kids graduated. They WENT there, aren't going there now, right? For example: the class levels, and there is a new principal, and we've had a whole pandemic.

It was one year ago; we were there for the pandemic. So we were there for the principal change. Sure, I'm happy to hope that with Deeny and DeGasperis gone thinks have changed, maybe for the better. Hope Martin has made it inclusive for all, that would be great.

OMG, so now you are citing two much loved long time staff members with amazing track records as the source of your dismay. No one is doubting that your kid didn’t enjoy their experience but your claims are farcical. The fact that you based your insistence on this false claim that there is a distinction between the haves and the have nots because some kids are not in advanced English just shows that you have lost the plot. Yes, last year (and this, and the year before) there was only one English class. For the entire school. Magnet and non magnet kids were mixed together with everyone taking advanced English! The distinctions between the smart kids and everyone else that you insist you are false. The classes are not routinely disruptive. Yes, your kid has a bad time. We get it, but your basic facts are wrong, which is why we are questioning if you are even familiar with the school.

And YOU, you keep not reading what I say. I'll try again.
If your magnet child was taking Magnet Geometry with Manchester (a great teacher) first period, that means none of the magnet students in first period Geometry can take English first period. Got it so far? Still with me?

When you combine the number and time slots for magnet classes, what you get is that there is a reduced set of time slots for regular classes for the magnet students to go into.
Still with me?

That means that the magnet and honors students still tend to track each other outside of magnet classes; it's just logisitcs. Are there regular classes exclusive to magnet students? Of course not, but it did mean the mixing was not as great as you claim. It simply can't be - and wasn't. Deeny herself admited this; indeed it was part of a TPMS decision not to add/include a potential magnet social studies to the mix a few years ago; with 4 dedicated magnet class, there would have been very low levels of mixing, and that was considered unacceptable and defeating one of the reasons to have a magnet school at TPMS.

I initially pointed out that my child, as well as several other children we knew, had a poor time at TPMS. And that of all the schools I had subbed at, TPMS was also one of my least favorite to sub at. It was the only school I was physically assaulted at, and I had quite a few schools repeatedly beg me to come back.

And my point has never been that there was haves and have nots: that's you claiming that was what I said. I mean there ARE haves and have nots in Takoma, but that wasn't the point. I added the comments about magnet vs on-level as a possible explanation why our experiences were so different; and it was less about haves vs have-nots as it was about magnet/honors vs on-level - and the differences these two groups can have towards school. And of course those two issues are intertwined, as they are in all of society.

I brought in simple facts about the logistic difficulty at ANY school of scheduling 1200 students to point out that there just isn't that many ways to stuff the magnet students into their other required classes in a way that truly mixes the students to counter claims that it was all one big happy family.

There was another person who said they subbed and thought it was lovely; I don't claim that person was lying or an administrator bullshitting; I assumed they had better experiences there than I did.

You, and folks like you, so can't stand the idea that someone didn't like TPMS that you have repeatedly called me a liar. I'm not lying.

So let's just agree to disagree on whether or not TPMS was a good school for ALL or a bad school for SOME.

Not really to the extent you propose.

Because if there is a magnet section of Geometry Period 1 there are 4/5 or 3/4 or 2/3 of 8th grade magnet kids NOT in math at that time (I don't know how many sections there are - 4?). 125 out of 400 kids per grade are in the magnet, so there are always going to be some who are free to take non magnet classes any given period. There might be fewer in the class, but not to such an extent that there are no magnet kids in any given regular English section. That's just not really possible in a school this large. Especially when you factor in electives that run cross-grade such as languages. My child does happen to be in the magnet, and said there are very few magnet kids in their English and SS classes. Spanish too.

I've definitely seen some behavior issues but nothing out of the ordinary with middle school.

I would also argue that it sounds like you were subbing at your own child's school. That could be clouding your perspective and experience for a number of reasons. 1.) You have emotional investment and are hyper-observant and 2.) it's kind of weird (no offense intended, maybe awkward is a better word).

You're correct heir logic is flawed. Magnet kids typically make up about a third of all my kid's non-magnet classes. It sounds like that poster would be unhappy at any school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Parent of former Takoma Park Middle School, and a former MCPS sub. I found it had one of the worst - essentially non-existing - discipline issues in the county, and that is saying something.
Examples
As a substitute there, I was assaulted by a student (in hockey terms, the student cross-checked me!); it took threatening to sue the principal to get even a one day in-school suspsension for the student. Even though it was the easiest school for me to sub at, I eventually stopped taking assignments there as it was very poorly run.
Again, while subbing, two students started trading punches. Called security. Securities response: "we asked the two students if they were fighting and they said no." OK...

When my child attended, they would often bring home weekly or daily stories of out of control fighting in the bathrooms, classes, etc. My favorite was how there was an on-going "fight club" in one of the bathrooms. The bathroom even had some admin posted outside it, but the admin would never go into the bathroom to stop the fights.

Had friends pull their child out of TPMS because the admin failed to properly address the constant physical bullying of their child, including the student being physically assaulted by fellow students (but just off school property)
Another friend pulled their child for a few days due to the trauma of seeing another student beat bloody and near senseless (story was parents had to take to the emergency room after school). The school claimed it didn't happen "during school", which was true, it happened a few minutes after the final bell rang. And since they had no footage of the stairwell, they claimed they had no evidence it happened.I mean, besides the beaten and bloody student.

Knew of multiple other instances of physical assaults of students on other students that the admin refused to admit happened; parents started calling the police rather than deal with the school

But hey, other parents thought it was the best thing since sliced bread. If you're in the honors/magnet classes, there was a far less chance you got beaten up.

To each their own!

Not saying that there aren't problem -- it is middle school after all -- but this is not remotely similar to our experience, and we live within walking distance and see/hear kids coming and going in the am and pm.

There have been posters who are threatened by positive feedback about any schools that aren't WOTP and go out of their way to trash talk even though they almost never have any direct or first-hand experience. If you have real interest, the best thing you can do is contact the school directly and get a walkthrough.

I remember a poster going about some crazy sad story a few years ago in a similar thread. I asked around about it among neighbors, on the neighborhood listserv, and with TPMS staff I know personally. Nobody knew anything about it. We concluded this was just some performance piece or fiction. It's not to say that TPMS perfect, but some people can't stand that the county is different today than 30 years ago. They go out of their way to trash-talk other schools especially those in the DCC with the hope of reinforcing outdated perceptions.

I know what you are referring to and that poster has serious mental health issues.

I remember the post where the parent claimed their child was bullied, but several others who knew them claimed their child was the bully and nobody had any sympathy for them.

The parent posted on both DCUM and the Takoma Park neighborhood list-serv until other parents started calling her kid out with very specific incidents. Another mom started walking kids home just so there was a witness that they were ones being bullied by this girl.