TKPK public schools vs. AUP/Tenleytown/Friendship Heights public schools
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Anonymous
| My wife and I are new parents and currently live in Columbia Heights/U Street/Shaw in DC. After doing some house searching this past summer, we found that we really liked Takoma Park. However, we'd like to get a better sense of the quality of the school system in that neighborhood. Based on what we can gather from reading DCUM posts and doing some Google research, it appears as though Takoma Park Elementary School and Takoma Park Middle School are pretty good, but Piney Branch Elementary School and Montgomery Blair High School may leave something to be desired. The likeliest alternative to Takoma Park for us would be somewhere in the AUP/Tenleytown/Friendship Heights areas of DC, which feed to Janney, Deal, and Wilson for elementary, middle, and high school, respectively. How do the Takoma Park public schools compare with these schools? Is one set of schools materially better or worse than the other? Would be interested in any insights. |
Anonymous
| Blair HS and Takoma Park MS include highly regarded test in programs for gifted students. |
Anonymous
| That area is part of a consortium giving people some choice in HS...though Blair is often considered the strongest option. |
Anonymous
| What about Piney Branch? And how do Takoma Park schools compare to other MoCo public schools (eg, Bethesda, Potomac, Chevy Chase)? |
Anonymous
It is very hard to compare. As we all know, wealth and success in academics are very highly related so Bethesda, Potomac, CC look better in terms of scores etc. However, they do not have a different curriculum or better teachers. |
Anonymous
|
So, the first thing that you need to know is that TPES and PBES are functionally the same school. They are situated within a block of one another, and TPES serves K-2 while PBES serves 3-5.
The very same kids, no group in or out, attends TPES for K-2 and then PBES for 3-5. So, your impression that Piney Branch "leaves something to be desired" is actually just based on test scores, right? Well, those test scores are only reported for grades 3-5. So, the exact same kids attend Takoma Park ES and Piney Branch ES, but their test scores are only reported at the latter. If you drill down into the numbers, you'll see the same trends at Piney Branch that you see at basically any school - white and Asian kids with very high scores; Black and brown kids with lower scores. How you interpret that is up to you, but the same trend will play out at Deal and Wilson. Not at Janney because it is far less racially and economically diverse than the other schools you are discussing. |
Anonymous
| Thanks — this is all very helpful. Regarding the test-in programs for TPMS and Blair, how does that work? It was my understanding that inbound kids generally have a greater chance of getting in, but any additional insights would be helpful. |
Anonymous
We have a child who has done the 3-5 and 6-8 magnets. Currently in middle school. You don’t actually do anything except not opt out, and feed them a good breakfast the morning before the tests happen (which are during school). We reminded our child to look over their tests and told them if they don’t know to guess, basic strategy, etc... I think Blair requires student engagement and an essay or something, but we’re not there yet and are unconcerned because once you do the middle school magnet you’re on an accelerated course track anyway. If your child tests in 96-99% in this pyramid you’re likely to be admitted. For 3-5 the magnet is one whole class out of 8-9 classes. For 6-8 the magnet is something like 20 kids selected from two elementary schools that feed to TPMS, so while kids from greater MCPS may have a .1 chance of getting in in bounds kids have more like a 1% chance (which, if you have a high performing child is actually greater). All that said, this year it’s a strange process due to COVID - no tests - so I have no idea. Who knows what’ll happen in the future. |
Anonymous
If for some reason you’re not able to get into the magnets, are the schools’ programs still considered reasonably good? Just trying to get a sense as to what one could expect regarding the quality of education generally. |
Anonymous
Yes, both TPMS and Blair are considered good options even if you are not in one of the magnets. The downside of Blair is that it is absolutely enormous, which is frankly also its strength. Even if you aren't in one of the two magnets inside the HS, you still have lots of options for honors and AP classes, and you'll find a peer group of motivated kids if that's what you are looking for. There are also lots of clubs and sports, and opportunities for any kid to find likeminded peers. At Piney Branch, they are one of the very few MCPS elementary schools that hosts a "local" Center for Enriched Studies. So, as a PP said, one class out of the entire fourth, and then the entire fifth, grades is receiving an accelerated reading/writing curriculum. A larger number of kid has access to an accelerated math curriculum. In general, PBES is still a good option even if you are not in the CES. One year, they made two CES classes and my impression was that they later regretted it because it meant all of the "strong" kids were in the CES. This meant that kids right on the cusp who didn't make the cut really didn't have any peers. |
Anonymous
| The "3-5 magnet" mentioned above doesn't exist. What there is is a local CES for grades 4 and 5 at Piney Branch. |
Anonymous
| Okay. How is local CES eligibility determined (eg, testing, lottery)? |
Anonymous
Up until this year, it was a mix of grades, MAP scores, and the CogAT. This year there was a cut-off based on MAP and then a lottery. Of course, this year's 3rd graders have very little data on file, so it was tricky. |
Anonymous
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My kids went through TKPK schools here's the low down.
TPES (K-2) had the only ES magnet in MCPS. They still have enriched math unlike other ES in the county. It is a focus school so class sizes can run as low as 16 students but are more often 18-20. PBES (3-6) has a local CES also a fine school. If you go by GS ratings it's a 10 for my kid's demographic cohort which is to say anyone can get a great education there. TPMS (6-8) hosts the county's STEM magnet program. There is an in-boudnary set aside of 25 seats for the magnet. I think the school has a rating of 10/10 for test score averages but not sure that matters. It also offers the enriched classes like all other MCPS MS. Blair (9-12) the largest HS in the county. It is also very diverse in a balanced way. It hosts the HS STEM magnet and CAP. You also can do great there just taking APs. Given its size, there's a lot of opportunities to find your niche. Bethesda Beat has a list of college admissions from local HSs. Blair does well. It also often wins things like "It's Academic" for the region and has students in both the US Math and Physics Olympiad. |
Anonymous
We personally chose to be in TKPK over those areas. We found Takoma more charming and convenient, but we also like the schools. The CES at PBES was wonderful when my kids went through it. They offer IM math like all other ES in MCPS too. Blair produces something like 35-40 National Merit Scholars a year. Don't think there's anything else comparable in the county. |