Reply to Eastern or Takoma MS magnets vs SSIMS?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I wasn't able to attend the Takoma Park info meeting tonight and wondered if anyone else who did could share notes? 
Also, does anyone have comparisons to offer from within your own family? Do you have one kid who went to 1 of the 3 schools and another who went to another? I know the advice is to wait and see whether your child gets in but if you get lucky and have a choice, you want to be informed enough to decide quickly and confidently.
 I'm interested in the practical pros and cons of each school. I hadn't heard that Eastern kids usually don't take a foreign language in 6th grade, so that's exactly the kind of detail I'd like to know. (By the way, is there an after-school club in foreign language or some way to get that?) I hear SSI has a block schedule - do the others? Can you share more details about the homework load at TPMS and Eastern? (For comparison, DC is at Pine Crest magnet and it's been less brutal than we feared, at least so far). What are the after-school opportunities and what's the overall social climate of each school like?
Any thoughts welcome.[/quote]

At Eastern, kids in the magnet can take foreign language after school for credit.  I think it's 3x a week.  I think it was French or Spanish.  At one point some parents were trying to get Chinese going too.  You should ask the school specifically about this opportunity.  There also was an opportunity to take music before or after school, but I am not sure where that stands now, whether it was for credit or not.  Also, the program is not clear about this, but a magnet student can decline to take the Magnet Reading course with Ms. Ray and take a foreign language instead.  There are a few students each year who do this.  My child opted for magnet reading, because everyone says Ms. Ray is great and my DD thought it was an important way to make friends.  I'm not sure how valuable it really was as a course.

After school opportunities are very limited at Eastern (at least compared to our home school) because the school has a lot of FARMS students and many other who are not FARMS but who still can't/don't want to pay hundreds of dollars more for after school activities.  There are a few sports -- soccer, basketball, track, softball.  Many of the other after school activities are geared toward kids who are not doing well academically or have poor home life or need after school dining programs or are minority leadership programs.  The school is not really that proactive/interested in developing a strong after school program.  Plus, many magnet kids live far enough away from school that participating in after school programs, even with an after school bus, is not really practical between the long ride, still needing a parent pick up and heavy homework load.

Honestly, all this is stuff to worry about after you get in.  Apply first and save your energy for figuring out if it's appropriate after you receive the admit decision.  There will be another open house in the spring for admitted students, and you have some time after that to decide.  [/quote]

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