Reply to ISO recent experience with Eastern MS communications magnet

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]IME kids tend to either really enjoy it or hate everything about it. Is your child a theatre kid? Do they like to read a lot for fun and write stories or do art projects in their free time? Are they a little quirky and did they have trouble finding their tribe in elementary? The main group of kids that love this program would say yes to all those questions. There are exceptions but every year there is a core group like this. [/quote]

I think this is pretty fair. The standards are high, as is the workload, particularly in the 6th grade. The kids who are happiest are the ones who would be acting, or making little movies, or reading nonfiction, or writing stories/screenplays in their free time anyway. In that way, it's like any magnet - the happiest kids at TPMS magnet are probably the ones who would learn programming languages and push themselves in math no matter what.

Do you have specific questions or concerns? How long would the bus ride be for your child? How much do they enjoy the core subjects of the magnet (ELA, world history, media)? How much time has your child spent in economically and racially diverse schools?

All of those things will play a role in whether your child loves or hates (or just tolerates) the program. [/quote]

I think the workload in 7th is the most rigorous and time consuming. Our student enjoyed the program, but is a humanities kid through and through, is quirky as the PP mentioned, and most certainly found a great friend group there. There is most certainly a ton of work though, but for our kid the work was worth the peer group.[/quote]

I think you'd find some families would say the more challenging work was worth putting up with the peer group.[/quote]
And some (like me) would say it wasn’t. We did not feel Eastern was worth it compared to our strong middle school (have sent kids to both). Eastern has a lot of problems. I didn’t feel the teachers were amazing, but we do come from a home middle school with strong teachers so I think it also depends where you are coming from. [/quote]

OP here. This makes me nervous. Can you share what part of the county you are coming from? I hear about problems in all middle schools but I'm aware that some are worse than others. Are you in the DCC or in another part of the county?
[/quote]

I didn't post that but lots of people agree with that poster's sentiments. A lot of kids are really unhappy with the program and leave. We heard it has a higher attrition rate than any other magnet. For some kids it's academic. You can search for information about a particular 6th grade teacher and the workload. You'll also find a fair number of kids who did not like the program's social dynamics. There are a lot of arrogant students. There are also nice students of course but I am pointing out what you see that you might not see as often in your regular school.[/quote]

I know a family that left after 6th grade and was happier at the home DCC middle school. Separately, I wish MCPS would just offer the magnet curriculum at all schools, or some approximation of it like they’re doing with ELC in elementary. There are so many more kids that qualify than get a spot. [/quote]

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