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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Takoma Park ES is the lower elementary K-2 that puts half of their first grade into their science "magnet" (it's called a magnet because they leave 10 spots open for out-of- boundary students, but they are not eligible for future benefits.)  TPES feeds into Piney Branch ES where there is one 27-student class of fourth and fifth graders, respectively,  at aside for their local Center for Enriched Studies.  Then, about 25 PBES students are invited directly into the Takoma Park Middle School STEM magnet without the heavy competition the rest of the lower county.  If I knew what I was doing 15 years ap when we'd bought our house, we'd have moved into that school some. [/quote]

Lots of misinformation in this thread about TPES/PBES so let me address some things:

The TPES magnet curriculum happens starting in 1st grade, and if your child is above, say, the 80th percentile he'll be in it. MANY kids are in it at TPES - as far as I can tell there's no limit to who gets this. [b]It's unremarkable, and frankly, it's just what parents who value education and have a brighter than average kid would expect out of regular school. This is for 1st and 2nd. [/b]

When you move to PBES in 3rd nothing happens. Not even enriched math. ]For my child, a very bright, 99th percentile kid, it was an incredible boring year. We were disappointed with the curriculum but had a good teacher so it was fine.

In 4th you can attend the local CES. This year there are TWO classes of 4th graders (about 1/4 of the 4th grade). No idea if it will continue to be this large. Local CES is nice, and we are grateful for it, but it's not great for a truly super gifted kid for a few reasons. 1.) The local cohort, filled with lots of super smart and motivated kids, is watered down compared to the centers. 2.) It's just accelerated work and lots of it. It's not going to suit a kid who is truly off the charts exceptional (our kid is not this, and therefore does fine). Don't get me wrong - it's a good thing, but a kid who needs genius-level support is not going to be well suited to a local CES.

Middle School magnets of an accelerated academic (not interest-based) nature in MCPS are a crapshoot. Of all the qualified kids, only a fraction are permitted to attend through lottery. We're hoping to find another county to move to by that time so that we can have a smaller environment with more accessible paths to enrichment. [/quote]

That's not accurate. There are differentiated groupings that work on different things. For example, DC who is in 3rd at PBES recently finished long-division and is currently working multiplying fractions. I do not think this is standard for 2.0.[/quote]

Unremarkable and “what you would expect” are a bit of an oxymoron in MCPS 1st and 2nd math! As someone who knows children of the same age in both TPES and a regular ES, I’d like to state that the TPES program is remarkable and definitely moves at a faster rate than the regular curriculum.

To PP above, that sounds exactly like what my DC in a regional CES is doing in compacted 4/5 right now. So those third graders may be doing 2.0 compacted 4/5? How I wish that were more widely available....[/quote]

Our youngest is at TPES and our oldest is at PBES. We really couldn't be happier with the schools. The smaller class sizes combined with dedicated STEM and accelerated math classes are unique. We moved to the area because we liked the feel of Takoma, but the schools are a huge plus. [/quote]

TPES has the only elementary level magnet program in MCPS and PBES also has a dedicated STEM teacher.

The accelerated math track that starts at TPES by 3rd is similar to 4th grade compacted as an earlier poster mentioned.

Also, find the smaller class sizes at TPES which range from 16-20 kids is especially helpful for the younger kids.[/quote]

Keep in mind that those programs were put into those schools due to the very high level of poverty in the Takoma Park Area and the parents clamored for years for enrichment to keep their kids in different classes than the kids who don’t need “enrichment”. I would tour the area before I made any decisions to send my kids to a program over there.  TP uses the STEM classes as carrots to middle class parents. Ask your self if it is worth it[/quote]

Takoma Park is a diverse area, and decades ago when these programs began the area was also different than today. The FAMRS rate at TPES is around 35% which is why it's a focus school. This is also why many classes often have only 16 kids instead of 25-30. It really is an amazing school. [/quote]

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