Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've had kids at both, and the one thing I'll say is that the Humanities program felt more cohesive, if your child is someone who appreciates community. In the Humanities magnet, there's no one taking AP Lang in 8th grade (or whatever), so the same kids are in the same classes getting to know one another. Moreover, most of the Humanities kids take the bonus elective in 6th grade, so they have 4 of their 7 classes together.

The STEM magnet has at least 3 different levels of differentiation in math in each magnet year, so kids only have 2 of their 7 classes together.

I don't know. Maybe the STEM magnet feels more like a community if you have a mathlete, but my kids' experiences were that the STEM magnet is good academically but just normal MS socially.

+1
I’ve had kids in both and agree that the humanities program is more cohesive. Since all of the kids are taking the same classes, they have aligned the courses with broader themes so the kids see the same topic (e.g. Greek culture) through different lenses in different classes - reading and writing about the Odyssey, studying the Greek Empire, putting together a Greek play with hand crafted masks. My STEM kid enjoyed the humanities program, still had advanced math, and was well prepared for the IB diploma with a focus on STEM. This DC is in grad school now, still with a blend of science, math, and communication skills, and I think the humanities program really helped his success on this path.

Anonymous wrote:I've had kids at both, and the one thing I'll say is that the Humanities program felt more cohesive, if your child is someone who appreciates community. In the Humanities magnet, there's no one taking AP Lang in 8th grade (or whatever), so the same kids are in the same classes getting to know one another. Moreover, most of the Humanities kids take the bonus elective in 6th grade, so they have 4 of their 7 classes together.

The STEM magnet has at least 3 different levels of differentiation in math in each magnet year, so kids only have 2 of their 7 classes together.

I don't know. Maybe the STEM magnet feels more like a community if you have a mathlete, but my kids' experiences were that the STEM magnet is good academically but just normal MS socially.

Anonymous wrote:It’s not like one is good and the other is just okay. They’re both excellent programs, but one focuses on STEM and the other focuses on English, history and media. Each program involves 3 magnet courses and the rest of the day is gen ed.

My dc attended the humanities magnet at MLK, so I’m more familiar with that one. DC had lots of group projects and picked up skills such as media literacy and video production. There was a focus on research and writing. Because MLK is a Middle Years IB school, students are required to take a foreign language all 3 years, and the instruction is at the high school pace. (In high school, Spanish 1A would be first semester and Spanish 1B would be second semester. In some other middle schools, students take 1A for both semesters and then 1B for both semesters the following year. At MLK, students move on to 2A and 2B their second year.) My dc had taken compacted math in elementary school and was able to stay on that track, although math is not part of the humanities curriculum. DC had algebra in 7th and geometry in 8th. There were students in the humanities magnet at MLK who went on to attend the STEM magnet at Poolesville, known as SMCS, so it’s not like for high school you’re locked into whichever focus you chose for middle school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've had kids at both, and the one thing I'll say is that the Humanities program felt more cohesive, if your child is someone who appreciates community. In the Humanities magnet, there's no one taking AP Lang in 8th grade (or whatever), so the same kids are in the same classes getting to know one another. Moreover, most of the Humanities kids take the bonus elective in 6th grade, so they have 4 of their 7 classes together.

The STEM magnet has at least 3 different levels of differentiation in math in each magnet year, so kids only have 2 of their 7 classes together.

I don't know. Maybe the STEM magnet feels more like a community if you have a mathlete, but my kids' experiences were that the STEM magnet is good academically but just normal MS socially.

What are the 3 math levels?

I thought everyone goes into prealgebra in 6th, except for extremely rare kids whose parents fought for radical exceptions in 5th grade.

Anonymous wrote:I've had kids at both, and the one thing I'll say is that the Humanities program felt more cohesive, if your child is someone who appreciates community. In the Humanities magnet, there's no one taking AP Lang in 8th grade (or whatever), so the same kids are in the same classes getting to know one another. Moreover, most of the Humanities kids take the bonus elective in 6th grade, so they have 4 of their 7 classes together.

The STEM magnet has at least 3 different levels of differentiation in math in each magnet year, so kids only have 2 of their 7 classes together.

I don't know. Maybe the STEM magnet feels more like a community if you have a mathlete, but my kids' experiences were that the STEM magnet is good academically but just normal MS socially.

Anonymous wrote:I've had kids at both, and the one thing I'll say is that the Humanities program felt more cohesive, if your child is someone who appreciates community. In the Humanities magnet, there's no one taking AP Lang in 8th grade (or whatever), so the same kids are in the same classes getting to know one another. Moreover, most of the Humanities kids take the bonus elective in 6th grade, so they have 4 of their 7 classes together.

The STEM magnet has at least 3 different levels of differentiation in math in each magnet year, so kids only have 2 of their 7 classes together.

I don't know. Maybe the STEM magnet feels more like a community if you have a mathlete, but my kids' experiences were that the STEM magnet is good academically but just normal MS socially.