Has the vibe changed as the school has grown? I can't imagine over 220 kids per grade.

I'm not a current family as my son will start K in the fall. But I live in the neighborhood surrounded by many families whose children attend TPES. Families in my neighborhood seem very happy with TPES - of course there are some challenges like too much indoor recess this winter and a lot of discussion about noise levels during lunch but everyone seems to love their teachers, the principal and the community. And though it's a large school with many classes per grade people seem to appreciate the warm community feeling of the school. Also, class sizes are smaller than average I believe (18-22 per class).

I recently did a tour there for families of rising K students and was impressed by how many students the principal knew by name, the level of engagement and enthusiasm of the K teachers and children and the facility itself.

Also, very active PTA.

All of that being said...people seem to say that if your child is happy and relatively challenged at your neighborhood school then the magnet isn't really worth the change/commute, etc. It is really designed for kids that have no peer group in their neighborhood school.

Can any current families weigh in ?

I know many people love that it is a primary school, so all the kids are little. But for us, the sheer size of it outweighed the benefits of only being k-2. There are about ten classrooms per grade. So, even though all the kids are young, it is a huge school. The size also leads to some strict playground rules, like no playing tag, because there are just too many kids on the playground at one time.

We used to live in TP and I'll say this. The families are wonderful but the kids are an entitled bunch that could benefit from hearing no and a little less hippie parenting

My child doesn't attend there, but I went once and left very disappointed with the uppity/rude staff and strict rules. Maybe others will give an opposite opinion, since maybe the people I encountered were just having an off day.

Can you give me your thoughts on Takoma Park Elem in general? Not necessarily the "academics" I know about that, I'm just looking for general feel, how's the community, PTA involvement, the teachers, etc? We are going through the magnet process for our child, and I know the schoolwork would be a good fit. But we're really getting into a nice groove with our neighborhood school, and would be nervous about leaving that comfort level behind, even for a better "academic fit." Thanks for any thoughts you can share.