What are college admissions like at Commonwealth?

megleyb@yahoo.com wrote:

Anonymous wrote:C/A definitely has a real campus. It has a brand new gym and is expanding further this year. If you mean athletic facilities, it does have the new gym, volleyball, etc., and partners with the local YMCA for swimming, workouts, gym classes. Look at its facebook page. There's also a baseball field and park across the street that the school uses. As for "intellectual peers", my C/A kid's friends are in Mensa (if you are into that sort of thing - sniff sniff); two scored an astonishing 35 on the ACT; one scored a perfect 800 on SAT math. Two have scored 750 on math and chemistry subject matter tests. Another friend took a foreign language class at NOVA during his junior year. Another took a college-level course at NOVA during summer and got an A. Maybe my kid's class is unique . . . but this school is doing something right. I just wish I had found it earlier for my older "quirky bright" children.

Thank you, that is great to know! I just signed up for a tour. I know the area quite well but didn't know that they built a new gym. Also, good to know about the Mensa kids, since our DC is also in Mensa (we get great discounts for CTY classes, much more than the Mensa admission price!!). Are these classes more for the older grades? (i.e. HS?) We would be looking at the lower school.

I know people laugh at Mensa at times, but I signed up kiddo to boost her self-confidence, which he sorely needed after a bad run-in with a punitive traditional school. She's now soaring. Mensa youth in the D.C. area has some great outings. But I did want to pass on that Mensa does have college scholarships, which is the other reason I signed her up.

Anonymous wrote:C/A definitely has a real campus. It has a brand new gym and is expanding further this year. If you mean athletic facilities, it does have the new gym, volleyball, etc., and partners with the local YMCA for swimming, workouts, gym classes. Look at its facebook page. There's also a baseball field and park across the street that the school uses. As for "intellectual peers", my C/A kid's friends are in Mensa (if you are into that sort of thing - sniff sniff); two scored an astonishing 35 on the ACT; one scored a perfect 800 on SAT math. Two have scored 750 on math and chemistry subject matter tests. Another friend took a foreign language class at NOVA during his junior year. Another took a college-level course at NOVA during summer and got an A. Maybe my kid's class is unique . . . but this school is doing something right. I just wish I had found it earlier for my older "quirky bright" children.

Thank you, that is great to know! I just signed up for a tour. I know the area quite well but didn't know that they built a new gym. Also, good to know about the Mensa kids, since our DC is also in Mensa (we get great discounts for CTY classes, much more than the Mensa admission price!!). Are these classes more for the older grades? (i.e. HS?) We would be looking at the lower school.

C/A definitely has a real campus. It has a brand new gym and is expanding further this year. If you mean athletic facilities, it does have the new gym, volleyball, etc., and partners with the local YMCA for swimming, workouts, gym classes. Look at its facebook page. There's also a baseball field and park across the street that the school uses. As for "intellectual peers", my C/A kid's friends are in Mensa (if you are into that sort of thing - sniff sniff); two scored an astonishing 35 on the ACT; one scored a perfect 800 on SAT math. Two have scored 750 on math and chemistry subject matter tests. Another friend took a foreign language class at NOVA during his junior year. Another took a college-level course at NOVA during summer and got an A. Maybe my kid's class is unique . . . but this school is doing something right. I just wish I had found it earlier for my older "quirky bright" children.

We are looking for something to accommodate our GT/LD DC in the Alexandria, VA area, or close to it. Does anyone know about someplace that would help? I've heard Commonwealth School, but it has no real campus, and a lot of the children are more LD than GT, which concerns me. I'm hoping to find someplace that my DC can be with his intellectual peers.Thanks!

I agree with PP's suggestions about the GTLD Network. We found that very helpful when considering options for our child. We have one GT child and one GT/LD child.

IME, our home school team (at an ES in the Westland cluster) was not at all qualified to recognize or program instructionally for a GT/LD kid. The IEP team would not have made a placement at Barnsley (GT/LD ES) or N. Bethesda (GT/LD MS) without significant push from us, the parents, nor without the assistance of Marisa Stemple, the MCPS GT/LD Instructional Specialist. Marisa can facilitate visits to the MS for parents to see the GT/LD instructional program. You, as a parent, can also invite her to observe your child at school, review your neuorpsych/assessment data, and participate in the IEP meetings that lead to placement at the GT/LD schools.

IMO, you should look at Westland very carefully. A couple of years ago a special education complaint was filed against them and they had to completely re-vamp some of their systems to ensure that they were providing promised instruction and accommodations. The principal held a parent meeting to discuss the complaint and changes. She seemed apologetic and committed to change, but I don't have a sense of what happened because we decided not to place our child there.

Another thing to consider is whether Westland is at all situated to handle the GT part of GT/LD. IMO, they are not. There is some accelerated math, but I don't think it's more than 1 year above grade level. They do not offer any GT English or World Studies. Both of these "Advanced" classes are classes that ALL students take and were the result of broad middle school curriculum reform 8 or so years ago. While the general high SES of Westland might mean that these "advanced for all" classes are taught at higher level than elsewhere in the county, they in no way meet the needs of GT learners.

I have watched a wide swath of my older child's GT peer group. Some went to MS magnets, some stayed at Westland. Without exception, the Westland kids were not challenged. The result is that some of them learn to hide their smarts. Others simply mentally disengage. Others think of themselves as "weird" for having academic interests. Still others shift their focus to perfection and elaborate attention to minor unimportant details of work. It's been sort of depressing to watch.

Sorry, I can't comment on N. Bethesda, except to say that I know one family that has placed a child there and seems happy, but it is only their first year.

Given your description of your child, I would *highly* urge you to consider applying to the TPMS math and science magnet. Mention in the application about the science research and author's award. Also disclose about the IEP.

TPMS special ed is well-regarded. Every year the magnet accepts kids with IEP or 504 plans and is obligated to support them. You might find that the depth of instruction is more engaging for your child. Just because your child is GT/LD, does NOT mean that he/she is limited to a GT/LD program. GT students have the same rights of access and support at regular GT programs. In the TPMS magnet, magnet students take "regular" (i.e. "Advanced for all") English and World Studies, so that might work with a student who has reading/writing challenges and needs support.

If you think your child's reading/writing strengths are a better fit for the Eastern MS Humanities magnet, then I would encourage you to apply there as well, although the administration is far less accommodating to special needs GT students. (IMO, that place is a sped lawsuit waiting to happen....)

FYI, OP, it's "mainstream" not "normal."

GL to your son; hope he finds a good fit.

We've been looking into the GT/LD program as well. I suggest you connect with the GTLD Network: http://www.gtldnet.org/ Their next meeting will have a panel of GT/LD kids and what has worked for them. At their last meeting, they had representatives from one of the GT/LD middle schools (not N. Bethesda) and share a lot of information. The meetings are at WJ.

But, from what I understand, at a minimum you need to have an IEP (which you do), but you also need to get a recommendation from the school/MCPS that your child needs the GT/LD program.

I didn't know these programs existed either. My DS sounds very much like PPs. PP, can you share what private schools you considered for your son? We are going through the process now and it's difficult to figure out which schools will be sufficiently challenging, but also supportive of the writing/processing speed issues.

OP, do you have any additional info on the North Bethesda program? How do you get into the program? Would love to find out more as well!

I had no idea these programs existed in MCPS. My DS is now in private for middle school because I didn't feel our public could meet this unique needs while challenging him. Why don't they share these options with parents? I just learned a friend's son is in a GT/LD program in 3rd grade. It sounds like it would have been the perfect fit for my son over the last few years. Instead he always felt like the odd one out in his classroom. My son also had high standardized test scores and was a voracious reader and quick learner in math, science and social studies, but he struggled terribly with writing and that really held him back.

I've just realized that there are GT/LD middle schools - the one we would be zoned for is North Bethesda.
Can anyone share what they do there that's different from the local middle school (in our case, Westland)? Pros and cons?

My 5th grader had always been at his local elementary, with an IEP since K for organizational and scribing help. He is very slow, distractible and has fine motor issues/dysgraphia. His MAP scores are in the 97% range every year, he reads voraciously, writes and researches science beautifully, but only when he's interested and not distracted - which means practically never in his general classroom! He won a young author's contest last year. His grades are average, unless he gets an N when he forgets to turn something in. His IQ subscores are 120 and above, apart from abysmal processing speed and inconclusive working memory scores.

Would he be a good candidate for a GT/LD middle school? I want him to find school interesting, and am looking for more stimulation but with built-in supports.

Any insights would be very helpful indeed. Thanks!