OP here,

Can I ask just on a basic level, how many magnet classes does a kid take? Are they additions to the schedule, making a longer school day, or are they replacing other classes? If so which classes?

What electives are available?

Can someone post their kid's schedule?

What extracurriculars are there at Eastern? Are there sports teams?

I have a 6th grader in the Humanities program this year, so my experience is limited to the distance learning situation.

The Eastern magnet is known for a handful of things:

1) Producing excellent writers

2) A tremendous workload (much more homework than the TPMS magnet)

3) A general sink-or-swim environment

4) An integrated approach to English, Literature, Media, and Social Studies.

The DL experience has been a bit whiplash-inducing, with all of the above in mind. It started out with a tremendous workload, high expectations and very little support to kids who were struggling.

Then suddenly in Q2 the workload dropped off precipitously and grading standards evaporated.

Now it is Q3 and grading standards are back, but with the aforementioned smaller workload. The downside is that each assignment is now much more heavily weighted but also more heavily scrutinized, which is sort of a worst case scenario.

I have a current 8th grader in the program. It's been a great experience, but I agree with the PP that 6th grade was a big adjustment, even coming from an ES magnet program. The 6th grade teachers did give a bit of leeway at the start, and let kids ramp up to meeting the increased expectations.

Your kid doesn't necessarily need to be a great writer to start with, but they need to be ready to do the work and accept the feedback that will get them there. For most high school programs, the research and writing will be a breeze compared to what they did at Eastern.

There honestly wasn't as much reading as I'd expected, volume-wise, but they spend a lot of time on each book, and even the short readings are analyzed pretty deeply.

Same goes for the readings in World Studies. My student had never really had a proper chronological, in-depth history course before, and they really developed a love for history when 7th grade moved beyond just cultural understanding into true analysis of cause-and-effect in history, and using primary sources in a meaningful way.

The media component is the truly unique element in the program, but it's been a bit different over the past year, because they can't get out into the community to film and interview (not to mention the loss of the 8th grade NYC trip). Normally they do lots of computer editing on the classroom Macs, and learn all the different tools in the Adobe suite.

I know families with kids accepted to both Eastern and Takoma magnet programs have typically been wary of math at Eastern. Of course it doesn't compare to what kids would get in the Takoma program, but the offerings are equal to or better than what they'd get at other MCPS middle schools. Some 6th graders do take Algebra I, so it's worth talking to their counselor if you think your student might benefit from that.

My kid has actually enjoyed math for the first time at Eastern. From what I've seen, the teachers have tried to give kids an in-depth understanding of what they're learning, not just ticking boxes in the curriculum. They also have a math team that's had some modest successes at local competitions, with a great faculty sponsor. Again, it ain't Takoma, but it's not a barren math wasteland, either.

I'd say the weak point has been science, but that's honestly a factor of the MCPS curriculum, and would probably be similar at Sligo. My kid says their 7th grade science teacher was one of their favorite teachers ever, and I know she made a conscious effort to go beyond the basic curriculum whenever she could.

Hope this helps a little! I highly recommend it if you have a kid who's generally curious and engaged in learning, and not afraid to put in a bit of work. If they're primarily interested in STEM and tend to blow off other subjects, then it might not be a good fit. But if they have a well-rounded attitude toward learning, it will probably be a good experience and set them up well for high school and beyond.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did the Humanities and Communications program become a lottery program?

My daughter was in the program a few years ago and had a great experience. I would highly recommend it if your child is accepted into the program.

The school itself needs to be demolished and redone since it hasn't been touched since 1970 though.

My understanding is that they took kids with certain MAP scores and reading levels and grades, and put them in a lottery. And then my kid was selected in the lottery.

Can you tell me about the program? We're new to MCPS, and due to pandemic don't really know other MCPS families, and the admissions caught me by surprise.

Weird, I posted twice. I thought my first post got lost somehow.

There are two threads about the Covid-era magnet lottery process on the MCPS forum. Apparently qualified students (with good enough test scores and possibly other factors) were put in a pool for each magnet, and then a lottery system was used to determine who would get in.

With parents comparing notes on the other thread, we're finding out that - surprise! - some very high MAP scorers did not win the lottery, while some lower-scoring kids did.

I'm sure it won't affect the cohort that much, since in my opinion the magnet middle schools could expand their seating by another 100 and still get the cream of the crop.

But... parents of outliers who did not win the lottery are understandably disappointed. It doesn't seem like a fair process to those kids at all; they are now stuck in their home school with "advanced" programming.

My daughter will be finishing there this year. The program hasn't impressed me, however, we did half of her time in virtual learning and she missed the big trip. We also have probably the longest bus ride. The long day just wasn't worth it. Also, Eastern is a very different population than our hoe middle school. For example, she learned a lot of new words in the lunch room (yes, I realize all middle schoolers swear. the lunch room is particularly out of control at Eastern). It's just a very odd dynamics of the magnet kids vs. the comprehensive kids. The science classes would have been better at our home school.

Anonymous wrote:Did the Humanities and Communications program become a lottery program?

My daughter was in the program a few years ago and had a great experience. I would highly recommend it if your child is accepted into the program.

The school itself needs to be demolished and redone since it hasn't been touched since 1970 though.

My understanding is that they took kids with certain MAP scores and reading levels and grades, and put them in a lottery. And then my kid was selected in the lottery.

Can you tell me about the program? We're new to MCPS, and due to pandemic don't really know other MCPS families, and the admissions caught me by surprise.

There's a slideshow with a description on the school site somewhere. I think your experience will be different than in past classes due to the selection process changing so much.

Anonymous wrote:Did the Humanities and Communications program become a lottery program?

My daughter was in the program a few years ago and had a great experience. I would highly recommend it if your child is accepted into the program.

The school itself needs to be demolished and redone since it hasn't been touched since 1970 though.

OP here,

My understanding is that they took all the kids with qualifying scores and made a lottery. My child was accepted. I can not imagine he'd have been accepted in a different year.

Can you tell me about the program?

My understanding that they are placing kids in the magnets but they also have a lottery for vacancies or to ensure those kids get enrichment at their home MS.

Have heard great things about Eastern from a friends kid who went there last year.

It is a great experience and a lot of work. The sixth grade homework load can be heavy. The projects and work are interesting and engaging, and the classmates are great.

Anonymous wrote:Did the Humanities and Communications program become a lottery program?

My daughter was in the program a few years ago and had a great experience. I would highly recommend it if your child is accepted into the program.

The school itself needs to be demolished and redone since it hasn't been touched since 1970 though.

It’s just this year.

Anonymous wrote:Did the Humanities and Communications program become a lottery program?

My daughter was in the program a few years ago and had a great experience. I would highly recommend it if your child is accepted into the program.

The school itself needs to be demolished and redone since it hasn't been touched since 1970 though.

Agree on all of this - fantastic experience - especially the writing component - my child did better and more challenging writing and research at Eastern than in his first two years of high school.

Did the Humanities and Communications program become a lottery program?

My daughter was in the program a few years ago and had a great experience. I would highly recommend it if your child is accepted into the program.

The school itself needs to be demolished and redone since it hasn't been touched since 1970 though.

I thought that TPMS could be a good fit for my child, but he didn't win the lottery there.

To my surprise, he did win the lottery for Eastern which I hadn't really considered. Can someone tell me about the program there?

Our home school is Sligo, if anyone knows both programs and can make comparisons.