Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do many of the children in the surrounding neighborhood(s) attend other schools? I've always wondered why the school has the reputation that it does, as it is not located in an economically depressed neighborhood.

It's a Jewish neighborhood, fairly Orthodox, and therefore has a high percentage of kids in religious schools. This is the main reason.

In our actual experience with the school, the reputation was undeserved. Odessa taught my family that Great Schools and FARMS rates are not reasons to reject a school. If you are uncomfortable with immigrant families, or people who are socially not like you, or culturally different, it may not be the school for you. But those families also value education. Also have highly intelligent children. Also want them to succeed.

Except that’s not quite the case at this school. Yes there are some families that value education there, but far more children there are not college bound kids. And that’s fine, I’m not saying they should all go to college but I don’t want my child surrounded mostly by those type of students. I would prefer more college bound kids. Also, the school is not diverse. Look at the racial and SES make up of the students. It’s not evenly balanced among all races. Also, more kids are FARMS than not. Again, I don’t have any problem with low income students but I don’t want that to be the majority of the kids.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Look at the graduation rate and college readiness score for the feeder high school. Again, I didn’t say all are not college bound but statistically there are far more non college bound kids there than I’m comfortable with. If you have no other choice, then I’m sure you can get a great education there and go on to a great college, but if you have a choice, then why not send them to a school that aligns better with your child.

Yes, how shocking. A large number of ESOL kids don't go to college immediately, at least not anywhere you've heard of.

When we were at OSMS, I went to college career day with a few teachers and a schoolbus full of kids, none of which had classes with my kid. They were all still planning on going to college. Most for STEM or business. They were good kids. Smart, interesting, dynamic, and it made me really take a pause to think about class, SES, cultural bias, and how toxic the UMC hamster wheel truly is. Your kilometers may vary.

Anonymous wrote:9 month old zombie thread alert!

Anonymous wrote:DC is scheduled to go to Odessa Shannon Middle School (formerly Lee MS) next year. (Despite being in every lottery pool, we had no luck.) We have heard mostly bad things about the school in the past, so we're very nervous. DC is currently in a CES and is in compact math, and is hoping to eventually get into either the Blair SMCS magnet or another STEM magnet for high school.

3 years ago, when our older child was going to middle school, we were told by a Blair staff member that it was exceedingly rare for a Lee MS student to be invited to the SMCS magnet there, and that we should consider AOPS, test prep academies, and other outside of school activities to try to catch up because Lee did not adequately prepare students for the SMCS program. Our older child also shadowed a Lee MS student in the AIM 6 and HIGH classes in spring 2019, and found them to be WAY less challenging than even what they had been doing in their 5th grade CES and compact math. They also complained that the Lee students were not engaged in the class (DC answered more than most of the students actually in the class); many were doodling or sleeping during class. (Our older child got into TPMS 3 years ago after appealing, and will be in the Blair SMCS magnet next year. I can confirm that the TPMS 6th grade magnet math and HIGH classes in 2019-2020 were FAR more rigorous than what they had experienced at Lee MS in spring 2019.)

Does anyone know how many OSMS 8th graders got into the more competitive criteria-based high school magnets this year, e.g., Blair SCMS, RMIB, Wheaton Biomed, Wheaton Engineering?

Since they started the lottery system for getting into the Eastern/TPMS magnets, is there a decent-sized cohort "left behind" such that OSMS has more challenging classes now (than in 2019)?

Are there opportunities at OSMS for extra enrichment, science fair, extensive research projects, other advanced activities, etc.? (The after school LEGO robotics club there doesn't seem to be any more than the plug-and-play activity that's also offered at the elementary schools. It's not like a FIRST Robotics competition club.)

Is there any computer science class at OSMS that teaches more than just Scratch, e.g., extensive Python or Java coding?

Do the smart kids get bullied there?

Anonymous wrote:Look at the graduation rate and college readiness score for the feeder high school. Again, I didn’t say all are not college bound but statistically there are far more non college bound kids there than I’m comfortable with. If you have no other choice, then I’m sure you can get a great education there and go on to a great college, but if you have a choice, then why not send them to a school that aligns better with your child.

Anonymous wrote:Both my husband and I went to a top university, so that's about the level of expectation we have for our kids (and they say they have for themselves). However, I know my kids.

Although my younger kid will rise to any challenge presented (straight As in 5th grade CES and compact math, entered in both TPMS and Eastern lotteries), he will only work as hard as he's pushed, and would be more than happy to slack off if the school does not offer a rigorous program. If the "magnet level" math and history class still are taught as poorly and low-level as they were in 2019 (the first year they were offered), he will definitely not be getting into any good high school magnet, and will continue his slacking in high school.

On the other hand, if he's surrounded by friends who are ambitious and/or hard workers, then he will work hard, too. If OSMS has improved their classes for top students, and there's at least 10 or so other students in his grade who demand (and receive) good enrichment, then he'll probably be fine. He said the "next smartest kid" in his compact math class is going to OSMS next year, and that's one of his best friends.

As for the poster above who said "I don’t want my child surrounded mostly by those type of students," those are EXACTLY the SAME students that your child was surrounded by in elementary school if you live in that area, at least until 3rd grade if your child was accepted into the Pine Crest CES, and even the Pine Crest CES has at least 6 kids from the OSMS catchment area (Arcola, Kemp Mill, Glenallan). You had already made the choice to have your child surrounded by "those types of students" when you moved into your home.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do many of the children in the surrounding neighborhood(s) attend other schools? I've always wondered why the school has the reputation that it does, as it is not located in an economically depressed neighborhood.

It's a Jewish neighborhood, fairly Orthodox, and therefore has a high percentage of kids in religious schools. This is the main reason.

In our actual experience with the school, the reputation was undeserved. Odessa taught my family that Great Schools and FARMS rates are not reasons to reject a school. If you are uncomfortable with immigrant families, or people who are socially not like you, or culturally different, it may not be the school for you. But those families also value education. Also have highly intelligent children. Also want them to succeed.

Except that’s not quite the case at this school. Yes there are some families that value education there, but far more children there are not college bound kids. And that’s fine, I’m not saying they should all go to college but I don’t want my child surrounded mostly by those type of students. I would prefer more college bound kids. Also, the school is not diverse. Look at the racial and SES make up of the students. It’s not evenly balanced among all races. Also, more kids are FARMS than not. Again, I don’t have any problem with low income students but I don’t want that to be the majority of the kids.

Honest question: how do you know whether these kids are college bound? They’re in 6th - 8th grade. How is it that you have already determined college isn’t happening for them?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do many of the children in the surrounding neighborhood(s) attend other schools? I've always wondered why the school has the reputation that it does, as it is not located in an economically depressed neighborhood.

It's a Jewish neighborhood, fairly Orthodox, and therefore has a high percentage of kids in religious schools. This is the main reason.

In our actual experience with the school, the reputation was undeserved. Odessa taught my family that Great Schools and FARMS rates are not reasons to reject a school. If you are uncomfortable with immigrant families, or people who are socially not like you, or culturally different, it may not be the school for you. But those families also value education. Also have highly intelligent children. Also want them to succeed.

Except that’s not quite the case at this school. Yes there are some families that value education there, but far more children there are not college bound kids. And that’s fine, I’m not saying they should all go to college but I don’t want my child surrounded mostly by those type of students. I would prefer more college bound kids. Also, the school is not diverse. Look at the racial and SES make up of the students. It’s not evenly balanced among all races. Also, more kids are FARMS than not. Again, I don’t have any problem with low income students but I don’t want that to be the majority of the kids.