Please please choose your house based on its high school pathway! Don’t choose for its MS assignment. Go with Eastern to get Blair.

Anonymous wrote:MCPS middle schools have terrible electives all around so I wouldn't focus on that. It's just luck whether you get a good teacher and there happens to be a spot in a period where your child does not have a required class.

If you want to guarantee your child access to STEM electives in HS which is much more important than MS it's no question that you should do whatever school with guarantee your child a a spot at Blair. The STEM electives are numerous, rigorous and open to non-magnet kids.

Sligo is a stronger academic school overall but because Eastern has the magnet program there will be plenty of smart kids who are peers. They are mixed together with the non-magnet kids for math and science and many of those kids will also be strong in STEM in addition to humanities.

Careful about using the word "guarantee." DCC HS boundaries are all likely to change around 2025/26 when new Northwood and Woodward open.

MCPS middle schools have terrible electives all around so I wouldn't focus on that. It's just luck whether you get a good teacher and there happens to be a spot in a period where your child does not have a required class.

If you want to guarantee your child access to STEM electives in HS which is much more important than MS it's no question that you should do whatever school with guarantee your child a a spot at Blair. The STEM electives are numerous, rigorous and open to non-magnet kids.

Sligo is a stronger academic school overall but because Eastern has the magnet program there will be plenty of smart kids who are peers. They are mixed together with the non-magnet kids for math and science and many of those kids will also be strong in STEM in addition to humanities.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is no such thing as local magnet math and history.

Yes there is. It’s called AIM and HIGH. DD is in these classes at Sligo. Ms. Chichester is awesome and was MCPS teacher of the year a couple years ago.

If it makes you feel better call it a magnet but they are local enriched classes.

Anonymous wrote:We will be moving within the DCC area and have narrowed down our neighborhoods to either the Sligo MS or Eastern MS areas.

We have a rising 6th grader who was identified for both magnet lotteries, but wasn't selected for a spot, so they will be in both the local magnet math and magnet history classes.

They are mostly interested in STEM electives and extracurriculars, but also want to take Spanish. (Chorus would be an acceptable elective alternative if there is no STEM elective available, but they'd probably still be disappointed.)

Which should we choose?

We also have a rising 9th grader who will be in a magnet at Blair, but that won't change based on our moving.

OP, Sligo's elective offerings for rising 6th graders are described on this page:

https://sites.google.com/mcpsmd.net/schoolcounselingatsligo/home/registration-for-sligo