Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Magnet: Just as with private school, you as a parent have to be willing to drive your child to social activities all over the area and potential host all day play dates.

Home school: Your child walks to the park two blocks away and finds three friends from school already there.

In what areas of Montgomery County do play-date-aged children in the DCUM demographic walk to the park by themselves and find 3 other children who are also allowed to walk to the park by themselves?

In what areas of Montgomery County do parents insist on accompanying their middle schoolers to the neighborhood park down the street?

But also....it doesn't need to be either/or. Our magnet kid has occasional "playdates" with classmates who don't leave nearby, but also walks down the street to hang out with neighborhood friends who attend the local school, since he's known them since they were little.

DC passed on Eastern and TPMS. Happy w that choice. had DC done a middle school magnet DC would have sought to follow the cohort to the HS magnets. The amount of time in cars and buses over 7 years was unappealing.

We passed on magnets and DD is a sophomore at home school. Taking a challenging course load and is happy as a clam with a good group of friends. Would also have had good friends at the magnets.

I’m conflicted about this also, but I lean towards accepting the magnet opportunity, having DC try it out for at least a quarter, and go from there. Since you can always go back to your home school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Magnet: Just as with private school, you as a parent have to be willing to drive your child to social activities all over the area and potential host all day play dates.

Home school: Your child walks to the park two blocks away and finds three friends from school already there.

In what areas of Montgomery County do play-date-aged children in the DCUM demographic walk to the park by themselves and find 3 other children who are also allowed to walk to the park by themselves?

Areas where parents unclench. We live in DTSS.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:YMMV, but one downside of going back to home high school was that it was actually less diverse than magnet schools in every dimension. That had more of a negative impact than I anticipated.

You choose an area that wasn't diverse on purpose so how is that an issue?

Anonymous wrote:Since we have no idea when or where this happened, we don’t know what the OP might have chosen or intended. If they say it’s an issue, it’s an issue.

But it's so much easier to lob cultural hand grenades this way!

Anonymous wrote:Magnet: Just as with private school, you as a parent have to be willing to drive your child to social activities all over the area and potential host all day play dates.

Home school: Your child walks to the park two blocks away and finds three friends from school already there.

In what areas of Montgomery County do play-date-aged children in the DCUM demographic walk to the park by themselves and find 3 other children who are also allowed to walk to the park by themselves?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:YMMV, but one downside of going back to home high school was that it was actually less diverse than magnet schools in every dimension. That had more of a negative impact than I anticipated.

You choose an area that wasn't diverse on purpose so how is that an issue?

Since we have no idea when or where this happened, we don’t know what the OP might have chosen or intended. If they say it’s an issue, it’s an issue.

Magnet: Just as with private school, you as a parent have to be willing to drive your child to social activities all over the area and potential host all day play dates.

Home school: Your child walks to the park two blocks away and finds three friends from school already there.

DD turned down both RMIB and Blair. We second guess a few times, but in the end I can see that DD is happy, plenty challenged, has time to pursue her passion that I think will develop her a lot better in the long run.

Who really knows what the other path might result in, but the one she is on now looks pretty great to me.