OP, it is very hard to find anybody with meaningful experience in both MCPS and FCPS so you can compare. Common wisdom in the area says that MCPS is a better program while FCPS serves more kids. Now that MCPS has gone all lottery it is unlikely your kid will even get chosen for the magnet programs. I would go for FCPS.

GT/LD programs at the middle school and HS level are excellent in MCPS (these are not magnet programs, so they do not have access to specialized magnet curriculums and programs), but, your kid is going to need an IEP and has to be failing grade wise to be considered. It is not for kids who are making good grades and who are bored / could use enrichment.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If he's gifted in math, there aren't any public schools in the DMV that will challenge him in K-8. You'd be better off supplementing with AoPS or RSM and accepting that school math will be worthless.

Have you met TKPMS? This MS competes in HS math competitions.

All of the kids competing in the math competitions at TPMS have supplemented for YEARS using Kumon, AoPS, RSM, whatever the flavor of the month is. Don't kid yourself that MCPS created these math phenoms.

Nope. My kid and a few other I knew never done Kumon, AoPS, RSM etc...

How old is your child now? What kind of program is he currently in and how well do you feel it is working for him?

My child went through FCPS AAP and TJHSST and we knew lots of 2E kids along the way who did well in these programs. We found that the FCPS AAP and TJ teachers mostly all seem to be very aware of 2E and best practice ways to work with kids and help them to do their best.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If he's gifted in math, there aren't any public schools in the DMV that will challenge him in K-8. You'd be better off supplementing with AoPS or RSM and accepting that school math will be worthless.

Have you met TKPMS? This MS competes in HS math competitions.

All of the kids competing in the math competitions at TPMS have supplemented for YEARS using Kumon, AoPS, RSM, whatever the flavor of the month is. Don't kid yourself that MCPS created these math phenoms.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If he's gifted in math, there aren't any public schools in the DMV that will challenge him in K-8. You'd be better off supplementing with AoPS or RSM and accepting that school math will be worthless.

Have you met TKPMS? This MS competes in HS math competitions.

^^TPMS

Anonymous wrote:If he's gifted in math, there aren't any public schools in the DMV that will challenge him in K-8. You'd be better off supplementing with AoPS or RSM and accepting that school math will be worthless.

Have you met TKPMS? This MS competes in HS math competitions.

If he's gifted in math, there aren't any public schools in the DMV that will challenge him in K-8. You'd be better off supplementing with AoPS or RSM and accepting that school math will be worthless.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pp here. I realize you are looking for gifted programs. I just went through touring privates and we moved to McLean for their top schools not long ago. In my personal opinion, the best schools for the best students are as follows:

1. FCPS TJ
2. Big 3 Private - Sidwell, STA, NCS
3. MCPS - Richard Montgomery Magnet
4. Second tier Privates - Holton, Maret
4. MCPS - W schools
5. FCPS top schools - McLean, Langley, Oakton, Marshall

The good privates will do their best to screen out 2E children. I echo what PP said about FCPS having some teachers who are very experienced with ASD, only in our ES those teachers tended to be gen ed.

This list is absurd, OP. No one other than this strange poster would rank schools for gifted kids like this. There are very few gifted kids in top privates. I have kids two of those FWIW. At most you'll have 10 gifted kids in your child's whole grade. They just don't screen for academics the way magnet programs do.

FCPS has the most comprehensive and inclusive gifted programs with many tiers at almost all levels of schooling with TJ being at the top.
MCPS has extremely high quality programs that are almost impossible to access with the new lottery changes for ES and MS. In HS most of the top kids rise to the top but you need more than giftedness to get to the HS magnets. You need to show achievement, effort, motivation. Everyone knows Blair is the best. You can't compare the others to Blair but RM, Poolesville, and Wheaton engineering are also very respected. There are other, smaller programs at many other schools like a leadership magnet somewhere and a few others. If you go with MCPS some high schools also have their own local gifted type programs that families like. I think one is called Apex.

FWIW because of the way Fairfax is set up there are many 2e kids in AAP and even TJ. MCPS screens out many kids with IEPs or 504s although you will find a few of them who are always chiming in on DCUM.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pp here. I realize you are looking for gifted programs. I just went through touring privates and we moved to McLean for their top schools not long ago. In my personal opinion, the best schools for the best students are as follows:

1. FCPS TJ
2. Big 3 Private - Sidwell, STA, NCS
3. MCPS - Richard Montgomery Magnet
4. Second tier Privates - Holton, Maret
4. MCPS - W schools
5. FCPS top schools - McLean, Langley, Oakton, Marshall

Like you said, it's your opinion but it is deeply wrong.
Also OP said "especially in math/STEM", the private schools are nowhere near the top.

Privates can't compete with public magnets.

They cannot compete with the top public schools either, in math/STEM.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pp here. I realize you are looking for gifted programs. I just went through touring privates and we moved to McLean for their top schools not long ago. In my personal opinion, the best schools for the best students are as follows:

1. FCPS TJ
2. Big 3 Private - Sidwell, STA, NCS
3. MCPS - Richard Montgomery Magnet
4. Second tier Privates - Holton, Maret
4. MCPS - W schools
5. FCPS top schools - McLean, Langley, Oakton, Marshall

Like you said, it's your opinion but it is deeply wrong.
Also OP said "especially in math/STEM", the private schools are nowhere near the top.

Privates can't compete with public magnets.

I would go to the special needs forum to solicit advice about the best schools for 2e kids with Asperger’s/supports. I doubt you are going to get the kind of enrichment you imagine from elementary age gifted programs which are very small ‘pull out’ blocks of time and not that significant especially in elementary. You need to supplement enrichment with things like Russian school of math or Hopkins for that and think of public school as more socialization practice and what supports they will offer your son for communication challenges (if needed.)

Anonymous wrote:DS is gifted, ADHD, Asperger's (ie a carbon copy of my husband). We want to find him a place that will challenge him, especially in math/STEM. Is there a meaningful difference between Virginia and Maryland in this, or public vs private? Sorry, we're total newbies at this, new to the area, and don't have many friends with kids.

MCPS.

Anonymous wrote:Pp here. I realize you are looking for gifted programs. I just went through touring privates and we moved to McLean for their top schools not long ago. In my personal opinion, the best schools for the best students are as follows:

1. FCPS TJ
2. Big 3 Private - Sidwell, STA, NCS
3. MCPS - Richard Montgomery Magnet
4. Second tier Privates - Holton, Maret
4. MCPS - W schools
5. FCPS top schools - McLean, Langley, Oakton, Marshall

Like you said, it's your opinion but it is deeply wrong.
Also OP said "especially in math/STEM", the private schools are nowhere near the top.

Anonymous wrote:Pp here. I realize you are looking for gifted programs. I just went through touring privates and we moved to McLean for their top schools not long ago. In my personal opinion, the best schools for the best students are as follows:

1. FCPS TJ
2. Big 3 Private - Sidwell, STA, NCS
3. MCPS - Richard Montgomery Magnet
4. Second tier Privates - Holton, Maret
4. MCPS - W schools
5. FCPS top schools - McLean, Langley, Oakton, Marshall

You left out MCPS Blair/Poolesville SMCS magnets which are excellent.

Anonymous wrote:Pp here. I realize you are looking for gifted programs. I just went through touring privates and we moved to McLean for their top schools not long ago. In my personal opinion, the best schools for the best students are as follows:

1. FCPS TJ
2. Big 3 Private - Sidwell, STA, NCS
3. MCPS - Richard Montgomery Magnet
4. Second tier Privates - Holton, Maret
4. MCPS - W schools
5. FCPS top schools - McLean, Langley, Oakton, Marshall

The good privates will do their best to screen out 2E children. I echo what PP said about FCPS having some teachers who are very experienced with ASD, only in our ES those teachers tended to be gen ed.