PP again. The home school had a lot more homework than the CES. You might want that or not.

It is really teacher and school dependent.

I have kids 2 years apart and one went to a CES and the other got in but did not go and was in the home school ELC class. The teacher at DC's CES wrote her own curriculum and it was great but it turned out to be not that different from the home school ELC curriculum. They both had a few longer writing assignments that were fiction and informational writing.

Both read about the same number of books and while I don't remember overlapping books they were thematically similar. In fact the CES read a book by the same author as in the ELC on a related topic and they were about the same length and similar lexile level.

Our home school only had one ELC section of about 20 out of about 5 classes so my child got a lot of attention. The CES had multiple English classes so I think they got less feedback and attention.

OP here. Thanks to all for the helpful responses so far. Principal has offered a tour now (original declination was apparently from CES central office, weird they would make that decision for the school). We already know we are not going to the zoned middle school for our home school (White Oak) so that’s not a factor for us and neither is commute (home school and CES both very close. A few people hit upon what I think is my central question which is how different is ELC curriculum from CES? I spoke to someone about both programs last year and researched what I could online but feel like I can’t get a good handle on the differences (or frankly why there are differences in curriculum). Thanks again for all the comments.

Our child went to the CES and left. There were about 3-4 others who did the same thing. ELC and compacted math were great and the commute wasn't worth it.

Our child valued being able to walk to school and hang out with friends after school. 4th and 5th is when a lot of kids start making plans without as much parental involvement. A lot of plans were made infoon the bus so for the few months she went to the CES she was left out.

This is not Drew specific. Something to keep in mind is that there are more CES spots than there are middle school magnet spots, plus the middle school magnets are also on a lottery system, at least currently. So think about whether the CES matriculates to your home middle school or not and whether it matters to you. My child went to a CES and then went back to home middle school and felt pretty disconnected from the kids from his home elementary school. I’ve asked him if he’s glad he went to the CES, and he says he kind of wishes he’d stayed at the home elementary. In the end, the things we liked about the CES program seem to now be included in the ELC program, and I’m not sure how much more challenging the CES would be over ELC + compacted math.

I would find some families with actual experience and ask about the recess/discipline issue/principal and add in a question about homework load. Your school PTA might be able to refer you.

Our child had a terrific experience at a different CES but while the workload was high there wasn't too much homework which I personally prefer at this age. DC was in a lot of after school activities and the CES provided great balance.

We heard from friends that some other CESes were very high pressure and had a lot of homework. It would not have been worth it for us. Make sure the responses you get line up with your family's philosophy and how your child learns.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Principal is a bully. Lunch and recess are a disaster. There is no discipline and unruly kids run the show. Your kid may love it or hate it. I would insist on a tour.

'Cause I'm next on the waiting list.

I would never send my kid to that school.