OP: Does your DC have friends already at TJ?

And if your DC is willing to give it a try, would you really want to take that away from him/her? No one succeed at everything throughout one's lifetime. Learning from failure is just as valuable as getting all A's.

Anonymous wrote:You would have to talk to the school. My guess is that some teachers would accommodate more than others. For 9th grade the teachers already do have some intermediate deadlines for drafts, etc. Particularly in IBET, which is also the source of the intermediate projects.

As to pressure from themselves, I think that is a problem for many students. Someone said at orientation that everyone comes into TJ with virtually all As and almost no one leaves TJ with all As. "B" is a good grade at TJ and often the highest a student can get in a particular class no matter how many hours they spend trying to do better. It becomes an issue of diminishing returns. If you are already studying until 11-12 PM every night to get a mix of As and Bs, is there any hance that studying until 3AM lifts one of the Bs? Maybe. But the lack of sleep will make you drop in something else. It's not the place for a diehard perfectionist. It's a place for kids who are excited about learning and work hard but don't really focus on the grades. And be prepared to see a wide range of grades on various assignments on the interim reports including Fs. For example, if a teacher gives a really hard quiz with 5 questions and you only get 2 right, that's an F. It won't count for much in the final grade standing alone but it's a new experience for many kids.

Anonymous wrote:OP again. DC does not need extra time on tests or assignments. Generally is an excellent test taker. The ADHD issues are more managing long term assignments and organization, although DC is doing much better in the last year with the organization. The anxiety tends to be more internal and the accommodations include having a safe location to go when feeling panicky or overwhelmed (usually the counselor or school psychologist's office ).

To the PP who knows someone with a child with an IEP, do you know if they provide that sort of accommodation?

Anonymous wrote:There are many long term projects. Plus all the same amount of work one would have in a regular class as far as I can tell. Some of the long term projects are group projects. DC is on the computer working with a group on some project until 1 or 2 AM at least 2X per month. That means no one in the group (usually of 4) is organized to have the project done earlier. It is more like college in structure than typical high school. Everyone eats lunch at the same time wherever they want to. The construction is really bad and will be so for another 18 months I think. Meanwhile it's like a major construction zone and the hallways that can be used keep changing. Many classes are in trailers outside. Kids have to go back and forth, in and out, so much so that the PTSA provides buckets of umbrellas for anyone to use. If your DC is anxious with stress plus constant environment change, it doesn't sound ideal.

Anonymous wrote:

That means no one in the group (usually of 4) is organized to have the project done earlier.

Can you explain what you mean? I think you mean that even if my child has intermediate deadlines because of the IEP, the other kids in the group would not, so that IEP accommodation would be pointless? Intermediate deadlines only work for individual projects. They are not practical for group projects. Your DC, with some initial support from you or a teacher, could be the leader of his group and breakup a group project into smaller steps and set the deadlines with his group. HS should be the time when he learned how to break up the assignments himself, their is not similar accommodation in college. I know with my DC, we sometimes have to think outside of the box as each project is assigned. Not all accommodations fit easily into HS. It helps for the future in giving him group experience and a skill set to be able to use when he goes to college.

In MS, that IEP accommodation basically means that the teacher writes out an alternative timeline and the kids who have this accommodation need to show to the teacher that they are making progress at various points along the way. Essentially the teacher writes out a project plan for the kids with milestones vs. having just one end date for the whole project. But the kids are not graded on meeting those milestones, it just helps the kids plan out their work.

I don't think the construction will be an issue.

The freedom at lunch is one of the things that really appeals to my DC LOL!

Frankly, my main concern is self induced stress. My DC sets very high internal standards. These are self imposed. DH and I try very hard NOT to place any pressure on DC. We have this issue too. It is a work in progress and frequently keeping a tight rein on the activities and building in as much free relaxation time as possible.

Someone mentioned commute. We happen to live not terribly far away and I know that there is a morning carpool of kids not that far. DC would have to take the bus home in the afternoons. I was the one who mentioned commute. We are in McLean and it isn't just the trips to and from the HS. It is the trips to meet friends who are scattered. The late bus is really late. It is also because for my DC, sleep is very important and the added time for commute would eat into that. There is no way he could do projects after 10pm, he is an early bird and not an owl.

It's a hard decision because I think in many ways TJ would be a much better social fit, and that sense of social mismatch is a source of stress for DC now. It's all a balancing act.

That means no one in the group (usually of 4) is organized to have the project done earlier.

Anonymous wrote:Only 1% of students at TJ have IEPs. I think that shows how adept and proficient they are and how experienced. When we investigated, there were no team taught classes. There are no team taught Honors/AP classes at other HS either- at least that I am aware. TJ is supposed to be all Honors and AP.