We turned it down for our son. It was a gut feeling for all of us when we went there for the presentation. We all loved his current school and his group of friends. I think it would have been fairly disruptive and not worth it in our case - especially since he wasn't going to try for magnet schools after that. We don't regret the decision at all. He's in high school now -- and while it felt like such a big decision then -- it barely registers now. GL!

Anonymous wrote:That's interesting about how CES interacts with the rest of the school. Are the ELC/compacted math kids similarly isolated from the rest of the school?

No

Some schools do this because the 4/5th grade regular kids are not welcoming to the new CES kids.

That's interesting about how CES interacts with the rest of the school. Are the ELC/compacted math kids similarly isolated from the rest of the school?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don’t do it if you kid isn’t particular interested in more challenge and is happy and thriving in home school. We didn’t and are really glad we didn’t. Kid is thriving in ELC which definitely has more writing and books. All schools have compacted math so that’s not a big draw for the CES.

Definitely ensure that your school is not putting all students in ELC as that is not the purpose of the curriculum. Ours started the ELC program this year with the 4th grade class that will be 5th graders next year and will continue on from there.

How big is the ELC group at your child's school?

Didn’t count as the students rotate for ELC and Compacted Math. But I’d say within the normal average for a 4th grade class at our school(20-28kids). It’s really going to depending how big a grade level is any given year and how many kids qualify or are near the cusp of qualifying. Schools and the district still have to balance the size with available teacher capacity and space.

I completely understand turning it down, OP. There are serious pros and cons to CES. My homeschool has CES and a couple of my kid's friends moved into the program. They like the class itself, but the social experience has been very hard... the CES kids are isolated from the rest of 4th grade (classrooms in a different hallway, lunch and recess at a different time). Also, while the regular 4th graders are sorted into normal and compacted math, all CES classes do normal math with enrichment opportunities.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We also declined it. Our DD really likes her home school, and we asked about what ELC would look like there and they pull out the ELC kids anyway the reading specialist said-so I didn't see a huge difference. Plus, we really didn't like the principal at the CES school-she seemed annoyed by everything and all the questions (during an FAQ session of all things), as well as really ambivalent during the tour. I know the principal doesn't teach but they do set the tone for the school. So those things plus the fact that the class size at the CES was even larger, and a 40 min bus ride away made it not appealing. I think it really depends on how your child is doing at their home school.

The CES open house you attended allowed a tour? The school we were invited to said no tour until the open house at the end of the summer or back to school night. Why are the CES classes so large? Our current classes are about 19 to 20 students.

Because there are many more children who qualify for CES than there are spots, and they are trying to provide as much opportunity as possible. At our school, the CES classes all have 28 kids in them, and the non-CES classes have around 20.

sorry but who would remove their kids from their home school and class size of 20 and bus them further away with strangers to be in a class of 28. This is abuse

Kids who feel out of place in their local school may find a cohort at CES. Mine did, anyway. Then went back to regular MS and thrived.

Mine isn’t particularly outgoing, but was doing just fine socially at the home school. She didn’t have much trouble making friends at the magnets (ES or MS) because everyone else was new to the school, too. And they worked together on projects and had lots of interaction in the classroom because of the way the curriculum was presented, so there were opportunities to get to know each other. And when it came time to choose between magnet/home/DCC Choice HS programs, she knew she’d have friends anywhere she went.

Honestly, though, the CES was amazing for my kid. Boredom and repetition were a huge issue for her at the home school, even with the William and Mary enrichment, and there was a lot of anxiety about keeping focus and maintaining good behavior when they were reviewing the same material over and over again. Something about the way the CES teachers facilitated engagement with the material and deepened the understanding just worked better for my kid. And she was pushed to work to the capacity of her intellect and creativity, rather than being allowed to simply exist at “above grade level” when she could have been doing so much more, and enjoying the work more.

I get that it’s not for everyone, and there are lots of factors to consider, but for some kids the CES can be a lifesaver. It definitely was for mine—not necessarily socially, but academically and mental health-wise.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We also declined it. Our DD really likes her home school, and we asked about what ELC would look like there and they pull out the ELC kids anyway the reading specialist said-so I didn't see a huge difference. Plus, we really didn't like the principal at the CES school-she seemed annoyed by everything and all the questions (during an FAQ session of all things), as well as really ambivalent during the tour. I know the principal doesn't teach but they do set the tone for the school. So those things plus the fact that the class size at the CES was even larger, and a 40 min bus ride away made it not appealing. I think it really depends on how your child is doing at their home school.

The CES open house you attended allowed a tour? The school we were invited to said no tour until the open house at the end of the summer or back to school night. Why are the CES classes so large? Our current classes are about 19 to 20 students.

Because there are many more children who qualify for CES than there are spots, and they are trying to provide as much opportunity as possible. At our school, the CES classes all have 28 kids in them, and the non-CES classes have around 20.

sorry but who would remove their kids from their home school and class size of 20 and bus them further away with strangers to be in a class of 28. This is abuse

Kids who feel out of place in their local school may find a cohort at CES. Mine did, anyway. Then went back to regular MS and thrived.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We declined CES for that reason and also the longer commute. Not crazy at all.

Same. No regrets.

Same. Kid now in top college.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We also declined it. Our DD really likes her home school, and we asked about what ELC would look like there and they pull out the ELC kids anyway the reading specialist said-so I didn't see a huge difference. Plus, we really didn't like the principal at the CES school-she seemed annoyed by everything and all the questions (during an FAQ session of all things), as well as really ambivalent during the tour. I know the principal doesn't teach but they do set the tone for the school. So those things plus the fact that the class size at the CES was even larger, and a 40 min bus ride away made it not appealing. I think it really depends on how your child is doing at their home school.

The CES open house you attended allowed a tour? The school we were invited to said no tour until the open house at the end of the summer or back to school night. Why are the CES classes so large? Our current classes are about 19 to 20 students.

Because there are many more children who qualify for CES than there are spots, and they are trying to provide as much opportunity as possible. At our school, the CES classes all have 28 kids in them, and the non-CES classes have around 20.

sorry but who would remove their kids from their home school and class size of 20 and bus them further away with strangers to be in a class of 28. This is abuse

CES is busing your kid further away and removing from their friends to mom brag. That is it. Oh and then the moms brag and compete against each other once they are there. It’s such a waste of MCPS resources and honestly kinda toxic. Many kids don’t even apply and turn down. It isn’t even the highest kids in each school most of the time.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We also declined it. Our DD really likes her home school, and we asked about what ELC would look like there and they pull out the ELC kids anyway the reading specialist said-so I didn't see a huge difference. Plus, we really didn't like the principal at the CES school-she seemed annoyed by everything and all the questions (during an FAQ session of all things), as well as really ambivalent during the tour. I know the principal doesn't teach but they do set the tone for the school. So those things plus the fact that the class size at the CES was even larger, and a 40 min bus ride away made it not appealing. I think it really depends on how your child is doing at their home school.

The CES open house you attended allowed a tour? The school we were invited to said no tour until the open house at the end of the summer or back to school night. Why are the CES classes so large? Our current classes are about 19 to 20 students.

Because there are many more children who qualify for CES than there are spots, and they are trying to provide as much opportunity as possible. At our school, the CES classes all have 28 kids in them, and the non-CES classes have around 20.

Anonymous wrote:Don’t do it if you kid isn’t particular interested in more challenge and is happy and thriving in home school. We didn’t and are really glad we didn’t. Kid is thriving in ELC which definitely has more writing and books. All schools have compacted math so that’s not a big draw for the CES.

Definitely ensure that your school is not putting all students in ELC as that is not the purpose of the curriculum. Ours started the ELC program this year with the 4th grade class that will be 5th graders next year and will continue on from there.

How big is the ELC group at your child's school?

Anonymous wrote:We also declined it. Our DD really likes her home school, and we asked about what ELC would look like there and they pull out the ELC kids anyway the reading specialist said-so I didn't see a huge difference. Plus, we really didn't like the principal at the CES school-she seemed annoyed by everything and all the questions (during an FAQ session of all things), as well as really ambivalent during the tour. I know the principal doesn't teach but they do set the tone for the school. So those things plus the fact that the class size at the CES was even larger, and a 40 min bus ride away made it not appealing. I think it really depends on how your child is doing at their home school.

The CES open house you attended allowed a tour? The school we were invited to said no tour until the open house at the end of the summer or back to school night. Why are the CES classes so large? Our current classes are about 19 to 20 students.