My husband recently started a job up north (yay!) but because the housing market wasn’t super cooperative, we are staying in Florida for this year as it wasn’t possible for us to all get up there before school starts and I didn’t want my daughter to move mid year.
She’s a 7th grader in a gifted magnet school. I’ve done some research into Massachuesetts middle schools (not all websites are created equal unfortunately) and it looks like the vast majority of the classes she’s taking this year are what is typically offered in the 8th grade curriculum that I have found. (Her core classes Algebra 1 Honors, Comprehensive Science 2 (the typical 3 year course is compressed into 2 years on her track), Civics Honors, Language Arts 3 Honors. Additionally, she took American History Honors as a 6th grader. Florida apparently does history in a completely different order as World History isn’t offered til 8th grade.) She is a straight A student with the highest marks possible on the Florida Standards Assessment.
Does anyone have any experience with how a student with a non traditional/accelerated middle school transcript is placed? She’s a little worried that she’ll either end up having to repeat classes or take classes at the high school level (something she worried about socially, rather than academically though the jump from Florida to Mass worries me a bit) She’s currently lobbying her father to let her finish middle school in Florida before we move but I just don’t have enough information to know if this is a warranted request or a 12 year being a bit alarmist.
Any advice or words of experience are appreciated!
Where exactly in Massachusetts are you moving? Some districts have more “rich” programs than others.
We are from the northeast, and our middle school offered accelerated classes in math and foreign languages. I doubt your daughter has a legitimate worry.
I haven’t moved a kid in middle school myself, but have a friend who did and have experience in trying to get acceleration in middle school. I’m in NY and every town handles in middle school quite differently. In our town 8th grade is a really important year to get right as it makes a huge difference where you end up in high school. Typically accelerated students do Algebra 1 and High school Bio in 8th grade which leads to Calc as a senior and the ability to take two science APs easily. My son had done math on his own in 6th grade and there were two other kids in his class who were also ahead (one of whom was coming from out of state) it was like pulling teeth to get the placement. We finally said, just let him take the the 6th grade final exam - he aced it and was placed in the the 7th grade honors section. In 8th grade the three double accelerated kids had to take math at the high school. They took it first period and then came back and did the rest of their classes at the middle school. (We carpooled, but another year a Mom successfully got the school to do the driving.) Some middle schools are attached to high schools and that makes going from one to another a lot easier.
I wouldn’t worry about the order of the history classes. She’ll get it all again in high school anyway. What you need to do is find out not what is typical, but what the accelerated students are doing and how open they are to acceleration. Many middle schools believe that socialization is primary and don’t realize that for many kids being bored out of their minds does not make for happy campers. Our middle school was awful, but our high school was great. You don’t necessarily need the district with the highest scores (ours regularly comes out in the bottom third), but you need one where the advanced kids can thrive. You need a critical mass of kids who are excited about academics.
Ask about whether they participate in the AMC, MathCounts, Science Olympiad, Model UN, Robotics, music competitions etc. Not every school is going to offer everything, but those are some of the things you might be looking for.
@thumper1 We aren’t sure precisely where we would be living. He is working in the Tewksbury area but there is a significant cost of living difference between where we currently live and well, most any place up north. So the best I can say is somewhere commutable to there. But using Tewksbury as an example, their middle school does not offer a math class beyond Algebra 1. So, since she is currently taking Algebra 1 in 7th grade, it does seem to be a fair question to wonder what kind of math she would be taking next year. Some of her other concerns may very well be overblown. (I was prone to dramatics at the same age )
To be completely honest, I did not realize that our local accelerated math sequence was unusual until I started looking in Mass (and a little bit in New Hampshire) My DS17 went through the same middle school - IB pathway so it was what was normal to us (and is a math major so it appears not to have hurt him any…) But admittedly, I’m now kinda wondering why we do Algebra 1 in 7th and Geometry in 8th…
@mathmom Thank you for sharing your story. She’s done MathCounts but I hadn’t really thought about using extra curriculars to get a better feel for the relatives strengths of a school.
The acceleration at our school is as you describe…Algebra 1 in 8th grade.
Our HS was located in the same building as our MS…so students who were very accelerated in math could take those HS math classes with ease. Once in a while someone was double accelerated and did so.
I’m not sure there is a huge problem here. Your daughter will still be on track to take calculus as a HS senior.
If your H works in Tewksbury, Andover is next door and is known for its incredible school system. You H could inquire about how they would handle your D. I believe the middle school is on the same campus as the HS. Another option is private schools. Winsor in Boston would be able to handle your D’s accelerated math sequence and they have many students who are on an accelerated sequence, they have a middle school, are taking applications now, and offer generous FA.
Our son tested out of classes and was moved ahead. When he exhausted the math/science classes on offer (in high school) he took classes at our local state university. No cost to us and books were supplied. I just had to provide transport.
There is also a charter school that serves Tewksbury along with some other nearby towns. It runs from Grades 5-12. I don’t know if it is possible to enroll in Grade 8, but you could inquire. It is called Innovation Academy (my niece and nephew attend). They have accelerated classes and it is no tuition.
As another option, there is a private girls school called Notre Dame Academy in Tyngsboro.
Forbes recently ranked the Massachusetts public schools as #1, with Florida at #26.
I would really check with a few public schools in Massachusetts, prior to getting too concerned.
It’s quite possible there is some flexibility that is not immediately obvious from looking at the curriculum.
Our Massachusetts school district does not have any kind of gifted / accelerated program, but I am guessing it has many parents who follow up to ensure their kids are challenged in class if they have exceptional mathematical abilities.
Exactly. If you look at what our middle school offers there’s no hint that there are kids taking Algebra 1 in 7th grade. You are going to have to make phone calls or write emails to get the real story.
I, too, would caution about Florida schools over-preparing students. We transferred into Florida and did not find the system as challenging as California or Colorado. And we were in the #1 district (although about 5 districts claim to be #1).
My daughter completed Algebra I in 8th grade in a magnet school program, and even got an A. She just didn’t feel she’d learned enough so when we moved to California (from Colo) she decided to take it again. Best decision ever. They put her in an honors section and she had a great teacher, so ended up with a solid foundation. She was not bored re-doing the concepts. She didn’t take calc in high school. Not a problem even though she was one of the few students in college Calc I taking it for the first time. She got an A then too. She’s now an engineer and never had any trouble taking the math classes in the sequence offered in college.
So don’t worry. Do what is best for your family in deciding when to make the move. It will work out. I think it would be better to go for 8th grade as then she’ll start hs knowing the system and which classes she fits into. No one will care if she took algebra twice.
Joining the folks who have recommended doing further research on Massachusetts public schools. My kids were not STEM focused, but many of their classmates were. There were math teams. There was optional testing to identify people who were more advanced than the standard curriculum for their grade. There are (privately run) math after school/weekend programs all over town. Welcome to Massachusetts. Good luck finding the right balance.
Mathmom is named more for her older son’s math prowess than any expertise of her own. So I know something about dealing with schools when you have a kid who precocious in math, but I would not say I am an expert. I would advise you to treat all rating systems with caution - Massachusetts on average may be better than Florida, but the average Massachusetts school may not offer what your Florida magnet does. And my experience in a district that never comes out top in the ratings is that there are some unexpected advantages. My kids got a good solid education, but without the stress and anxiety or pressure to use drugs that seems to be prevalent in other schools in the area.
Take a look at the charter schools in MA. I have a friend who teaches at the Advanced Math and Science Academy Charter School, which (obviously) has an emphasis on math/science. I’m not sure of the application process but students from the towns of Marlborough, Hudson, Maynard, and Clinton are given preference in acceptance. Usually the charter schools in MA use a lottery system to accept kids, but this school might be different. I’m not sure. It’s a 6-12 school and the students are always at the very top on all of the achievement tests (MCAS). Marlborough is not particularly close to Tewksbury–but there are worse commutes. Also, there are quite a few charter schools in MA.
Without allowing for the costs of home ownership, I would suggest that you move to the towns of Dover or Sherborn MA where the public schools are arguably the best in the state. This small, high quality school system may actually offer more flexibility than some larger systems. See https://www.doversherborn.org/page.cfm?p=712
Private schools like Phillips Andover Academy are remarkably strong by any standards, are well endowed, actually meet full financial need and do admit “day” students. “Andover” starts with grade nine. Andover is coed. See https://www.andover.edu/
Because of the high concentration of universities and STEM industries in the area, there are many strong, STEM directed secondary schools. Needham has had a large engineering population for years and is know for the strength of their STEM preparation. Once again, an expensive place to live, but not as bad as Wellesley, their next door rival. See http://needham.k12.ma.us/
Berlin, Harvard, Boxborough and Acton are all towns more in the westerly directions that have strong school systems
The cost of living drops modestly as you head west toward Worcester and is actually a bargain by the time you reach Worcester. Saint Marks in Southborough, just east of Worcester, is another high quality private school where 25% of the students are day students. See https://www.stmarksschool.org/about/school-profile
At different times I have lived in Worcester, Berlin, Wellesley, Needham, Framingham and Dover. As a GENERAL RULE, the strongest systems seem to follow the money. Wellesley was focused on finance, law and the LA while Needham was focused on STEM.
@retiredfarmer good advice but I would not include Berlin for an advanced student, I’ve lived in both Marlbourgh and Berlin. Berlin is the reason we started homeschooling and ultimately left the state.
Well if you are going to talk about private schools there are about a kajillion of them within an hour of Tewkesbury! I should know I think half my cousins went to them or taught at them!
OP, traffic in MA is terrible so recommendations of places like Dover or Sherborn are totally unrealistic. They are lovely towns, but outrageously priced compared to Florida and quite far from Tewksbury. I live near Tewksbury and my commute to Boston is 1 1/2 hours each way. I suggest you start looking at housing prices in the areas near Tewksbury, figure out where you can afford to live with a reasonable commute, and then start looking at schools in those areas. If you can afford Winchester that would be a good option and would give your husband a commute against traffic.
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