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Hi all,
can someone please explain to me why in some district there are grade PK-6, then 7-8 ,9-12 and some other have PK-5 then 6-8 , 9-12?
Can you please indicate differences between the 2 system and which one in your opinion is best?
I am looking at Acton for instance , I have a 10 year old (11 in August) so i guess she'll be in grade 6, is that still considered primary then?
thanks for any comment
Yes, grade 6 is still considered primary. I think some areas are different due to differences in building capacities and the number of students enrolled per grade. There are more than just 2 variations. I've seen 6-2-4, 6-3-3, 5-3-4, 4-4-4, etc.
Yes, the curriculum will should be the same. Terms like "middle school", "elementary" or "junior high" are just a label, and vary by district, but curriculum should still be "6th grade", "seventh grade", etc.
Kids take MCAS in third grade for the first time and then in 5th again. Foreign language is very late in MA in most places, but not all. Also in general, all the specialist subjects like Chemistry of Biology are also introduced later than in some other places. School is not as difficult here as some would like to say, IMO.
Every town is for itself (hence fierce commpetativnes for certain places) and they all have different ways of dealing with elementary v. middle school, while curriculum in theory is the same. Lincoln, Brookline, Harvard, and Cambridge (although Cambridge might have changed recently) have Elementary/Middle School in the same building/campus. Reading has Birch Meadow Campus where Elementary, Middle, and High School are all at the same place, but not same buildings. If you have multiple kids in school it helps when schools are not on the opposite end of the town. You are smart to do some research and try to understand differences.
Only has to do with size of buildings. Curriculum is dictated by the state.
The district I went to (outside MA) was K-1, 2-4, 5-8, 9-12 schools.
When I graduated, it was K-1, 2-5, 7-8, 9-12 (they built new buildings).
Electives are done by school (i.e. some (few) schools have foreign languages at elementary)
The breadth and depth of advanced placement is dictated by school too.
problem is as we will be renting at the beginning and know nothing about the area we though we could maybe move in another location after few months , but if the school system is so different i guess we'll have to stick to the same district.
Strange that foreign languages are only introduced in grade 6/7 when it is much easier for younger children to pick up other languages.....
Also my daughter was all excited about having to go to secondary school (here) now that we are moving ....if she will have to go to "elementary" again she will not be happy.....
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