Middle School help! Martin vs Carnage vs Moore Square (vs., education)

[sleepymaede2]

My son is a rising 6th grader and we are getting ready to apply for a magnet program for him for next year. He is currently in a magnet so he has priority, but we are really torn between Martin Middle, Moore Square Middle, and Carnage.

Martin appears to be an established school with a stable program but does not have the same emphasis on math that my son is looking for (and is present at Carnage) or the diversity of foreign language offerings and electives that we found at Moore Square.

Carnage has what appears to be a very challenging academic program (8th graders can take pre-calculus?!?) but I get the impression that the school is a bit unstable with a new principal and the AG coordinator did not win us over.

Moore Square appeared to be a very exciting place to be now that they have a new magnet program (they are switching from museum program to GT/AG Basics) but I feel that the program is still very new and tenuous and should the principal or AG coordinator leave, things could fall apart.

Would love to have feedback from anyone with recent experiences at any of these schools, particularly anyone at Moore Square with the new program!

[local2rtp]

You should consider Carnage if your child is into Math. Far as I know, Carnage offers awesome MS math learning opportunities. Relatively, ELA leaves much to be desired. There is a wide chasm between gains in math/ science vs. ELA.

[sleepymaede2]

Thanks for the info! He is good at math and does well, but I don't want his E/LA education to suffer as a result. It would be great if he could have a balanced, well-rounded education. Also interested in getting some insight to the atmosphere of these schools if anyone has that information.