Need input on Meigs Magnet and Hume Fogg in Nashville (transfer to, neighborhood) - Tennessee (TN) - City-Data Forum

NashvilleMeg · 01-09-2012, 09:36 PM

I am looking for any input/advice from parents and/or students who have attended Meigs Magnet Middle. My son was accepted, but I have heard that there is a very heavy workload involved. He is a very bright child, but I am of the belief that there are many ways to challenge a child other than piling on unnecessary work! For your children, was it manageable? Did it cause any drop in confidence for the kids? Also, what is the community like? I am a little nervous about not having the "neighborhood school" community. I would love to have feedback as to the positives and negatives of the school, and Hume-Fogg as well for those who have experienced both. Thanks so much in advance!

ariesjow · 01-10-2012, 03:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NashvilleMeg

I am looking for any input/advice from parents and/or students who have attended Meigs Magnet Middle. My son was accepted, but I have heard that there is a very heavy workload involved. He is a very bright child, but I am of the belief that there are many ways to challenge a child other than piling on unnecessary work! For your children, was it manageable? Did it cause any drop in confidence for the kids? Also, what is the community like? I am a little nervous about not having the "neighborhood school" community. I would love to have feedback as to the positives and negatives of the school, and Hume-Fogg as well for those who have experienced both. Thanks so much in advance!

I don't have any children so I may not be the best person to tackle this one but I'll give it a shot since no one else has.

I attended Meigs back in '90's and Hume-Fogg for a bit as well before transfering to another local high school for personal reasons much to my parents' chagrin (a bit of a regret in retrospect but I ended up just fine). I now understand why my parents fought me so hard about the transfer from the Metro academic magnet program.

If your child has the opportunity to attend Meigs, I probably wouldn't hesitate to take it. I haven't heard anything negative about Meigs. I can't stress enough how well-prepared I was after leaving academic magnet school. When I transferred from a "regular" public high school, I was pretty much bored for the first few years even in honors and AP courses because I was so well-prepared with my previous coursework. I do think the program at Meigs is manageable but it's definitely rigorous from what I remember. Also, note the Hume-Fogg and MLK are consistently listed amongst the very best high schools in the country. You have to consider how many other families would love to have their children in these schools. Nashville is truly fortunate to have these schools and I only wish they could take more kids.

nashvols · 01-10-2012, 07:13 PM

Will he be starting as a 5th grader? I went to Meigs (in the late 90s), but had a terrible time adjusting.

I went to Glendale for 5th and 6th grades, and to McMurray for 2 weeks before a spot opened up at Meigs. Of course my parents jumped at the opportunity, but in hindsight, I don't know if it was ultimately the best decision for me.

Coming in as a new 7th grader, I knew almost no one there, while most of the other kids had been together for 2 whole years...so I was the odd man out. On top of that, while Glendale was a good school, it did not adequately prepare me for what sort of organizational skills I would need to succeed at Meigs. I had to adjust in 7th grade, on my own, to what they were teaching the 5th graders how to do on arrival. My study and organizational skills were a disaster...which led to me having a bad experience.

Of course, that was my personal experience with the school. My brother did quite well there (he started in 5th grade), and others who started part way through ended up fine. It just wasn't a good fit for me.

I would strongly suggest Meigs to a rising 5th grader, or perhaps even 6th grader. I'd be a little more cautious after that. JMO

NashvilleMeg · 01-10-2012, 09:58 PM

ariesjow - thanks for your input! Did you attend Hume Fogg and then transfer to a regular school? Was it because it was too difficult/stressful? I think I'm probably worrying about it too much-just want to make the right decision!

nashvols-Yes he will be starting as a 5th grader. Thanks for the insight on adjustment by grade-I could see how it would be difficult to enter any new school at 7th-that it a tough age to change academic/social environments. We definitely feel very luck to have this opportunity and are going to try it out and hope all goes well! My son will be a young fifth grader so I am very nervous about middle school!! Did you attend Hume Fogg as well? If so do you have any input on HF?

One of the other drawbacks for me on such academically focused schools is sports. Do they offer fairly decent sports opportunities? I've heard that Hume Fogg does not have a football team.

Thank you both for your replies!!

nashvols · 01-10-2012, 11:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NashvilleMeg

ariesjow - thanks for your input! Did you attend Hume Fogg and then transfer to a regular school? Was it because it was too difficult/stressful? I think I'm probably worrying about it too much-just want to make the right decision!

nashvols-Yes he will be starting as a 5th grader. Thanks for the insight on adjustment by grade-I could see how it would be difficult to enter any new school at 7th-that it a tough age to change academic/social environments. We definitely feel very luck to have this opportunity and are going to try it out and hope all goes well! My son will be a young fifth grader so I am very nervous about middle school!! Did you attend Hume Fogg as well? If so do you have any input on HF?

One of the other drawbacks for me on such academically focused schools is sports. Do they offer fairly decent sports opportunities? I've heard that Hume Fogg does not have a football team.

Thank you both for your replies!!

My brother attended Hume Fogg. I did not. He really enjoyed it, though...and I did know a few teachers. My experience is that it's really a top notch academic environment. According to their website, 39 of the 44 instructors hold advanced degrees. Outside of a boarding school, or a top level private school, there really aren't better places for students to get a head start in college than either Hume Fogg or MLK. My brother, who wasn't really a stellar student, still managed to get a number of scholarship offers.

As for the sports side...yes, that's Hume Fogg's big drawback, not only because it is an academic school, but more so because there are no sports facilities on "campus." It's literally in the middle of downtown...and there is very little room. There are plans to build a gym, but I'm not sure what the timetable is. There are teams for most sports, but not football, as you said. However, if your son is interested, I believe they let HFA students play football at one of the other schools (when I was at Meigs, anyone who wanted to play football played for Isaac Litton).

Btw, this is from Hume Fogg's website:

Quote:

Hume Fogg Academic High School participates in the Tennessee Secondary Athletics Association (TSSAA). Research has shown that student participation in organized sports programs promotes healthy physical development, developes a positive self-image, teaches teamwork, developes social skills, and helps students better manage stress. It is not surprising that a high school focused on academic standards also attracts students who enjoy competition on the sports fields as well as in the classroom. Hume Fogg boasts the highest percentage of student athletics for Tennessee public high schools

Teams

I remember basketball being relatively popular when my brother was there.

ariesjow · 01-11-2012, 09:47 AM

I apologize for not being clear yesterday. I was in a bit of a rush. I left Hume-Fogg for a regular school because I wanted to transfer to another local school that had one of the top wrestling and marching band programs in the state. Those were major priorities for me at the time. I also wanted to get away from a certain group of kids with whom I no longer associated. It had nothing to do with program at Hume-Fogg although it was certainly tough. Your concern about the workload is a valid concern, IMO. Have you had the opportunity to talk with the faculty at Meigs about the workload?

NashvilleMeg · 01-12-2012, 08:51 AM

Nashvols-Thanks for the feedback! That is great info about athletics-they really offer more than I had originally thought. My son is not a football player, so that shouldn't be a problem. But I do remember Football being a big part of the whole high school scene (homecoming, friday night games, etc. etc.) Seems a little odd not to have it! But it's probably actually no big deal. It is a little odd that Meigs offers football and no baseball, but Hume Fogg offers Baseball and no football; you would think one program should feed into the other, you know? My son plays baseball so this is a drawback in middle school.

ariesjow-Thanks for the clarification. We did a brief tour last year during a "walk through" day but didn't have time to go through detailed questions. I am hoping to meet/tour again in the next few weeks to get a little more in-depth answers on workload and curriculum. Of course it's always nice to get feedback from the actual students and parents who have attended-usually get more experienced feedback!

Thanks again for your replies!

skyblueNashville · 01-12-2012, 10:24 AM

My two cents... I would go for it while you've got the spot. You can always choose to opt out and go back to your zoned school if it proves not to be what you want for your son. You might never win a lottery spot again though.
We tried many times for a spot at HF, but my daughter never won. Her experience at her zoned school has been quite good though.

NashvilleMeg · 01-12-2012, 12:52 PM

Thanks skyblueNashville! We've decided we are definitely going to take the spot, if it doesn't work out we will go from there. I have heard that if we want him to go to HF, Meigs is the way, as there are not many spots open at 9th grade due to the incoming Meigs class.
Thanks again for your reply!

skyblueNashville · 01-12-2012, 01:30 PM

You're welcome! That's what we discovered when my daughter applied for ninth grade. We were new to Nashville her fifth grade year, and we didn't realize we should've been trying for Meigs or MLK in 7th all along if a magnet high school was her goal. I hope it turns out well for your son, and he loves it!