I went to terrible schools growing up but had a strong home. I still have always felt cheated and I don't think I reached my potential because I was so bored by school and so angered in the later years by how terrible it all was. So I certainly never wanted that for my kids. We moved into a good neighborhood with good schools but I ended up being disappointed with the elementary school. I don't think standards were high enough and they certainly didn't pay as much attention to literacy (reading and writing) as I would have liked. Now my kids are in British private school and it is a world of difference. Certainly better for their education but it is a little more affordable here than the US. Not sure what we will do when/if we move back to the US.
My wife is a teacher which means my kids can go to any school in the district she teaches in. We have it all figured out. When my boys reach elementary school age, she'll just get a job at whatever school is in the best neighborhood (perhaps the back of Kingwood) and our boys can just go there. Much easier than having to buy a million dollar home in said neighborhood. She has good connections and is an excellent teacher, so she can literally get a job anywhere she wants.
This is not true for any district, and maybe only in that district where she teaches. My wife works for HISD and it's not the case, but with a transfer. For what district does yours teach? That's good iSht right there, except for the 'connections.'
It really depends on the school, the student and the parents. There are many fine public schools just as there are many good private.
I read once that dropout rates are manipulated because kids who drop out and get GEDs are not considered drop outs. Anecdotally my freshman class was about 800 students and we were about 450 by my senior year and this was a decent at the time Mayde Creek HS. Other people I've spoken to over the years reported similar experience with losing students from incoming classes to graduating classes.
Why is dropout rate the most important statistic? I would much rather look at AP classes offered, AP exam passing rates, college matriculation rates, etc.
If 1 out of 3 students is just marking time to their 16th birth date, the curriculum has to support them. If 1 out of 3 of your child's friends is going to drop out, there may be peer pressure to just get by in classes.
This is true, but most (public) schools try to keep their most gifted students together in the same classes. If your child is in this group, they'll be kept insulated from most of the "bad influences".
I went to the hoods for grade school. My kids are going to private, even though the local area school is pretty good. They wouldn't go to private school for over $10K/yr though.
If your son test into places like Kinkaid, St. Johns or Awty go for it. But don't send him to a Christian private school. I've heard some really terrible things about those places. There are some good public school systems out there as well like the Memorial area public schools. Also Bellaire possibly, but I have no experience with it.
St John's is a Christian school...... And River Oaks Baptist is probably the best k-8 school in the city. But I agree that places like Episcopal or Houston Christian and crap like that are not worth the money
Like what? I went to St. Thomas (Catholic, all male) and Northwest Academy/Houston Christian (Baptist, coed) and had different experiences at each. I wouldn't make a blanket statement suggesting that all Christian private schools are bad.
For HISD, if you live in the district, you should be able to bring your kids to the school you teach. The problem lies when you live out of district. I went to all public schools growing up and it helped shape me into the person I am today. And I teach at one that's every bit as good as the private options. Private isn't necessarily better and definitely may not be the best value.
All I know is, stay away from Lamar high school. I don't know if it's the emotionally unfit teachers that vent to the students about how worthless they think we are , or the ghetto kids contently cussing, fighting and rolling dice in the bathrooms, but still school just plain bothers me. At least I got to skip today because there was threats of a possible shooting. http://www.khou.com/story/news/loca...ts-made-against-students-on-twitter/16193941/
There is a wide range of private schools, and the costs vary dramatically too. episcopal high school costs over 20K per year I believe. There are smaller private schools that cost a fraction of that. You should really do your research. It's a question of what your goals and priorities are, as well as your financial situation. I'm a public school product. Crappy elementary and middle school, fortunate to goto bellaire high school in late 80's. Whoever said that honors/AP kids are basically separated from other kids is right. It's like two separate schools in one school. My kids attend private school and it's unfortunately expensive. But we put a priority on quality education that includes the teaching of values. Many private schools put a focus on teaching values and character just as schools teach math and English. The families are more engaged than the regular public school families, but then you also deal with some extraordinary wealth, which has its own issues. Ultimately, I think that smart kids who have parents that care will do well wherever they go. The 200K or more that you would pay for K to 12 private school isn't something that makes economic sense if you look at monetary return on investment when they are part of the workforce. But the decision isn't about pure economics. It has to do with the experience you have at school and the family's ability to handle the cost.
Are you in the honors/AP classes or are you with the general population. Sorry if that sounds a little insulting or offensive but I'm curious to know because my kids will hit high school in a few years and the feedback is helpful. I have heard that Carnegie Mellon, bellaire and memorial are still pretty good.
Curious - did you goto any of these schools and is that what shapes your opinion. I have heard the negative wrap on episcopal,but I also know families with kids who went there and did fine, and are currently at fine universities like Northwestern, university of texas.
I'm in the normal classes, and don't worry i'm not offended or insulted. AP classes are probably noticeably better in terms of quality of students and teachers, not to sound racist but normal classes are all Hispanic and African American, AP classes are all white, with a slight mixture of Asian. Some of the worst kids at this school are the rich drugged out prep kids from river oaks who where kicked out of there private schools, and they are usually in the AP classes. Also no matter if your in AP or not though, your kids will end up interacting with the general population of the schools, and they will usually have to experience some pretty terrible things (if they're going to a school like Lamar).
