<p>Hi, JHS, I guess my point was – the ones in your district who want to aim high are going to go the magnet, so we can’t know that they wouldn’t succeed by shining in the other schools. This contrasts with our HS, where the “strivers” will be in the average school (unless of course they go private), so we can see that they can indeed succeed at the average-to-low-average school.</p>
<p>Pick the school district and school where your children will get the best education. Do not try to game the college admissions. If your child should go to a top college (and please think outside the HYP box!) s/he should do well at any HS attended. Therefore you want to raise the bar and let your child be challenged, presuming s/he will rise to the challenge. You don’t know how far your 6th grader can go- stretch the brain with the best academics and environment you can.</p>
<p>The metrics are overlooked, or looked at the wrong way.</p>
<p>Our school system is highly ranked in our state (by any standards, anywhere from 1st to 5th in the entire state), plus ranked in the top 1000 high schools in the country. It is a massive HS with a graduating class of around 1100 :-). Demographics wise, lots of rich kids, lots of Asian kids (maybe 8-9%), and so on.</p>
<p>Out of these 1000+ kids a year, maybe 5 go to the Ivies, and another 5 to the Berkeleys and Stanfords, and another 10 to the super high top schools like UMich, Wustl, Uchicago, the southern Duke, Emory, etcetera. And 3 or so a year to the US Armed Force academies. Au contraire, the 2 high end private schools send many more percentage wise to the Ivies and elite schools. MANY more.</p>
<p>Our school’s academics, however, are top notch. My daughter reports math is easier in college than in high school, for the same class (she SAT’d out of the first math in her college but decided to take it anyway just in case). Physics/Chem is not easy by any means; AP’s and IB’s abound, and we offer some pretty off-the-wall classes in things like Interior Design, AutoCAD, building a house from scratch, some heavy duty calculus classes, computer classes, and the like. Grades wise, there are those Frankenstudents that get out with 4.3’s or 4.4’s, yet even a not-so-CC-approved 3.5 is not easy to get. At the preppie HS’s grades are there for the asking for the most part.</p>
<p>As a minimum, the OP should talk to parents and students of the schools in questions, in addition to digging out more info on his/her own.</p>
<p>The arrogance just OOZES from the very title of this thread. How is someone’s work in an AP or IB class at one school non-equivalent to another student’s work in similar classes at another school? Wow, just wow.</p>
<p>^I don’t think poster was being arrogant regarding differences in AP courses taught at one school vs. another. I have seen this is my town HS vs the magnet highschool. There was no comparison to how the class was taught. Also take a look at the number of kids who take the AP test and what the scores are. This may indicate how important accelerated work is for some kids vs others.</p>
<p>There are hundreds of thousands of kids who attend state colleges every year and some go on to do some really interesting stuff and make the most of their undergrad years. That is not what this thread is all about…it is about educating the child in the lower grades before highschool. If any child has a great core of knowledge and experiences that child will have the best chance of continuing that through college.</p>
<p>Thank you momma-three. That’s what it is about. and it is not possible for me to buy and sell houses every two years. My children go to public schools. And I want to make best decision for my kids. The area I live in has no magnet schools. My deciding factor is based on school rating, accessibility, and API scores. I mentioned major universities because that’s what my D talks about. But my actual concern was to find the best possible HS for her dreams to be fulfilled. May be my wordings were offensive for some people but my intention was not. All I want is for my children to have best chance in life according to their capabilities. I am very sorry if I have offended someone.</p>
<p>In our area of residence, we have schools rated very poor to very high (among best HS in US). How do I decide what is best for my child? Which HS will taker her closer to her dreams? I think there is no harm in aiming higher in life. Even if you can’t reach your goal, you will end up closer to it. If you aim low, you will reach low. Not that there is anything wrong in aiming low. I think it is all about capabilities. But honestly, Its not my views, my D is talking/ deciding her future.</p>
<p>vermafam… There is nothing wrong with wanting what is best for your child. In some families that means setting the bar high and getting the best education possible that you as a parent could afford. In your case if there are no Magnet Highschools and a move to a better school district is within your reach than do what you feel meets the important criteria in your life. It is not a sin to want what is best for your children in terms of education. You are also not alone in your thinking…there are many families both on CC and not who want exactly what you want. </p>
<p>Read through the posts and you will be able to see that many folks will do what it takes to provide an environment with peers who think as they do. I know that in my very highly ranked school district we still were not pleased with the way gifted kids and or high academic achievers were disregarded because they did not play football or other less important things to our our family. I am not putting down sports but for us we knew our kids would not be playing professional sports and as a result we did not see a need for them to invest the great ammount of time at practice and far off games. Our kids were talented in what we would refer to as life sports (not offered in our highschool) but again they were not going professional so it was clear since they were intellectually talented that they be in that environment. Sadly, when some parents mention this they are immediately met with criticism that they are producing something that society does not value as being a complete person. I don’t put down the kids who are well rounded in a variety of things but I am realistic in what it takes to make it to the types of careers our sons’ were interested in. It is important that curious and gifted kids be provided with not only opportunities to explore and learn but to be around other kids like themselves. That was one of the greatest gifts my kids received at their Magnet Highschool. </p>
<p>Wishing you much luck in finding the right place for your kids and in the meantime just be sure to provide great learning and social experiences for your children to grow and develop into lifelong learners.</p>
<p>vermafam: Remember that there is more to an Ivy League admission than scores or location of school. One of my students became the first in 15 or so years to gain admission to an Ivy last spring. She was No. 1 in her class with a tough schedule (lots of APs) and great test scores, but she also was a top-flight athlete in two sports, worked on her family’s farm and was a diving instructor during her summers. She was as close to a complete package as one would find, and that’s probably why she gained admission. She attended a small high school with very few opportunities, but she made the most of them, She also is very driven, and that drive to be the best will take her to the top.</p>
<p>Momreads. I understand that she needs a lot of EC and even before I knew this my D is interested in tons of EC. I have trouble keeping her away from them. She is also involved in Dances (both Classical and modern), 3 sports. She is in Swim team representing 4 cities. She is head of the school chess club. She is the only trombone player in 5 elementary schools combined. I don’t know how much weight these activities have. Moreover, she is not doing all these because of college admission or weight, she is doing all this because she has a lot of fun doing these activities. </p>
<p>Once again, Let me make my self clear, I am not telling all this because I want to toot my horns, but want to know what activity is helpful for her and which is not. Probably you guys know more about all this and have more experience than me.</p>
<p>Vermafam, I think you should allow your child to participate in whatever they want to within your financial ability to allow them to do so. After all, once she is in High School she will have to forego many of those in favor of academics if she is an advanced student, and she should be allowed as many care free years as possible.</p>
<p>momma-three: I think you are absolutely right. In my daughter’s current school, she has hardly any friends. Most of her classmates think she is too studious and try to avoid her but want her in their group when it is group project time. She feels left out. I was hoping she will have better group of friends next year when she stars middle school and when she has AP math and honor English and Science. But I guess, she still will have the problem getting challenged. :(</p>
<p>^^^AP math in middle school?!</p>
<p>^The reference was to highschool.</p>
<p>I have no clue what an API or CST is. Is this a Calif thing? And can you clarify- are you saying your dau will take AP math in middle school?</p>
<p>FWIW, I agree with those who say help your daughter get the best education she can. She can select her college choices later. I know a very bright girl who went to a very prestigious private school and was very active in multiple sports (dont want to say too much due to privacy), was featured in the newspaper and on TV, etc etc. She got into a good school that she now attends, but she got shut out of all the top HYPSM schools. Schools with single digit admission rates are hard for everyone. Maybe your D will be lucky enough to be one of the chosen. In the meantime, pick a school that will give her the educational opportunities she craves.</p>
<p>jym626 I guess API and CST is a CA thing then. I had no idea it is not used in other parts of the country.These are the scores a school gets because of how its students score in the state wide exams that are held in May of every year.</p>
<p>My mistake, I meant Advance math. Where she gets to do Math of 8th grade where as she is actually a 7th grader. Her teacher has started with 7th grade math with her already. </p>
<p>I am not sure if I believe so much on luck. But, if that’s what gets her to her dreams… so be it. I think, I am also planning to move to a better school area after reading most of the postings. It will be a stretch to afford to move but then again, money is not more important than your child.</p>
<p>Kids change alot between 7th grade and 10th grade. Put her in the best school that she will thrive in and let her go. In a few years she’ll be a more “formed” teen and you can start to think about where she will also thrive post high school.</p>
<p>I believe in sending my kid’s to best school possible, from K to college, and even beyond. Good education is something they would have for the rest of their life. To be 10% at an excellent school is better than be number one at an mediocre school. To be surrounded by smart kid’s and good teachers will also push your kid to excel, and classroom discussion would be more stimulating. </p>
<p>D2 had to take a regular literature class on top of her IB English class. She said it’s night and day between those 2 classes. In the regular class, often kid’s didn’t do their reading, and their view, at best, is not well thought of. </p>
<p>I think if your kid has a good education, then getting into a good college would just follow. </p>
<p>I am more of an intense parent on CC relative to other posters, but I would suggest for you to try to re-focus your kid’s attention to something else besides college. They only have vert few precious years of being carefree. College is only 4 years of their life, don’t let it define her childhood. It’s not too late to start thinking about college in 9th or 10th grade.</p>
<p>I’d like to caution you not to put too much reliance on scores for judging a high school. No one puts our big comprehensive high school on the best of lists (except one year when their average SATs jumped 100 points thanks to a grant providing free or low cost SAT prep to needy seniors.) But the fact is that it’s a very good school for high end students. They offer 24 APs, a wide range of sports, a very well regarded arts program (music, theater, dance and studio art) and a Science Olympiad team that consistently places in the top three in the region. While my kids had a handful of dud teachers, and some of their classes were larger than I would have liked, most of the their teachers were very good and some were better than any I ever had in a top notch private school. The school regularly sends dozens of kids to Ivy League schools and even more to other very good schools. The college counseling runs very well despite a ridiculous GC student load. As long as your kid isn’t a screw up you can get a very good education, and have a great social life, and lots of activities without paying the ridiculously high taxes of other supposedly better districts. I also agree with oldfort - let your student enjoy life now.</p>
<p>OP - If you feel that your child will be unchallenged at the average HS, the other one might be a better fit. Our older child attended a local HS which was good (but not great) and got a good education and had top grades. However she was very bored in the classes which were not offered as Honors or AP. OTOH, S attends a science and math magnet where ALL classes are taught at the honors or AP level even if they are not called that. For example World History taken by all sophomores is not called honors or AP, but the AP text is used and many of the kids take the AP exam in May (S plans to) and do very well.</p>