<p>Our local public high school is awful. It is in Texas and it ranks exemplary, but I hate it. My daughter was seriously sexually harassed and threatened last year and the all male administration refused to do anything about it. We had to pull her out for her safety. And that was just 8th grade! At the high school, kids were doing ecstasy and heroin in the classrooms, in front of teachers. No one cared. The school was a raging mess. The sexual threats and harassment were the worst. So that place is not an option.</p>
<p>My 2 children, who are 9th and 10th graders this year, started a charter school that is supposed to be a math and science magnet. They are in all preAP and AP courses. The staff is nice and attentive. There has been no sexual harassment or threats. If anyone is doing drugs there, they at least are not doing them in plain sight like the local public school. However, academically, I still do not feel like the school is that high. My daughter asked around and no one ever really passes the AP exams after taking an AP course. By passes, I am assuming they are meaning no one gets a 3 or above, although I would prefer to see a 4 or above. The school is largely project based learning, and we are 5 weeks in to the 36 week school year, and they still have not started the actual algebra 2 classes or chemistry as both classes are still working on projects. The human geography class has not gotten beyond a project on 1 country. The Human Geography class is supposed to be an AP class, but I cannot see how they will get anywhere near to covering even a regular human geo course content let alone to the AP level. In English, my children have told me that some kids in the classes have not purchased the books and don't seem to care to, and that seems to being ignored. Since everything is done in groups, it is easy for a few to skip doing anything and still get decent grades. Now my daughter tells me she has met a couple kids who claim they came to this school because they flunked out of their last. The school insists they do interviews and would never allow anyone in who flunked classes or even had low grades at their last school, so maybe this is just kids talking. But why would anyone brag about that?</p>
<p>Right now, we are sort of taking an attitude with the teens where we supplement their educations a lot in hopes that they can still keep up to where they need to be with math and sciences and passing AP exams. My daughter really wants to go to Cal Tech and has always been so far ahead and top of her class so we had hoped for that for her too. My son is looking toward Cornell College or Colorado College or Washington University in St Louis. My daughter also has Wash U on her list. </p>
<p>I am very concerned over how light these academics seem to be. I do not have very many more options that I can afford. We could try the public online school next year if it becomes available for my children's levels and courses. My husband's parents offered to pay for private school, if and only if it is Catholic (my children are not being raised Catholic) so that is sort of an option. Another option we have discussed is selling our house and moving to a district we like better. </p>
<p>Anyway, please tell me if I am stressing over nothing or if you would worry too? Thank you so much for your help!</p>
<p>Well studying on one’s own can always replace bad teaching for AP classes. Staying at a lower level school has its quirks - high GPA, high class rank (if your children are valedictorians, then that’s great). </p>
<p>At high level schools, your children may be just “above average,” receive Bs, and have low class rank. Etc. </p>
<p>Now getting into a school like Caltech from a highschool that hasn’t sent any kid to any good school is tough, but manageable. Many kids in CC defy these odds just because they are motivated.</p>
<p>Being at a low level school is great for GPA/class rank. If you self study and do well on the SAT, that makes you in SO MUCH better shape then someone with equal SAT but lower GPA in harder school with 7 point scale or sheer competitiveness.</p>
<p>The private school, online school, and alternate district school you mentioned are good ideas. Have you considered homeschooling however? I’ve heard many success stories from it.</p>
<p>I’m concerned that you haven’t mentioned your chlidren’s opinions. They are old enough that their input should be strongly considered. Clearly, where they want to go to school shouldn’t be the only consideration, but it should definitely be main one.</p>
<p>“heroin and ecstasy in the classroom??? i dont believe that”</p>
<p>That’s what I’m thinking… If you’re doing heroin at all, you’re not going to school. Heroin isn’t just “something high school kids do,” it’s hard stuff.</p>
<p>I think each school gets something called an AP Profile, which lists the average test results on a given AP exam for that high school’s students. The college counseling office of the charter school should be able to help you access that information. They should also be able to talk to you about admissions results for the charter school’s seniors to colleges like Caltech for the past few years.</p>
<p>Consider what your children think before pulling them out of the school. I would personally hate it if my parents pulled me out of a school I really liked.</p>
<p>It is Flower Mound High School and it is not far from Plano West which has been discussed in US News for this. You can google both schools and see for yourself. When I googled, I found where NBC also did stories about it. The locals like to believe it goes on everywhere, so not a big deal. But when I speak to my friends back home (I am not from Texas), apparently, it is not really going on there. At least, my friends don’t think it is, but I am thinking it is not going on there.</p>
<p>If this was my kid and she was as concerned as you seem to be, I would switch her into a good private school (use word of mouth as an aid) or home-school her. Kids learn from their peers in such a substantial way. A great character (positive, hard-working, independent) is really more important in the long run than just exemplary grades.</p>
<p>I forgot to add that drugs are abused in almost every school. So, I hope you’re aware of that.</p>