My family will be moving in the summer and this will change where my siblings go to school(I’ll be in college). My younger brother, finishing up his sophomore year, is looking forward to possibly changing high schools. The school he’s currently at is a more competitive public school with racial and economic demographics that differ greatly from the school he may be returning to(went there freshman year). He’s struggled at his current school, earning a sub-3.0 GPA last semester and will be lucky to pull out a 3.0 this semester.
Moving may place him in a school that has a more negative reputation, at least amongst parents(crime, much more poverty, lower test scores, etc.). However, my brother did better at this school last year, posting around a 3.3 GPA. He is a solidly intelligent person who, by all measures, should have a +30 ACT score when it’s time. This school is a much newer facility, opening for the 2013-2014 school year, and be I in the same school district has very comparable resources(iPads, course selection, etc.)
My question is, do you think that being in a potentially less competitive environment is better for some students? Would the weaker student body or possibly less rigorous classes or teachers have any negative impacts? He is very introverted(not an issue), and has problems with group work and procrastination that are being worked on. From brief talks he isn’t fixated on elite schools or expensive privates, and is likely to prefer a regular public university.
There are no expectations, simply for him to do well in school(B+, A- average) and be comfortable/relaxed.
Any and all advice, thoughts, opinions, etc. are appreciated. Will answer any questions. Thank you.
If your brother is fine with changing back, it could be helpful. Students doing well at urban schools with low income students often get a little bump when it comes to admissions. Big state schools are often just go by the numbers so GPA and test scores are most important there. Your brother may be more appreciated by the teachers at the less prestigious school. He might also just have been happier at the freshman year school. Happy is good. It will not hurt his admissions to go back to his original school. It may help.
It might be helpful to compare the course options at each high school. I think a happy kid is likely to make the most of the opportunities available at either high school.
I’m confused. If your family is moving, doesn’t he have to change schools? Is there an option to somehow stay at the school he is now attending? Or are you trying to help your family choose between options in their new location?
Yes, depending on where they move he may be required to change schools. They’re wondering whether it’s a good idea to stay in current zone at a ‘better’ school where he’s struggling or move back to previous, possibly ‘weaker’ school where he was more successful. Current school has higher performing student body, is in a more affluent area, and while they offer nearly identical courses, current school’s may be taught/run in a more rigorous or difficult way. There is some optimism that he may do better at the other school, but since it’s not a guarantee, they’re wondering if it makes sense to just stay put.
I’m in favor of moving. I’m finishing up here at the same school and I don’t really like it either. Haven’t attended the proposed school so I can agree there is the risk that the new environment may change nothing.
Some people flourish in a non-competitive environment. For others, the opposite is true. What I have observed is many teens do not do well switching schools when they are in high school, mainly because developing true friendships take time. Many teens confide in their friends much more than they confide in their parents so having to develop new relationships can be overwhelming. Perhaps that is why your brother looks forward to returning to his former school with people he already knows well.
I have and will continue to be patient; there is no rush and this is simply searching for other opinions, something that I find useful. I have no problem with not receiving answers; as I said, those that do reply I am very appreciative of.
There is no ‘issue’, I guess what I’m really wondering is: 1. Is there any benefit to attending a better school if one is struggling? 2. Is it worth it to switch schools given the risk of there being no change in results(grades, social,etc.)?
@bdnation5 No need to be apologetic, you said nothing out of line.
It is hard to predict if he’ll do better in new school for sure but it seems likely. He seems to like that school and dislike current school, you yourself doesn’t seem fond of it. If he is happy, has good friends and finds it easier to perform in a school where competition, standard and expectations are lower then probably he’ll do better.
On other side, he may not be able to reconnect with those friends as much as he assumes he would, no place is same when you go back, not necessarily good or bad but always diffrent. Another issue is crime and lower standards, he may fall into bad company and not do as well as expected.
In my humble opinion, even if it’s difficult to score higher in a more rigorous and competitive school, you come out better prepared for college and life. However, if you are miserable than you may not get those benefits.
If I had to make a choice then I wouldn’t move anyone in middle of highschool if it can be helped but in his case, it’s okay as he wants to do it. I’ll let him go where he thinks he can do better, it would put some pressure on him to prove his point and he won’t be able to blame family for keeping him in a school where he was miserable.
If a school is one that has entry to highly competitive colleges it might but any advantage there would be dulled by the low GPA. TBH <3.0 is not going to help.
You said he did better at that school and is looking forward to the change. I don’t see a lot of risk there. I think the bigger question is if he is capable of a 30+ ACT then why are his grades so low? Something is not connecting.
The original post implies the move is already a done-deal. If that’s the case, you have no choice but to encourage your brother to do his best at his new school. If, in fact, the move is not a done-deal or if the move does not necessitate a change in schools, then I would ask your brother to go to the school where he feels the most fulfilled. Some people achieve more when they are the big fish in a small pond, others are the opposite. If you are gaming for the tippy top colleges, a few ticks upward in the GPA department will make no difference, sadly. As you know, those schools routinely decline a significant number of students whose GPAs are 4.0s and higher.
I absolutely think a less competitive environment is better for some people. We actually moved our kids to a less competitive private school from their high-pressure public school right before my daughter’s junior year. It worked out very well for her. Lower pressure environments are especially beneficial to top students (which she is) with perfectionist tendencies, but they can help other types as well.
I know a teacher that subbed in a low income district and then the next year subbed in a higher income district- she said even though it was the same course (English lit) it was night and day in curriculum, material taught and comprehension of the students… with the higher income school being more advanced.
One of the biggest differences was glaringly apparent with regards to homework She would assign a 5 page paper and at the lower income school many would turn in 2 page papers if they turned a paper in at all. Homework was rarely completed or turned in and students there didn’t seem to care if that hurt their grades at all. To make up for the slower pacing in the class she had to pretty much stop assigning homework or papers.
Some experts think that homework is a waste of time. Some think it is valuable skill practice. To a certain extant most teachers grade comparatively to the rest of the class … This may be why your brother’s grades were better at the lower district? Not making a value judgement (re the lower income district students apathy towards homework) It may work in your brothers favor or not… it just really stood out to her as she didn’t have that kind of apathy at the higher income district.
Changing schools in high school is not easy, I did it it midway, and it was a tough transition for me. If I read this correctly, your brother went to school #1 freshman year, school #2 sophomore year, and will likely go back to school #1 junior year. If this is correct, I’d like to share that the “grass is not always greener” at the old school. Sometimes because a new school is a really bad fit, people may romanticize how great the other school was for them. I did, and I wasted a lot of time and energy on that. Looking back, I wish I would have looked at that time as an opportunity to grow a bit and meet some very nice people, but instead I saw it as a way the world was ruining my life Make sure your brother has a supportive network at home in case going back to the old school is not all he hoped it to be.
One thing I’d keep an eye on with the move is this… My first high school was competitive and tough. Students worked hard to get a 3.0 (we didn’t weight classes). When we moved, I was placed in another high school, which wasn’t as competitive. A great amount of the work I did in my first couple of years of high school is truly what they taught my third year at the new school, and at a slower pace. My GPA skyrocketed, but I soon became bored with the slower pace, and my study skills plummeted. I could easily get an A with little effort, and I became a bit lazy with my homework. I had never procrastinated in school/life, but the work was so mind-numbingly boring that I soon avoided studying at all costs. I graduated with honors, but I had a very tough time transitioning into college academically with the poor study habits I had created at my second high school.
Make sure your brother has a supportive network at home in case going back to the old school is not all he hoped it to be.