<p>My kid’s HS did a great job with producing underperforming classmates, promoting the culture of “you don’t need no college none” and disregarding the finer details of sending as many people as possible to college.</p>
<p>One day, out of the blue, my S mentioned to me that the HS did something that was actually helpful for him. They created a wall where the kids could write anything that’s bothering them but can’t say elsewhere. He said he wrote something and felt a lot better. </p>
<p>What a great idea.</p>
<p>They do a good job with fundraising. The education my daughter is getting is fantastic. The once thing I could say about the education itself is that kids get lost. If you aren’t a genius or failing your classes, you get lost in the shuffle.
There’s a lot that I could complain about as well, haha.</p>
<p>I love the way our HS chooses valedictorian and salutatorian graduation speakers. </p>
<p>The senior-year English teachers (all levels, from AP to remedial) invite their students to submit speech drafts. The English teachers evaluate the drafts anonymously, with names removed. The authors of the top dozen drafts or so are invited to come read their speeches for a committee composed of administration and student council reps. The best orations, selected by consensus of the committee, are chosen for graduation.</p>
<p>I love this system because:
- it tamps down the competition for top class rank, since that doesn’t determine val/sal
- it gives everyone, from all academic levels, a chance to compete for a speaking spot
- sometimes the kids with the most interesting things to say aren’t necessarily the ones with top GPA nor the ones who would win a popularity contest
- it produces <em>great</em> speeches at graduation</p>
<p>It’s not something that just D’s HS does, but that her district does. Every student takes the PSAT in the 10th grade on the district’s dime. That got us into the “what does this score mean, what should we be doing next” stage a year earlier, and had D visiting schools just to decide what she would be comfortable with a year earlier as well.</p>
<p>I love that the college counseling office is well-staffed, with an open door policy for student and parents at every grade level. An incoming 8th grade student is welcome to review their ninth grade course registration plan, a 9th grader is encouraged to explore their summer options, a 10th grader is expected to take the PSAT and the PLAN to begin comparing standardized test differences, an 11th grader has ready access to their assigned counselor for guidance on college visits and seniors come back to school early for a few days of application preparation and essay writing.
I found it very reassuring to be able to ask the college counseling office all of the little questions that came up along the way at every grade level.</p>