Albuquerque Neighborhoods (Rio Rancho, North Valley: attorney, houses, bankrupt)

[karmathecat]

I am not sure that I would not send my child to any of those schools. When we were researching K for our son, we evaluated several of the local public schools and decided to rule out any school that regularly did not meet AYP and/or received Title 1 funding. That would knock both Zuni ( Title 1 ) and Bandalier ( not meeting AYP ) off my list. I'd really have to look at Monte Vista closely, especially their math program.
We then ruled out any school that taught Everyday Math. We wound up with two schools in the far NE Heights but when we added the charter schools into the mix, we liked those much better ( even the one that did not meet AYP last year due to math scores and who adjusted their curriculum to Singapore Math ) so we were able to enroll in the lotteries and got accepted into one ( our top choice . )
If we had not made any of the lotteries, we would have gone private. If you can afford a private education for your children, you really should consider it.
Escuela del Sol was #1 on our list for private consideration.
I don't think people outside of New Mexico realize how poor the education system is in this state. Albuquerque is better than much of rural New Mexico but ranks down there with Mississippi, Arkansas and other poor states in every academic measurement.

[Mike Horrell]

Originally Posted by karmathecat

I don't think people outside of New Mexico realize how poor the education system is in this state. Albuquerque is better than much of rural New Mexico but ranks down there with Mississippi, Arkansas and other poor states in every academic measurement.

US Chamber of Commerce ranked NM 49th out 50 states academically ....

[aries63]

A couple of friends (he's a lawyer, she's a Ph.D.) send their kids to Bandelier and like it, very involved in their kids' education and on school committees. I wonder how much of the ranking problem is due to the fact that there are a large number of underperforming kids which bring the averages down, but maybe the higher-achievers are still getting their academic needs met? I wonder if there's a way to measure parental involvement and its effect on test scores, versus simply blaming everything on the schools/teachers.

[karmathecat]

I am sure plenty of kids can do well even when faced with the challenge of a large number of their peers coming from families who do not value education. After all, someone has to make up the 50% of the population that does manage to graduate from HS here.
We feel that as long as we can afford to either take the time to pursue a charter school that seems to be perfect for our child, or spend the necessary money on tuition at a private school, the odds are greater for our son to succeed at a school where a majority of parents are involved. We're also concerned about school size...we'll be sending our son to a school where the total school population is equal to some public school's Kindergarten population.

[rybert]

Originally Posted by aries63

A couple of friends (he's a lawyer, she's a Ph.D.) send their kids to Bandelier and like it, very involved in their kids' education and on school committees. I wonder how much of the ranking problem is due to the fact that there are a large number of underperforming kids which bring the averages down, but maybe the higher-achievers are still getting their academic needs met? I wonder if there's a way to measure parental involvement and its effect on test scores, versus simply blaming everything on the schools/teachers.

Nail on the head.

[karmathecat]

Rybert and Aries63...do either of you have school aged children?

I ask because I shared similar views before we had our son.

Once you become a parent, opinions and views change on many things.

Involved parents working hand in hand with good schools are a great combination. Once you have a child though, you start seeing things in that child that make you realize that the influence of their classmates also plays in to the equation. Our son tends to follow the example of other children. I want those to be the children of like-minded parents ( when it comes to the importance of a good school )

We are sending our child to public school, it just happens to be a state charter.

[Mike Horrell]

Originally Posted by karmathecat

you start seeing things in that child that make you realize that the influence of their classmates also plays in to the equation.

You can never discount peer influence which makes school choices so critical in
an extremely variable and underperforming school system like APS.

[bongo]

The OP said they are looking for racial diversity. Having taught in Title 1 schools in New Mexico & Alaska for over 20 years, Title 1 schools have a propensity of offering a rainbow of cultures, colors, & diversity!

[Mike Horrell]

Originally Posted by bongo

The OP said they are looking for racial diversity. Having taught in Title 1 schools in New Mexico & Alaska for over 20 years, Title 1 schools have a propensity of offering a rainbow of cultures, colors, & diversity!

Diversity is a great thing, but most schools are pretty diverse now so I'd focus
more on academic performance and a non-banger student population.

[karmathecat]

Racial diversity in NM? You will find that almost all of the schools here have either a majority Caucasian population with a slightly smaller Hispanic one or a majority Hispanic population with a smaller Caucasian one and a smattering of African American, Native American and Asian kids.