what county has the best schools ? (Atlanta, Marietta: moving, rich, pine)

[vsmoove]

Originally Posted by cmtiger

Ugh... Scraper... you can have diversity in a school/school system and still have excellent schools. Decatur City schools are very similar demographically to Cobb's and we outperform them as a system on every measure that I have looked at.

Don't waste your time... racist people will never understand the difference between race and class.

[neil0311]

Originally Posted by vsmoove

Don't waste your time... racist people will never understand the difference between race and class.

Correct. Maybe the reason that some Cobb schools with predominantly "minority" students had poorer scores than some schools with majority white student bodies is that the minority areas are lower income areas? Maybe the lower income students have two working parents who spend less time with them, or maybe only a single parent? Maybe most of the white students (presumably in East Cobb and Kennesaw/Acworth) have higher income parents and probably one parent at home? Could that translate into higher scores due to better resources and more parental involvement?

Race may not be the discriminating (I hope you understand what that word means) factor here, maybe income is the factor?

[CityFan]

Originally Posted by neil0311

Correct. Maybe the reason that some Cobb schools with predominantly "minority" students had poorer scores than some schools with majority white student bodies is that the minority areas are lower income areas? Maybe the lower income students have two working parents who spend less time with them, or maybe only a single parent? Maybe most of the white students (presumably in East Cobb and Kennesaw/Acworth) have higher income parents and probably one parent at home? Could that translate into higher scores due to better resources and more parental involvement?

Race may not be the discriminating (I hope you understand what that word means) factor here, maybe income is the factor?

Income is one of several factors that explains the variations in academic achievements. However there are other factors that can affect students' achievments. Mostly highly educated parents tend to spend more time and resources in kid's education, therefore they can do better at school. Certainly minimum income level is required for parents to provide a good education after school. In my personal experience and people who I know, the more you spend time with your kids in helping their education, the better they can do. Our public school system only educates kids to be good citizens, rather than being scientists or something. We need to provide them with extra help before they are equiped with knowledge to become well rounded individuals.

[creekviewcrazy]

My wife and I relocated to Cherokee County in August. We researched this subject, we visited several schools before we bought a house, we asked all the right question.

My daughter transferred in as a junior she loves the school, the academics are as good as Fairfax County, Virginia where we transferred from, the teachers are a dedicated bunch who spend countless hours before and after school working with the students. We love the school, the county school district stinks.

Cherokee County weights the grades of honors and AP courses heavily, and even though the written policy says they will only report weighted grades on transcripts and only weighted grades will be used to calculate class rank, the county refuses to weight transfer grades making if virtually impossible for a transfer student to compete for any award that is based on class rank (valdictorian, salutorian, etc.) or to meet the requirements of a top tier college which generally accept only those students ranked in the top 10% of their high school class, or even a middle tier school which generally accepts only those students ranked in the top 25% of thier high school class, and forget about an academic scholarship. Every student who transfers into Cherokee County School District is handicapped and treated as a second class citizen.

[lastminutemom]

Creekview

Actually, the most competitive schools don't look at class rank, weighted GPAs, etc. Most colleges, including UGA, recaculate a student's GPA without the weights. SAT scores, grades, and leadership roles in extracurriculars are all very important. Depending on the school, geographic and racial diversity, as well as socio-economic diversity, might help as well.

They look at the rigor of a child's schedule, ie did the student take the hardest courses the school had to offer and how did they do in those classes. That is why, right now, you are hearing people complain that one student with a 3.4 got into UGA while another with a 3.8 didn't. The 3.4 kid probably took the more advanced classes. (though I do know one student who didn't take particularly difficult coursework and still got into UGA.)

Harvard (and other ivies) have even discussed doing away with credits for AP courses.

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by lastminutemom

Harvard (and other ivies) have even discussed doing away with credits for AP courses.

Yes, I can see why. AP is becoming the new "honors". "Honors" the new "on-level, college-prep."

[Butterfli_Bleu]

Considering purchasing a home in either Kennesaw, Acworth or Woodstock. We need to be close to KSU so all will work well...

I am very concerned about finding the best elementary school for my daughter and realized that this thread is dated from last year. Am wondering if there is anyone out there with recent opinions about this subject? Also, anyone know about the Pre-K programs in these areas as well?

Thanks!

[TakeAhike]

Originally Posted by Butterfli_Bleu

Considering purchasing a home in either Kennesaw, Acworth or Woodstock. We need to be close to KSU so all will work well...

I am very concerned about finding the best elementary school for my daughter and realized that this thread is dated from last year. Am wondering if there is anyone out there with recent opinions about this subject? Also, anyone know about the Pre-K programs in these areas as well?

Thanks!

Have you tried the schools forum? At the top of Atlanta forum. Someone will be happy to share FYI.

Basically research the high schools--greatschools.com is one way --and then find the elementary and middle schools in the cluster.

You can always click 'Search' at the top of the page--do an Advanced Search/Atlanta--pages of threads are listed.

[trish74]

Butterfli Bleu,
From all my research around there....Ford, Bullard, Vaughan, Bullard, Due West seemed to be the best. Hope that helps.

[netdragon]

Cobb county has great schools. Cobb county has a few areas with high high concentrations of poor students and additionally, regardless of how good the schools are in Cobb, many parents sadly send their children to private schools because they are rich and can afford it. Therefore, test scores won't properly reflect how good Cobb county's educational system is. It's probably the best in the metro area and if not that definitely up near the top of the list. East Cobb, West Cobb, Vinings and Marietta especially.