Norcross area (Duluth, Snellville, Suwanee: teaching jobs, transfer, neighborhood)

[MinMI]

Went to Gwinnett County a few weeks back to interview for teaching jobs. Had 4 offers out of 6 interviews. Narrowed it down to Norcross Elementary. All were title 1 schools and they had the better scores (when compared annual reports). Not sure i would want my son to go there but when i looked at the the schools that preformed better there was very little diversity. It seems if you want the diversity you end up with a poorer school and the better ones have no diversity at all. Would like the diversity but prefer a better school. My concern is how my son might be treated in a school with little diversity. I grew up in a small (Dutch founded) (now more diverse) city in SW MI, I know how some people view and treat minorities (born and raised there but of HIspanic decent). Currently live a small rural commuty and know that many of the teachers there are there because they want to only work with a certain population (no diversity) and how they view and treat the minorities and poor whites that are there. For this reason I drive my son to other town for school. As i was saying, would like a better school in Norcross area but concerned how my son would be viewed and treated in a school with little diversity. I also did not like how big the schools are there. ONe school said i would be one of 14 Kindergarten teachers! Here we only have
3 - 4 classrooms per grade. Was even looking into N. Fulton to live for the schools and commute to Norcross because the county school system met AYP and Gwinnett did not. I am leaning more toward an offer in AZ because it seems in Gwinnett you have to be very careful about where you live if you want a good school. It just seems like a lot of work to find the school you want and then to have to try and find a place to live where your child will go to that school. Was hoping to like Gwinnett County but not so sure. JUst seems too big and too divided (when it comes to the student population).

[Kalabash]

Not sure what you are looking for but you may want to try other parts of Gwinnett like Grayson, Snellville, Suwanee, Dacula. Gwinnett was recently featured as the most diverse county in the United States.

[lastminutemom]

I think that the easiest jobs to get in Gwinnett are in the Title 1 schools, certainly many of those schools are smaller and more intimate. Why take your child with you to school? Why not live somewhere where you like the school and send him to the neighborhood school? This will also spare him a move, if you decide to change schools.

I don't know what your budget is, but you could live in the Simpson district near Norcross or go further north.

Gwinnett is a huge system -- I think 156,000 students or something this year -- and growing by about 7000 students a year -- their growth per year is actually bigger than most of the school systems in Georgia's enrollment. Something like 10 percent of the state's public school students live in Gwinnett -- so you should have plenty of opportunities to transfer should you not like your job.

[jxu66]

1) Fulton school system does not meet AYP either. For any school system, there are good schools and poor schools, unfortunately.

2) Diversity schools not = poor schools. You should check Duluth/Suwanee areas school, which is just north of Norcross. A lot of diversity and many of them are highly rated.

3) There is small startup charter school that will start this September in Norcross as well. If your son want smaller school environment, may want to check it out.

[nrgpill]

I once read an article that Chinese and Korean students are no longer factored in the "diverse" equation in California, *shrug*. I may have excluded other ethnicities but the article was citing Chinese-Americans as an example.

[MinMI]

Originally Posted by lastminutemom

I think that the easiest jobs to get in Gwinnett are in the Title 1 schools, certainly many of those schools are smaller and more intimate. Why take your child with you to school? Why not live somewhere where you like the school and send him to the neighborhood school? This will also spare him a move, if you decide to change schools.

I am sure i do not want to take him with me and have been looking into other schools. I was saying that it seemed there is not much diveristy in the schools that perform better and that was my concern.

I don't know what your budget is, but you could live in the Simpson district near Norcross or go further north.

Thanks for the idea

Gwinnett is a huge system -- I think 156,000 students or something this year -- and growing by about 7000 students a year -- their growth per year is actually bigger than most of the school systems in Georgia's enrollment. Something like 10 percent of the state's public school students live in Gwinnett -- so you should have plenty of opportunities to transfer should you not like your job.

Yes, it is HUGE! I come from a small city. If i transferred it would have to be into another county - contract says you can not transfer for 3 years.

[MinMI]

Originally Posted by jxu66

1) Fulton school system does not meet AYP either. For any school system, there are good schools and poor schools, unfortunately.

2) Diversity schools not = poor schools. You should check Duluth/Suwanee areas school, which is just north of Norcross. A lot of diversity and many of them are highly rated.

3) There is small startup charter school that will start this September in Norcross as well. If your son want smaller school environment, may want to check it out.

I thought that Fulton County did meet AYP maybe i was looking at the wrong year. And yes i understand it varies by individual schools.
I did not mean diversity = poor. It just seemed like when i looked for diveristy they were title 1 schools. when i looked at schools that were not title 1 there was little diveristy it seemed.
I am sure he will be fine in a large or small school, it is just mom that is not use to large schools and scared.

[backfist]

Originally Posted by nrgpill

I once read an article that Chinese and Korean students are no longer factored in the "diverse" equation in California, *shrug*. I may have excluded other ethnicities but the article was citing Chinese-Americans as an example.

Hmmm. I'm not sure I know what that means (and I'm a native Californian).

In any event, we're leaning toward Gwinnett because it reminds me of where I lived in California. Had lots of friends of different groups, but my closest friends were Asian, Latino, Black and White. Near as I can tell, that's still what California looks like. I think ...

[backfist]

1) Fulton school system does not meet AYP either. For any school system, there are good schools and poor schools, unfortunately

.
So if Fulton does not meet AYP for "X" consecutive years, does that mean that parents can choose another district regardless of where they live?

[jxu66]

I believe that if a school is not making AYP for number of years, parents can choose another school within the school districts. I don't think that it applies to school districts. By the way, Cobb, Gwinnett and Fulton all didn't make AYP.