School District Opinions (Charleston, Summerville, Anderson: hotels, school districts, college)

[Luvsdabeach]

Originally Posted by samIamhere

I agree with the posts about people coming to this area(Charleston) from the north and having problems with southerners acting differently when they find out we are northern. Bless your heart. There are obvious differences from North and South living. But then there are the difference nobody tells you about until you move here and experience the prejudice for yourself. Bless your heart. I have encountered rudeness above and beyond the normal just because I'm a damn yankee or politely put, a northerner. I NEVER thought I would feel this way but I have talked to locals and they have confirmed my beliefs about how much northerners aren't wanted. I say isn't it time you all live and let live, the damn civil war is over, we won. Bless your heart.

I don't understand where this "Bless your heart" thing came about but I have NEVER said it. I have heard a coworker of mine say it but in every case it has been when someone was hurt or going through a tough time. Maybe it's a rural thing, I don't know. As far as the civil war comment....good grief!

[RJ17015]

Not that I really wanted to revisit this post, some insight as to what brought us to the south. We, unlike others, did not have a desire to move to SC -- instead SC came to MI looking to employ people. The co. my husband works for contacted him -- he did not apply/contact them. Not that it matters, but it's not like we were so hellbent on being in the "south."

Sadly the company has had to go all over the country to recruit. My husband has since outsourced work in MI, to get the talent the company needs. He was shocked to find people sleeping at work, the "I'll get to it when I get to it attitude" floored him, and the company has had to do a lot of cleaning house. The company was in trouble, and did they look in their backyard for the talent they needed to save the company -- no they went to other areas of the country. I don't know why that is, but I'm assuming they were looking for something they weren't finding here in SC.

My point is -- the US economy is in trouble, and it's not going to get better anytime soon. It is predicted that our children will be the first generation to not exceed their parents -- that is not only sad, but scary to me. As a parent, my goal is to make sure my children get a good education, to give them the skills to succeed. If times are tough now, I can't begin to imagine what they will be like when my children enter the work world. I don't want my children to have to live paycheck to paycheck. I don't want them to worry about how are they going to pay the rent next month. As a parent I'm trying to prepare them for the real world. Things are going to be much more difficult for them than it was for us. I want to go to my grave knowing that they will be able to take care of themselves.

So while I admire you for having that laid back attitude of the south, I'm not sure where that attitude will get you and your children in the future. The world is a very competitive place, jobs are being outsourced to other countries, products are being imported to the US, certain immigrants are raising the next generation doctors, professionals here in the US -- where does that leave our kids?

It trickles down -- companies have become more selective to which colleges they recruit from, and take into consideration many things; likewise colleges have become more selective, you get the idea. My nephew who is studying to be a doctor, with his outstanding GPA from U of M -- cannot get into a Graduate school, things are that competitive.

I truly don't want this to be a pissing match between the North and the South -- but change is not always a bad thing. Companies benchmark themselves against their competition, learn their shortcomings, and make necessary changes -- in order to be competitive. They don't sit back and have the attitude "this is the way we've always done things..." and live with this situation even if it's not working. They admit that things could be done differently, possibly more effective, maybe even better, and make changes -- they learn from their competition.

The co. my husband works for is doing just that -- they're being forced to be competitive, and are struggling to do so -- having to restructure the entire company -- CHANGE!

Maybe something could be learned from what others have experienced, how things are run in other areas of the country? Reach out to other districts that have succeeded and learn from them.

[Browsing Duo]

Well put. Recently the Charleston newspaper posted SAT scores for various SC high schools, and people were happy to see that overall SC had brought up its scores over the last few years. Hooray. Then I went to the original article and saw that SC was #49 in the country on the SATs. 49! Now there are a lot of things wrong with the SAT, but it is one of the very few national benchmarks for measuring achievement state to state. When I posted this unhappy next-to-last-bad news in a polite way, I think, some real estate agents pounced on me, saying SC was one of 22 states with more kids taking the test, which would drag down the scores. Well, SC was still at next to last among that group of 22! All parents should make some noise about that. (I've coached kids on the SAT in wealthy and poor districts, and let me tell you I wrote a blistering letter to a district superintendent that had some smart kids who just hadn't had decent teaching. The kids were as smart as in the wealthy district but had not been taught certain basic things. Tragic, in my opinion.)

There is a connection between money spent on education and achievement. Taxes are relatively low in SC. Many people come to SC after educating themselves and their kids up north or in the Midwest (Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin were in the top five) and have had it with school taxes (and cold weather). So the support for school taxes is probably not there. This is something to consider when relocating with children. Parents stopped asking senior citizens in our town up north pay more taxes and focused on parent turnout for school budgets. But this is Catch 22 thinking. Low educational levels do not attract businesses that need high-level applicants--hence your husband having to look outside SC for candidates. When educational levels are high, that attracts businesses, which pay taxes and create jobs.

I would suggest that anyone inquiring about schools anywhere, even if their children are young, to check the state's top five SAT averages, middle five SAT averages, and bottom five SAT averages against their home state scores and those of states where they might want to move.

I agree with you so much that people can learn a lot from each other. I'm an occasional visitor to Charleston because my daughter lives there. She left a high-powered life up north and is enjoying a more relaxed way of life. I've seen a change in her personality, all to the good. (I did advise her to mind her own business and to just listen to people and not be telling people whose people having been living in SC for centuries how they do things up north.) We've both enjoyed the tremendous hospitality in SC--tremendous, really. I'm a talker and love that people do take the time to talk instead of rushing around. When they say: "Let's get together for lunch/dinner," they mean it truly, and that lunch or dinner will be good! Talking is a way of sharing ideas.

As for you own situation, I really felt ill reading about your daughter being bullied. No excuse for that, but I can imagine you might be reluctant to confront this jerk of an assistant principal so early in the year. As for your son having to leave school at noon to go to Trident, well, I've been involved with college admissions and that boy now has a college essay subject about how he thought he thought he was going to high school and wound up in college! No putdowns, just what could be a funny tale. So good luck with everything. In the end, it's the parents who do the heavy lifting when it comes to education, so your kids are probably pretty far along thanks to all your caring and support.

[RJ17015]

We are also talkers, and have met many wonderful people here in the south, and have already made great friends. We are pretty laid back -- and were not overbooked -- we always have cherished our down time, so from that aspect -- great! Though I voice my opinion on this board -- I know better in the "real" world. I try very much to keep my opinions to myself, I think that comes with age (smile).

Since my kids are almost out of school, I know we're on the home stretch -- so if we stay -- I'm hoping the kids will still do okay. Yes we will be thrilled when we are eliminated of those high taxes we are paying in the north -- around $800 a month (I'm pretty sure -- and that's just on one of our houses). But I agree those taxes go toward the school -- we had the Robin Hood -- so our high taxes were also supporting Detroit School District -- which had huge $ problems, so we were carrying other areas of the county -- bad for us -- great for Detroit.

Again I don't want to say it's a Northern/Southern thing -- I just think the schools could be improved, and maybe change should be considered -- maybe it's time to re-evaluate property taxes?

[I*love*D*Peninsula]

Originally Posted by Luvsdabeach

I think you need to go back and reread the thread, the only person I "beat up on" was you because of your "ignorant" remark. Besides the two poster's that were taking up for S'Ville high are transplants and nice one's at that.

I am not going to lower myself to your standards. You know what you are. I stand by everything I said. Thank you

[I*love*D*Peninsula]

Originally Posted by imperieux

So, according to you, being respectful and polite is actually passive aggressive.
And making demands combined with an air of superiority is actually asking for what you want.

If that's your interpretation of it, so be it. I'm not going to sit here and argue with you over semantics.

But I do wonder why you live here if you believe this state is so "backwoods and backwards" and those top schools that you love to throw statistics out about are elsewhere?


This thread really exposes the differences in cultures and the problems that can arise from those moving to this area, especially from the North or Midwest, without really knowing what they are getting into. It is imperative that anyone intending to move here understands there are differences in culture, schools and the people. And even though things may be different, it doesn't mean anywhere else is BETTER. What may be better to you, may be horrible for another.

And yes, it is America and anyone can choose to move here if they want to. But the natives haven't had a choice in this matter, have they? They are just living their lives and suddenly their schools are becoming overcrowded, they are dealing with more traffic, and suddenly their taxes are rising. They are dealing with all these changes happening around them and then to top it off, they have to listen to those who have recently moved here complain about how bad it is here and how great it was back home? What a slap in the face. THAT is what I object to.

And if the OP decides not to move here, no one will mind really (no personal offense Barbara) except maybe the real estate agents and housing developers that make money off the situation. Most of us love it here and will go on living our lives just fine.

Again, I can live anywhere on this Earth I choose to. Also, I don't have to explain anything to you about my choices I decide to make in regards to my life. And another thing, I love where I live.

[Luvsdabeach]

Originally Posted by I*love*D*Peninsula

I am not going to lower myself to your standards. You know what you are. I stand by everything I said. Thank you

Sorry but I'm not going to engage in an argument with someone that hides behind their computer screen. I hope you are not teaching the kids in your classroom your mean way's. Have a nice life.

[ASC]

I'll just put my 2 cents worth in here.

I would never ever discourage someone from getting an education, I'm furthering my education as we speak. I'm in college.

However, an education is not all there is to life.

People say that they are not getting the "best" education here. Ok, well then either get very involved, and create change, or go somewhere where the education is up to your standards.

As Southerners, (and I'm Southern, but still others may disagree, so feel free to disagree) we are one of the few people who still value hard work no matter what "type" of hard work that is. Here you can find a ditch digger and banker having a nice talk. Here you can find that people living in a small cottage are just as happy as the family living on the Battery in downtown.

Money is not everything. What America's real problem is, our obsession with materialism, and money.

Folks say they don't want their kids living paycheck to paycheck. They won't, as long as you teach them financial responsibility, make them work for the things they want, and help learn how to live within their means.

The attitude that is common all over the country is that unless you've got a Master's Degree, and make a ton of money, and have all of the nicest gadgets and cars, you won't be happy.

My parents, grand-parents, and great-grandparents all worked very hard to have what they have. They didn't live paycheck to paycheck, and they were poor. They just lived within their means, and guess what, they are happy, have been happy, and wouldn't trade the value of hard work for anything in the world.

As long as you have an education, and a work ethic, you'll be fine in this world. Even if the Jones' next door have more than you. When children see their parent's keeping up with Jones' then they'll feel that they have to as well.

Like I said, we can agree to disagree, but I know that an education is important, but it's not everything there is to know about life. And money will never buy your happiness, because if you're not happy with what you have now, then you'll never be happy, even with a billion dollars.

You may say S.C. is a state full of backwoods people, but guess what, I'll bet they're happy. If I have a small house and loving family, and am truly happy with life, and someone else has a mansion, Ph.D, and a cheating wife, and wild spoiled kids, tell me, which one has the better life? In the end all that matters, is if you are truly happy with your life. If your happy with a H.S. Diploma working in as a mechanic, who cares? As long as they're happy.

[RJ17015]

I find it ironic that you preach "as long as we're happy" but on another thread talk about a cousin who lost their job and has to work 80 hours in a Surf Shop to make ends meet? If working 80 hours a week makes you happy you can have it.

I never referred to southerners as "backwood" nor did I say my spouse cheats on me, and that my kids are spoiled. I'm not sure how this turned into being materialistic -- this thread is about education and the quality of the education in SC.

While other locals have admitted that the education falls short here, why as an outsider are we attacked for saying the exact same thing?

Why would you assume we have not worked hard, and that we're not happy? I'm not sure how you got off on that tangent -- this is about education.

Sure my goal is to provide the best education to my kids before sending them into the world to survive. I'm not striving for them to make millions of dollars -- I just want them to be marketable in a very competitive world. My hope is that my kids don't have to work 80 hours in a Surf Shop to make ends meet. As a parent I'm trying to give them a better chance.

[Barbara]

As the person who started this post, I do find education to be high on the list of concerns when one is relocating. I'm not saying it has to be in the top ten school districts in the country, but a decent town with GOOD schools are important. It's not just the teachers that make a good school. I think that when you have a highly rated school district, it shows good teachers and management, but also kids that have parents that are involved and care. It kind of goes had in hand with family values, good schools, lower crime rates, pride in homes and neighborhoods (my opinion). I'm not saying wealthy fancy, just solid middle working class. We visited Summerville last February as well as Mt Pleasant and Carolina Forest (near Myrtle Beach) based on tons and tons of internet research. All of the places were beautiful, but we just really liked Summerville. Charleston is one of the most beautiful cities I've ever seen. New York City is amazing, but Charleston is special somehow. We plan on taking another trip to the area around the third week in February, on Long Island the schools are closed that week.

Anyway sorry this is so long winded but I do have another school question. One of the neigborhoods we want to look into has William Reeves Jr listed as the elementary school. I can't find any information on "Great Schools.net" or any other school rating websites. I was wondering if anyone had kids who go or did go at one time to that school or has an opinion about it one way or another.

I hope this does'nt open up another can of worms. Just trying do make good decisions like everyone else.

Thanks all!1