Looking for thoughts on school district 300

[canoeist]

Regarding AP classes, my sons took biology, calculus, English, lit, US history, and chemistry. I don't have a listing for classes now, but I do know some students also take college credit at Elgin Community College.

Dundee Crown has a real mix of students. You have higher income backgrounds from Sleepy Hollow and the Frontenac area, a middle of the road from East and West Dundee, and lower income from Carpentersville, east of the river. West of the river, carpentersville is growing with homes from $250,000 and up. In fact there are some beautiful homes sitting in a hilly area between Rte 31 and Randall Road. As you can tell from the demographic data, there is a significant Hispanic population. A certain percentage of this group at the high school are somewhat transient with a higher than normal drop out rate. My guess is that really hits the tests scores hard. On the other hand, having attended three graduatuon ceremonies, it is really heartwarming to see the cheering from families that have their first child ever graduating from HS.

Does this help?

Canoeist

[chet everett]

Thanks canoeist, that does give much more "flavor" to the school.

My questions to the OP are more basic: Where are you moving FROM and how old are your kids? I've seen kids who were doing well in an OK school nosedive in what should be a "better" school and the kids soar in what should be a "worse" school. The single biggest factor that I can see is that kids have to feel/believe that the move is BETTER FOR THEM, not just a bigger house or a better commute or what have you but there is something that compels them to put forth the effort need to sustain/improve their chances of academic/career success. No school has a monopoly on that, in fact too many (most? ) don't do enough to install in sense of responsibility... Of course there are always SOME parents that will try and help their children to that level and those are the kids that do well regardless of their surroundings.

[nanannie]

So it says the op is "not a member''--doesnt that mean they are now banned?

[jessiegirl_98]

Originally Posted by nanannie

So it says the op is "not a member''--doesnt that mean they are now banned?

There are many reasons people may no longer be members; however, if the OP isn't a member (which this one isn't) they won't be able to view your helpful responses

[nanannie]

Originally Posted by jessiegirl_98

There are many reasons people may no longer be members; however, if the OP isn't a member (which this one isn't) they won't be able to view your helpful responses

Thanks jessiegirl, (A Rick Springfield fan? )

[klm224]

As far as negative activity Dundee Crown has gone downhill as of late. I live in District 300 and I have 2 children 9yrs old and 3. Moving to this district has been the worst decision ever made as far as the quality of education my son recieves. If you feel that there is any chance what so ever your child may need special education on any lvl for your child DO NOT move to this district. He has been to 4 different schools in about 4 yrs because their programs are inadequit. Because "certain grades are in certain schools" As far as regular schooling the classes are too large and teachers tend to have favorites in the classroom. The "problem" children are forgoten or ignored. And they don't keep you updated as far as whats going in the school or your child unless there's been an issue.

[GoCUBS1]

I cannot emphasize enough how, let's just say, "academically underachieving" this school district is compared to nearby districts. I've made other posts re: this school district on this C-D site.

I once lived in an area that feeds into this district and just about every college-educated parent I knew sent their kids to private school. There are also a good amount of homeschooled kids in this district - that tells you something. I don't feel this is a good district if you want your child to attend college (especially if you want your child to attend a top-shelf college). I knew many parents who were desperately trying to sell their houses specifically to get out of this school district. Please carefully research district test scores, student-teacher ratios, number of AP courses, % of students attending university, gang activity, crime statistics, # of convicted child felons in town, etc. and you will see what I mean.

I believe the average class (starting in elementary school) may be 1 to 2 years behind in curriculum compared to nearby public districts (I have specifically compared curriculum across districts). I once observed a 5th grade D300 class cutting and pasting individual letters from magazines to create a "spelling word list." To me, this was "busy work" appropriate for a Kindergarten student. I also encountered 5th grade honor roll students who were taught to use their fingers for simple multiplication (e.g. 9 X 4) and seemed to have very poor reading comprehension and spelling skills (indicative of poor curriculum/class instruction IMO). I also met a H.S. student who wanted to be an engineer but felt it was impossible to get the level of Math/Science instruction that he needed and he would not be prepared for college.

This district has changed a lot in the last 10 years. This may be due to the massive illegal immigration into Carpentersville and the many problems they have had in both securing and properly managing school funding (you can also google how school funds have somehow "disappeared" in this district)... There may be a few bright spots in this district (e.g. jazz music program, dual language classes, vocational H.S. program, one elementary school w/mixed-age classes, some good teachers, a good baseball program, etc.) but BE CAREFUL with your child's future as the bright spots are fairly rare...