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Are there enough services in Southport to satisfy the needs of middle school children who enjoy Tae Kwon Do, Swim team, Rec. Basketball, etc. How are the schools? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. We are considering moving to the area.
Are there enough services in Southport to satisfy the needs of middle school children who enjoy Tae Kwon Do, Swim team, Rec. Basketball, etc. How are the schools? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. We are considering moving to the area.
I can't find any evidence of a swim team for middle schoolers through the schools. Perhaps there is one available through the YMCA in Wilmington, through the Dinah E Gore Aquatic Center, or through a community with an indoor pool. Otherwise there are several clubs for Tae Kwon Do which you can find through FB pages. Basketball is available through the schools and the county.
Southport might work for you, but you would probably be driving your children around more. Note that the people moving to Southport and Leland are frequently retirees or nearing retirement.
I'd also suggest that you research schools in the Carolina Forest area of Myrtle Beach which seems much more family-oriented. For example, there is an excellent swim team in Myrtle Beach: http://www.teamriptides.com/Home.jsp?team=scmbst
Last edited by goldenage1; 11-09-2014 at 08:58 PM..
I taught there 20 years ago (damn that is a long time). It was a superb middle school then, but there were underlying issues that may, or may not have gone away.
There was a growing gap between the haves and the have nots in Brunswick County. We had kids that did not have breakfast, sitting beside little girls in designer this and designer that. The fairy tale of how wonderful diversity is, in those types of extremes, is rubbish. Lots of percolating issues, they are middle schoolers, remember. That may have evened out a bit in the years, but it was an brewing issue.
Secondly, the kids on Oak Island, where I lived, were often up to no good. Mostly hanging out under the piers and such, no car and to cool to ride bikes. And, excessive hanging out breeds bad juju amongst middle schoolers.
I left the area for an immensely more high paying job after only several years. In the time that I taught, however, I had pretty much decided that I was not a good enough parent to overcome the pitfalls of that area.
Hope things have improved, I am sure the sunshine pumpers will tell you so, but I'm just being honest.
Thanks much for your insight into South Brunswick. I use the greatschools site because it give people a quick and easy comparison.
The NC Report Card is hard to interpret. On the surface the school looks terrible with only 50% passing the EOG in Reading and 39% in Math. That is lower than the state average. How is an out-of-state parent supposed to interpret those numbers?
1) Compare each grade scores to the state avg. I am math guy, but same for Reading
6th school math: 42.4
State 6th math: 38.9
7th school math: 40.1
State 7th math: 38.5
8th school math: 35.1
State school math: 34.2
Why the Overall math is LESS than state, when each grade is above the state? Well it is NC's DPI, I guess is the answer.
More importantly, I would look at MATH I, which is algebra.
The school had 80.6% avg while state had 36.3%. Algebra is a HIGH SCHOOL Course, with most Middle schools teaching a section of two, so these middle schoolers did much better than most state 9th graders.
Of note, of 258 8th grade math tests given, 72 students also took algebra, that is almost 1 and 3, which for a rural school is very high, IMHO. That looks like three sections, which is commendable. My current school, with about 50 less in 8th grade, only has one section of algebra, but they routinely have 100% pass rate. It looks like the staff is aggressive in pushing students to "the next level."
On the safe, orderly school page, there were 0 acts of crime or violence, with the state averaging almost 1 act per 100.
Short term suspensions were below district, but both of these stats can be manipulated but, they are what they are.
You can also tell that the library is small, but relatively new, which is OK, I suppose.
Looking at technology, they are a little behind, at a bit over two students per internet device, vs the state average of a little under two.
But this is immaterial if the devices are not used or are not used sensibly, but still, some information. At the same time, there is classroom connectivity in 100% of the classrooms.
The middle school is a big middle school. We were crammed in the 1990’s. That might mean either expansion, or more likely, more “learning cottages, ” i.e., trailers. Trailers don’t mean disaster, but it means the county does not value school construction to keep up with population growth, or that growth does not support increased funding for schools…which is probably the case. More poor and less affluent and less industry.
Finally the school is Title 1, which generally means some level of poverty, but I do not know the specifics, again, per my original comment, there was stark contrast between the have and the have nots.
Overall, I think a motivated student with involved parents would do just fine, but that is true, pretty much anywhere. The student appears to be safe.
Here is how I would look at it.....
Overall, I think a motivated student with involved parents would do just fine, but that is true, pretty much anywhere. The student appears to be safe.
Thanks. I think that would help the OP make up her own mind whether Southport was a good place for her middle school kids.
I would be concerned by the fairly low passing rates on the EOG scores. By comparison, one highly-regarded school in Cary has 77% passing in reading and 85% in math.
IMO, raising kids at the beach is difficult because it gives them the impression that life is easy. It would be too easy to goof off and play at the beach rather than doing school-work. I would prefer to raise kids in a place with a lot of competition where most kids take school seriously.
But, I don't know the OP's reason for wanting to live in Southport, and prefer to let people make up their own minds.
It is not apples and oranges to compare schools with educated parents, the triangle and nooks and crannies in the rest of the state, with districts with un or under-educated parents.
Folks have great pride in the Raleigh/Chapel/Carrboro schools when the dirty little secret it is the education level of the parents and all that entails that is the driving force!
Not just anecdote, compare, as you have, those scores to the state average (which of course includes the handful or two of really good scores).
OP, I am also considering a move to Southport with Middle school children. In what direction has your research led? In terms of other coastal schools, I've found the Southport public options to be as good or better than anywhere else. The privates are a different matter but I get the impression private school wouldn't be necessary in Southport because it is so small. Thoughs? Anyone?
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Also considering Southport
