Plano schools competitiveness? (Dallas, Richardson, Frisco: home, neighborhoods, high school)

[widespreadfan]

My kids attend feeder schools into Plano West. I hate to break it to all of you, but not everyone in the world is rich. Having economic diversity in schools prepares kids for the real world. Shoot these people in apartments pay way more for rent than I do for my monthly house payment.

[Xalistiq]

Originally Posted by widespreadfan

My kids attend feeder schools into Plano West. I hate to break it to all of you, but not everyone in the world is rich. Having economic diversity in schools prepares kids for the real world. Shoot these people in apartments pay way more for rent than I do for my monthly house payment.

Economic diversity is problematic when it has a measurable impact on the academic performance of a school, which it almost invariably does.

Plano West’s economically disadvantaged student population has risen from under 5% twenty years ago, to 24% today.

When this surge in low income students has adversely impacted Plano West’s academic performance, even if the decline in performance is not as acute as one might expect, you cannot spin this as a positive.

Plano West may be notable in that it produces a large number of NMSF finalists, in spite of a quarter of the student population being classified as economically disadvantaged.

But those high-performing students are overwhelmingly Asian. If high-achieving Asian and white kids are replaced by more low income students (which is exactly what has happened over the last 20 years), and mirrors what happened to schools like Hillcrest in Preston Hollow, then there goes the school.

You can call me elitist, a snob, classist, etc. I really don’t care. Bottom line, as someone who attended Plano West and will always consider that community to be an extension of myself, it is extremely disheartening to see the demographic decline of Plano West.

[NP78]

Originally Posted by Xalistiq

Economic diversity is problematic when it has a measurable impact on the academic performance of a school, which it almost invariably does.

Plano West’s economically disadvantaged student population has risen from under 5% twenty years ago, to 24% today.

When this surge in low income students has adversely impacted Plano West’s academic performance, even if the decline in performance is not as acute as one might expect, you cannot spin this as a positive.

Plano West may be notable in that it produces a large number of NMSF finalists, in spite of a quarter of the student population being classified as economically disadvantaged.

But those high-performing students are overwhelmingly Asian. If high-achieving Asian and white kids are replaced by more low income students (which is exactly what has happened over the last 20 years), and mirrors what happened to schools like Hillcrest in Preston Hollow, then there goes the school.

You can call me elitist, a snob, classist, etc. I really don’t care. Bottom line, as someone who attended Plano West and will always consider that community to be an extension of myself, it is extremely disheartening to see the demographic decline of Plano West.

Where is the adverse impact on Plano West’s performance? I don’t see quantitative data that supports that assertion.

[Wittgenstein's Ghost]

Originally Posted by Xalistiq

Economic diversity is problematic when it has a measurable impact on the academic performance of a school, which it almost invariably does.

Plano West’s economically disadvantaged student population has risen from under 5% twenty years ago, to 24% today.

When this surge in low income students has adversely impacted Plano West’s academic performance, even if the decline in performance is not as acute as one might expect, you cannot spin this as a positive.

Plano West may be notable in that it produces a large number of NMSF finalists, in spite of a quarter of the student population being classified as economically disadvantaged.

But those high-performing students are overwhelmingly Asian. If high-achieving Asian and white kids are replaced by more low income students (which is exactly what has happened over the last 20 years), and mirrors what happened to schools like Hillcrest in Preston Hollow, then there goes the school.

You can call me elitist, a snob, classist, etc. I really don’t care. Bottom line, as someone who attended Plano West and will always consider that community to be an extension of myself, it is extremely disheartening to see the demographic decline of Plano West.

That's a lot of words to say rich places should be homogeneously rich and poor people should stick together. And all so school stats -- not even the quality of education offered -- can look good.

Another perspective: It's great that some kids who aren't born rich can get a good education at a place like Plano West.

[Grainraiser]

Originally Posted by wittgenstein's ghost

that's a lot of words to say rich places should be homogeneously rich and poor people should stick together. And all so school stats -- not even the quality of education offered -- can look good.

Another perspective: It's great that some kids who aren't born rich can get a good education at a place like plano west.

exactly!

[texstout]

Originally Posted by Xalistiq

Economic diversity is problematic when it has a measurable impact on the academic performance of a school, which it almost invariably does.

Plano West’s economically disadvantaged student population has risen from under 5% twenty years ago, to 24% today.

When this surge in low income students has adversely impacted Plano West’s academic performance, even if the decline in performance is not as acute as one might expect, you cannot spin this as a positive.

Plano West may be notable in that it produces a large number of NMSF finalists, in spite of a quarter of the student population being classified as economically disadvantaged.

But those high-performing students are overwhelmingly Asian. If high-achieving Asian and white kids are replaced by more low income students (which is exactly what has happened over the last 20 years), and mirrors what happened to schools like Hillcrest in Preston Hollow, then there goes the school.

You can call me elitist, a snob, classist, etc. I really don’t care. Bottom line, as someone who attended Plano West and will always consider that community to be an extension of myself, it is extremely disheartening to see the demographic decline of Plano West.

Good god! Such classism! Let's be quite honest - the same smart kid with privileges (e.g., engaged parents, attended PK, economic advantages, access to AP or IB classes) will do exactly the same at ANY of these schools. In fact, being surrounded by people of different economic experiences and races will only improve them!


Your comment about Hillcrest is also out-of-date. At least 10 kids from my son's 8th grade class of 78 chose to go to Hillcrest for next year and if you looked around at them - there was a lot of white privilege in that group (but also diversity thankfully). Woodrow Wilson is another example of a school that may look bad on paper because of high numbers of economic disadvantaged students, but in reality provides an amazing education (IB and STEM) for motivated kids. Many families I know are personally pulling their kids out of private schools to go to both Hillcrest and Woodrow. We attended an WW IB orientation meeting and the caliber of the students was very impressive.

[NP78]

Originally Posted by texstout

Good god! Such classism! Let's be quite honest - the same smart kid with privileges (e.g., engaged parents, attended PK, economic advantages, access to AP or IB classes) will do exactly the same at ANY of these schools. In fact, being surrounded by people of different economic experiences and races will only improve them!


Your comment about Hillcrest is also out-of-date. At least 10 kids from my son's 8th grade class of 78 chose to go to Hillcrest for next year and if you looked around at them - there was a lot of white privilege in that group (but also diversity thankfully). Woodrow Wilson is another example of a school that may look bad on paper because of high numbers of economic disadvantaged students, but in reality provides an amazing education (IB and STEM) for motivated kids. Many families I know are personally pulling their kids out of private schools to go to both Hillcrest and Woodrow. We attended an WW IB orientation meeting and the caliber of the students was very impressive.

I have posted quite a bit of info about it in the past, but students at Woodrow from affluent/middle-class families do just as well (at least on the metrics we have, however imperfect they may be) as Frisco/Prosper/Allen/McKinney/Plano (with an acknowledgement that Plano West stands out above all of the rest including Woodrow on those metrics).

The classism is kind of funny coming from West Plano to be honest. Sure, there are some wealthy neighborhoods (Willow Bend, etc.), but the majority of the West Plano feeder zone is middle-class. It's not Highland Park or even Southlake. Plano ISD and Richardson ISD are both very impressive in their ability to serve a socioeconomic diverse population.

[MurphyPl1]

As a PISD resident, I'm totally embarrassed by this thread and the atrocious beliefs of some posters. Plano ISD has 3 excellent senior high schools and the district does a great job of moving to address the needs of an evolving population.

[Cicnod]

Originally Posted by widespreadfan

My kids attend feeder schools into Plano West. I hate to break it to all of you, but not everyone in the world is rich. Having economic diversity in schools prepares kids for the real world. Shoot these people in apartments pay way more for rent than I do for my monthly house payment.

Can you explain how having economic diversity prepares kids for the real world. I grew up rich. I am rich now. I have never been poor and I will never be poor. I don't want to live near poor people and I don't have any close friends that are poor. Please explain how I am not prepared for the real world.

Being around poor people help prepare you only if you end up poor.

Plano West- Great school, great district.

[LocalPlanner]

Originally Posted by MurphyPl1

As a PISD resident, I'm totally embarrassed by this thread and the atrocious beliefs of some posters. Plano ISD has 3 excellent senior high schools and the district does a great job of moving to address the needs of an evolving population.

I think a lot of this stems from the idea that suburban home prices (and sometimes urban home prices) are essentially dependent on average test scores and % free and reduced lunch at the zoned public schools. There is some truth to that (OK a lot of truth), but it's because some close-minded supposedly highly educated parents think that their precious offspring will somehow suffer educationally and in life generally unless they share classrooms only with upper middle class or affluent children. Everything seems to flow from that unsupported idea. Hence you get sentiments as expressed in this thread that government policies, such as land use controls, should be used to avoid economic diversity in zoned public schools.

A few years ago I heard about a former superintendent in Cy-Fair ISD that was confronted by angry parents from affluent subdivisions upset that a new "entry-level" subdivision was been built within the same school zone, and how could this be allowed? Geez

The folks who know otherwise need to speak out more against this misbegotten idea so that it's stamped out from cultural acceptability and its influence on government policy ended. That's why I make such comments in this forum when I see this idea expressed.