Oakwood's "excellent" Schools (Dayton, Kettering: credit, house, transfer to)

[cincy-girl-dayton-native]

Ok, we get it.
Everyone blows so much sunshine up Oakwood's academic a$$ because of their "Excellent" school system.

The school system, >ahem< is not "Excellent", as much as the residents of this whiter-than-white community are predominantly college-educated, well-employed, well-involved citizens.

You drop the Oakwood faculty into Dayton Public and I have a feeling they're not going to have a 99% graduation rate and scooting the majority of those students off to a four-year college.

I went to Kettering, and my brother and I both went off and earned our four year degrees, and had EXCELLENT educations, just as you would get at Beavercreek or Centerville.

Yes, the bigger suburban schools can contribute making a student feel a little lost amid the crowd, but the size offers more social groups, clubs and activities, not to mention harder AP classes since its harder to stand out academically amid these students.

And dont even get me started on Alter. If you want your child to grow up feeling entitled in a atmosphere with ZERO diversity, (save the inner-city football stars they recruit that otherwise wouldnt be welcome to the better-than-you community - no, no! Im not bitter AT ALL!!! -wink-) then thats the school for you.

We had students transfer to Kettering from Alter who said the classes at FHS were actually HARDER than Alter....and those families are paying out the NOSE. Its laughable. Ill concede that there are some who truly do want their children to be raised in "Christian" atmosphere, and you really see that when you go to a Fairmont/Alter game and the AHS students are wearing t-shirts that say, "I used to go to Fairmont, and then my dad got a job.".......Its good to see those kids are really growing into true Christians.

[Crew Chief]

WOW... Cincy-girl-Dayton-Native, I didn't grow up here, so maybe I don't know enough to make a meaningful comment. But there ARE a number of good school districts besides Oakwood in the Greater Dayton area. I don't really have a "dog in the fight" but I live in Washington Twp. and am very happy with our Centerville City Schools. Yes, Oakwood has a number of positive attributes. People that live there earn good money and certainly are entitled to have the school system that they are willing to pay for. And they have excellent parental involvement. And, mostly, don't have the social problems that districts like Dayton have.

You and your brothers have done well; good for you! And that's <gasp> possble at school districts besides Oakwood...

[Clevelander17]

Oakwood gets high ratings as a good school district, but I don't put much stock in those types of ratings. I think they do a better job of rating the students attending the schools than the schools themselves. Oakwood is a beneficiary of the way the ratings work because of the demographics of their students. You made an excellent point when you mentioned taking the Oakwood faculty and putting those teachers in DPS. They probably wouldn't do much better with the disadvantaged students than the current teachers.

[wrightflyer]

IMHO, it's going to be the parents 95% or more of the time. Oakwood's parents just tend to care more about seeing their kids get through high school and go on to a well off univeristy then parents in Dayton do. Granted, it is a whole lot tougher for the parents in Dayton that do care when poverty remains an obstacle.

[MyMnMs]

As a former teacher and parent, I cannot agree more fully with wrightflyer. IMO, parent input means more than anything else, including the skill of the teachers. An average child that comes to school feeling secure in himself because he was fed, clothed and loved and cared for properly at home will learn things even when presented by a teacher with minimal skills. A child who comes to school thinking about where the next meal will come from, if Daddy and Mommy will have a fight tonite, and never had a book read to him, will be challenged to learn even with the most skilled teacher. I have taught in a variety of school districts with varying socio economic conditions, and could see the difference in students whose parents cared to invest time into their children - whether it was 10 minutes in between shifts at WalMart or 2 weeks on a trip to Italy. I am not familiar with the school districts you mention, but I am sure there are children in both the richer and poorer districts that fit both bills. Generalization is rarely fair.

[cincy-girl-dayton-native]

I think my frustration just stems from seeing so many posts equating "good schools" to "wealthy districts/families". There are plenty of kids who leave Public suburban schools and -gulp- Dayton Public who see their way to college.

I just dont want people coming to Dayton thinking that the only places to raise smart children are Oakwood-Bellbrook-Springboro. We mega-burbs do great too, and you get a lot more house for the money!

[Crew Chief]

Originally Posted by cincy-girl-dayton-native

I think my frustration just stems from seeing so many posts equating "good schools" to "wealthy districts/families". There are plenty of kids who leave Public suburban schools and -gulp- Dayton Public who see their way to college.

I just dont want people coming to Dayton thinking that the only places to raise smart children are Oakwood-Bellbrook-Springboro. We mega-burbs do great too, and you get a lot more house for the money!

Thanks for the clarification! No doubt, going to school in a "good" district is no guarantee that anyone will do well. Nor does it mean that every kid that goes to Dayton or Trotwood is a "Loser'. Trust me, family wealth is NO guarantee of parental quality... And I'm sure that most people realize that. I guess there's enough discussion here to merit moving to the "Politics and Controversies" thread, but I'll abstain!

[wrightflyer]

Originally Posted by cincy-girl-dayton-native

I think my frustration just stems from seeing so many posts equating "good schools" to "wealthy districts/families". There are plenty of kids who leave Public suburban schools and -gulp- Dayton Public who see their way to college.

I just dont want people coming to Dayton thinking that the only places to raise smart children are Oakwood-Bellbrook-Springboro. We mega-burbs do great too, and you get a lot more house for the money!

I don't know if I'd consider Springboro a small district anymore, but that's not my point. Cincy-girl-dayton-native, I totally agree with you about larger suburban districts. While maybe not as cozy as say Oakwood or Bellbrook, places like Centerville, Beavercreek, Huber Heights, Trotwood, or even Dayton can offer wonderful options in college prep education as long as you take the initiative. Have your kids strive for the scholarship and AP classes. Having been a recent high school student myself, I know most teachers are certainly willing to work with kids on tough material before and after school. They're lonely creatures and love it when students come in for help.

Anyways, I agree with CrewCheif, this is probably slowly drifting into a different thread.

[smile42]

I'm just dropping in to let everyone know that we raise smart kids north of Dayton as well! So often, the Dayton threads focus entirely on Centerville, Beavercreek, and Springboro without noting the great schools in areas like Northmont, Tipp City, and more rural areas even farther north. Education, eating, shopping, and the arts DO actually take place north if I-70 .

That said . . . I'll give Oakwood this one bit of credit: they do have the prettiest high school in the Dayton area. I would be inspired to learn Greek and Latin in that building!!!

[JefferyT]

Northmont, which is the Englewood/Clayton area, consistently ranks at the tops of the school ranking scores. Even before the advent of this stuff Northmont had a very good reputation as an excellent school system.