Landstown High school (Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Salem: house, to buy, school districts)

[StayTuned]

I need the good bad ugly pretty and everything in between.....Please give me any and all opinions....Landstown and Tallwood too if possible

I am sick to death that I will pick the wrong HS for my son....and I am trying to narrow down our search for a house based on the HS he should attend...

So far I have opted to not included in my search... Green Run...Bayside......


Any other suggestions please please respond....

Thank you in advance!!

[Hokie]

I teach at a Va. Beach public school, and I can't recommend any of the ones you mentioned. In general, I do not recommend the high schools here because they are very rough. Some of the schools that used to be good aren't so great anymore. First Colonial is an example. Under the new principal, things went downhill. Weak principals are part of the problem. They don't want to kick out the trouble. I wish I could tell you something more positive. The likelihood is that your child won't get hurt, but when a child is beaten up the administrations here try very hard to keep it hushed up.

Cox is probably the only school I would recommend. It has drug issues, but they all do. On the plus side, it is safer than the others. It also has many students whose parents are professionals and expect more academically from the kids than what you find at some of the other schools.

My kids go to private school. I lose half my salary to it, but I don't have to worry about their safety anymore. We had a bad incident at a public high school here, and I will never send my kids to public schools here again. It is easy to say they are fine until your child is attacked.

[StayTuned]

Thank you for the response Hokie.....

The more I investigate the more appealing Chesapeake is becoming.... I have heard it is much safer there.... Any thoughts on that??

[shellytc]

I still think the Va. Beach school system is an excellent system. I'm sorry Hokie didn't have a good experience, but that shouldn't taint the whole system. Our test scores just don't support that it is a bad school system. Check out

Schooldigger.com -- Search and compare elementary, middle, and high schools.

Great Schools - Public and Private School Ratings, Reviews and Parent Community for some additional information.

Also, know that in High School, the kids can apply to attend academy programs and there is transportation provided.

Anyway, I know teachers at the high schools and they are very enthusiastic about their schools and what they see from the kids. That is primarily the Kellam district. they have their own kids in the public shools, so they must trust them.

Bad things can happen to good people ANYWHERE. We do our best, make the best decision we can AT THE TIME, and move forward..... Va. Beach is known for being a very good school system.

Shelly

[rtandc]

Landstown and Tallwood have been known to be about the same..they were both known as middle of the road type schools ...not as bad as Bayside, Green Run or Salem but not as good as Kellam, Kempsville or Cox......If you are looking for a house in the heart or southern section of the city I would try for Kellam or Kempsville....If Landstown and Tallwood is your only choices I would pick Tallwood over Landstown as Landstown has been steady sliding down the rankings in the Beach district over the last few years

I try and tell people to visit the schools, go to several after school sporting events, go to a PTA meeting, attend a parent/teacher open house night even though your child does not attend that school yet...All of these events will give you an idea of how strong the parent involvement is for that school. The stronger the parent/student involvement is for a school the better chance the school will achieve a higher standard of learning and the safer the school will be because the teachers and admin staff will want to be more involved with the school as a whole.
Schools like Green Run have a very low parent involvement, but schools like Kellam and Ocean Lakes have a very high parent involvement so that should tell you how they rate on the scale as far as academic achievements and safety in most parents minds....if the majority of the parents dont care enough to be involved with their child's school, what kind of message does that send to both the students and staff?

[chesapeakesim]

Originally Posted by StayTuned

Thank you for the response Hokie.....

The more I investigate the more appealing Chesapeake is becoming.... I have heard it is much safer there.... Any thoughts on that??

If you are looking at Chesapeake, I have heard that Grassfield, Great Bridge, and Hickory school districts are by far the best. I would try and stay away from Indian River and Oscar Smith, don't think those are much better than Virginia Beach schools. I remember going to an Indian River football game and having to go through a metal detector. Maybe that is more common now though.

I have not heard many good things about Virginia Beach schools in general. I think that is why they have the Academy Programs whereas in Chesapeake they are not needed cause the schools in general are better.

How old is your son? Is he attending high school now or does he have a few years before he gets there?

[StayTuned]

My son is 16 and a sophmore.......

I have heard the same about Chesapeake... those are the 3 schools we are looking to buy a home in.... VA beach is still on the radar but is limited to Kempsville Cox and Kellam district....

I have been doing so much research and trying to get a feel from those who are from the area and this board has been such a help....

BIG thanks to all of you who replied... This soon to be resident is VERY impressed with the desire to help

[ChessieMom]

Originally Posted by StayTuned

Thank you for the response Hokie.....

The more I investigate the more appealing Chesapeake is becoming.... I have heard it is much safer there.... Any thoughts on that??

My son goes to Hickory High, and we could not be happier. He loves it there, and has done very well at every school he has attended in the Hickory district.
I could not recommend a school district any more highly, and I work for Va Beach schools.

[darzz1]

Originally Posted by StayTuned

I need the good bad ugly pretty and everything in between.....Please give me any and all opinions....Landstown and Tallwood too if possible

I am sick to death that I will pick the wrong HS for my son....and I am trying to narrow down our search for a house based on the HS he should attend...

So far I have opted to not included in my search... Green Run...Bayside......


Any other suggestions please please respond....

Thank you in advance!!

My friends son goes to Landstown and has nothing to say but negative things.l

I know the School is pretty rough and lots of drugs.

I would do whatever you could NOT to send your child to Landstown.

[spritle]

when we found out we were moving to hampton roads, i did a lot of research. we settled in the hickory area of chesapeake. my son goes to hickory middle and we are very pleased. good luck with your search!