Visited Coeur D'alene, fell in love, need info on schools (Post Falls: home, transfer) - Idaho (ID) - City-Data Forum

DEADTIME · 07-20-2011, 11:07 PM

OK so I took my family up there for a week in July and we all fell in love. I knew a year ago I wanted to live there but I'm glad my wife and boy loved it so much. You should all be proud of what a fantastic town you have.

Here's my question. My boy is almost 8 and going into 3rd grade. Hes leaving a school where he is an over achiever and needs little effort to be the top in the class.(hey I'm his proud dad I can brag a lil)

I need help on the schools in CDA, I dont really trust the internet sites like great schools (I have been a teacher for years and half the schools they say are great aren't...I mean they are horrid)

Can anyone give me some info on the school your child go's to or general area knowledge about the good the bad and the ugly. I'd love personal opinions on the schools in the area as I trust the locals more than a website.

I have been teaching since 2001, have a masters degree. I teach history and auto shop, I'm pondering walking away from education though based on how good teachers who don't tow the union line are treated and the stress it creates.

Thanks
DEADTIME

fearnofish · 07-21-2011, 10:04 AM

I went to and graduated from Post Falls in 2001. It was great and had a pretty good atmosphere with some really good teachers. I don't know who is there still...

Our shop teacher retired in 2002 for about the same reason your are thinking of. That was a huge loss to the school in my opinion.

Our neighbors had they kids go to Coeur d'Alene Charter academy and one did great but their boy did not do great there but he transfered to Lake City and did fine there.

When we move back we are going to look into the Lutheran school just down the street from the Charter Academy and the Charter Academy for our kids as they get older.

Shaner · 07-21-2011, 01:00 PM

I would reccomend you look into the Charter Academy. They are a very academically focused school and from the 2 parents I know who have kids going there say it is perfect for "over-achievers" I graduated from Lake City in 02 and honestly, while it was a great school, it was very lax.

Over_the_Rainbow · 07-21-2011, 01:16 PM

If you want to leave teaching, why not just start teaching at a private school? While we're not Catholic, my son went to Catholic school for a couple of years anyway (would have been longer if I could have afforded it) and did so much better---and the principle there and a couple of teachers told me that although the pay was lower, they loved teaching at a private school because they had so much more leeway to actually teach, vs. baby-sit. One thing I loved was that, in 2nd grade, my son was taking French---and at that time (early '90's) in the ultra-dumbed-down W. WA public school districts, kids were deemed too stupid to learn a foreign language until at least the 10th grade.

They've improved somewhat---now some schools actually thinks kids are smart enough to learn a foreign language by the 8th grade.

And then of course, there's always home schooling. I also home schooled my son for about half the school year, as we had to pull him out of the montrous jr. high and put him in the off-campus home schooling program, but they couldn't enroll him in the middle of the year. He loved home schooling and did great. Like your son, mine was a brainiac---even then, his thinking was so deep he talked over the heads of most intelligent adults, and public school to him was nothing more than a prison-like preschool class. With 20/20 hindsight, I would have never subjected him to that garbage....come hell or high water, I would have done whatever it took to either home school or have him in private school.

fearnofish · 07-21-2011, 03:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shaner

I would reccomend you look into the Charter Academy. They are a very academically focused school and from the 2 parents I know who have kids going there say it is perfect for "over-achievers" I graduated from Lake City in 02 and honestly, while it was a great school, it was very lax.

The two kids I know went to Charter academy the one was a "overachiever" and did very well. Her brother was...well not.. and did alright at Lake City. That gal is now involved in counter intelligence fluent in Russian with the Air Force.

I probaly played baseball against you Shaner.. too bad Lake City was always a bunch of poor sports

.. just kidding (for the most part) except for some of the coaches there had terrible reputations.

DJKirkland · 07-21-2011, 04:32 PM

Hey fearnofish - I graduated from PFHS in 01 too - crazy coincidence!

I've heard that the school districts in North Idaho are decent; maybe not quite up to par with some Spokane districts, but I didn't feel like I was missing anything in Post Falls.

AlwaysLooking · 07-21-2011, 11:42 PM

don't want to hijack the conversation but wanted to ask about your comment about leaving teaching because of union pressure... I thought ID is a "right to work" state so wouldn't that preclude having that problem??

DEADTIME · 07-22-2011, 01:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlwaysLooking

don't want to hijack the conversation but wanted to ask about your comment about leaving teaching because of union pressure... I thought ID is a "right to work" state so wouldn't that preclude having that problem??

That's one of the reasons I might keep teaching, and the idea of teaching at a private school is a good one. I'm half way through my Phd and find myself at a crossroads.

I love my students and get emails, and phone calls from them all the time so I guess they must love me. That being said the situation here in California created by the unions and some of the teachers is not at all good for the kids.

It seems many of my fellow teachers forget their purpose and don't focus on their kids. Mean while the new teachers are fired at 2 years so they cant get tenure and the union does nothing about it, and the older tenured teachers could care less.

Back on track though....tell me more about the schools.

Shaner · 07-22-2011, 01:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fearnofish

The two kids I know went to Charter academy the one was a "overachiever" and did very well. Her brother was...well not.. and did alright at Lake City. That gal is now involved in counter intelligence fluent in Russian with the Air Force.

I probaly played baseball against you Shaner.. too bad Lake City was always a bunch of poor sports

.. just kidding (for the most part) except for some of the coaches there had terrible reputations.

Ha I wish we did. I started freshman year then 2 days before halloween I was in a car accident and broke my knee, never got back into it. Stupid drunk people suck.