[Eddd]

Hello everyone.

I will be moving to Las Vegas in August with my wife and two kids, age 7 & 3.

We will most likely be renting in Summerlin or one of the older neighborhoods (Scotch 80's, Rancho Circle, etc) at first in order to get a better handle on different parts of the city and also see what is happing with the market first hand.

That being said we really love the older neighborhoods and would like to end up in one of them but are unsure about the schools in these places. Any inside info about any of these schools would be greatly appreciated. If there are no good options for these neighborhoods I would like to start the process of locating a good private school option sooner and hopefully not have to switch my older kids school after just one year.

If we do end up in Summerlin, even temporarily, what are the best schools there?

Thanks for the help.

[Chest Rockwell]

Older neighborhoods have a mix of socioeconomic classes that lead to lower performing schools. I still contend that motivated kids with parents who care about education will do fine in these schools, but I think I'm in the minority here. Most people, at least on this board, believe that the only way to ensure your kid gets a safe quality educational experience is to put them in a school with a high ranking. It's a case of the chicken and the egg. Maybe a school can't raise its ranking because parents with kids who will score highly on standardized tests won't enroll them in this school because of the low rankings.

Scotch 80's and Rancho Circle are predominately million dollar homes, so I'd guess a large majority of the kids living in this area are in private schools. They will also have very few available rentals. McNeil, Westleigh, Huntridge, Beverly Green and John S. Park are lower priced vintage neighborhoods with a higher likelihood of available rentals, but if you are concerned with the school rankings, you might have to look into private schools. This is a good site for information on all of these wonderful old neighborhoods. Our resident realtor OleCapt has extensive knowledge of the Summerlin area. I'm more of a downtown guy myself.

There is also a thread on an interesting bilingual charter school, which is located in the Huntridge neighborhood.

[radraja]

Almost all of Summerlin is zoned for good schools. The only area of Summerlin that's not zoned for schools is, unfortunately, the Pueblos (which is zoned for Cimarron, a sort of trashy school).

As far as schools go, a typical rule of thumb is that schools in the northwest, Summerlin, and Henderson are best. The schools in the central valley and the northeast tend to be the worst (some are downright scary, such as Western HS).

If you do choose an older central valley neighborhood, you might want to look at privates (Faith Lutheran is the most affordable in the valley at the 6-12 level, and LVDS would probably be your best bet at the elementary level).

[radraja]

Originally Posted by Chest Rockwell

Older neighborhoods have a mix of socioeconomic classes that lead to lower performing schools. I still contend that motivated kids with parents who care about education will do fine in these schools, but I think I'm in the minority here. Most people, at least on this board, believe that the only way to ensure your kid gets a safe quality educational experience is to put them in a school with a high ranking. It's a case of the chicken and the egg. Maybe a school can't raise its ranking because parents with kids who will score highly on standardized tests won't enroll them in this school because of the low rankings.

I somewhat agree, but the thing is...academics are only half of the picture. A motivated child can do well in a poor-ranking school, true. But these poor-ranking schools also tend to have significantly more thugs, more pregnant students, and a general vibe of apathy.

Even in the elementary schools, you see it already forming...these kids don't think that they'll ever amount to anything, so they give up and start mimicking the behaviors of their older siblings.

It's scary and very sad.

[WOHR]

If you do end up in Summerlin, the best elementary schools are Staton, Givens and Lummis. I've heard mixed reviews on Bonner, Bryan and Ober from friends of mine who have kids attending these schools. As a sub for CCSD I have seen the good and the bad at many schools. Schools where the teachers do not get along with each other or the administration often have lower test scores. It proves that people thrive where there is a happy enviroment.
When researching elementary schools make sure to check out the level of parent involvement, such as the PTA. Also check the transiency rate. Make sure to check out the CCSD website. To me test scores are important. They reflect on how well the teachers are doing along with the parents making sure their children are keeping up with their work. Kids need both teachers and parents to learn.
Some schools offer extra curricular clubs for their students, some do not. At my kids school they offer gardening club, drama club, percussion ensemble, guitar ensemble, honors choir, newspaper club, student council, basketball and cheerleading.
Are you looking for 9 month schools or year round track schools? If you choose year round, it can get a little tricky once the older one heads off to middle school. Middle and High school are only 9 month schools. If you do not know what the track system is, kids go to school for 9 weeks and then are off for 4. So there are always 3 tracks in and 1 out.
There are so many variables to think about for your children and each family is different. As long as you do the research, I am sure sure you will find the right neighborhood and school for your family

[olecapt]

I am inclined to agree that most elementary schools are OK. But the problem are those with high turnover. Some of these low end elementaries turn over at 40 or 50%. That makes it pretty tough. So I would suggest avoiding the bottom 25 schools are so. Same kind of thing on the middle and high schools. Best you can afford but avoid the bottom 10%. In the case of the high schools they get rough and poor. Bad combo.

[WOHR]

I meant to say 4 tracks in and 1 out.

[5kingsinvegas]

Originally Posted by radraja

Almost all of Summerlin is zoned for good schools. The only area of Summerlin that's not zoned for schools is, unfortunately, the Pueblos (which is zoned for Cimarron, a sort of trashy school).

As far as schools go, a typical rule of thumb is that schools in the northwest, Summerlin, and Henderson are best. The schools in the central valley and the northeast tend to be the worst (some are downright scary, such as Western HS).

If you do choose an older central valley neighborhood, you might want to look at privates (Faith Lutheran is the most affordable in the valley at the 6-12 level, and LVDS would probably be your best bet at the elementary level).

How can you say that the Pueblo's are not zoned for good schools?
Seriously, what is wrong with Cimarron? Once again, is the problem that it is a few years old? I know several teachers there and they love it... wouldn't teach at Palo for anything.

Also, Richard Bryan is an awesome school. I happen to be very good friends with the Vice Principal as well as the registrar there and you won't find a nicer bunch of people.

Becker is one of the best middle schools in the CCSD district, beating out Rogich in scores.

You will find bickering at any school, no matter what the scores. I agree that some of CCSD's schools are scary and I wouldn't want to teach in them or let my children attend them, but there isn't a school in Summerlin that falls under that category.

[lvkewlkid]

Originally Posted by radraja

Almost all of Summerlin is zoned for good schools. The only area of Summerlin that's not zoned for schools is, unfortunately, the Pueblos (which is zoned for Cimarron, a sort of trashy school).

As far as schools go, a typical rule of thumb is that schools in the northwest, Summerlin, and Henderson are best. The schools in the central valley and the northeast tend to be the worst (some are downright scary, such as Western HS).

If you do choose an older central valley neighborhood, you might want to look at privates (Faith Lutheran is the most affordable in the valley at the 6-12 level, and LVDS would probably be your best bet at the elementary level).

didn't Western have the highest graduation rate 2 or 3 years ago in the county?

[olecapt]

Originally Posted by 5kingsinvegas

How can you say that the Pueblo's are not zoned for good schools?
Seriously, what is wrong with Cimarron? Once again, is the problem that it is a few years old? I know several teachers there and they love it... wouldn't teach at Palo for anything.

Also, Richard Bryan is an awesome school. I happen to be very good friends with the Vice Principal as well as the registrar there and you won't find a nicer bunch of people.

Becker is one of the best middle schools in the CCSD district, beating out Rogich in scores.

You will find bickering at any school, no matter what the scores. I agree that some of CCSD's schools are scary and I wouldn't want to teach in them or let my children attend them, but there isn't a school in Summerlin that falls under that category.

Cimmaron is a bit down the list from PV or the other schools in the area. Not "bad" but not "great" either. Actually in my book PV does not make it to "great" either. Likely a result of the overcrowding their. But I don't rate Gorman "great" either. Meadows is "great", Adtech is "great", the Academy is "great'.

Rogich is considerably better than Becker. Bryant is good but not top 10.

All of these middle and elementary schools are in the top 10% so not exactly slumming it either.

Schools align to the demographics of the neighborhood. Works everywhere.