[vegas parent]

The decent-nice areas in Vegas are: southwest, northwest, & Green Valley. The neighborhood is good & the schools are pretty good. However you should check out magnet schools and private schools as well, their programs are far superior to regular schools.

Doris Hancock Elementary is definitely not the best option- my daughter went there and there were only a few good teachers, and most of their classes filled up very quickly. The office staff has some horrible people working there- rude, uncaring, and hating their job. Overall, this is a decent school, but only if you get the right teachers. Otherwise, it is simply terrible.

Hyde Park Middle School: All I can say is, apply to the magnet program if you plan on attending this school. Otherwise, your children will receive a very low quality education, surrounded by fellow students who don't care about school & cause trouble on a daily basis. Because of this, the staff generally treats the neighborhood program students as if they are almost worthless.
The magnet program, however, is probably the best you can hope for from a public middle school. 6th and 7th grade has nothing but extraordinary teachers who will challenge you & make sure you are doing your very best. All classes (except electives) are accelerated, so students learn a great deal during their 3 years at this school. 8th grade has fairly good teachers, but several of them do not belong in their job at all. If you work hard, it is possible to do very well nonetheless in those few classes, so that shouldn't be a big problem, & talking with your child's teachers can definitely help make 8th grade a much better year.
The electives at this school are simply amazing. All the music classes, orchestra, band, guitar, choir, and piano, are supremely talented, going on to the biggest competitions possible for middle school level music groups. Explorations lets students study 2 different elective subjects in 1 year- 1 per semester. These subjects change each year, but have included: Chinese studies, current events, Spanish basics, German basics, art appreciation, medieval studies, history of rock music, beginning guitar, & more. Art classes produce some of the most amazing artwork in the district, which wins awards for students. Leadership 1 and 2 train students to become active members of the community & to help the school in many ways. Spanish 1 is offered in 8th grade for academy students so they may earn high school credit while in middle school.
Math & Science classes are amazing- students eventually master concepts so well that they can join competitions, which some extremely bright students have done- winning national level awards for the school.
Writing is incorporated into all subjects at Hyde Park.
There are many after-school activities to choose from, including basketball, cheerleading, bowling, science olympiad, MathCounts, soccer, baseball, geography club, quilting club, National Junior Honor Society for accepted 8th grade students(this NJHS chapter is considered the best in the school district), chess club, robotics teams, art club, and many more.
Yes, there are some issues with the staff, but that can be found at any school in the world. The principal is extremely good at his job, except when he attempts to make rules for the non-magnet students.

Now my daughter will attend Southwest Career & Technical Academy as a 9th grader in the fall. Since this school is going to be brand new & she is a new student anyways, I cannot offer much advice, but I can tell you a bit about it's programs:
Students choose a specified major to study when applying for admission in the spring. They can choose from fashion design, nursing, web design, dental assistant, interior design, entertainment engineering, video game technologies, culinary arts, respiratory therapy, and hospitality. After 4 years of study students receive not only a high school diploma but a career & technical certificate, which shows what skills the student has gained from the program. Students are prepared for either further education in their field or an entry level position, depending on the program and how far you want to go with your career. An internship in the senior year is offered and required for several programs, so students may already have a full-time internship waiting for them when they graduate. No music classes are offered, but other than that it's very possible to have a well-rounded course of study that will prepare you for the career you are studying. Electives offered for the first two years include art, drawing, marketing, Spanish, French, cooking, leadership, and journalism. This school seems very promising overall.

I know my reply is long after your post, but I hope I've helped with choosing good schools.

[Tiger Beer]

Originally Posted by vegas parent

Hyde Park Middle School: All I can say is, apply to the magnet program if you plan on attending this school. Otherwise, your children will receive a very low quality education, surrounded by fellow students who don't care about school & cause trouble on a daily basis. Because of this, the staff generally treats the neighborhood program students as if they are almost worthless.
The magnet program, however, is probably the best you can hope for from a public middle school. 6th and 7th grade has nothing but extraordinary teachers who will challenge you & make sure you are doing your very best. All classes (except electives) are accelerated, so students learn a great deal during their 3 years at this school. 8th grade has fairly good teachers, but several of them do not belong in their job at all. If you work hard, it is possible to do very well nonetheless in those few classes, so that shouldn't be a big problem, & talking with your child's teachers can definitely help make 8th grade a much better year.
The electives at this school are simply amazing. All the music classes, orchestra, band, guitar, choir, and piano, are supremely talented, going on to the biggest competitions possible for middle school level music groups. Explorations lets students study 2 different elective subjects in 1 year- 1 per semester. These subjects change each year, but have included: Chinese studies, current events, Spanish basics, German basics, art appreciation, medieval studies, history of rock music, beginning guitar, & more. Art classes produce some of the most amazing artwork in the district, which wins awards for students. Leadership 1 and 2 train students to become active members of the community & to help the school in many ways. Spanish 1 is offered in 8th grade for academy students so they may earn high school credit while in middle school.
Math & Science classes are amazing- students eventually master concepts so well that they can join competitions, which some extremely bright students have done- winning national level awards for the school.
Writing is incorporated into all subjects at Hyde Park.
There are many after-school activities to choose from, including basketball, cheerleading, bowling, science olympiad, MathCounts, soccer, baseball, geography club, quilting club, National Junior Honor Society for accepted 8th grade students(this NJHS chapter is considered the best in the school district), chess club, robotics teams, art club, and many more.
Yes, there are some issues with the staff, but that can be found at any school in the world. The principal is extremely good at his job, except when he attempts to make rules for the non-magnet students.

Now my daughter will attend Southwest Career & Technical Academy as a 9th grader in the fall. Since this school is going to be brand new & she is a new student anyways, I cannot offer much advice, but I can tell you a bit about it's programs:
Students choose a specified major to study when applying for admission in the spring. They can choose from fashion design, nursing, web design, dental assistant, interior design, entertainment engineering, video game technologies, culinary arts, respiratory therapy, and hospitality. After 4 years of study students receive not only a high school diploma but a career & technical certificate, which shows what skills the student has gained from the program. Students are prepared for either further education in their field or an entry level position, depending on the program and how far you want to go with your career. An internship in the senior year is offered and required for several programs, so students may already have a full-time internship waiting for them when they graduate. No music classes are offered, but other than that it's very possible to have a well-rounded course of study that will prepare you for the career you are studying. Electives offered for the first two years include art, drawing, marketing, Spanish, French, cooking, leadership, and journalism. This school seems very promising overall.

I know my reply is long after your post, but I hope I've helped with choosing good schools.

WOW! Very informative post. I had no idea schools existed like that these days. Amazing.

+1 rep for that.

[USAFMOM]

Originally Posted by aquaramine22

i happened to live in vegas and live in clark county and have a daughter who goes to a wonderfull school in elementary. It is called Joseph Neal. She went there for 6years! now she is going 2 a wonderfull middle school called Anthony Saville. WE live close by the strip but you are free 2 reply me anytime soon!!also, if u go 2 great schools.com that also we help

I'm wondering how you live near the strip but your kids attend a NW schools?

[olecapt]

Originally Posted by USAFMOM

I'm wondering how you live near the strip but your kids attend a NW schools?

Close by the strip is relative. She is much closer than say Sandusky Ohio.

There are a couple of top ten percent schools in the area.

[USAFMOM]

My son went to Neal when Douglas was there. I miss her!!!!! I many good teachers left also.