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Ok, so it has only been two weeks, but I can definitely see some differences here from MI.
My daughter is in 9th grade, in Coronado. I only have MI to compare to so take that into consideration. And only her schools and my schools to boot. There are many more in both areas and things may be different in different schools/districts.
First, they are MUCH stricter here. I think that is a good thing. My daughter has already had her phone taken away, because she did not follow the rule of "no phones during classtime". In MI, although it was a rule, it was more like a suggestion and they turned their heads. I think it is good that she learns-rules are there for a reason and not meant to be broken(unless there are extenuating circumstances and there are ways to deal with that too).
Second, they are much cleaner. I worked the lunches in a couple districts. It was horrendous. These kids were allowed to throw their garbage, food, gum and whatever else on the floors! It was ridiculous. That was in many schools in many cities. Different districts too. This was with middle schools and high schools. The kids did not respect many of the lunch aides or the hall monitor women. It was sad actually.
I was at Coronado at lunch time the other day and I did not see any of that going on at all. They are not even supposed to have gum, food or drinks in class other than water.
The requirements-While in some of her classes, such as math, she is further ahead, there seems to be so much more required of her here.
As I read the expectations, I was mildly shocked. After all I have read here, I was expecting much more lenient. Not so. On the contrary. Their expectations are much less in MI. I am in the process of trying to get her out of orchestra as they are far beyond what she is. This is good for NV. Makes me think MI stinks and I do not wish to have her fail because of this. I wish I would have known beforehand. I see a battle brewing due to it.
They put her in a BIO class, which was a mistake by the counselor but she loved it. This is supposed to be only for sophmores and up. They just took her out and moved her to Principles in Science. The reason she needs that is because in order to graduate, NV requires the students to take a profiency exam-math, science and english-I believe. You fail, you don't graduate. Even if you have enough credits, from what the counselor told me.
They do not have this in MI at all. My son just graduated, from one of the best public HS in the area and he did not have to do that. I think it is a good thing but this may be why NV numbers on graduating are down. If other states don't require that to graduate, then maybe they are the ones graduating less educated kids. We just wouldn't know. Hard to compare apples to oranges and come out with a fair assessment.
Sorry so long, but I just think that so far, NV schools are better in my book than the ones any of my children attended in MI. (And they all 4 have or will graduate from different ones) Time will tell. It's early in the game.
Mine is a 9th grader at SECTA, the old VoTech. I think this is a longer school day, plus a bus ride, and her determination is commendable. I try to make other things a little easier in other parts of her life because of her committment to school. The schools do have a high standard, and I think they are strict in order to accomodate the sheer number of students.
You will find that the teachers teach to the proficiency exams. Not a bad thing, our high school graduates will have accomplished set minimums and competencies. Here, you are either good enough to graduate - or you don't. A high school diploma in Nevada is not an inherent right of all 18 year olds.
A good many people do not have a good opinion of our public school system, but I do. Some don't have kids in school, and just repeat what they hear. Some are not involved and have not prepared their kids for success, and only after the fact decry the public school education. It is only fair that you form your own opinions based on your experiences.
Good luck to your daughter this year, Kimba. I hope she has a lot of fun. And also you
Location: central, between Pepe's Tacos and Roberto's
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kimba01
Ok, so it has only been two weeks, but I can definitely see some differences here from MI.
My daughter is in 9th grade, in Coronado. I only have MI to compare to so take that into consideration. And only her schools and my schools to boot. There are many more in both areas and things may be different in different schools/districts.
First, they are MUCH stricter here. I think that is a good thing. My daughter has already had her phone taken away, because she did not follow the rule of "no phones during classtime". In MI, although it was a rule, it was more like a suggestion and they turned their heads. I think it is good that she learns-rules are there for a reason and not meant to be broken(unless there are extenuating circumstances and there are ways to deal with that too).
Second, they are much cleaner. I worked the lunches in a couple districts. It was horrendous. These kids were allowed to throw their garbage, food, gum and whatever else on the floors! It was ridiculous. That was in many schools in many cities. Different districts too. This was with middle schools and high schools. The kids did not respect many of the lunch aides or the hall monitor women. It was sad actually.
I was at Coronado at lunch time the other day and I did not see any of that going on at all. They are not even supposed to have gum, food or drinks in class other than water.
The requirements-While in some of her classes, such as math, she is further ahead, there seems to be so much more required of her here.
As I read the expectations, I was mildly shocked. After all I have read here, I was expecting much more lenient. Not so. On the contrary. Their expectations are much less in MI. I am in the process of trying to get her out of orchestra as they are far beyond what she is. This is good for NV. Makes me think MI stinks and I do not wish to have her fail because of this. I wish I would have known beforehand. I see a battle brewing due to it.
They put her in a BIO class, which was a mistake by the counselor but she loved it. This is supposed to be only for sophmores and up. They just took her out and moved her to Principles in Science. The reason she needs that is because in order to graduate, NV requires the students to take a profiency exam-math, science and english-I believe. You fail, you don't graduate. Even if you have enough credits, from what the counselor told me.
They do not have this in MI at all. My son just graduated, from one of the best public HS in the area and he did not have to do that. I think it is a good thing but this may be why NV numbers on graduating are down. If other states don't require that to graduate, then maybe they are the ones graduating less educated kids. We just wouldn't know. Hard to compare apples to oranges and come out with a fair assessment.
Sorry so long, but I just think that so far, NV schools are better in my book than the ones any of my children attended in MI. (And they all 4 have or will graduate from different ones) Time will tell. It's early in the game.
Thank you for the objective analysis. I'm glad that the school is meeting and exceeding your expectations.
Quote:
Originally Posted by yourbasicmom
Mine is a 9th grader at SECTA, the old VoTech. I think this is a longer school day, plus a bus ride, and her determination is commendable. I try to make other things a little easier in other parts of her life because of her committment to school. The schools do have a high standard, and I think they are strict in order to accomodate the sheer number of students.
You will find that the teachers teach to the proficiency exams. Not a bad thing, our high school graduates will have accomplished set minimums and competencies. Here, you are either good enough to graduate - or you don't. A high school diploma in Nevada is not an inherent right of all 18 year olds.
A good many people do not have a good opinion of our public school system, but I do. Some don't have kids in school, and just repeat what they hear. Some are not involved and have not prepared their kids for success, and only after the fact decry the public school education. It is only fair that you form your own opinions based on your experiences.
Good luck to your daughter this year, Kimba. I hope she has a lot of fun. And also you
Our son is having no issues in middle school, so far all is going well.
Students must wear uniforms, boy and girls separated at lunch. 6th, 7th, and 8th grades have separate wings.
The school is over crowed, went to the open house last night and every classroom had two desks pushed together with no space because of over crowding. The hallways are one way only to help prevent kids from walking into each other because of the over crowding.
Glad others are having a positive start to this school year as well.
We stayed in MI to let youngest DS graduate from HS this year.
Did your son (who graduated last year) come to LV with you and go to college? Just wondering since that (hopefully) will be our next step!
PM me if you don't feel comfortable answering on the board!
it depends on the teachers (I don't think so much as the school), i have been in classes where the teacher didnt care if you had food or were talking on the phone, but most of the schools have stuff in the ceiling to block out the cell reception...some teachers can and some can't control their class...
I thought the same thing when I came here from Michigan and started teaching. We absolutely do not have any type of proficiency exam that needs to be passed in order to graduate. Also, at the school I am at, it is a common occurence for students to actually be retained in a grade because they did not pass their classes. I can't think of any examples of this in Michigan. I taught third grade, and more times than I can count I recommended retention of a student and was told that "oh the parents would never stand for that". So we just kept pushing them on from grade to grade and they really never "catch on".
It is also true that a lot depends on the teacher and how willing they are to enforce the rules. If I ever (and I have) catch a student with a cell phone in class it immediately becomes mine, no discussion, period. I also do not allow any food, gum, or drinks in my room. My students know that if they bring it in with them it is going in the trash. They all have to sign a behavior contract clearly stating the rules of the classroom and what the consequences are for not following those rules.
I also do not allow extra credit in my class. I think extra credit is a big waste of my time. The student who is looking for extra credit is the one who sat on his/her a** everyday and now when grade day is approaching they start panicking and want to write some stupid paper and earn all their points back. I tell my parents all of this at open house. It is kind of funny, because I really thought that I would get some flack from the parents, (and I have), but my Principal recently told me that I am the most requested 7th grade teacher they have. Go figure
I thought the same thing when I came here from Michigan and started teaching. We absolutely do not have any type of proficiency exam that needs to be passed in order to graduate. Also, at the school I am at, it is a common occurence for students to actually be retained in a grade because they did not pass their classes. I can't think of any examples of this in Michigan. I taught third grade, and more times than I can count I recommended retention of a student and was told that "oh the parents would never stand for that". So we just kept pushing them on from grade to grade and they really never "catch on".
It is also true that a lot depends on the teacher and how willing they are to enforce the rules. If I ever (and I have) catch a student with a cell phone in class it immediately becomes mine, no discussion, period. I also do not allow any food, gum, or drinks in my room. My students know that if they bring it in with them it is going in the trash. They all have to sign a behavior contract clearly stating the rules of the classroom and what the consequences are for not following those rules.
I also do not allow extra credit in my class. I think extra credit is a big waste of my time. The student who is looking for extra credit is the one who sat on his/her a** everyday and now when grade day is approaching they start panicking and want to write some stupid paper and earn all their points back. I tell my parents all of this at open house. It is kind of funny, because I really thought that I would get some flack from the parents, (and I have), but my Principal recently told me that I am the most requested 7th grade teacher they have. Go figure
My oldest daughter graduated from Warren Mott. My 2nd would have graduated from Hazel Park High but she was just too smart to stay in school. She is now going to Baker College and regrets not graduating. We then moved to get out of Hazel Park schools-they were horrible at the middle school/high school level. Teachers and admin could not control the kids at all. It was sad.
Moved to Utica Community school district and I loved it. Son graduated from Eisenhower HS. And now the youngest is in Coronado. Geesh, I never did think of them all having gone to different schools. Hmmm.
My son is going to Macomb Community College in MI. He is staying with his dad. I wish he would come here, but that age lives for their friends so for now he is staying in MI.
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Wondering too.....
. She is now going to Baker College and regrets not graduating. We then moved to get out of Hazel Park schools-they were horrible at the middle school/high school level. Teachers and admin could not control the kids at all. It was sad.
