Need high school help - Apple Valley, Rosemount, Woodbury, Hastings... or..?

[kmarr0n]

It's a great school, big on math, for 11-12th grade students. It doesn't have athletics or co-curriculars like band or choir -- if your child is interested in those, they would have to receive them at another school within the district.

Originally Posted by jblair0023

So there is a possibility that we may be moving to the SE corner of the twin cities area. We think we've narrowed our options down to Apple Valley or Rosemount, but we are also looking at Woodbury and to a lesser extent, Hastings.

My most important requirement at this point is finding a high school where my son has the best chance of fitting in and feeling comfortable, since he's the one that's the most stressed about the potential move right now.

Is there more than one high school in any of these towns? Seems like I am finding at least two in Apple Valley and maybe also Woodbury? Is there a map of boundaries available if you want to be sure to get into one or the other?

Rosemount school - sorry if this brings up a touchy subject, but what is up with that kissing thing at the pep fest in Dec 2011 that I'm reading about online? That does not give me a good first impression of their school!

So I'll lay out what's important to us, and I'd appreciate any feedback on which schools may or may not be able to provide that.


[LIST][*]He's not athletic and doesn't care about after school activities. We need a school where it's acceptable to not be an athlete![*]He's big into computers and video games. Planning to go to college for computer programming, so lots of computer classes would be a big plus[*]He spent middle school very miserable because of out of control bullying, so we are looking for a place that doesn't already have a reputation for bullying issues[*]He's shy and quiet, and it takes him a while to warm up to people. He's concerned that at this point (going into 11th grade) the kids will already have established their groups of friends and nobody will let him in to their circle. So we're hoping for a place that is welcoming and isn't too clique-ish.[*]While high graduation rates and test scores are important, it's really more important to me that he is comfortable and able to adjust well. If he's going to be outcast because he's not as rich (not that we are poor, but we are certainly not in the top tiers either) as the other kids, or because he doesn't play sports, he is going to be very miserable![/LIST]Any thoughts so far? Thanks!

[Mason3000]

Originally Posted by jblair0023

Well, we're back from our visit/tour/interview, and here's what we've figured out at this point:

1. We really like Hastings. Good combination of smaller town feel while still having access to the metro area. We really liked the high school. My shy son and I got a tour from three cute girls who were very friendly and helpful. His credits will transfer into this school better than into Rosemount's. I also really liked that I felt completely comfortable with the thought of my son driving around town by himself, so he would have the freedom to drive himself to school and a job.

2. We didn't have much time in Rosemount unfortunately, but from what we saw, it was just alright, I guess. In our opinion, not really worth the higher cost of housing that we're seeing. The school tour didn't give us the warm and fuzzy feeling we got from Hastings school. It was pretty clear my son felt more comfortable at Hastings as well. Transferring credits into Rosemount will be problematic because of how differently they run their grading periods, he would need to take more PE, which wouldn't be a problem except that doesn't leave enough time to take the computer classes he wanted to take. In Hastings he also needs to take more PE, but not as much more, and the computer classes are still available to him.

So I think we've concluded that we will find a place to rent in Hastings for at least two years. I'll take one for the team on the long drive into town if it means my son is more comfortable with the move. At that point we can decide where we want to buy a place.

Of course this is all depending on if there is a job offer or not!

GolfGal is the expert on this part of the Metro & she's quite the ambassador for the Rosemount schools. I think she gave you some good info, but at the end of the day trust your gut. Hastings is really a neat town imo. Unpretentious, country living while still being big enough for everyone to find a job & for teenagers to have something to do on Friday nights, all with easy access to the the city when you want it.

I'm going through a school search for my oldest who's entering Middle School and we crunched numbers, looked at test scores, demographics, distance from home, after school activities etc. and at the end of the day my wife, my daughter and myself all had the same gut feeling about the same school. We knew walking out of the school tour that's where we'd be going.

Best of luck to your family.