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JH has gone through a rough transition, starting when an elementary school on the west end opened, siphoning off a lot of kids from upper and middle class homes. So, you're left with a school that has a lot of kids from lower income homes. The school also went through a few principals before Kimberly Graves took over.
I have twin preschoolers, one of whom has been attending a special needs class at JH for a year (Secondo has autism). His twin brother Primo has some social/communication delays and will be attending JH this fall in a program designed to mix typically developing and developmentally delayed kids.
Good things to say. The special needs programs have been outstanding. The teacher and aids are motivated and committed to the kids' progress. That doesn't help your situation much, but I do want you to know there is excellence at JH.
I was also very favorably impressed by the principal. I met her when registering Secondo. I arrived slightly late in the day and figured I'd need to drop by the following day to register. Instead, she met with me and had one of her vice principals handle the registration. It was a personal touch that
I'm inclined to quote Ronald Reagan--trust, but verify. I noticed that they've got the IB prep program going. I live on the western end of the city, so don't fall into its catchment area. However, I think this is a school on the rise.
It's two years later from the last post but this still comes up very high on the Google....
In the meantime, the school has made great strides.
As you can tell from my handle, I'm a current JH parent. If anyone has any questions about the school, please contact me directly or feel free to post any question to the Yahoo group at [URL="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/jeffersonhouston/"]jeffersonhouston[/URL].
Two questions parents should ask themselves before sending their kids there:
1) Has the percentage of free/reduced price lunch students been reduced at JH? (It is 72% now, which indicates many affluent parents are avoiding the school)
2) Has there been an increase in SOL scores? (It is a 2 on Greatschools, which is a proxy for SOL test scores).
I think JH's enduring poor performace is a good illustration of the tremendous income gap that exists among residents in Old Town. I'm not making a political statement here. Just an observation.
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