Info on schools in or around Edmond OK

[OKDalton]

Originally Posted by prerunner1982

Deer Creek also has a good school district and if you move to far west Edmond you might be in the Deer Creek school district.

Heather,

I have been watching this post and feel that if you are deciding between Deer Creek and Edmond, it is important to compare the two school districts carefully because they are very different in many ways!

Edmond has a large amount of commercial growth so they are well funded to handle the increase in size in the district. They have a good long range plan. They build ahead of their growth and they have excellent facilities. They seem to be well funded on a daily basis so there doesn't seem to be any problems with access to textbooks, either on-line or hard-copy. They have the same curriculum in all elementary schools with a yearly schedule so that as new elementary schools are added all the children are learning the same things and just go to a different school and open up the same books to the same page. The high schools produce a steady stream of National Merit finalists, the high schools have the lowest college remediation rates of all area public high schools (number of students who have to take remedial classes in college) and they have 3 high schools on Newsweek's list of the top 100 high schools in the nation. No matter how you feel about Newsweek's selection criteria, this is something to think about.

Deer Creek is almost opposite on all counts. They have close to zero commercial business to fund their hugh growth. They are definitely building behind their growth curve in the building department. The last elementary school opened with temporary buildings two years ago and the next elementary school will not open for another year. At this point they have completely different curriculum "methodologies" at each elementary school which means there is no standardization in what the children learn as they all go to the same middle school and are redistricted into different elementary schools (with resulting parental backlash with each attempt to redistrict for a new elementary). There are textbook issues with children having no access to on-line or hard-copy textbooks for most of the year. The high schools have one of the higher college remediation rates compared to other local suburban school districts. They have had no National Merit finalists recently as compared to districts of the same size like Piedmont who seem to produce a small steady stream of finalists. I know Deer Creek is trying hard to improve, but sometimes you have to send your children to the school district that you judge to be good NOW and not to the school which MIGHT be good sometime in the future!

I think everyone should decide for themselves what is important in a school district and call and ask very specific questions. Two schools with similar test score results can result in completely different educational experiences for your children! This is all just my opinion but hopefully I have given you ideas on what types of questions you can ask!

You can check state test results and college remediation rates at Oklahoma School Report Cards . At the Deer Creek site you can look at the student population at http://www.deercreekschools.org/studentpopulation/ and note that each of the elementary schools was built for 500 students to get a feel for how many children are in temporary buildings. The middle school is also getting overcrowded and construction has not started on a new middle school yet!

I have moved here from another state and am pretty happy. I know you will be to. No matter what problems each school district has, with concerned parents the children will be fine! I think the children at all the districts are friendly and open to making new friends. With the large growth in the area there will also be many other children who have moved into the district and are also looking for friends. Good luck in your search!

[prerunner1982]

I will agree with most of the above statement. I know the funding for the schools isnt as great as the Edmond schools and Deer Creek Schools rely quite heavily on the parental donations through fund raising activities. However, I wouldnt say that children go without books or internet. Perhaps back 8-10 yrs ago when my wife went to school there, but I have not seen this problem in my daughter's school. As far as the temporary buildings, Edmond schools have those as well due to over crowding. The middle school (Summit) I went to had 4 portable buildings (1993) and to my knowledge are still in use. Parhaps Deer Creek wasnt expecting such a rapid population influx to the west part of Edmond. The Deer Creek School district goes quite a ways south, almost to Memorial Road I believe. If they were/are struggling perhaps that wasnt such a good idea, but then again I am not sure whole ultimately decides where the school districts are. The Deer Creek School district can not be the only ones involved since the are included other towns and schools district. So perhaps the full blame can not be put on Deer Creek schools for the additional students. 8-10 yrs ago, Deer Creek was 1 highschool, 1 middle school and 1 elementary school all on one campus. 10yrs ago Edmond already had 3 highschools, a half dozen or more middle schools and dozens of elementary schools. But then again 10 yrs ago Edmond didnt go much further than Western or Penn ave.

I havent seen anything that would lead me to believe that my child is getting a sub par education.

[nom]

Originally Posted by HeatherBialas

Also any opinions about working for Chesepeake Energy is welcome!

Working for Cheasepeake is a good deal!

As far as school districts are concerned, stay toward the Edmond side of the northern area. Edmond is so much more stable. They are at least 10 years ahead of Deer Creek in handling growth issues. We have 3 in Deer Creek and notice a slip in education with each one. We were happy in elementary school but there are definitely problems in mid to high school.

[thanksarthur]

CHK was recently listed on the Best Companies to Work for list, so I'd say it's a pretty good deal. As for neighborhoods/schools, I'd like to throw some non-Edmond biased info your way. There are way more unique shops and restaurants along western by Chesapeake and the general area than ANYWHERE in Edmond. Edmond is ok if you like strip malls with every chain/big-box retailer you can imagine. Also, Chesapeake's employees are well compensated enough that you should seriously consider the private schools. While a lot of folks like the Edmond public schools, I guarantee your children will have a better experience at Casady or Heritage. In the neighborhood side of things Crown Heights, Edgemere, and Nichols Hills are far nicer and more unique than anything Edmond, America has to offer.

[OKDalton]

Originally Posted by thanksarthur

While a lot of folks like the Edmond public schools, I guarantee your children will have a better experience at Casady or Heritage. In the neighborhood side of things Crown Heights, Edgemere, and Nichols Hills are far nicer and more unique than anything Edmond, America has to offer.

I agree with thanksarthur 100%. If you like historic homes on tree lined streets, Crown Heights, Edgemere and Nichols hills are the places to be. Google has loaded most of Oklahoma City into Street View so you can actually roam the streets of the neighborhoods yourself. If you go to google and type in "Nichols Hills oklahoma city OK" several businesses in Nichols hills will pop up. Click on the "Street View" box on the top of the map. The streets that are lined with blue have been scanned in. Use your mouse to pick up the little yellow man and put him on any blue street. Click on the picture that appears on the pop up box. You are now roaming the streets of Oklahoma City! Use your mouse to turn and face any direction and click the arrows to move. Have fun!

[niknar]

Not sure if you are still interested in info on The Grove or not, but we are in the process of building there. The neighborhood should be amazing, but so far there are only about 15-20 houses. The first phase has smaller homes (under 2000 sf), but there is another phase starting that will be larger homes. All of the amenities (pool, playground,...) have not been started yet. The new Deer Creek school is underway and is set to open for the 09-10 school year. As for Chesapeake, I have heard nothing but wonderful things about working there.