The secret to Irvine School District success? (Santa Ana, Garden Grove: luxury, school districts)

[nurserosie]

Originally Posted by CAVA1990

As a CUSD alum from the 60s and 70s I can tell you class sizes back then went as high as 40 and never dropped below 30. I remember when I took my kids to school for the first time here in Fairfax County in the 90s how astounded I was that their classes were 15-20. The ironic thing was that back in the 60s and 70s the demographics there were quite different with kids coming from pretty average homes. That combined with the large class sizes produced less than stellar graduating classes. The overwhelming majority of kids went to Saddleback or Cal Poly/State schools. Very few went to the UC schools.

I thought..perhaps incorrectly...that the 20 and under per class size was only for the very low grades?? am I mistaken here??

[CAVA1990]

Originally Posted by nurserosie

I thought..perhaps incorrectly...that the 20 and under per class size was only for the very low grades?? am I mistaken here??

So the high schools haven't been affected there?

[Fontucky]

Same here. CUSD alum from 1st grade all the way through 12th, graduating SCHS in '73. Typical class size in elementary was anywhere from 25 - 30.

[nurserosie]

Originally Posted by Fontucky

Same here. CUSD alum from 1st grade all the way through 12th, graduating SCHS in '73. Typical class size in elementary was anywhere from 25 - 30.

I just did a quick search...the 20 per classroom was for K-3 only..never was legislated for other grades..still that way now...high school likely 25-30
yikes...I went to a top notch school district in suburbs of NYC...class sizes then..and now..about 25-30 per...college entry rates were..still are..over 98%....

I do believe it absolutely does correlate with the educ and income level of the parents..

[Fontucky]

I honestly don't remember class size back in K-3. Those memories start at about 4th or 5th grade.

[jet757f]

Originally Posted by proudmommy

Smart people, who happen to be Asian, have smart kids.
Smart Asians, not low functioning Asians, live in Irvine.

As an example, the smart Asians from Vietnam, the ones with money and education made it to the US in the mid 1970s. The low functioning, lower IQ Asians are picking rice somewhere back in Asia.

Compare this to the low functioning schools districts in Los Angeles. Who comprise those student bodies? Chances are many of them are low functioning peoples, children from destitute immigrants or children of low functioning agrarian cultures.

Those smart Indians and Asians and Jews are often the cream of the crop of their respective populations. We think they are so smart but what we're really seeing is their best. Not all Jews are smart, not all Asians are smart, not all Indians are smart but a disproportionate of the ones in the US are. It wouldn't surprise me if a lot of the wealthy connected smart Jews escaped the Holocaust and made it to the US (Albert Einstein for example). People who are smart or have money tend to pick up or have the means to flee potentially dangerous situations.

Answers.com - How did Einstein escape Germany

I doubt there would be much difference in the IQs between the guys washing cars at the local car wash or picking strawberries in Oxnard or busing dishes at Applebys and the guys picking rice in Pakistan.

Also, I don't think Irvine has many low functioning neighborhoods to bring it's district's overall performance scores down.

LOL.........not hard to tell which group you came from

[Mr. Fantastic]

Parental involvement.

[CAVA1990]

Originally Posted by Mr. Fantastic

Parental involvement.

Would agree if you mean with the kids, not with the schools. You can pretty much ignore the teachers and administrators as long as you make sure the kids study and you provide a homelife that makes them want to learn and do a good job. The number one correlative factor they've found with good students is parents who read for themselves, not to the kids. Kids generally turn out like their parents.

[proudmommy]

Originally Posted by Mr. Fantastic

Parental involvement.

I think most would agree parental involvement is critical but "parental involvement" itself doesn't go deep enough.

For example, why are Irvine parents more involved?

[CAVA1990]

Originally Posted by proudmommy

I think most would agree parental involvement is critical but "parental involvement" itself doesn't go deep enough.

For example, why are Irvine parents more involved?

Also, be careful not to confuse correlation with causation. The kinds of parents who have good students get involved with the schools just like the kids of parents who read good books do well. The involvement and the books in and of themselves are irrelevant.