I need specific info on the best areas and schools for teenagers (Las Vegas: get credit, how much)

[olecapt]

Originally Posted by handitak

I think if you come from CA, with a wad of $$ and have no problem buying a house at outrageous prices, then sure, you love NV.

Try coming from the East coast, where you had a beautiful 4 bedroom house with an acre of land that you bought for 140k, in a lovely area, with good schools, and then try buying a home here! Impossible.

You may have rose colored glasses on, but the truth is, the education here is plain awful. I have talked to a lot of people of late, and why am I surprised they all home school!

NV schools rank 47th in the nation.

Which demonstrates that Nevada is a very urban state and not much else. You want statistics on Reno/Sparks not Nevada. Reno/Sparks ranks reasonably well...it is a southwestern city...and all southwestern cities suffer from too little money...but we Nevadans like it that way don't we?

[estevanker]

I agree with handitak. I lived in a beautiful $300,000, 3000 sq. ft. home two blocks from the beach in Virginia, with fantastic schools and great neighbors. I was relocated to Reno three years ago, and now live in one of the standard Reno $400,000 cookie cutter homes on .2 acre that are everywhere here, eat at chain restaurants, shop at strip malls, quell the urge to ram the a-holes that drive around here, and pick up the beer cans that fly out of my neighbors' jacked-up pickup trucks. My car insurance was increased for the first time in my life when I moved to Reno, for "living in a city with an unusually high claim rate". My kids aren't school age yet, but I definitely won't be sending them to any schools here.

From reading this forum, it seems that the people that grew up here mostly like Nevada. Those that moved here from other areas despise it.

[olecapt]

Originally Posted by estevanker

I agree with handitak. I lived in a beautiful $300,000, 3000 sq. ft. home two blocks from the beach in Virginia, with fantastic schools and great neighbors. I was relocated to Reno three years ago, and now live in one of the standard Reno $400,000 cookie cutter homes on .2 acre that are everywhere here, eat at chain restaurants, shop at strip malls, quell the urge to ram the a-holes that drive around here, and pick up the beer cans that fly out of my neighbors' jacked-up pickup trucks. My car insurance was increased for the first time in my life when I moved to Reno, for "living in a city with an unusually high claim rate". My kids aren't school age yet, but I definitely won't be sending them to any schools here.

From reading this forum, it seems that the people that grew up here mostly like Nevada. Those that moved here from other areas despise it.

A lot of this is illusion. In general the southern coastal wing will not provide better schools than Reno. If you get into DC Virginia you may do better than Reno. If you get into the rust belt you will have trouble doing as well. You can of course do a few places SLC, Boise, Palo Alto, OC CA. But shake it down and you will find that few places offer a substantially better public education and most cost a lot or have other disadvantages...

Reno ain't perfect but it is well up the list.

[bigdave01]

I agree with handitak. I lived in a beautiful $300,000, 3000 sq. ft. home two blocks from the beach in Virginia, with fantastic schools and great neighbors.

Dang, where is this. You all are makin me want to move. I have relatives in Virginia near Charlottesville.

[verynicebecky]

As far as schools go. My son (who was an average student back in Kansas) was suddenly an Honor's student when we moved to Reno. I am thinking about moving back to the midwest and I fear that my son may now be behind his Kansas classmates.

[handitak]

Originally Posted by olecapt

A lot of this is illusion. In general the southern coastal wing will not provide better schools than Reno. If you get into DC Virginia you may do better than Reno. If you get into the rust belt you will have trouble doing as well. You can of course do a few places SLC, Boise, Palo Alto, OC CA. But shake it down and you will find that few places offer a substantially better public education and most cost a lot or have other disadvantages...

Reno ain't perfect but it is well up the list.

NV ranked 47th in the nation for education. Thats a cold hard fact. NO matter how you slice it, the public education here is just plain awful, it is severley under funded, and with under funding comes teachers who really dont give a crap, and just do enough to cash their pay check every week (not all teachers, there are exceptions) because they dont have the school funds to purchase anything.

The worst thing about the schools here is the administration. Please explain why one school needs 4 vice-principals???? Maybe if they cut that down to 1, then they could take the wages of the other 3 and apply it to the school, that would have to be at LEAST $120,000 a yr, but probably a whole lot more.

[olecapt]

Originally Posted by handitak

NV ranked 47th in the nation for education. Thats a cold hard fact. NO matter how you slice it, the public education here is just plain awful, it is severley under funded, and with under funding comes teachers who really dont give a crap, and just do enough to cash their pay check every week (not all teachers, there are exceptions) because they dont have the school funds to purchase anything.

The worst thing about the schools here is the administration. Please explain why one school needs 4 vice-principals???? Maybe if they cut that down to 1, then they could take the wages of the other 3 and apply it to the school, that would have to be at LEAST $120,000 a yr, but probably a whole lot more.

That is a soft squishy opinion in the context of this discussion. Whose opinion? Against what criteria? Applicable how to the schools of Reno?

Parroting numbers sheds little light unless the numbers are understood.

Admin costs are always interesting but change little. Just a fact one can complain about...

[handitak]

Originally Posted by olecapt

That is a soft squishy opinion in the context of this discussion. Whose opinion? Against what criteria? Applicable how to the schools of Reno?

Parroting numbers sheds little light unless the numbers are understood.

Admin costs are always interesting but change little. Just a fact one can complain about...

Im sorry, but its FACT that NV schools rank 47th in the nation. I cant help it if you dont like that statistic. I wish I could say that the schools here were great, but I can't, and I shouldn't be attacked for stating that I think they leave a lot to be desired. I have first hand experience of how schools differe from East to West coast. You have also been given another opinion where a child suddenly becomes an honor student here in Reno.

My child had 2 high school credits of a foreign language before she even finished 8th grade. Not because she is exceptional in French, but because the education system here is way behind.

Im sorry, but kindergarten for 1/2 a day here? Are we still in the dark ages?

The education system here in NV needs a complete overhaul. Obviously the schools that I have experienced on the East coast have the formula right.

I think a lot of the educations issues here in Reno are the fact that the schools are extremly over crowded. DRHS is only 4 yrs old, and it already has 6 portable classrooms out the back because it doesnt have room for everyone. Double Diamond Elementary doesnt even have a gymnasium, kids do phys ed in the hallway by the classrooms!!! Double Diamond elementary doesn't even have art classes.

I truly wish education here were better, maybe I could be less negative about Reno, but when education is paramount to your child having a sucessful career and going to a good college, then its hard not to be upset and frustrated.

[olecapt]

Originally Posted by olecapt

That is a soft squishy opinion in the context of this discussion. Whose opinion? Against what criteria? Applicable how to the schools of Reno?

Parroting numbers sheds little light unless the numbers are understood.

Admin costs are always interesting but change little. Just a fact one can complain about...

To the anonymous intellectual coward... Those who lack skills and understanding utilize the anonymous negative rep. It is generally because they are frustrated by their lack of sufficient intellect to put forth a cogent comment on the discusslion.

The fact remains the ranking of Nevada as 47th is as relevant as the ranking of Mississippi as 49th to the status of education in Reno. It is simply a mechanism used to justify an argument lacking any fact base. The frustrated use such mechanism to avoid having to agree they have no real knowledge of the situation.

[bigdave01]

Does anyone have a link where it states that Nevada is 47th?