differentiation in Rochester-area schools (Irondequoit, Brighton: real estate, renting, house) - City-Data Forum

rongoe · 03-20-2012, 08:54 AM

As some of you may have read in other threads, we'll be moving to the Rochester area with 4 school-aged kids. We've heard several of the area's school districts are very good, but are wondering, in particular, about the degree of differentiation (i.e., ability-based tracks) offered throughout the K-12 grades.

In our current Chicago-area school, the high-school offers "honors", "accelerated", and "college prep" levels, which allows for rather fine partitioning of students by abilities and enables teachers to keep all students engaged. The elementary and middle schools also have fine partitioning. In the elementary schools student "placement" is assessed with each unit via pre-testing of that unit's material. The differentiation is not merely a "gifted" program for the 130+ IQ kids.

Other than the availability of AP courses, I have yet to see specifics regarding the degree of differentiation offered by the Rochester-area schools. In particular, we're primarily interested in Brighton and Pittsford, with Penfield, Fairport, W. Irondequoit, and Victor in the runner-up spots.

Thanks.

ckhthankgod · 03-20-2012, 01:25 PM

Many of the area HS's have an IB Program and I'm sure there are honors classes too. Here is a list of IB Programs in NY State: International Baccalaureate

rongoe · 03-20-2012, 01:37 PM

Is the IB a way of improving quality for a school that is struggling, or is it also adopted by schools that are already at the top of the heap? I noticed that neither Brighton nor Pittsford offer the IB Diploma.

I'm sure all the good schools offer honors classes in high school and probably middle school. I suppose my question is more about the extent of such offerings and the whether the students are split into 2 groups (honors and non-honors) or more, as in the 3 variations of college-prep that our current public high school offers. And whether the elementary schools offer differentiation as a standard component for implementing of the curriculum.

ckhthankgod · 03-20-2012, 07:16 PM

In terms of the Rochester area schools, except for maybe Rochester City's Wilson Magnet(which still has some good programs), the other schools are fine.

alw1964 · 03-21-2012, 05:02 AM

I wish I had answers, I don't. But maybe if you called the individual district. We are in the city and have 1 home schooled and 1 in charter school. The one being home schooled struggles academically but other than a 504 for being hard of hearing she wasn't classified and her processing issues weren't being addressed. The one in charter school has Asperger's and is brilliant. He can perform at anywhere from 2 to 4 years above grade level but doesn't really get challenged. He's in school for now only because he has a couple of friends there and it's what he needs right now.

I'm saying this because as I said before we are considering moving and I'm looking at school districts and what they can offer each kid. Part of why we are looking at Brighton is my daughter participated in a Performing Arts Program there last summer and loved it and loved the kids and teachers. Both kids are going to do it this year. Most of the kids were Brighton Students and all of the teachers are Brighton teachers. We also believe my son would be challenged academically. We spend a lot of time at the Brighton Library and it gets a lot of traffic. We have both worked in Brighton and know several families that left the city for Brighton.

I know this doesn't answer to your questions and it's hard to look from afar. I myself am looking at Charlottesville VA at the moment and am asking questions on the VA forum. I see where I would be working in relation to where I want to live. We will most likely home school both kids at least in the beginning but I still want to be in a good district. It's exciting and scary. We plan on renting at first as I really want to make sure we like the area before we buy anything.

rongoe · 03-21-2012, 05:53 AM

Thanks for the info about Brighton. Our kids like drama and music, which has us leaning towards Brighton . The challenge in brighton is finding a home--fewer homes for families of 6 than in Pittsfield and other towns.

ckhthankgod · 03-21-2012, 06:46 AM

Here's some information that you may be interested in: New Page 1

Music Department
Arts in Education

Fairport Central Schools - K-12 Art Department FHS
Departments

Art
Music

Schools
Schools

Victor Central School District

These are some of the top school districts in Upstate NY within the Rochester metro and their Arts/Music based programs.

alw1964 · 03-21-2012, 08:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rongoe

Thanks for the info about Brighton. Our kids like drama and music, which has us leaning towards Brighton . The challenge in brighton is finding a home--fewer homes for families of 6 than in Pittsfield and other towns.

Keep looking, I believe those homes are out there and will start going on the market towards the end of the school year as the bigger homes more likely have kids that are in school. As others as noted there are fewer new builds in Brighton. There are a lot of nice homes East of Highland Ave. just over the border from the city, just make sure the house is in the Brigton District and not Rochester (I'm sure you will but over on Highland one side is city the other side is Brighton but that changes depending on what part of Highland you're on. Have you looked off Southern Parkway Look that up on MapQuest and the streets surrounding that, a lot of nice homes over there too. That's also near Highland.

But again, Pittsford is nice too. I love the village and we have spent a fair amount of time at their library too. I have friends with kids at Sutherland that are involved in music and drama. Most of my close friends that live in Pittsford are older and their kids are well out of high school and college, but all the ones that come to mind their kids went to Sutherland and they were more than happy with the education their chidren received. Pittsford has a nice community center in an old school located near Sutherland High School.

Victor. Victor is nice because you can get a fair amount of land. My boss just built a home there. I think the lot is 1/2 Acre but since the total land per house in a development has to be at least an ACRE there is undeveloped property, that has to stay undeveloped that is like the center of the neighbor hood. And we had friends with an 8 yo just move to Victor and they have an Acre in a house built in the 80's. They like the schools and offerings of the local community center etc. My dentist has 2 kids in Victor and my Doctor has 6 kids in Victor (though a couple have gone on to college) and they all love the school and the community.

ckhthankgod · 03-21-2012, 08:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rongoe

Thanks for the info about Brighton. Our kids like drama and music, which has us leaning towards Brighton . The challenge in brighton is finding a home--fewer homes for families of 6 than in Pittsfield and other towns.

What is your price range? i don't know, but this may help, as all of these homes are in the Brighton SD: Nothnagle.com - Property Search Results

5lilguys · 03-21-2012, 09:46 AM

From the research I've been doing, Victor seems to have the most dedicated performing arts program. They seem to have made it a major focus.

However, Brighton seems to have a great music program and an after school dance program. And, all of them definitely have arts programs with big musical performances, chorus, band, etc.

As far as the IB program, I don't think this is something schools jump into lightly. It's a big undertaking to bring that program to a school. In CA where we live, northwest of LA, there are only two schools around here that offer it. One is my son's school, which is arguably the best school in the area... I think schools that are more progressive are the ones you'll find things like that...same goes for the block schedule.

Do you have a real estate agent you're working with? We get a daily list of homes on the market in the areas we've specified. An agent who is local is also going to be able to steer you away or towards the areas that would be best for a family like yours. We're working the Sharon Diamond at Nothnagle (top firm in the area from what I've read) and I can't say enough about how helpful she has been to us over the last several months. I recommend connecting with someone who can help you in your search and provide you with listings that include property disclosures, etc. Very helpful.