Churchill HS -Does it have 12 more years of being a good school?

[cwcavazos]

Well... Clark still has plenty of section 8 coming from the medical center. Also, very low income apts. Gardendale, Callaghan area, woodstone, and plenty down Vance Jackson. Also, Budget Suites on Fredricksburg is zoned to Clark. Another thing to consider is Clark has a high "refugee" population. About 4 years ago, Catholic Charaties placed refugee families in apts on Gardendale and continue to do so. Other schools have a refugee population, but it does put alot of stress on these schools to get these students ready for state tests. Alot of resources are utilized on this population! Was Clark what it was 10 years ago? No, but it still is a good school and I know many happy parents/students!

[SherryZ]

My friend's daughter is entering her senior year at Churchill and overall has had a very positive experience. I used to live in an apartment complex near the school and there wasn't much of a "Section 8 problem" but that was years ago. I'm curious which complexes are supposed to have gone downhill so much.

I do understand to a point that any parent is concerned with the students in their child's school, but I find it kind of sad that the assumption is that kids whose parents don't have much money are somehow bad. I went to a very affluent high school in the Dallas area and the attitude of those kids with their parents money, flashy cars and clothes they were always given, and other things made for a really sick environment.

[mamallama1]

Sherry,

I totally agree with your assessment of what it's like in affluent schools, as Churchill was definitely one when I went there. Although honestly, we were all pretty good kids. Unlike our reputation, at least my class was not snobby or unfriendly. We didn't care whether our classmates drove BMW's or old trucks but clothes and looks were deemed important. Of course, that's probably every school; just the cost of the popular brands may be different. I knew Churchill wasn't the same school as it was in the 80's, which was fine with me. But many of the posters say it has gotten dangerous in certain areas around the school, and that's not fine.
Yes, it would be sad if people didn't want to send their upper middle class kids to school with other kids just because their parents were poor, but the issue is way more complex than that. Section 8 and government assistance bring a whole set of problems to an area that historically brings the area down. That is a whole other topic!

Anyway, I am really trying to find something in between affluent and section 8. Ideally a "country school" with a mix of kids since we want at least half an acre.

[joepa]

Since section 8 was mentioned, and the post was made by someone that was in SA in the 1980's, I'll chime in on the Madison HS NE side of things. It used to be nice in the 80's if you remember. Northern Hills was the place to live, not anymore!

Section 8 housing up and down Judson and O'Conner has brought that part of town down.