Alamo Heights ISD (Houston: neighborhood, best school, colleges)

[jwebtx]

"there is a horrific drug & alcohol problem in the district. Parents contribute to the problem to a large extent".

"The bigger districts do a much better job educating all students, hence the higher ratings".

"AH has a very percentage of it's graduating class attending college, and a very high percentage flunking out after one year, not because of lack of ability, but because they never had to work on their own".

I would love to see the numbers/studies you are drawing these conclusions from.

I was unaware that public high schools tracked the academic performance of their graduates. Much more surprising is that their hired experts, with the cooperation of the former students & their families, were able to ascertain the "very high percentage" (what is that 90%?) of one and done students failed because "they never had to work on their own".

"Horrific" drug & alcohol problem? Are a large % shooting heroin in the bathrooms? Are armed bands of juveniles roaming the streets of AH looking to rob and steal to feed their habits? Dropping acid in their eyelids before gym? You said "horrific". Who has and how was it determined this black plague of booze & drugs is fostered by parents "to a large extent"?

I don't live in the AH district and did not attend school there. However, I can say the school has an excellent reputation for a public school. Your child can get an equally good education at AH or any of the better NEISD or NISD schools. Important things to consider are your involvement in your child's education and that of the other parents' in the school. Active parents generally result in better academic offerings. Parents with degrees = a higher % of children that will attend & graduate from college.

Drugs & alcohol are a problem at all schools.

[hoddys2]

I'm curious, why is it that so many parents in San Antonio send their kids to private school? Are the public schools that bad and the private schools so much better? Do private schools in general have smaller class sizes? I've always been a little concerned about private schools because I thought that the teachers didn't need to have credentials and weren't held up to the same teaching standards as public schools.

[mojokitty]

Originally Posted by jwebtx

"Horrific" drug & alcohol problem? Are a large % shooting heroin in the bathrooms? Are armed bands of juveniles roaming the streets of AH looking to rob and steal to feed their habits? Dropping acid in their eyelids before gym? You said "horrific". Who has and how was it determined this black plague of booze & drugs is fostered by parents "to a large extent"?

I don't live in the AH district and did not attend school there. However, I can say the school has an excellent reputation for a public school. Your child can get an equally good education at AH or any of the better NEISD or NISD schools. Important things to consider are your involvement in your child's education and that of the other parents' in the school. Active parents generally result in better academic offerings. Parents with degrees = a higher % of children that will attend & graduate from college.

Drugs & alcohol are a problem at all schools.

I applaud AH parent for stepping up and talking about some of the truths of the school district. I just find it hard to believe that everyone only has positive things to say about AH district and can't take their blinders off. I'm sorry, but if you think that even AH doesn't have a drug problem, or any of the problems that normal high schools have, then you must be living in the dark. I went to private school all of my life. I started seeing drug problems in the 7th or 8th grades. So, I don't think you are only going to see it in certain areas, schools, districts.

Oh, and about what you were saying about shooting up heroin in the bathroom. Come on, this isn't a movie! Were you being serious or joking? We all know about the parties and after school activities that you find this kind of stuff at. You aren't going to see these kids doing this in the halls of the schools. We were all young and in school once...try to take a trip (sorry for the pun) down memory lane. Please just be aware of these types of activities, especially if you have kids of your own. I agree, active parents are going to have great results in their kids.

Anyways, I just wanted to thank AH parent for putting some honest truth out there instead of the fluff that we usually get.

[jwebtx]

Originally Posted by mojokitty

I applaud AH parent for stepping up and talking about some of the truths of the school district. I just find it hard to believe that everyone only has positive things to say about AH district and can't take their blinders off. I'm sorry, but if you think that even AH doesn't have a drug problem, or any of the problems that normal high schools have, then you must be living in the dark. I went to private school all of my life. I started seeing drug problems in the 7th or 8th grades. So, I don't think you are only going to see it in certain areas, schools, districts.

Oh, and about what you were saying about shooting up heroin in the bathroom. Come on, this isn't a movie! Were you being serious or joking? We all know about the parties and after school activities that you find this kind of stuff at. You aren't going to see these kids doing this in the halls of the schools. We were all young and in school once...try to take a trip (sorry for the pun) down memory lane. Please just be aware of these types of activities, especially if you have kids of your own. I agree, active parents are going to have great results in their kids.

Anyways, I just wanted to thank AH parent for putting some honest truth out there instead of the fluff that we usually get.

As I wrote and you quoted, "Drugs & alcohol are a problem at ALL schools". Emphasis added. I also stated a child could get an equally good education in ah, neisd, or nisd. The rewards & challenges are similar for public schools drawing their students from similar populations. I never insinuated AH was different than any other similarly situated public school in the SA area.

AH parent said the drug & alcohol problem was "horrific". There are several schools around the country I can point to that have had serious problems with meth, heroin, and/or crack. This has included usage at school and deaths. Its not the movies. There are schools that actually have "horrific" drug & alcohol problems.

I guess one person's hyperbole is another's "honest truth". I would still like to see the numbers/studies behind some of the claims.

[Buffyfan]

I am not sure of the statistics, but I believe that these kids would have the money to purchase the alcohol and drugs, and are more likely to have unattended parties because parents are able to take vacations. This is my personal speculation.

[jwebtx]

No issue with reasonable speculation labeled as such.

[pobre]

Originally Posted by hoddys2

I'm curious, why is it that so many parents in San Antonio send their kids to private school? Are the public schools that bad and the private schools so much better? Do private schools in general have smaller class sizes? I've always been a little concerned about private schools because I thought that the teachers didn't need to have credentials and weren't held up to the same teaching standards as public schools.

I'm not sure if that is completely true. Compared to where I grew up (Mass.), there are very few private schools here. Unless you could compare % of public vs private in San Antonio vs nationally, I'm not sure that you could make the comparision accurately. Private schools in general can have smaller class sizes, but that's not always the case.

Teachers at private schools are not required by the state to be certified, but most private schools that I am familiar with do require certification.

[HisLilSecret]

Originally Posted by PugnamCommitere

Alamo Heights is better because of its academic success and its kids.

You see in other school districts (the ones you mentioned) they have problems
with gangs and violence.Some even have metal detectors ,well AHISD does not
have any medal detectors ,gangs ,or problems.(May'be a little bit with drugs).
Teachers are devoted to teaching ,with experience and devotion far beyond
other school districts.

I'm going to presume that since you're singing AH's praises, you must be a student or former student. Listen, you can't use the term "academic success" in a post filled with the grammar and spelling mistakes I see. Of course, you may have been posting under the influence of "a little bit" of drugs found there.

[V3rtigo]

religion unfortunately.

Originally Posted by hoddys2

I'm curious, why is it that so many parents in San Antonio send their kids to private school? Are the public schools that bad and the private schools so much better? Do private schools in general have smaller class sizes? I've always been a little concerned about private schools because I thought that the teachers didn't need to have credentials and weren't held up to the same teaching standards as public schools.

[samustang91]

Alamo Hts ISD academics are proably the one of the best in the San Antonio area. The TAKS scores are high , 'discpline' rates are low , proably in part you have less students 'messing up' in class. Alamo Hts has been the golden standard of this since proably the 1950s.