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Old 02-06-2016, 01:06 PM
 
3 posts, read 8,363 times
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Hi! I'm also looking at moving to Santa Fe (from Hawaii)! Schools are my big issue too. I'm so stressed!

I'm a teacher so I just wanted to throw it out there that sometimes test scores are not the best measure of a school's quality. Often, high test scores just correlate with socio-economics. And often, test scores can be better in schools that drill more for tests, which in my opinion is not a good thing (especially for little ones). So, what I'm saying is, a school could have lower test scores due to a more disadvantaged population (kids with less access to intellectual stimulation at a young age), but a creative vision or great teachers and "rate" lower, while a higher-income school could be less inspiring for kids but test well. Does that make sense? This is my impression perhaps of the Eldorado school but I still want to learn more.

That is why I'm looking for discussion boards because I think parents often have the very best insights into a school's quality, moreso than official ratings.
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Old 02-07-2016, 12:33 PM
 
Location: Santa Fe, NM
974 posts, read 2,336,457 times
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I agree with Bennyblanco's post; he brings up salient points. Eldorado schools do test well, and from the conversations I've had with my Eldorado clients, the teachers are also highly rated. Eldorado residents also have a higher average level of educational achievement than in some other parts of the Santa Fe area, and it seems that parents are pretty active in school affairs.
All in all, a healthy educational atmosphere.
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Old 02-08-2016, 03:00 PM
 
11 posts, read 20,074 times
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Yes, the Santa Fe Public Schools (and public schools everywhere) fall entirely along socio-economic lines. You can look at the percentage of ESL and low income students on each school's website and well, there aren't any surprises.

It seems the trick with SF is there is not much of a middle class. You're either living in a sprawling estate type home, or you're cleaning it. Yes, there are some state workers, but they mostly have been priced out unless they inherited a home or land, etc... This is why there is mandated low-income housing in the newer parts of the city and county, although I still don't know what "low income" is in Santa Fe, I digress...

I will be frank with you Bennyblanco, New Mexico schools by and large are not good. Many of the schools in Santa Fe are not good. This, in my opinion, is due to the crippling poverty (and all the problems that come with it) that is endemic in many parts of the state. If you're living in a high income area, you'll be fine. It get's sticky because you need some kind of yard stick to measure what a good school is and the two measures that our public education department has used often contradict each other. I'd say though, if you're looking at "D" rated school with only 7% of the 3rd graders at a proficient reading level...don't take that chance.

I know a lot of LANL people live in Eldorado, they won't tolerate some of the shenanigans that go on in other NM public schools because they can move to LA and have far better schools...
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