Park City schools (Summit Park: school district, live, zoned)

[Alexvegas]

I think there are 3 elementary schools there: Trailside, McPolin and Parley's Park...are they all good or is one better than the others? We are looking to move there this summer and my daughter will be starting 1st grade.
Thanks for the help!!

[US-Traveller]

Originally Posted by Alexvegas

I think there are 3 elementary schools there: Trailside, McPolin and Parley's Park...are they all good or is one better than the others? We are looking to move there this summer and my daughter will be starting 1st grade.
Thanks for the help!!

Actually you missed the one that is the most reputable, Jeremy Ranch. However the Park City District is very well regarded from what an agent friend of mine has told me. She has lived there for over 20 years and all three of her kids went up through Trailside, Middle School, and Park City High School. Park City High School is generally regarded as the best in the state. I don't think you could go wrong with any of the schools in Park City Schools District (Just make sure you are in it). Much of Park City is in North and South Summit, which are not very good.

[skibarbie]

You have to attend the elementary school that is in your "zone"-we lived in Thaynes Canyon and the first several years we were zoned McPolin then that all changed to Parleys Park. There has been alot of lines redrawn due to overcrowding at Jeremy Ranch elementary-so do not assume that if you live out by Pinebrook, Summit Park etc that JRE will be "your" school.
I disagree with Traveller about the other schools in North and South Summit County and about PC High being better than other high schools in the state-I know lots of kids that have gone two those schools and had just as good of an education as PCSD.
Don't forget that Utah spends the least per student so there are tons of fundraisers and parent volunteering in all the districts. The teachers manage to do alot with a little bit of money across the board!

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

You can check schools on www.GreatSchools.net (http://www.GreatSchools.net - broken link) for ratings which compare schools within a state.

[US-Traveller]

Originally Posted by SouthernBelleInUtah

You can check schools on www.GreatSchools.net (http://www.GreatSchools.net - broken link) for ratings which compare schools within a state.

I have found KSL's rankings to be more accurate, particularly those addressing the high school level.

ksl.com - KSL Schools - Map View

[Alexvegas]

Originally Posted by skibarbie

You have to attend the elementary school that is in your "zone"-we lived in Thaynes Canyon and the first several years we were zoned McPolin then that all changed to Parleys Park. There has been alot of lines redrawn due to overcrowding at Jeremy Ranch elementary-so do not assume that if you live out by Pinebrook, Summit Park etc that JRE will be "your" school.
I disagree with Traveller about the other schools in North and South Summit County and about PC High being better than other high schools in the state-I know lots of kids that have gone two those schools and had just as good of an education as PCSD.
Don't forget that Utah spends the least per student so there are tons of fundraisers and parent volunteering in all the districts. The teachers manage to do alot with a little bit of money across the board!

Thanks for the info Skibarbie! Do you have kids who went to McPolin and Parleys Park? If so, what did you think of these schools?

[skibarbie]

We chose private school until it became a poor value-attended Parleys Park starting in the 4th grade. We had a great experience in 4th and then things went South in 5th. Our main problem was his teacher was out on maternity leave after the 2nd week and there was a revolving door of substitutes. Ecker Hill was not a great experience either but Treasure Middle School was pretty good.
I was amazed at the amount of racist attitudes that we encountered-especially when the first big split up started to occur at McPolin. DM me if you want more info on that.
We have since moved to Salt Lake and he attends Skyline High-he seems to really enjoy this school, way more challenging, lots of caring teachers, more rigorous curriculum and nicer kids too..

[Katzpur]

My sister taught in both of the Park City middle schools for years. I'll ask her if she formed any opinions of the elementary schools in that period of time.

[Alexvegas]

Originally Posted by US-Traveller

Actually you missed the one that is the most reputable, Jeremy Ranch. However the Park City District is very well regarded from what an agent friend of mine has told me. She has lived there for over 20 years and all three of her kids went up through Trailside, Middle School, and Park City High School. Park City High School is generally regarded as the best in the state. I don't think you could go wrong with any of the schools in Park City Schools District (Just make sure you are in it). Much of Park City is in North and South Summit, which are not very good.

What makes you say that Jeremy Ranch is better?

[Katzpur]

Alex,

I did talk to my sister and got some information you may find to be very insightful. (As I mentioned before, my sister taught at both Treasure Mountain and Ecker Hill Middle Schools for about 25 years. She has taught her students' children! She is now in administration with the Park City School District.) When I asked her the question, she launched right into an answer, and then, not wanting to sound prejudiced (which she definitely is not -- one of her two adopted children is mixed Caucasian/African American) paused to try to come up with an answer that would not offend people. I told her to just give me the answer and let people draw their own conclusions, so she did.

She said that there is considerably less economic and racial diversity at Jeremy Ranch and Trailside than at Parley's Park and McPolin. Because there are a lot more "rich white kids" and not so many "poor brown kids" at Jeremy Ranch and Trailside, these schools consistently score higher when ranked on testing results, etc. So, if that's a factor people want to give a lot of weight to, there's your answer. Most of the teachers at Jeremy Ranch are veterans, men and women who have been teaching for years. This may be considered a plus or not, depending upon how how want to look at it. She said that they are not really all that progressive; they're very "old school." Trailside has younger, less experienced teachers, but that they also have a brand new principal, a Cuban woman who apparently beat out a lot of locals to get the job and who has an excellent reputation. In my sister's opinion, though, the better teachers are actually at Parley's Park and McPolin, even though that fact may not be reflected in the test scores. The principal at McPolin is very progressive and is very demanding of the teachers.

That's just one person's opinion, but it's someone who has the background to do more than simply speak in generalities and who has experience teaching the kids who come out of those schools. So anyway, I hope that information helps.