What is Wrong with Mamaroneck High? (Ossining, Pelham: homes, middle school, colleges)

[lan3]

I looked at a few houses in Mamaroneck and did not choose it because of the size of the district and the the special needs services. I do not like big middle schools. I am a proponent of K-8 schools. I think 6th grade is too young to go to a big school. I don't think Mamaroneck schools are bad at all, I actually think they are great, just not for me. As for special needs services, my kids are triplets and one has special needs and I didn't want to deal with two different schools through their elementary school years. That was my reasoning and that has nothing to do with diversity or racism.
I do think racism plays into it but there are other reasons people do not want ESL students in their district.. If there are illegal immigrants in a town, they do not pay taxes and reap the benefits of the taxpayers from Larchmont. The school district funnels a lot of money into the district to educate kids from immigrant families which is great but your tax dollars in Scarsdale & Chappaqua are going to your children equally and less so in Bedford and Mamroneck. People probably feel the same about the special education magnets such as Ardsley. I do think many of the negative feelings about Mamaroneck are racist but I just wanted to bring up this point that wasn't mentioned.
In the same idea, the prejudice against Eastchester could be considered classist. Is Eastchester a worse school district because there are more successful blue collar workers than rich white collar workers? No, they just do not spend as much on tutoring and SAT prep, etc.

[AliciaN]

Ian3 - thanks for your comments about your personal experience and decision. Triplets!! Wow! Coming from California, I am very familiar with the ESL issue because its a real problem in the Western states. If we're talking about a classroom where 1/3 of the kids don't speak English, then I would be very concerned about the amount of class time spent catching those kids up. However, I've noticed that (according to the data available online) the percentage of non English speakers at the high school level in Mamaroneck is 2% - that doesn't seem so high to me, but maybe this number doesn't reflect the reality? I also would guess that the number of English learners is higher at the elementary school level, in Mamaroneck at least. I'd LOVE a K-8 school, but where is that available in Westchester? Were you able to find what you were looking for? As to the size of the high schools, from what I can tell Scarsdale High has 1400 kids vs Mamaroneck's 1500. Both schools are huge, but I know there are smaller schools to be found in the Rye Neck and Edgemont systems.

[cali_to_nj]

As to the size of the high schools, from what I can tell Scarsdale High has 1400 kids vs Mamaroneck's 1500. Both schools are huge, but I know there are smaller schools to be found in the Rye Neck and Edgemont systems.

It's so funny for me to read this having moved here from So Cal where most public highs schools are upwards of 2000 students - that's what I would consider "huge". I went to a Catholic high school of 1600 students which did not seem overly large to me at all. Everything is relative and in the eye of the beholder!

[streetsmart]

Wait, 1500 kids in a high school is huge??? How bizarre.

Actually, I would have HATED to go to a school the size of some of the small ones around here. Only 500 kids??? No thank you. And the reason you can't find exactly what you are looking for (small school offering the same variety of programs as a "big" school) is because it just isn't feasible.

[jjinla]

I agree. I went to both private and later public and absolutely loved having a bigger pool to draw friends, classes, activities, etc. from. The special ed comment is meaningful, though. Our special ed offerings outside of the mainstream are at different schools, so the right program for your child may not be at their home school, which isn't ideal. However, when I toured some of the smaller districts like Rye Neck and Edgemont, it wasn't there either, so they send a much higher number of kids out of the district entirely.

I would note, though, that when I was an RA in college, the freshman that I saw struggle the most were the ones from the smallest schools and towns. Greenwich HS is highly regarded and has almost 3000 kids. If it's managed well, size doesn't matter, but it is a different atmosphere.

[lan3]

Originally Posted by streetsmart

Wait, 1500 kids in a high school is huge??? How bizarre.

Actually, I would have HATED to go to a school the size of some of the small ones around here. Only 500 kids??? No thank you. And the reason you can't find exactly what you are looking for (small school offering the same variety of programs as a "big" school) is because it just isn't feasible.

Who used the word huge? I said big, not huge. Many people hate small schools because programs, sports, etc. It is a perfectly valid opinion but it not my opinion. I think small school at the ms level when kids are just discovering themselves are key. I think kids at 10-11 are too young to go to a big school. I think they are too young to go class to class with all different kids. I hated my MS years because I was not ready for it. I am not alone. Many people hate those years and hate their MS experience. There are no K-8's public schools in Westchester. I just think small environments are very important at the middle school level. There are many reasons that people like bigger schools. There are enough great districts in Westchester for people who want big or small districts to have an amazing school experience. Everybody is different and has to choose towns based on their own likes and dislikes.

[GTDJ519]

Ian, I agree with you as well.
Unfortunately I have not come across a school with k-8 either. The MS years is what concerns me as well. When I visited M-neck schools, it wasn't so much the HS at 1500 that concerned me, it was the MS. I too feel those years are so delicate for some kids and it can make or break them. I haven't written off M-neck for that reason though, as I feel they have a lot to offer as a district.
We are keeping our options open based on what homes come on the market. Thought Pelham may be a good fit being a little smaller in size, but are concerned that Pelham may not offer as many options as M-neck. Thoughts?

[streetsmart]

Originally Posted by lan3

Who used the word huge? I said big, not huge. Many people hate small schools because programs, sports, etc. It is a perfectly valid opinion but it not my opinion. I think small school at the ms level when kids are just discovering themselves are key. I think kids at 10-11 are too young to go to a big school. I think they are too young to go class to class with all different kids. I hated my MS years because I was not ready for it. I am not alone. Many people hate those years and hate their MS experience. There are no K-8's public schools in Westchester. I just think small environments are very important at the middle school level. There are many reasons that people like bigger schools. There are enough great districts in Westchester for people who want big or small districts to have an amazing school experience. Everybody is different and has to choose towns based on their own likes and dislikes.

AliciaN said huge.

And I agree with you regarding middle school. I believe there have been studies done that show kids do much better in middle school grades in K-8 schools versus 6-8 schools. I know that back at home (Ontario, Canada) some districts were moving to create more K-8 schools because of the benefits. That said, I don't think it's that big a deal.

[HalcyonMama]

The Pocantico Hills school district is K-8: Pocantico Hills Central School

From there they have a choice of 3 districts for high school.

[lan3]

Originally Posted by HalcyonMama

The Pocantico Hills school district is K-8: Pocantico Hills Central School

From there they have a choice of 3 districts for high school.

I knew they didn't have a HS but didn't realize they were K-8. Is Bronxville K-8? Are they K-12 in one building? It is very rare unfortunately.