[Sunnyloohoo]

Hello!

We are moving to the Huntsville area. We are planning to purchase a home in whatever area seems to have the best high school to meet my child's needs. Over the summer we toured Bob Jones, Grissom, and Huntsville High Schools because those were the schools are realtor recommended. Since then, we have learned of Buckhorn and Hazel Green. We won't be able to make another trip to Huntsville until the week we come down to actually find our new home. Because of that, I was hoping some of you may be able to give me some information about these two schools.

I know the test scores are good according to greatschools.net, but I don't think test scores, alone, necessarily mean it's a good school. I would like to know if the facilities are up-to-date and if the curriculum is challenging. I would also like to know if there is good community support. We currently live in an older "farm town" in Ohio. The school buildings and facilities are ancient. As a result, the curriculum and any manner of sports program suffers. While the teachers are all wonderful and very dedicated, the education overall is really just average. Whenever the school board tries to get money through levies or fund raising to improve the schools or hire better-qualified teachers, this community fails them. The majority of the population are seniors on fixed incomes or farm families who are struggling financially. I just don't think most people in this community can afford to fix the schools.

Anyway, I like the rural feel of our hometown and I have learned that the Buckhorn and Hazel Green districts are very similar. I just want to make sure the schools are better before I consider moving to either of them.

Thanks so much!

Sunny

[Southlander]

Buckhorn is a brand new school. Hazel Green is not, but it is a very good school and has deep roots in the community.

[Sunnyloohoo]

Thanks for the reply Southlander. I guess I'm going to have to do some more research on my own. It seems there just aren't too many people on this list with personal knowledge of those two schools. Picking the right school from 600 miles away is pretty hard! I appreciate your help.

Sunny

[Southlander]

So sorry, Sunny! We do need some more Huntsville people here...maybe some of our regulars can opine on this soon.

[SandalFoot]

Buckhorn, Hazel Green, and Madison County High are all county high schools. Each of them are good schools. I graduated from Madison County High and can say it is also to be considered. With the growth of Madison Co., many people are leaving the metro Huntsville area and placing their kids in the county schools. I suggest you look at all three schools. You can live in a subdivision or find a nice 2 or 3 acre farm, in the 150 - 300k price range.

[dbkeel1]

Logistics are an issue as well as community and school rankings/test results. Some of your consideration might also be the commute (by car, not bus) to or from each school from prospective homes. The morning traffic can make some housing locations really frustrating because you have to turn across fairly heavy traffic to drive to the school (consider the challenge of Winchester Road if you live on the north side and have to turn left to get to Buckhorn across southbound morning traffic). The ergonomics of daily life are important considerations, sometimes as much as schools themselves.

[Sunnyloohoo]

Hello everyone!

Thanks for the responses to my original post. I appreciate any help I can get. Unfortunately, I am still struggling with this whole decision.

I was hoping I could get more input from anyone who knows anything about these two schools. Even if it's second-hand knowledge. I found the ALSDE website and read through the state report cards for both schools. I was a bit concerned when I saw the disciplinary report for Hazel Green. It listed 21 drug related offenses for the 05/06 school year. Are drugs a big problem in some of the area schools? None of the other schools reported numbers that high.

I am also concerned about the block scheduling that is used at Bob Jones and, apparently, Buckhorn High. Does anyone have any experience or opinions about that?

Thanks!

Sunny

[Reactionary]

Your realtor gave you good recommendations.

Buckhorn, Hazel Green, and Madison County High Schools are all relatively (but not all brand) new schools. They each have nice facilities, but as dbkeel noted, they are all off major roads. They each have of community boosters and good to fair athletic teams (IMO in booster order: Buckhorn, closely followed by Hazel Green, then MCHS).

There are schools with real drug problems worse than Hazel Green - my impression is that they discipline / report more offenses - ergo higher numbers. Hazel Green probably has more of a weed problem than say a crack problem. Drugs are a problem all over (in order of use: pot, x, cocaine, pills, crack cocaine, meth, misc). Teach your children well...

IMO the same type of issue (but not drugs) exists for Providence - the principal doesn't tolerate problems that slide at other schools - ergo higher numbers.

[Sunnyloohoo]

Thanks so much for the reply! We are planning a trip to the area the first week of November to tour both Hazel Green and Buckhorn schools. Before heading back home, we intend to arrange a lease agreement for a home in whatever district we feel will suit our child best. So far, we are still awfully far away from making a decision as to which district that is.

Some info about my daughter. She tests at a gifted level, but is not an aggressive student. She picks up information very easily, but doesn't like spending a great deal of time on her studies. Honestly, she doesn't need to so she finds too much required studying to be tedious. She has a short attention span and gets bored easily. She likes to dabble in many different areas rather than specialize in just a few. She needs to be challenged with quality work rather than quantity. Her favorite classes in school seem to be world history and science. She is an avid reader and loves to write. Until, of course, it becomes required!

I realize this is probably a ridiculously hard question for any of you to answer, but I really do need help. If anyone has any opinions about which schools sound like they may best suit my daughter, could you rank them for me in order of your favorite to least favorite? The high schools we are trying to decide between are Grissom, Huntsville, Hazel Green, and Buckhorn. If you know of any other schools not in my list, please let me know as well. Aside from trying to stay within a reasonable distance to Research Park, we have no set idea on any particular area.

Thanks so much!

Sunny

[Reactionary]

In order to challenge your daughter, I suggest you consider private / church schools (in favorite order): Randolph, Catholic / Madison Academy (tie). Catholic HS is -in- Research Park.

Schools you mentioned in favorite order: Grissom, Huntsville, Buckhorn, and Hazel Green.