schools

[sanmiguelena]

Cherokee Girl,
Thanks so much for your wise advice!

[atlanta hope]

Originally Posted by Cherokee Girl

Gee, Achtungpv. I had no idea my son was living in such a bubble. I don't think it's so much neighborhood kids vs. fine arts (some of the kids in the neighborhood come from households that could buy and sell my little South Austin dump any day of the week), but the Fine Arts track is pretty demanding and excludes him from taking some of the regularly required classes for 9th grade and will have to be taken during summer school - I kid you not. They tell you this upfront, because your child is concentrating on his or her fine arts specialty during the regular school year, which means there's no time for the required classes. If you want to talk about bubble, though, I can tell you McCallum is definitely less of a bubble than the LASA program at LBJ. The LASA kids are very, very much in their own world - especially now with the splitting of the schools.

As for your friend teaching at McCallum, well, understand that I personally teach in one of Del Valle ISD's middle schools. We have some, uh, issues - specifically gang-related kind of stuff. Also, we have no on-campus security as they have at McCallum. Personally, I've broken up a few fights before they got started (usually, the kids WANT you to break it up so they can save face and not get hit - I've found pushing a chair between them to get them to back away from each other is a good ice breaker, and then I wing it from there). When I've visited my son's school, I've been impressed with the fact they DO have AISD police to help teachers. Wish I had that. Until then, I get to rely on my old friend, Mr. Chair. I think what I'm saying is that, unfortunately, this fighting business is a reality in today's schools, both public and private, and if you can't handle the potential for that happening and have a Plan A, Plan B and Plan C in mind for what you're going to do if/when it happens, then you really need to rethink being in a classroom. Harsh, I know. But very, very real. Oh, and if you can't handle it, the kids can smell it on you.

In terms of fights on the McCallum campus, my son hasn't mentioned anything about that (although I'm sure there are some). My daughter at LASA, however, tells me there are quite a few fights in the LBJ school, but it hasn't affected her personally, and she feels safe and sees no need to transfer to another school. So, there you go.

All that said, I'm sticking to my "you gotta go with where your kid is going to fit best into the school culture stance." My son went to Kealing, the AISD middle school liberal arts and science magnet. It was NOT a good fit. He is NOT an organized kid, and Kealing is run very much like a miniature preparatory school. I transfered him to Porter (which is now the Ann Richards School for girls - and that looks like a very promising program!), which, although it scored lower on TAKS, I knew first-hand from having worked there they would provide the one-on-one support he really really needed, that they would stay on him and provide me with the necessary communication I needed to get him going at home. Some would say I did him a disservice by taking him out of an award-winning school and putting him there, but the proof's in the pudding, and he agrees with me it was exactly what he needed. He was able to build himself up academically, and now is doing very well in the high school arena.

So, the point being, go with a school that will challenge your child's mind and encourage learning. McCallum works great for my son. It might not be a good fit for someone else's kid. I personally like the fact that he's gotten in with a sweet, friendly bunch of kids in orchestra that all kind of look after each other, and is appreciated by his peers and teachers. He hasn't had any issues with other students bullying or pestering him, and pretty much does what he wants to and is very very happy. But, it's like shoes. Just because your best friend can run around in Chuck Taylor All-Stars all day long doesn't mean that you can. You might need a little more arch support, or maybe you prefer something with a heel, or you're a penny-loafer person. As I mentioned before, my kids go to two different high schools because those particular high schools fit them best. And happy kids means happy mom. It's just that simple.

Sanmiguelena, take a little trip here with your daughter. Pick out your top four or five campuses to visit. Have her shadow a student on campus for a day - this is the perfect time to do so, as they're all gearing up for the incoming freshman class next year. It will give her a chance to see what she likes and dislikes. You can look up stats all day long on the internet, but your child needs to have some hands on, personal knowledge. Then, before you leave, go someplace fun like Guero's or Jo's Coffee on South Congress, or even Ruta Maya Coffeehouse (off S. Congress and up Alpine) and talk about it. Show her what you found out about the schools - what they scored on TAKS, what the ethnic and socio-economic breakdown is, how helpful or unhelpful you found the administration to be, etc. She can tell you about what she discovered when she shadowed. Think of yourselves as detectives - you want to discover the best choice for her. Have a little fun with it, and while you're doing so, your daughter will realize how lucky she is to have a momma that goes the distance for her. (Of course, she won't tell you that until years later.)

Great advice! Thanks for sharing your insight with the rest of us.