Comparison between Public ISD high school VS MAGNET TAG dallas ISD (Plano: magnet schools, universities)

[cordata]

Originally Posted by jiping

Poor families who apply for Solar
Average Poor families
Poor families with disciplinary problems

They are significantly different groups. Solar is located in Uptown, and I'm not sure its socioeconomic diversity model (really 40% disadvantaged) represents the whole DISD. It's more comparable to Plano East with 30% financially disadvantaged.

Understood that those motivated to send their kids to this school are more likely to have them succeed academically.



Solar is not in uptown, you may be thinking of Travis.


According the the latest data (https://mydata.dallasisd.org/SL/SD/E...d=2405&SLN=306) Solar girls is at 45% disadvantaged.

[NP78]

Originally Posted by widespreadfan

"More and more affluent families" seems like a pretty elitist thing to say. The ultimate question is how do you deliver a fair and equitable educational product to families of all socio-economic classes. I certainly do not have the answer. The real heroes in education are the ones that engage students who come from not-so -fortunate backgrounds. I mean when I read these boards it seems like everyone has their children at high performing suburban districts, magnet schools, or private schools. Or if a child is at a neighborhood school that child is going to be successful because the parents are completely engaged in the neighborhood school. Totally first world problems.

I understand where you are coming from. Let me give you my perspective though. You mention "fair and equitable" and in my opinion that should be the goal. With that in mind, I think we have tons of evidence that suggests that just leveling the playing field in terms of funding does not achieve that goal. DISD is every bit as well funded as a suburban district. However, you can't expect to achieve the same outcomes without the same level of community and parental involvement. That is often what really differentiates successful schools.

The tricky part is that not all families have the same capabilities to provide that level of involvement which includes not just being involved with the school, but providing resources, fundraisers, etc. Imagine how much HPISD raises with their "Mad for Plaid" fundraiser on a per student basis. Compare that to what your average DISD PTA can raise. It's a whole different ballgame.

I would argue that instead of just moving to Plano and saying "stay away from DISD" we are more likely to see better outcomes in the aggregate if families with means become involved in the local schools. I won't go into all the details, but look into schools like Geneva Heights Elementary and what has occurred there, plus the growth of Woodrow in the last 10+years.

The evidence suggests that the affluent kids that attend Lakewood, Woodrow, etc. perform at a similar level to that of their suburban counterparts. DISD recognized that they needed to provide avenues to bring those families into DISD or they would be forever fighting a losing battle.

There is obviously a limit to what this can achieve. This only works if there are more affluent families available. The really challenging parts of South Dallas don't have that option.

One last item, this should not be taken as a carte blanche statement of support for DISD's administration. There are many areas in which they leave much to be desired.

[NP78]

Originally Posted by jiping

Poor families who apply for Solar
Average Poor families
Poor families with disciplinary problems

They are significantly different groups. Solar is located in Uptown, and I'm not sure its socioeconomic diversity model (really 40% disadvantaged) represents the whole DISD. It's more comparable to Plano East with 30% financially disadvantaged.

This is true of course (well, except for the part about it being located in Uptown), but it is just part of the overall effort within DISD to provide families with more options and to attract a more diverse socioeconomic population.

[jgn2013]

Originally Posted by numbersguy100

I just hope DISD is managed well enough that the pipeline "grows up" with the other programs. Sudie TAG is now incredibly popular, and highly competitive. But only so many of those kids can go to Booker T, TAG, SEM, and the like. And Travis, Dealey, and the arts magnet feeders will still have just as many kids trying to get into those programs, with a solid track record of and in some cases and expectation of placement. They're trying to solve the challenge of middle school by creating PK-8 choice schools like Solar and some of the Montessori choice schools. But many of those kids are zoned to high schools their parents won't want them to attend, so they will also likely be trying for the magnets. If they aren't thinking TODAY about where the current 5th graders at Solar girls will go (the oldest class there currently), then they are going to face a massive crunch and angry parents.

Great points. DISD has to figure out the middle school/high school issue.

I went to James Bonham (now Solar Prep) in 1st through 3rd grade during the early 90's. Part of the reason we moved out of district was because my parents saw that we'd be zoned to Spence Middle School. They were thinking ahead....the idea being that DISD is solid for elementary school but not so strong once you get to 7th grade and up.

As they continue to improve on the latter grades, I suspect the demand for the district will only grow. Locals and natives will know but a lot of transplants will still crowd into the northern suburbs.

[EDS_]

Originally Posted by texstout

Actually I think i heard Stuyvesant. Definitely not wrong. I thought it was crazy as I mentioned. I think there issue was the kids hadn't been in a classroom in almost a year and were begging to get out of the city. They said they thought about moving to HP - but thought their kids would not fit in after having a very diverse experience all of their lives.

Yeah...my jaw dropped.

I've heard from friends and our tenant, who has become a good friend over the years - she's lived in our place most of the time the last 25 years, that life in the city has been dreadful the last year and I can't imagine how awful for kids...........so I get that part. However, Stuyvesant is an SHSAT (hope I got that right) competitive admit. school and unquestionably one of the top few high schools in the world. I like WW and the current upswing but leaving Stuy. for WW is like leaving Stanford to repeat high school. FE Stuy. had 154 NMSFs for '21 - I'm fairly sure WW hasn't had one since 2012.

[NP78]

Originally Posted by EDS_

I've heard from friends and our tenant, who has become a good friend over the years - she's lived in our place most of the time the last 25 years, that life in the city has been dreadful the last year and I can't imagine how awful for kids...........so I get that part. However, Stuyvesant is an SHSAT (hope I got that right) competitive admit. school and unquestionably one of the top few high schools in the world. I like WW and the current upswing but leaving Stuy. for WW is like leaving Stanford to repeat high school. FE Stuy. had 154 NMSFs for '21 - I'm fairly sure WW hasn't had one since 2012.

2020 actually for WW, not that it changes anything in terms of your overall point. Leaving Stuyvesant for any general enrollment school anywhere is surprising, and especially one that isn’t a Highland Park or Southlake type.

[EDS_]

Originally Posted by NP78

2020 actually for WW, not that it changes anything in terms of your overall point. Leaving Stuyvesant for any general enrollment school anywhere is surprising, and especially one that isn’t a Highland Park or Southlake type.

Thanks, I missed the WW 2020 NMSF. Thanks for the correction.

[bagholder]

Originally Posted by NP78

2020 actually for WW, not that it changes anything in terms of your overall point. Leaving Stuyvesant for any general enrollment school anywhere is surprising, and especially one that isn’t a Highland Park or Southlake type.

Nah, HP and Southlake HS is Nothing like Stuyvesant.. Besides the obvious, half of the students qualify for Low Income/Reduced Lunch..

And you can't buy your way into the top HS in the country.. But there are a lot of NJ kids there.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jyfqb6Q_eaM

[halcyonrx]

I came across this post because I am trying to decide where to send my kids in the future. I wish the TAG schools were an option but it's frustrating for me that the TAG schools are so far south. I work at the very north end of Dallas and driving the kids south then north is not feasible for me. I feel like north Dallas gets shafted in this regard. At this point it's either private school for us or move to Plano or Frisco.

[cordata]

Originally Posted by halcyonrx

I came across this post because I am trying to decide where to send my kids in the future. I wish the TAG schools were an option but it's frustrating for me that the TAG schools are so far south. I work at the very north end of Dallas and driving the kids south then north is not feasible for me. I feel like north Dallas gets shafted in this regard. At this point it's either private school for us or move to Plano or Frisco.

The DISD magnet program was designed primarily as a desegratation vehicle. Hence the location of Townview (campus for TAG, SEM and other magnet HS) was selected because it is closer to minority populations. They still have plenty of white affluent applicants willing or able to make the trek to campus so perhaps it's working. You can try applying and if your child gets in see if you can work out a carpool arrangement. For grades 11 and 12 maybe your kid can drive.


You can also try transferring to another campus Hillcrest, WT White, Woodrow.