Opinions on Civic Mem. HS in Bethalto (Chicago, Edwardsville: homes, public schools)

[MoonBeam33]

I am looking at Civic Memorial HS in Bethalto, Illinois. There aren't very many reviews online, and the reviews on greatschools.org are from 2008 and before. Their test scores aren't as good as some other HS I'm looking at, but there is more to HS than test scores.

I'd appreciate info from parents, current or former students, or people who work at the school. Thanks!

[linicx]

You won't see many reviews for small towns like Bethalto. I did a similar search a few months ago for a family. It seems that Edwardsville has the bst high school in the area.

[MoonBeam33]

Anyone else care to chime in? Anyone?

Their test scores are not the best. They are rated (on two different sites) as a 6/10, whereas the other school I am looking at is rated 9/10.

Anyone know if they are doing anything to improve test scores? Also, I heard they are looking for a new principal - any opinions on that?

[linicx]

Ratings do not apply when a parent is actively involved in the school system from the school board to home work from Kindergarten to high school graduation. In my humble opinion, education has degraded and generally changed not for the begger during the last 50 years. The very best K-12 education today is in homeschool.

[MoonBeam33]

Ratings DO apply because they show how the students perform on tests (no, not the MOST accurate measure of student achievement, but certainly a measurement), reading levels, graduation rates, etc. Those things are important to me, and I AM an involved parent and always have been.

Some of us are single working parents who don't have the ability to homeschool, nor do I agree in home schooling for high school age unless there has been a real problem at the school. So we choose to look for the very best education options for our kids.

[linicx]

I understand your frustration. Almost every Illinois public high school is on the state's watch list for underperforming in math and science. To my knowledge general education is either: public, military, faith based, home school, or special education . There may be others, but I am not aware.

[cubssoxfan]

greatschools is not the best indicator IMO. Use this instead: Illinois Report Card
You can also look at sub groups. I also advise going to the schools web site to see what courses they offer. Going to a basketball game and talking to parents may also be a way to gauge the school.

[linicx]

Once upon a time I took a look at all Illinois public schools and found that in the areas of which I am most familiar, even the upper income schools scored in the 50 percentile, had few APY classes or student that passed the classes. The much larger schools scored 40 or lower. I think these failing schools need to drop sports, marching bands and parades, in favor of in-school gym class with a concentration on education until it improves.

I found three high schools in Madison County. The public school has 2000 students. One catholic high school had 250+ students. The other catholic high school had 53 students.

Where I live there are 3 public high school separated b 20 miles. One Catholic High School serves 7 counties. I'm glad I don't have children in school.

Originally Posted by cubssoxfan

greatschools is not the best indicator IMO. Use this instead: Illinois Report Card
You can also look at sub groups. I also advise going to the schools web site to see what courses they offer. Going to a basketball game and talking to parents may also be a way to gauge the school.

[MoonBeam33]

Originally Posted by cubssoxfan

greatschools is not the best indicator IMO. Use this instead: Illinois Report Card
You can also look at sub groups. I also advise going to the schools web site to see what courses they offer. Going to a basketball game and talking to parents may also be a way to gauge the school.

Thank you. I have used this site before, but not for Bethalto. The results didn't do much to improve my opinion of Civic Memorial, especially in comparison to the other school I am looking at.

And yes, Illinois schools are a mess. If I could move somewhere else I would.

[cubssoxfan]

Originally Posted by MoonBeam33

Thank you. I have used this site before, but not for Bethalto. The results didn't do much to improve my opinion of Civic Memorial, especially in comparison to the other school I am looking at.

And yes, Illinois schools are a mess. If I could move somewhere else I would.

Cannot comment on downstate schools since I am not familiar with them. I am familiar some excellent schools in the North and Northwest suburbs of Chicago. So, I know of several districts and a decent number of schools that are NOT "a mess" despite being located in Illinois. I think several others have pointed out that Edwardsville schools are better and comparing tests scores from the NIU school report card confirms this.