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"I don't miss the rampant racism, snobbery, and outright small-mindedness, the bad roads, the bugs, or the cranky loud people all over the place. Reading through some of the threads on here reminds me why I left in the first place."
I lived in California, mainly Oakland, for 16 years. I don't regret coming back (my Dad's getting on in years) but I sure look forward to escaping from this rathole.
If a kid in a great district is getting high in the woods is it a great district?
Drugs are OUT OF CONTROL on LI....but you rarely hear about it, why?
(Is it due to our overpaid and undereducated Mayberry police force?)
SUNY SB has a TON of drugs coming through the 3V area, but you never here about it becuase of property values and media bias.
Then when NEWS 12 does a Herion special they find it necessary to disclose that the woman with the needle is a graduate of North Babylon(maybe West cant remember) HS.
Either way there is a definite media bias and Real Estate marketing dupe associated with a Districts success or failure.
I remember RE agents pushing for Miller Place when I was looking at Sound Beach in 2000.
I passed after speaking with local parents, I was told "dont believe the hype" and bought Rocky Point against the advice of my agent (and I was VERY glad I did).
Two years later when I sold my first home, young couples were being told they should stay away from Miller Place schools and go to Rocky Point instead because of the taxes, overcrowding, and the threat of cancelling Kindergarten.
Districts are rarely as good or bad as your RE Agent will have you believe.You'd think they we're being spiffed by the Administration the way they prattle on about how A is so much better than B.
If you dont know anyone in town...do your DD, spend a Saturday at the local Supermarket and ask a parent if theyre happy... and why?
C
A great district is really judged by the performance of it's students... so, if you had the poorest district in the county with a majority of it's students testing in the 90% .. it would be a "great district". AND .. if the majority of those students went on to 4 year colleges.. it would be a "great" district. It just so happens that the SD with the greatest amount of money also has the students performing better.
Roosevelt SD and Roslyn SD are the two extremes .. and there are plent of SD in between.. like Levittown or Hicksville. I think the 'middel" schools are also very good schools and still score ABOVE national average. It's just a fact that the poorer neighborhoods have less students performing well in school.. several factors involved and too lengthy to get into in a post. Any parent would prefer that there student go to a school that has over 90% of the students performing well on exams/tests....surround yourself with positive and the results are positive.
There are drugs in EVERY SD, in EVERY part of the country. I really think it comes down to parenting. How much love and attention a child gets a home.. The spoiled rich kids who's mommy and / or daddies have no time for their children often feel invisible to their parents an turn to drugs. IN poorer neighborhoods it could be a feeling of no self worth. In some other parts of the country and even LI (like out East) it could be a sense of boredom (that's why meth is so popular in the midwest).
A SD that offers more programs, offers more distraction from boredom keeping kids occupied and helping build self worth/ self esteem.
So .. I believe there are "good districts" but not neccesarily where the MOST money is.. but there are "bad" districts I would NEVER allow my kid to go to because I don't want him surrounded by those that may drag him down.
A great district is really judged by the performance of it's students... so, if you had the poorest district in the county with a majority of it's students testing in the 90% .. it would be a "great district". AND .. if the majority of those students went on to 4 year colleges.. it would be a "great" district. It just so happens that the SD with the greatest amount of money also has the students performing better.
Roosevelt SD and Roslyn SD are the two extremes .. and there are plent of SD in between.. like Levittown or Hicksville. I think the 'middel" schools are also very good schools and still score ABOVE national average. It's just a fact that the poorer neighborhoods have less students performing well in school.. several factors involved and too lengthy to get into in a post. Any parent would prefer that there student go to a school that has over 90% of the students performing well on exams/tests....surround yourself with positive and the results are positive.
There are drugs in EVERY SD, in EVERY part of the country. I really think it comes down to parenting. How much love and attention a child gets a home.. The spoiled rich kids who's mommy and / or daddies have no time for their children often feel invisible to their parents an turn to drugs. IN poorer neighborhoods it could be a feeling of no self worth. In some other parts of the country and even LI (like out East) it could be a sense of boredom (that's why meth is so popular in the midwest).
A SD that offers more programs, offers more distraction from boredom keeping kids occupied and helping build self worth/ self esteem.
So .. I believe there are "good districts" but not neccesarily where the MOST money is.. but there are "bad" districts I would NEVER allow my kid to go to because I don't want him surrounded by those that may drag him down.
I agree..it does all come down to parenting.
Unfortunately in our "all hands on deck night of the living McMansions" reality.
We've traded parents for paychecks.
Unfortunately in our "all hands on deck night of the living McMansions" reality.
We've traded parents for paychecks.
Meth marches on.
C
That is one of thereasons I want to leave LI. I don't live in a mcmansion..but I want both me AND my husband to be able to spend that quality time with our kids.. and actually parent them.. not leave it up to the TV or teh Schools.
Unfortunately in our "all hands on deck night of the living McMansions" reality.
We've traded parents for paychecks.
Meth marches on.
C
Not here, not yet, unless you're talking about gay guys. My sources tell me it's still mostly cocaine, heroin, and prescription drugs here, not that that is any better.
Thats why I say the school is the least important part of the school equation. The most important part of the equation are the parents and the kids. If the parents are able to invest in their kids the right attitudes about school then learning is never seen as a chore, but something fun and of value. Kids will do well no matter where they are.
That is why I chose to buy a home I could afford here in North Babylon on just my salary so my wife would not have to work. This is my opinion; kids do best when Mom is at home - there for them, always. Everyone is so worried about getting into the "good" schools, but forget that that doesn't matter unless the kids are raised well. How can people raise their kids if they are dropping them off at 7Am for before care and then don't pick them up until 5PM from after care. Lots of parents have to do this so they can pay there huge mortgages off in order to live in a "good" school district and as they would say, "live a miidle class lifestyle." How does leaving your kid with strangers instill a healthy self image - who is raising your kid?
What -- kids raised with mom at home do better - are you kidding me. We live in Hicksville, small house and we both have to work. I know some stay at home moms who raised kids that didn't have values. Believe me, I work and I raise my kids all 3 with values and respect for others.
I spend more quality time with my kids between 5:30 - 9:00pm than most stay at home moms do all day long.
Please.
You'll get a couple of bad eggs in every school, but like others have said it's largely a parenting issue.
Both my wife and I work, but she's reduced full-time (all the benefits with fewer hours) so is home a little after the kids start getting home. It helps having schools and work close by to the house.
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