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I'm a 2010 graduate of one of those bottom 15 districts and now i'm an honor student at a top SUNY school about to finish up my bachelors degree and go on to grad school.
But I actually do defend lists like these..
Parenting really is the most important. But I will just throw in the fact that a competitive environment does help too. Generally speaking, humans are naturally competitive and if they're in a school with high-performing students then the competitive instinct will kick in and they will really try harder to do well to avoid feeling like the idiot of the class.
And it really sickens me to see my school doing that poorly, one of the main reasons for my schools low performance is due to stupid systems that keep awful teachers present. Most of the teachers at my school did not motivate you at all. When I went to summer school in a neighboring district for math, all the kids from my district were from the same teacher. That's a massive red flag that my school chose (and still chooses) to ignore. Many teachers also would get so annoyed if you so much as even raised your hand and asked a question; one of these particular teachers actually ended up being promoted. But from the teachers who were quality, I actually did perform well in their classes (many of these teachers were layed off). I really hope my school improves, there's no reason for a middle class district to be among the bottom rung (I wont say what district i'm referring to; just hope they get their act together).
After I graduated HS with a around a C+ average. I went onto Community College and graduated with a 3.5 GPA and then transferred into my SUNY school where I just got my semester grades back yesterday and will now be classified as an honor student when i return as a Senior next fall.
Last edited by Guidance100; 05-04-2013 at 08:40 AM..
I'm a 2010 graduate of one of those bottom 15 districts and now i'm an honor student at a top SUNY school about to finish up my bachelors degree and go on to grad school.
But I actually do defend lists like these..
Parenting really is the most important. But I will just throw in the fact that a competitive environment does help too. Humans are naturally competitive and if they're in a school with high-performing students then the competitive instinct will kick in and they will really try harder to do well to avoid feeling like the idiot of the class. Generally speaking of course.
And it's really sickens me to see my school doing that poorly, one of the main reasons for my schools low performance is due to stupid systems that keep awful teachers present. Most of the teachers at my school did not motivate you at all. When I went to summer school in a neighboring district for math, all the kids from my district were from the same teacher. That's a massive red flag that my school chose (and still chooses) to ignore. I really hope my school improves, theres no reason for a middle class district to be among the bottom rung (I wont say what district i'm referring to; just hope they get their act together).
This is due to tenure. Once teachers get tenure a lot of them think they can just stop caring. I personally think tenure should be done away with. Do away with it and watch the quality of our teachers rise.
I dont not defend these lists- i just dont think they should be the be all end all of where I'd want to live. (Not like I could afford to live in Jericho anyway).
For comparison purposes, where would NYC public schools rank?
The majority of them are probably right around the NYS Avg. You can look up NYC schools through the same link.
Quote:
Originally Posted by breetai3
Thanks for doing this again. I did Commack and Plainedge on my own (I'm moving from Plainedge to Commack) and know how much time is involved!
As someone who has been looking at real estate prices A LOT the past year while looking for a house to purchase, I feel like Commack is a "Best Buy" school considering the prices available for homes in the area, so I am happy with my choice of school districts. It looks like Massapequa is a great buy as well for Nassau County.
No problem. Once muscle memory kicks in, it's like entering a phone number. It's the same spreadsheet from last year which makes it easier (which reminds me, I forgot Uniondale SD again this year; they come in at 47.5)
Commack is definitely a great buy. Some think it's boring, but I don't think you can go wrong with it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Guidance100
I'm a 2010 graduate of one of those bottom 15 districts and now i'm an honor student at a top SUNY school about to finish up my bachelors degree and go on to grad school.
But I actually do defend lists like these..
Parenting really is the most important. But I will just throw in the fact that a competitive environment does help too. Generally speaking, humans are naturally competitive and if they're in a school with high-performing students then the competitive instinct will kick in and they will really try harder to do well to avoid feeling like the idiot of the class.
And it really sickens me to see my school doing that poorly, one of the main reasons for my schools low performance is due to stupid systems that keep awful teachers present. Most of the teachers at my school did not motivate you at all. When I went to summer school in a neighboring district for math, all the kids from my district were from the same teacher. That's a massive red flag that my school chose (and still chooses) to ignore. Many teachers also would get so annoyed if you so much as even raised your hand and asked a question; one of these particular teachers actually ended up being promoted. But from the teachers who were quality, I actually did perform well in their classes (many of these teachers were layed off). I really hope my school improves, there's no reason for a middle class district to be among the bottom rung (I wont say what district i'm referring to; just hope they get their act together).
After I graduated HS with a around a C+ average. I went onto Community College and graduated with a 3.5 GPA and then transferred into my SUNY school where I just got my semester grades back yesterday and will now be classified as an honor student when i return as a Senior next fall.
Thanks for sharing. I'm guessing N. Babylon or Copiague? The bolded "red flag" you mentioned is disturbing...A clear cut case where the union rules are actually hurting students.
This is due to tenure. Once teachers get tenure a lot of them think they can just stop caring. I personally think tenure should be done away with. Do away with it and watch the quality of our teachers rise.
I dont not defend these lists- i just dont think they should be the be all end all of where I'd want to live. (Not like I could afford to live in Jericho anyway).
I agree on your first point but from my limited observation it seems the worst teachers get tenure and can't handle the teaching and tend to move out of the classroom and get hired into the administrative ranks...and get tenure...so the situation may be even worse than it appears with teacher tenure. The scope of their damage broadens. Administrators get to remain in the teachers' retirement system so that may explain the movement from struggling and overwhelmed teacher to administrator. And then it seems administrators hopskotch from district to district finally winding up as incompetent superintendents.
(Nitpicker alert: my observation, not claiming this is always the case)
In regards to your second point I don't think anyone has ever suggested a school district's ranking should be the "be all end all" of where you want to live. Just a factor to consider to the extent you want to consider it when buying (and selling).
A few differences:\
- top 2 are now well ahead (did I mention my friend buying a real fixer-upper in Manhasset for $800k?)
- CSH, Plainview, and Port Washington dropped noticeably
- JFK (Bellmore/Merrick) fell off a cliff
- Ward Melville shot up
- NYS went up as a whole, but not LI/Nassau/Suffolk.
Judge all you want but people on LI tend to base everything around that when looking for a home. Pick a home u like- most school districts on LI will provide a good enough education if you are doing your job as a parent.
Again, despite how black and white you make it, everything is a question of degree and how the enviroment and staff at a school relate to a specific kid.
If you have a kid who's on the bubble, the school district can make a big different between them succumbing to slackerdom or competing. It can assist busy parents in keeping their kid on track. It can't do EVERYTHING, if you kid plays video games all night after school and doesn't do homework, of course they won't succeed.
I've seen the difference just moving from an okay school to an excellent school in the types of kids and parents...and we're talking elementary school kids here. My son had a great teacher last year, and a great teacher this year. The difference was that there were 2 or 3 serious problem kids in his class last year, and zero this year. There was a bigger prevalance of single moms and a much more working class mentality at the last school.
The new schools standards for reading and math are much higher, he had to be brought up to speed this year, where the last school said he was ahead of the curve. Same county, same state.
The brilliant kid is going to get there no matter what except maybe the worst districts on the list. The born loser is going to fail no matter where they go. Most kids are somewhere in the middle.
There are a lot of pitfalls in life, removing as many as possible from you childs path can make a difference.
What happens?? Why do schools drop? We are thinking about buying a house in old bethpage yet fear the high school is just ok. Any thoughts??
Plainview-Old Bethpage is a great district. You have nothing to worry about! Well, except staying up all night helping your kids do their homework! (At least that's what my boss says who lives there. =) )
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