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Old 08-18-2019, 10:16 AM
 
123 posts, read 100,169 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by toben67 View Post
I see a lot of people here saying how LAUSD schools are bad except for palisades charter and you should send your kids to private school, yet I think I disagree. Using the neighborhood Sherman Oaks, for example, if we are talking high school the public schools perform almost the same as the private schools- assuming you are not talking about the elite expensive ones such as Harvard-Westlake and The Buckley School.

Look at the school profile for Notre Dame High School,a private school in Sherman Oaks, and you will see the average ACT is a 25.5 and the average SAT is a 1210. Compared that to some of the local public schoolsNorth Hollywood Senior High and Van Nuys Senior High which have average ACT scores of 25 there not much of a difference academically. A child could succeed in either one of these schools public or private. The only exception I found was Ulysses S. Grant high school which is quite low performing.

After doing this research I don't think private schools are worth it unless you have money to shell for the really expensive schools such as Harvard-Westlake, Buckley, Maymount, Brentwood, Campbell, etc. Perhaps my standards are lower than most of you as I don't believe you need to go to a competitive charter school or a fancy private school to succeed. I don't see anything really wrong with most LAUSD schools. Can you prove me wrong though?

I also just found out that the AP pass rate is 10% high at Van Nuys senior high than it is at Notre Dame.
Private schools benefit from selective admission, that is, only those who can afford to pay get in. El Camino and Granada Hills (John Elway's High School) are in two pretty nice neighborhoods in the SFV and they've one academic decathlons.
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Old 08-20-2019, 11:30 AM
 
Location: Bella Vista, Ark
77,772 posts, read 104,103,101 times
Reputation: 49243
It has always been my opinion and I have seen it proven within my own family: bright kids from well adjusted families and parents that care about the kids educational future will achieve regardless of the type of school they are attending. The main reason some schools are doing so poorly has something to do with home life not the lack of good schools. Of course I am generalizing, there are exceptions to every rule.
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Old 08-22-2019, 12:06 AM
 
Location: where the good looking people are
3,814 posts, read 3,974,931 times
Reputation: 3284
Quote:
Originally Posted by quixotic59 View Post
One of the dirty little secrets about LA's private schools is that many of the teachers are not fully certified. Private schools prefer to hire younger teachers that cost less. They claim it's because they want to "mold" the teachers according to their methods. This is BS since the turnover is pretty high in these private schools.
The LAUSD teachers are required to be fully certified and possess a greater skill set and ability to handle a more diverse range of learning abilities.
Private schools do better because their students tend to come from more secure and higher socioeconomic level homes. There is plenty of money for tutors and prep programs (ironic when you are already paying for your child's education).
If the private schools perform "better" it's because their students would perform better anywhere.
As is true in almost all large urban school systems, the bureaucracy stumbles over itself and schools have to accept students of all levels.
The few teachers I have met that were able to go from public to private (not an easy move) all agreed that they had to work much less in the private schools. A majority of their time is spent pandering to parents so they feel good about laying out all that money.
This. In many unless it is an "elite" private school, most run of the mill private schools do not have top caliber teachers. It's just the demographics. Private school kids and top public school kids come from families that have higher expectations of academic achievement.

Public school teaching(including college) and really public service in general, is in decline. Mass baby boomer retirements and a lack of millennial interest is really putting a pinch on the remaining employees. Stagnant pay, increased cost of living, and greatly reduced benefits.

When I was a kid, teaching was still seen as a reasonable lower middle class profession. Now a teacher is barely above poverty. And may god have mercy if a teacher is a single parent with kids, then they are in poverty. It's almost become like being in the military, or being a cop. Who the hell wants to do that anymore, with that pay?
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Old 08-22-2019, 12:32 PM
 
1,191 posts, read 645,405 times
Reputation: 1568
Quote:
Originally Posted by WizardOfRadical View Post
This. In many unless it is an "elite" private school, most run of the mill private schools do not have top caliber teachers. It's just the demographics. Private school kids and top public school kids come from families that have higher expectations of academic achievement.
There are a many private schools with excellent teachers, facilities, and top performing academics. Just go look at the top 20 schools on Niche for LA area. Now, why someone is willing to shell out multiple thousand dollars each year to go to a poor performing private school is definitely a different scenario. Perhaps the parents want a parochial/religious emphasis. Perhaps there are discipline, crime, etc issues the parents are worried about at the local public school.
Quote:
Originally Posted by WizardOfRadical View Post
When I was a kid, teaching was still seen as a reasonable lower middle class profession. Now a teacher is barely above poverty. And may god have mercy if a teacher is a single parent with kids, then they are in poverty. It's almost become like being in the military, or being a cop. Who the hell wants to do that anymore, with that pay?
First off, perhaps a single parent shouldn't be raising a family to begin with. Seems like a poor life choice. Secondly, teachers don't actually work crazy amounts of hours per year. They can tutor during the week for extra $ or teach summer school / various other jobs during the summer. Most teachers I know have done both especially at the early part of their career.
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Old 08-22-2019, 03:45 PM
 
Location: los angeles county
1,763 posts, read 2,033,759 times
Reputation: 1877
i went to a high school where the teachers sucked, but the kids were competitive. So that's what boosted the reputation.
Teachers got their degrees in the 70s, from Cal State Podunk.


during off-time, kids would be taking tutoring classes and prep classes, studying for the SAT beginning in 9th grade.

They were all just studying for the test.

I would rather go to a lower rank school, be studious, and set the curve. Less competition.

I firmly believe that most teachers suck in the los angeles area.

I went to berkeley, but am not that smart. I got killed by other kids in college.
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Old 08-22-2019, 04:56 PM
 
Location: So Ca
26,577 posts, read 26,439,806 times
Reputation: 24520
Quote:
Originally Posted by WizardOfRadical View Post
When I was a kid, teaching was still seen as a reasonable lower middle class profession. Now a teacher is barely above poverty.
I would hardly call the pay scale at LAUSD poverty level.

https://achieve.lausd.net/cms/lib/CA.../T%20Table.pdf
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Old 08-22-2019, 05:25 PM
 
1,191 posts, read 645,405 times
Reputation: 1568
Quote:
Originally Posted by CA4Now View Post
I would hardly call the pay scale at LAUSD poverty level.

https://achieve.lausd.net/cms/lib/CA.../T%20Table.pdf
Yeah when my mom retired she was getting over $100K a year. And I think she got ~$3-5k per class per session of summer school. Granted she had a MA degree and 30+ years of tenure. But she certainly wasn't at some poverty wage level like that ridiculous poster stated.
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Old 08-22-2019, 09:56 PM
 
1,940 posts, read 3,536,675 times
Reputation: 2121
Quote:
Originally Posted by CA4Now View Post
I would hardly call the pay scale at LAUSD poverty level.

https://achieve.lausd.net/cms/lib/CA.../T%20Table.pdf
LAUSD is not that bad for pay. I recently left it after realizing I was near the top and still had 20 years to go. Orange County districts pay way better. I got a 12k raise by choosing one. I have certifications in very hard to fill areas so it wasn't too difficult to jump ship.

LAUSD pay is great if you have a partner and a lot of kids because all of their insurance is covered at no cost to the employee. If you're a single person then it is much better to choose another district.

Even subs in LAUSD get full insurance for themselves and all dependents as long as they sub for 100 school days. Many subs will do exactly 100 and then won't sub for the rest of the year. Good luck finding a sub after Spring Break.

Their insurance giveaway is way too generous which is why I left. I'd rather have higher pay and make a small contribution towards my monthly insurance. If I had 4 kids and a partner, I'd still be in LAUSD.
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Old 08-23-2019, 07:59 AM
 
4,536 posts, read 10,578,028 times
Reputation: 4068
I dunno why no one is bringing up the safety factor. Compared to other school districts, most LA unified high schools are not safe.
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Old 08-23-2019, 01:21 PM
 
1,191 posts, read 645,405 times
Reputation: 1568
Quote:
Originally Posted by timtemtym View Post
LAUSD is not that bad for pay. I recently left it after realizing I was near the top and still had 20 years to go. Orange County districts pay way better. I got a 12k raise by choosing one. I have certifications in very hard to fill areas so it wasn't too difficult to jump ship.

LAUSD pay is great if you have a partner and a lot of kids because all of their insurance is covered at no cost to the employee. If you're a single person then it is much better to choose another district.

Even subs in LAUSD get full insurance for themselves and all dependents as long as they sub for 100 school days. Many subs will do exactly 100 and then won't sub for the rest of the year. Good luck finding a sub after Spring Break.

Their insurance giveaway is way too generous which is why I left. I'd rather have higher pay and make a small contribution towards my monthly insurance. If I had 4 kids and a partner, I'd still be in LAUSD.
Hows the pension work for changing school districts? Won't you lose out on years of service that go into that calculation by starting up again at a new district?
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