Reading: greatschools rating plunge

[kingeorge]

Any school in any town is a crap shoot. As a parent you have no clue, and all you can do is release your kids into "the wild" and hope for the best.You might hear how amazing it is from everyone, but once your kid(s) get into a system, your kid experience/interaction with teachers/admin staff will determine your opinions of the schools. Sometimes stars align, sometimes it is miserable even in the "best districts".

MA is very conservative state, and many good towns are run by people who do not have many (if at all) experiences outside the MA. Considering how many families relocate to this area, it is not hard to understand how difficult it can be for some parents in our system.

We are also very entreched into our tradition, and even the most positive changes are slow to implement. We look good on the paper and with our test scores, but in truth we are lucky that for the most part our schools population is still very homogenous, and parents are very well educated. Any area in the US with such socioeconomic strata has similar "success" in schools.

Sadly, foreign language, science, technology are often still kept out of curriculum in the lower grades, and mostly for the tradition/budget issues we chronically have.That will come to bite us soon.

Personally, I am yet to find someone coming from DC or NOVA area who is wowed by MA schools.

All this being said, if you want well rounded kids, you will have to spend some time and money. No school is perfect. It will not fill all the needs (and gaps).

I think that in Eastern MA we have become very complacent about our schools, and assume that we will always be the best around. That can not be further from the truth. Towns fend for themselves, best they can, and there is no statewide initiative to improve schools, help gifted and talented, bring more science, language, technology into everyday school experiences. Our mindset is not dynamic or fresh at all. We are just smug about it.

[gf2020]

I don't agree with kingeorge and his comments are just plain incorrect in some areas. Like most things on the Internet, proceed with caution.

[kingeorge]

Originally Posted by gf2020

I don't agree with kingeorge and his comments are just plain incorrect in some areas. Like most things on the Internet, proceed with caution.

Thanks. I agree. Always proceed with caution.

[relocate37]

I don't have any experience yet, obviously, but I find the way the area is carved into relatively small towns strange---at least coming from the MD/VA suburbs of DC. There I lived in Montgomery County, MD, which had over a million people and comprised one school district. It was also the smallest political unit for most people there---e.g. I lived in Silver Spring, which was not an incorporated city. Whether there's an economy of scale leading to more "progressive" educational methods, I'm not sure---my impression is that there are lots of pedagogical trends and most of them aren't worth much.

OTOH, there _does_ seem to be something conservative about things here. Coming from MD, it's unbelievable to me how many intersections around here that absolutely should have a traffic light, don't. Hopefully that doesn't imply an unwillingness to invest that extends to education.

[kingeorge]

We believe in self-government. It is noble idea, but also abused idea as it is hard to oversee people who run towns. That also means that schools depend on local taxpayers, and where budget is good, schools are typically OK. Poorer town, poorer schools. Many towns eschewed commercial development and are truly struggling with limited tax base. This is why MA can look very shabby, and things are not well maintained. It is strange for such a wealthy state, to be in this type of predicament.
It will be interesting to see if self-government will be on its way out in the next decade or two, when economy makes it even harder for small towns to survive on their own. Some sort of regionalisation will be in order, but so far we have kept our own ways despite the reality biting. We are hardy, stubborn bunch. And there is something nice about towns deciding about their own affairs, although costly because everybody has separate police, firefighters, schools etc.

All this being said, there is lot to like about MA, even if we do tend to fall behind the times a bit. We have old culture and traditions, and we are still not as transient as some other parts of the US. There is very strong sense of place and history. We are also the oldest in terms of age in the US. It has its benefits, and issues. People tend to like things as they are.

Good luck. Do not fret much about test scores, as many pointed out: it does fluctuate. Also new Common Core is more difficult curriculum, and new enough that all the schools are in transitional period figuring new benchmarks. I am happy to see things move, and hoping that we can get even more advanced curriculum soon. Most kids are much smarter, and more capable than we like to think.

P.S. I do agree, lack of signs, traffic lights etc. can be maddening at times. But, that is our way. People assume that you will know where you are going. Thank God for GPS. I do feel for people out of state who need to drive around. We can do much better, for such an attractive area to visit.

[relocate37]

kingeorge,

Thanks for the courteous and informative reply.

An acquaintance of my wife claimed that the poorer towns tend not to allow property tax increases etc as much as the richer towns. (There was a ballot issue in Winchester in the Dec election to raise taxes to refurb the high school, which passed by about 2-to-1.)

It's definitely a beautiful area, though. I went to grad school in Cambridge in the late 1980s and didn't know there were so many lakes. (I'm assuming that many of them are natural, but I'm not sure.) I'll say one thing, though---based on the near total lack of soil I see on hills cut through for limited access highways, I'm glad I'm not one of the original European settlers of the area...

[liberal8]

Originally Posted by kingeorge

We believe in self-government.

Same can be said of any state in the US.

Originally Posted by kingeorge

Poorer town, poorer schools.
.

Boston is a poorer town?? Yet horrible schools.

Originally Posted by kingeorge

We are also the oldest in terms of age in the US.
.

No you are not - St Augustine is the oldest town in the US.

Originally Posted by kingeorge

We are hardy, stubborn bunch

Agree with that part, I do business in MA, and I am constantly surprised of how many stubborn people I meet here, stubborn on the border with idiotic and also arrogant.