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If you are talking about what you can do to help your son improve his math skill, (assuming you choose to compete in a traditional sense)
1. Talk to his teacher about extra help.
2. Kumon math
3. Tutor (private or Sylvan type).
If you think he has other talent, you may want to help him pursue it. There are many non-traditional curriculum/school. Trade school is another option.
I meant regarding Lexington for a student like my son, if it would be too difficult to keep up.
Most high school offer different levels based on your talent/skill/ability and determination. For example, Algebra 2 alone has honors, level1 and level2. If the kid is really behind, there are usually even lower level classes. On the other side if the kid is really smart, they may be taking AP classes. You can click on Lexington HS math department and it will give you course descriptions.
Placing them in the right level is an art not science. A kid can easily move up or down a level just based on his willingness to learn. Again, if he choose to compete, he has lots of competition as there are many smart and hard working kids there. If he choose not to, he can still graduate. He will still pass a lower level course.
No one but your kid and you can answer your question. How important is being in honor level math to you vs level1 or level2?
Honors math is not important. What is important is that in order to get into a good college he has to take three or four years of specific math levels.
Lexington is simply idyllic compared to 99% of other towns. Many people elsewhere are confronted w/ really tough situations like gangs, the sudden emergence of girl violence, meth, handguns, lack of any pupil motivation, unsafe school structures...in ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS!? What some of the posters here are complaining about is relatively frivolous. My friend is a HGSE educator who travels to schools for work & she just laughed when I told her about these posts. She dreams of the day that these problems are her schools' problems... Also We have lived in several different towns/three different states and have seen the gamut. Lexington is among the most desirable in terms of education, safety, beauty, friendliness, convenience, history, amenities...for certain.
If you are considering Lexington check out this LINK:
This link is very handy and breaks down the numbers per town and you can do side by side comparison. We chose to live in the Fiske Elementary district because the teacher/student ratio was the best in Lexington, the kids very sweet, the school structure is brand new this year, and the neighborhoods nearby are among the prettiest and most convenient to town center, the mall, grocery strores (Stop&Shop and Trader Joe's) etc.
We chose Lexington over Lincoln or Carlisle because for us those places were too woodsy and do not have a town center (nice if you prefer super privacy but we like more activity), Arlington was too hodge podge, Concord too far out for our commute (RT 2 Can be a real headache!), we didn't like Newton and lived there for a year (too congested because they allowed hundreds of condos to be built over the last ten years!), Weston just too expensive and woodsy, Belmont was an ok second choice along with Winchester.
One last note: to our surprise the people are very friendly and warm...really took us by surprise as we had different experiences elsewhere.
Lexington has:
Lexington Preschool Parent Teacher Association with a Babysittin Co-op
Nice Public Pools
Great town Center with small Movie theatre, ice cream, reataurants, etc.
Public Running Track and Soccer fields,
historical homes - Paul Revere
Wilson's Farm - great Produce, other grocery items
Active and welcoming NEWCOMERS CLUB
Gorgeous housing stock
Many town sponsored holiday events
The other children in the neighborhood have been very sweet to our daughter...as an example of the friendliness...during the last snowstorm a neighbor whom we just met came over to offer to pick something up at the grocery strore and another offered to shovel (my husband was away and I had a bad cold).
Good Luck! As you can see we think Lexington is a good choice.
And now a responding perspective from a former long-term resident:
Lexington has a busy, polluted, tense center with few useful stores. (that's why most long-term Lexington residents shop elsewhere)
Historical homes that very few residents have ever visited.
Has such an overbuilt center, that any History is hard to find.
Wilson's farm - a busy, over-priced , pretentious food market - we wonder why people go there!
Some of the most pathetic housing imaginable for a town of such pretensions.
People will live in a 400K shack on a tiny lot, thinking that somehow their Lexington residence overcomes their personal perceptions of inadequacy.
Lexington has about the same number of town sponsored events,
playgrounds, "welcoming" committes, etc. as any town I know about.
Lexington has more crime than any area town with the possible exception
of Burlington (and most of those are near the Mall, usually petty crimes)
Lexington has the largest tax base in Middlesex county and yet shows little
proportionately for it.
Lexington High School has a long history of drug and mental illness problems.
In fact, they once found an assistant principal that was dealing drugs (although not to the students )
More kids with mental illness or depression than you'll believe (unless you live there, and then it seems normal...)
Many residents who seem to have "professions", but never seem to be working ..... entitlements of some sort ?
Positives:
Plenty of dry cleaners, hair styling places, coffee places.
Lot's of roads so you can bypass the main streets easily when you're headed towards Waltham or Burlington.
Good place for biking and walking (lot's of paths and asphalt roads).
Your SUV/truck won't stick out, even when parked at a tiny house.
Lexington is a great city, clean, great community, excellent schools. Our best friends live there and their daughter got into Harvard, early acceptance.
As far as working in Charlestown, I hope you like to commute because I believe it could take you an hour and a half unless you travel on off times.
Lexington is a great city, clean, great community, excellent schools. Our best friends live there and their daughter got into Harvard, early acceptance.
As far as working in Charlestown, I hope you like to commute because I believe it could take you an hour and a half unless you travel on off times.
Good luck
Sounds like someone who has never lived in Lexington. Actually, most
Lexington High grad's go to U. Mass (last time I checked) , but that's
probably as good as Harvard for the same student anyway.
I graduated from Lexington High years ago, and when I bump into classmates
occasionally, not one of them has said they liked the school ! I agree with
an earlier post that Lexington High seemed to have alot of people with
mental and drug problems. Not sure how that would compare with other schools, but it sure seemed to be a distinction of the school at the time.
Also, my advice to prospective residents: if you're moving to Lexington for the schools, think twice. Then think
again. Ratings don't mean much because they hide the underlying factors. The ONLY reason Lexington does well on some academic measures is because of the concentration of certain types of residents (more educated) and the influence that has on THEIR kids. It is NOT the quality of the school system itself.
Sounds like someone who has never lived in Lexington. Actually, most
Lexington High grad's go to U. Mass (last time I checked) , but that's
probably as good as Harvard for the same student anyway.
I graduated from Lexington High years ago, and when I bump into classmates
occasionally, not one of them has said they liked the school ! I agree with
an earlier post that Lexington High seemed to have alot of people with
mental and drug problems. Not sure how that would compare with other schools, but it sure seemed to be a distinction of the school at the time.
Also, my advice to prospective residents: if you're moving to Lexington for the schools, think twice. Then think
again. Ratings don't mean much because they hide the underlying factors. The ONLY reason Lexington does well on some academic measures is because of the concentration of certain types of residents (more educated) and the influence that has on THEIR kids. It is NOT the quality of the school system itself.
Hahaha! This is what I was going to type!! All the teachers I liked at LHS were forced to retire (Mr. B).
Regarding drugs: rich kids, rich drugs. Pot is something that everyone seemed to smoke (regardless of the social group), booze was huge (do people still go to Willard's Woods?), xstacy, cocaine, etc. were all prevalent.
Regarding mental problems: I felt left out because I didn't have a psychiatrist.
Regarding colleges: It seemed everyone went to UMass or UNH. The next largest group went to small, private liberal arts schools. The next group went to small state schools. An even smaller group went to study business at Bentley, Babson, Byrant (the B's) or at BU/Northeastern. Lastly, a handful went to Ivy-League schools. Years after I graduated, I visited the school to see "The Wall of Rejection" where the students posted their rejection letters from top-tier schools. I'm sure that's not helping their self-esteem.
Things I liked about growing up in Lexington: Yes, it wasn't all bad. The Lexpress was very useful in middle school before I could drive. I could visit my friends on the other side of town and I felt very independent. I took swimming lessons at Hayden, that was fun. The town pool was the spot to be in the summer until we could drive. Dunkin Donuts is conveniently located around the high school (walking distance). Open campus was great, that sense of responsibility. I liked that in high school, you could do whatever you wanted and the consequences were for you to face. Basically they told us if we wanted to screw off, it was our own future we were ruining. We had some cool classes in high school, like Semiotics. A long time ago there was a store, The Stone Store...actually named "Concord Hill Market". That was THE best candy/convenience store ever. When the old man closed it, all of us in the neighborhood were devastated.
Things I disliked: We always got in trouble for hanging around CVS on half-days. There was no where else to go! My guidance counselor told me I wasn't a "fit" for college and that I should get a job. I know have an MBA and a great career. I didn't play sports or an instrument or do drama, so in the school's eyes I did not participate enough. It was not enough that I volunteered on weekends and worked two part-time jobs (because I was saving up for a car). I think working builds character and that volunteering with an organization you care about is important. LHS did not feel the same way.
Hope that gives you some insight.
p.s. I think it is dumb that they are ripping down capes on tiny plots to put up McMansions. If you wanted to live that close to your neighbor, move to Somerville.
Rand, Any other high schools you could recommend for my son? A more accepting school as you probably would have liked and one that is involved in the community would be good. Would love a school that is welcoming to new kids whether they have bucks or not, especially since at the moment we do not.????????
I've lived here for a long time and my kids went thru the schools. The curriculum is excellent - but like any life situation, you're bound to get stuck with a crappy teacher once in a while. For the most part, my kids had a fantastic experience thru the LPS system. I spent a lot of time at the schools and got to know teachers and administrators, which i highly recommend for any parent. Also, the more you 'parent' your kid, the better he or she will do in life.
The HS grads attend a variety of colleges. Many Harvard, MIT, Oberlin, etc., and a lot of U of Vt and UMass, too. I have friends from both ends of the wealth spectrum. Mostly I know people like me - working people with technical degrees who want their kids to have a good education in a safe environment.
The politics in town is the same as everywhere, but with one difference - there are hundreds of active volunteers (town meeting members, committee members, etc.) who give generously of their time. To me, that shows you what kind of people live here. They are committed to the town.
It's safe and pretty here - with lots to do if you like music, arts, etc., plus it's a short bus/train/car trip to Cambridge or Boston for more entertainment.
Yes, they're tearing down houses and replacing them with McMonsters, but it's happening everywhere. Speak to any builder and they say they're only building what the customers want. Yes, they're ugly, but they sell. It's the economy! A lovely little cape was replaced with a big monster in my neighborhood. The cape sat on the market for a couple of months but nobody wanted it - the rooms were too small (actually they were very charming and it was a custom-built home after WWII) and not enough bathrooms and closets. The new house takes up the entire lot (no back yard!) and the people never come outside (but they pay their taxes, so I'm not complaining).
I love this town and intend to stay until I can't take care of the house any longer. The people are great and you never have to go far to shop or eat out. The couple of people on this forum who trashed Lexington belong to the minority who are never happy anywhere.
It's expensive to live here, but all good towns close to the City are expensive. It's worth it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Lexington's a great town
