Elementary school - Dogwood vs Grahamwood Optional (Memphis, Germantown: neighborhood, income)

[laxmiprabhu]

Hello All,

We recently moved to Germantown area and this site has been extremely useful during our transition. I have narrowed down to 2 schools - Dogwood Elementary in Germantown or Grahamwood's Optional program. My child will attend after-care programs with either school. We visited both schools and it is becoming a difficult decision. We value a well-rounded education. Grahamwood is closer to work and you can register kids for piano,language classes during after care. But, the school itself does not seem to have adequate or updated facilities and is a school-within-school. I would like to hear your thoughts and experiences on these 2 schools. What would you do?

Thanks in advance.

[CristenS]

Optional enrollment was months ago. f you do not live in Grahamwood's zone, you have to apply during the "camp out in line for 5 days" etc process back in February and hope to get a spot. Do you know if Grahamwood has a spot available? School starts in a few weeks.

Unless you have been told for certain that Grahamwood has a spot available for your child and you have applied and been accepted, this is all a moot point.

If you have been accepted into Grahamwood's Optional and you also live within Germantown district, then I can understand the question. But frankly, I do not view Grahamwood as being heads and tails over ANY school in the area, enough to shift my kid into a system that he/she does not live in, a school that he/she does not live near, and have to deal with the logistics of having a child in that type of situation. It's one of the better optional programs, but it's still just that - an "optional" program within a regular school and a regular system that is otherwise dismal.

What is your plan for after elementary? Apply for a Memphis optional middle? Or go back to Germantown?

The Germantown schools are probably the top reason people move to Germantown. I wouldn't want to deal with sending my child to a school in another district unless it was MUCH better than what I had immediate access to - and the Germantown schools are pretty great.

[Longtimelistener]

Take Dogwood. The optional is really only segregating of smarter students with the same teachers as the trad students have. I was happy to be there because our zoned school was terrible but compared to the Gtown or Collierville schools it isn't all that great.
Worst school fight I had witnessed was between trad students and optional students at Grahamwood. The trad students resent the optional students(better off, volunteer parents, better class parties) and the resentment boiled over one day.

The area around Grahamwood is very rough. I know we found knives and other weapons the kids would hide just off campus for afternoon fights.

[DubbleT]

Originally Posted by Longtimelistener

Take Dogwood. The optional is really only segregating of smarter students with the same teachers as the trad students have. I was happy to be there because our zoned school was terrible but compared to the Gtown or Collierville schools it isn't all that great.
Worst school fight I had witnessed was between trad students and optional students at Grahamwood. The trad students resent the optional students(better off, volunteer parents, better class parties) and the resentment boiled over one day.

The area around Grahamwood is very rough. I know we found knives and other weapons the kids would hide just off campus for afternoon fights.

I don't think I would go so far as to say that. It is a school within a school and there has always been friction between the two different sets of parents to some extent
Some classes/teachers are shared for subjects like music, phys ed and other non academic classes. Students will be around others from many different backgrounds, including some rougher kids. Some parents see that as a plus (diversity) and some see it as a negative.
Grahamwood does an excellent job of preparing optional students for for the better optional programs in middle and high school. Many of their students also go on to great private schools too. The criteria for being admitted and retained in the optional program is pretty rigorous and it's not just some ramped up version of the standard curriculum.
As far as not being in a typical neighborhood school we never found that to be much of a problem and in some ways it was a plus, as my kids friends and classmates came from all over the city.

[Longtimelistener]

Originally Posted by DubbleT

I don't think I would go so far as to say that. It is a school within a school and there has always been friction between the two different sets of parents to some extent
Some classes/teachers are shared for subjects like music, phys ed and other non academic classes. Students will be around others from many different backgrounds, including some rougher kids. Some parents see that as a plus (diversity) and some see it as a negative.
Grahamwood does an excellent job of preparing optional students for for the better optional programs in middle and high school. Many of their students also go on to great private schools too. The criteria for being admitted and retained in the optional program is pretty rigorous and it's not just some ramped up version of the standard curriculum.
As far as not being in a typical neighborhood school we never found that to be much of a problem and in some ways it was a plus, as my kids friends and classmates came from all over the city.

It is just a ramped up version of the trad classes. They both have the same books it's just the optional that gets farther into the book or finishes.
Don't get overly excited about optional. It's not all that.

[DubbleT]

Originally Posted by Longtimelistener

It is just a ramped up version of the trad classes. They both have the same books it's just the optional that gets farther into the book or finishes.
Don't get overly excited about optional. It's not all that.

Having kids and their cousins that went through both optional and traditional I think I have a pretty fair idea of what's what and how they compare. Optional is more in depth, it's not just more work sheets or going through the books faster, especially as the students get older..

[CristenS]

I've known some very well-to-do people who have chosen G-wood for their kids. But, they also lived within Memphis City and their zoned schools were not good. I have a feeling if they had lived in the suburbs, they would have gone with those schools instead - the suburban schools are just as good if not better, and it's simply easier to send your kid to the local system.

The area around G-wood is not THAT bad. It's not an area you want your small kids wandering around, but it's not like they are going to get shot on the playground. It's a low-income, predominantly hispanic area.

I do agree with others though, that from what I have heard from all optional schools, there is friction between the optional kids and the non-optional kids. Personally I wouldn't want that for my kids, to have children looking down on them and disliking them just because they are in a different/better program down the hall. I would rather my kids attend an all-optional school. There are several all-optionals in the area.

If you really want something better, go for private - but again, just like with the optional programs, the acceptance into private schools was many months ago and I would assume most are filled up. Applications were due in Oct/Nov and I believe all schools send out acceptances in February.

[DubbleT]

Most of the friction is between parents, maybe some spillover to the older kids but not to the point it was ever a huge problem for any of the kids I knew. My son (small for his age) got more teasing from his own classmates in the program than he ever got from other students not in the program. The younger kids really don't seem to notice or care. I think a part of it too it that there is always some friction between the haves and have nots on any school campus. It's more noticeable at Grahamwood because of the school within a school design.

[Longtimelistener]

Originally Posted by DubbleT

Having kids and their cousins that went through both optional and traditional I think I have a pretty fair idea of what's what and how they compare. Optional is more in depth, it's not just more work sheets or going through the books faster, especially as the students get older..

Sorry but that is pretty much it. The teachers for the optional side are no better trained or rated than the trad side. It is just the smart kids separated from the dumb kids in class.

[laxmiprabhu]

Thank you very much for your opinion. I gained some fresh perspectives.