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Unless you actually must have the prestige districts (in which case you know what they are and we know what you are), how can you object to a school in the top third of NJ rankings? Sheesh.
This thread shows the hypocrisy of this NJ forum when it comes to schools....
NJMonthly is the bible, school A ranked higher than school B is always better...
UNLESS black and hispanic people go there. Then the rules dont apply
2 of the main comments were 1) by a current student at the school 2) by an alumnus who has also come back to visit. I would say they have more credibility than anyone else relative to this thread
2 of the main comments were 1) by a current student at the school 2) by an alumnus who has also come back to visit. I would say they have more credibility than anyone else relative to this thread
So than about 90% of the thoughts and opinions of everyone on this board can be thrown out the window as well then? I read posts on here all day about folks $hitting on town A over town B when they have never stepped foot in town B, dont know anyone from town b etc.
And who cars what a 16 yr old thinks, they're 16, they dont know $hit.
As someone who currently attends CHS, I can tell you it is fine. It is a very diverse, somewhat affluent, NYC suburban community. It isn't the best school around, but it is far from the worst. I think the NJMonthly rankings are far from the truth- Westfield is certainly a better school. But South Orange/Maplewood is better then other schools nearby, like Irvington, West Orange, and Springfield, but does not compare to nearby Millburn, Livingston or New Providence. There is no police station inside, though there are 10 security guards and an occasional police officer. Yes- the fencing team is the best in the state.
As said, this school does not shelter you like Millburn might, as different sides of the community are different. The Wyoming and Montrose sections are more upper middle class, NYC commuters, while other sides of town near the Irvington border have more crime. There is not much crime in the schools, just typical thefts from lockers like at any high school.
If you have any questions about the middle or high schools please ask.
If you are in fact a Columbia High student, you're a testament to just how good of an education you've gotten. You're incredibly well spoken for a teenager. Compliments.
So than about 90% of the thoughts and opinions of everyone on this board can be thrown out the window as well then? I read posts on here all day about folks $hitting on town A over town B when they have never stepped foot in town B, dont know anyone from town b etc.
And who cars what a 16 yr old thinks, they're 16, they dont know $hit.
Stop sugarcoating this, it is what it is.
Read again. I said the comments on THIS THREAD. Doesn't happen often. Often, most talk about other towns as if they actually live there (yourself included) and go pretty far to state non facts. Rarely, do we get actual comments from folks living (or having recently lived) in the specific community.
So than about 90% of the thoughts and opinions of everyone on this board can be thrown out the window as well then? I read posts on here all day about folks $hitting on town A over town B when they have never stepped foot in town B, dont know anyone from town b etc.
And who cars what a 16 yr old thinks, they're 16, they dont know $hit.
Stop sugarcoating this, it is what it is.
wow. really? Yet, in 2 years we can send that 'dummy' 16 year old to war to fight for our country. Or that
same kid 2 years later can vote for OUR leadership.
If you are in fact a Columbia High student, you're a testament to just how good of an education you've gotten. You're incredibly well spoken for a teenager. Compliments.
Thank you, and yes I am a CHS student. To TonyStarksNJ, being a student at the school gives firsthand knowledge and I do know things about the district, being a student it is kind of hard not to. I have read City Data for a while, and since there was something about my school, I decided to post.
As I've said, the schools are okay. If the OP can afford, go to Millburn (next town). The schools are top performing. If I could go to Millburn I would. Like any district, SOMSD had its ups and downs. Many teachers are very good, while others got tenure years ago and are horrendous now. Some schools like CHS could use changes. For example, some light fixtures have literally been falling in classes. A problem is that the district is not great at communication, and teachers in middle schools don't communicate. For the OP- note that both middle schools have 'teams', where the grade is divided into two or three teams and certain teachers are assigned to each team. This may be a problem as students may not see friends often, and teachers actually seem against teachers on the other teams, and students on each team do different activities, and some different learning/projects.
It is one of those schools where people that live there will defend it, and people that dont will attack it. Just more people that do not live there I guess.
And take the NJ monthly rankings for what they are. I stopped looking at them when they replaced "number of students that attend 4 year colleges" with "number of students that graduate in 4 years". So it is "better" to push someone through in 4 years no matter where they might end up.
Maplewood is trying to be a good school. You can see that their ranking has jumped (ok, I looked at the rankings today) because they now have smaller classes (but still 195th) and offer more AP classes (29th)
But they still have a long way to go on results (74th in math, 58th in lang, 89th in SAT, 60th in AP test passed)
and to show how silly the rankings are, to take the example from above where it is ranked above westfield
The only things that Maplewood is ranked above compared to westfield is that it averages 19.9 students/teacher vs 20.0, and it offers 24 AP classes vs 21 (unless they take the number of kids in the 12th grade too, and use the lower size graduating class as "better").
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