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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.
You are seriously going to group Springfield in with Irvington? As for SO/Maplewood being better, NJ Monthly has Springfield at 26, well ahead of Columbia. I appreciate that you are providing your first-hand experiences about the district, but that doesn't mean you know anything about the surrounding ones.
Yes. Millburn is a very wealthy town, and generally is more expensive. The schools are known as better there. If it was more affordable, anyone would go. The reputation Millburn has is that everyone wants to go there for school.
This sounds exactly like a school posting from any of the posters here who generally have no first hand experience. "The schools are known as better". WTF does that even mean? Do they have magical teachers? DO they teach a special curriculum??
Again, call a spade a spade, this thread is the exact reason school rankings are bull****. School A is always better than B when ranked higher unless black and hispanic kids go there, then not so much.
[quote=TonyStarksNJ;28614578]This sounds exactly like a school posting from any of the posters here who generally have no first hand experience. "The schools are known as better". WTF does that even mean? Do they have magical teachers? DO they teach a special curriculum??
Actually i can look at the details and see that in Millburn, 82% of the faculty has a Masters degree, compared to 62% of the faculty at Columbia. They also offer more AP classes in Millburn, although not a large difference there. Not to mention all the other differences in terms of student test performance that are difficult to pinpoint how much is impacted by school quality versus parents and socioeconomics. Do you really think that teacher quality has no impact, or that all districts have teachers of equivalent quality? I went to a school that's in the upper third or so of these rankings but not "elite" and i had some great teachers and some awful ones, and the teacher quality had a huge impact on what i got out of the classes. As did the environment - when i was in classes with alot of bright hard-working students, i did better than in classes that were dragged down by lesser students. Overall i felt let down by my high school, and again its one that fairs decently in these rankings. I have no doubt that the best districts do a better job of teaching kids and creating a good learning environment, even if a big part of that comes from the community/parents.
A large problem in the institutionalized under reporting of violence in schools and difficult to find 'turnover rate' for teachers. Plenty of article on teacher turnover rates and the impact on schools.
The difference bewteen the violence that occurs vs reported is exponential in many cases.
See if you can get that data for whatever school you choose.
Plenty of document cases of institutional doctoring test scores in Nj to appear better than they are. That speaks to inherent problems in the edu system.
Saw one stat that reported 46% of teachers leave the profession by the 5th year. Turnover rate is demonstrated to be higher in schools where 50% or more receive free meals. Again that is an indicator of a cascade of issues that lead to the diversity of students who want to learn and those who don't.
Most folks want to ensure their kids are safe from other students and there is a concern that a school with a high drop out rate is a school where students don't want to be there and cause a distraction that directs teacher focus away from students who want to learn.
The NJ monthly rankings are a sanitized NJEA public relations tool that doesn't give the entire story that concerned parents are interested in. It directs the message and is only one consideration of many critical to concerned parents.
Even the attached doc full of misson statements, goals and milestones should be taken with a grain of salt.
This sounds exactly like a school posting from any of the posters here who generally have no first hand experience. "The schools are known as better". WTF does that even mean? Do they have magical teachers? DO they teach a special curriculum??
Again, call a spade a spade, this thread is the exact reason school rankings are bull****. School A is always better than B when ranked higher unless black and hispanic kids go there, then not so much.
I'n not sure where you live, but around here, Millburn has a reputation of having great schools. Whether that is actually true depends on the student, but that is what I have heard.
I had not realized Springfield had that high of a ranking- then again most people would be surprised at the Columbia HS ranking.
I'n not sure where you live, but around here, Millburn has a reputation of having great schools. Whether that is actually true depends on the student, but that is what I have heard.
I had not realized Springfield had that high of a ranking- then again most people would be surprised at the Columbia HS ranking.
South Orange Middle serves all of South Orange and some of Maplewood.
Since when ? I went to Maplewood Middle in the early 80s... Hixon place by the Old Blimpies behind Columbia is the line.. If you lived on Parker ave you went to Maplewood Middle, Hixon Place South Orange Middle.. Simple as that
With all due respect and don't take this the wrong way I understand you are attending Coulumbia right now but you are really seeing this through the eyes of a 15/16 year old as compared to me who is 41 and seen what has happened over the years there..
I was even there last September interviewing some of my old teachers, Columbia is not the school it used to be..
To tell the truth Our Lady Of Sorrows was the best I went to looking back, when I went to Jefferson I started slacking off the teachers did not push you.. Some of my Teachers in Maplewood Middle did, then for eighth grade I had to spend a year in Florida and I was doing the same work in eighth grade in Florida that I was doing in 6th grade..
When I went back to Jersey for 9th grade (At Columbia) I had to take a test to see if I had to re do the eight grade or go into 9th..
To tell the truth I had some good teachers in Columbia that helped me, then again I had some teachers that were also the coaches of some of the Students and let them slide so they can play the big game whereas me who was not a jock they didn't care when I asked for help after school they couldn't because they had to go coach..
The Maplewood School System didn't even pick up on my ADD, all the tests they gave me.. They said I was smart but I drift off into my own world.. lol
I didn't find out I had ADD till I was 27...But I'm kinda glad in a way, I still functioned well I just had to snap outta it an ask the question again till I got it..
There are plenty of educated, affluent people who could easily afford Millburn or other towns west with "better" schools but choose to live in Maplewood/South Orange and send their kids to our public schools. It's a different environment with different values. I wouldn't live in Millburn or send my kids to Millburn schools.
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