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Nice! Didnt know there was a measurement for intangibles at schools.
"There's kind of a negativity that has set in, and I decided to start shining the light on positive things that are happening," he said by phone about creating the award.
I am gonna go hug my Care Bear now...
hahaha! It might not be the "most positive school in the world" (how do you even begin to measure that...?), but at least they are receiving recognition for creating a positive school environment. For some kids, this could be the difference between 4 years of bullying or even a columbine shooting, God forbid...
I live in the low income area of San Marcos, in a humble 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom condo. I have 2 degrees, and am a former educator. My daughter is 9 years old, and skipped ahead a grade. She will be attending San Marcos High in the future. Yes, there are some neighbors who are involved in gangs, drugs and premarital sex. But there are many more who are good citizens who were never given the same opportunities you and I were. Poor families have no less potential for academic success and positive moral values than rich kids. This is demonstrated by the success at SMHigh. Stereotyping and avoiding social interaction with them is the problem, not the solution. The comments I have read here saddens me, and reminds me of the days prior to integration. Apparently, the last frontier isn't racial, inclusion of special needs, or even sexual preference... It appears that economic status is a social barrier that Americans refuse to tear down.
This is an old post so I'm not sure this will still be relevant to anyone, but SM High's reputation comes from the way it used to be 10-20 years ago. Just last year it got ranked as 11th best in the US (_http://www.kpbs.org/news/2012/may/08/san-marcos-high-school-ranked-11th-country_), but a decade ago that kind of rank would have been unthinkable. The school was indeed severely overcrowded, did in fact have gang and drug problems (one fight during my senior year sent at least 1 assistant principal to the hospital), had some significant dead weight among the teaching faculty, test scores were mediocre, the freshman class of 1100 literally dwindled to about 600 by graduation, a relatively small (but not insubstantial) percentage of students went on to a 4-year college, and most of the facilities were antiquated and aging poorly despite a renovation. Its reputation as "the ghetto school" in north county was certainly a defensible one, but that image also masked good things about the school since your experience there was ultimately what you made of it.
The school's since undergone an astounding transformation. Physically, the campus has been razed and is in the process of being completely rebuilt from the ground up. The district opened Mission Hills High across town which alleviated overcrowding. Test scores have skyrocketed and so have college attendance rates upon graduation. When I go to the district's website and look at the list of faculty, I have no clue who most of them are and don't see the dead weight I remember. The city of San Marcos has grown quite a bit and has also been redeveloping troubled areas, so overall demographics have shifted a bit. In short, San Marcos High is nothing like the school it used to be and is almost totally unrecognizable to those of us who graduated in the '90s and early 2000s. Most of the district is showing similar progress, even in the less affluent areas. It's quite remarkable how things have turned around there.
One thing that's been touched on in this discussion is the social aspect of a school; it's not all about academics. Even during its "ghetto" days, I was glad I went to SM rather than TP or LCC. The student body was diverse not just racially, but also economically and interest-wise. There were students who didn't have lunch because their families had no money for it alongside students whose parents bought them brand new cars and showered them with money. The stereotypical clique structure was mostly absent; seeing a goth talking to a jock with a nerd was hardly unusual, and identifying people with those labels in the first place was generally rare in my experience. My freshman year I went to a private school near Torrey Pines and it was a miserable experience. I wasn't alone in that regard. There were transfers to SM from TP and Rancho I met who were much happier at SM. I had an English teacher who lived in TP's boundary area and had a daughter there, but the teacher was at SM because of the students. People at SM were just more real and down to Earth.
So yeah, it was somewhat grungy, but I wasn't in any fights. I didn't do drugs or ditch class (well, OK, maybe I ditched a class from time to time). I had high grades and now hold a Master's degree. SM had its problems but wasn't nearly as bad as its reputation suggested. We had graduates who went to UCLA and Stanford just like at the more affluent high schools. SM had the same opportunities for students as the "better" schools, but it offered a much broader social experience. I can't speak to whether that experience is still there or not, but by the numbers it's obvious SM is now on par with or even surpasses its rivals academically.
Every school has it's own problems. I am so tired of people knocking San Marcos School District, in particular San Marcos High School. I myself went to San Dieguito High School and lived and grew up in Olivenhain. I now live in Carlsbad, and was always on the fence about San Marcos High School, so much that our daughter went to High Tech High. It was a good decision for her as it was a smaller school, but had she gone with her peers and went to San Marcos High, I don't think the outcome would have been any different. All of her friends that went to San Marcos High School, all graduated with 4.0 or higher and went on to many great colleges, UCLA, UCDAVIS, BERKLEY, UCSD, just to name a few. If it was such a horrible school, I don't think you would see the successes that I have seen in the students that have graduated. We had a choice to send our son to High Tech High or San Marcos High School, we decided on SMHS, and I know he will suceed, graduate with honors and go on to a great college. Please do research, before making any judgements.
Yeah the people posting on this thread bashing San Marcos are either;
A. Trying to convince themselves that encinitas/carlsbad area is "better" because they live there
or
B. Honestly unaware of the surrounding areas
We currently live in a single family home in Encinitas in an area that many consider to be 'nice' because everytime we tell someone where we live they ooh and ahhh which doesn't make any sense to me at all. It's about 2,500 square feet, has a big backyard and wonderful views.
Cruising around this town I see an old unimpressive/outdated shopping area (El Camino Real), cute downtown area, and ALOT of dumpy rentals and sketchy beach characters roaming the streets. These people all have kids and THEY MIX IN WITH THESE SCHOOLS.
We are getting out... and going to San Elijo Hills. You cannot even begin to compare the schools and family vibe that the two areas offer. La Costa Canyon has bad scores (great schools 7/10) compared to even the old San Marcos High which is 9/10. Not to even talk about the elementary; I firmly believe hands down there is not a better elementary school in the county than San Elijo Elementary. If you disagree with me, go visit it and then post back here after you do so.
Different strokes I guess but being a young family, Encinitas is really not the place to be. Too much randomness going on and feels a little unsafe. Carlsbad is better but has the Oceanside stuff mixing in. The best area of Carlsbad is Aviara and La Costa and guess where those areas are located...? Right next to San Elijo Hills and in close proximity to San Elijo Hills.
I love my highschool. This information is very old, since it is from 2009. It is currently 2014 and our highschool is doing great. Not a single fight on campus. Our 180million dollar school is our pride and joy. I am proud to be a knight and am exited for my next 3 years (I'm a freshman). Our teachers work hard and support us in major decisions . They are always glad to help, for example many teacher lent rooms in their houses for students who had to evacuate from this years fires. Also they push us because they know we can handle it and they prepare us for collage, and teach us good skills we will need to self-teach. Anyways San Marcos is one of the highest schools, I defiantly recommend it.
I love my highschool. This information is very old, since it is from 2009. It is currently 2014 and our highschool is doing great. Not a single fight on campus. Our 180million dollar school is our pride and joy. I am proud to be a knight and am exited for my next 3 years (I'm a freshman). Our teachers work hard and support us in major decisions . They are always glad to help, for example many teacher lent rooms in their houses for students who had to evacuate from this years fires. Also they push us because they know we can handle it and they prepare us for collage, and teach us good skills we will need to self-teach. Anyways San Marcos is one of the highest schools, I define fly recommend it.
Yeah the people posting on this thread bashing San Marcos are either;
A. Trying to convince themselves that encinitas/carlsbad area is "better" because they live there
or
B. Honestly unaware of the surrounding areas
We currently live in a single family home in Encinitas in an area that many consider to be 'nice' because everytime we tell someone where we live they ooh and ahhh which doesn't make any sense to me at all. It's about 2,500 square feet, has a big backyard and wonderful views.
Cruising around this town I see an old unimpressive/outdated shopping area (El Camino Real), cute downtown area, and ALOT of dumpy rentals and sketchy beach characters roaming the streets. These people all have kids and THEY MIX IN WITH THESE SCHOOLS.
We are getting out... and going to San Elijo Hills. You cannot even begin to compare the schools and family vibe that the two areas offer. La Costa Canyon has bad scores (great schools 7/10) compared to even the old San Marcos High which is 9/10. Not to even talk about the elementary; I firmly believe hands down there is not a better elementary school in the county than San Elijo Elementary. If you disagree with me, go visit it and then post back here after you do so.
Different strokes I guess but being a young family, Encinitas is really not the place to be. Too much randomness going on and feels a little unsafe. Carlsbad is better but has the Oceanside stuff mixing in. The best area of Carlsbad is Aviara and La Costa and guess where those areas are located...? Right next to San Elijo Hills and in close proximity to San Elijo Hills.
Food for thought...
I am currently in New Jersey, but in two months, my family and I are relocating to North County. We have one child, age 4, who will begin kindergarten in '15. I researched the entire San Diego area as best I could, and, given our budget, the area I chose is the La Costa section of Carlsbad. I did look at several homes in San Elijo Hills, however, and my wife and I both really liked it. If we had found the right home there, we would've bought it, as we both like the idea of a walkable "downtown." That said, I think we'll be quite happy in La Costa too.
The schools assigned for our home are La Costa Meadows, San Elijo Middle School, and San Marcos High. And the school I'm most concerned about is actually the one located in Carlsbad--La Costa Meadows Elementary. If there was a way to send my son to San Elijo Elementary, I would like to know. Also, if anyone can comment on La Costa Meadows, I'd be very interested in hearing your thoughts and experience.
As far as San Marcos High goes, I'm comfortable sending my son there someday, barring any major changes in the next ten years. I understand there are plans for a new high school in San Elijo Hills, and if that's the case, we will probably be zoned for it, as La Costa borders San Elijo Hills. I suppose Carlsbad High is also an option, but I can't say I favor it over San Marcos High.
That being said, I spent the better part of a decade as a social studies teacher, so I'm a bit jaded when it comes to these so-called rankings. I taught at a public middle school that is consistently ranked as one of the best middle schools, not just in New Jersey, but the entire country. Yet my experience there left a very sour taste in my mouth. Our school maintained its excellent reputation NOT because of the teachers or the administration, but rather, because of the involvement of the parents.
Last edited by AceOfHearts; 05-23-2014 at 02:23 AM..
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