It’s hard for me to compare because my kids never went to schools in 4S ranch, however they went to Torrey Pines Elementary and they like Torrey Pines more. My older daughter is in Seminar and younger one has not taken the test yet. In terms of selling your house for the purpose of switching to an elementary school down the street I personally don’t think it’s worth it. Dingeman does get quite a bit of kids choiced in from the EBS school but I have also heard that EBS is a newer and better school. Either way, I think the difference is negligible, and schools are really a personal thing and should be beyond test scores. In addition, if your child does get into Seminar then you will have the choice to move to a different school district that provides Seminar programs.
To be quite honest, although the Seminar program has some good aspects I think the difference in curriculum and added value is very insignificant when compared to the other classrooms. Kids in the class are smart but almost every classroom at Dingeman is full of smart and above average kids evidenced by the school’s standardized test scores. In addition, the Seminar program is not funded or funded very little so most of the stem instruction comes from parent volunteers.
After middle school we are seriously thinking of removing my daughter from Seminar like many other parents do. I have heard that college admissions do not recognize the program and the increased difficulty of the curriculum can result in lower grades which negatively impacts college admissions. It’s a long way ahead but something also to think about in a few year.
