My kids all went to Carlsbad High, and while its okay I’ve come to the conclusion that parental involvement is more of a factor in a kid’s education than the reputation of a school district. The demographics and economic conditions in the various households have more influence on test scores than do the curriculums or the instructors at the schools.
Rich neighborhoods aren’t rich because of the high test scores of the schools where they are located; the schools where they are located have high test scores because many rich people have high expectations of performance for their kids.
Whatever you do, if you want your kids to focus on school then stay away from the beach communities. It’s true that half the kids will join the program and excel in scholastics and extracurricular activities like organized sports and stuff. However, the other half will gravtitate toward the skate parks (there’s one located about 3 blocks north of Bressi in that industrial park at Palomar Airport Road/El Camino Real) and surfing. And those two groups do not mix. There’s always lots of tension between the jocks and the surfers/skaters. And unlike in other communities, the jocks and cheerleaders don’t always occupy the top of the social pecking order.
You might want to go to Poway or Carmel Valley instead. Those kids have nothing better to do and nowhere better to go than to get involved at school. Carlsbad and Encinitas aren’t known for turning out professional skaters and surfers for nothing.