Rich, I as a former military wife have seen many school districts, most in good neighborhoods are fine for the average child. But I have one child who due to a tongue tie is far behind his peers and has an IEP (indiv. educ. plan). This is where districts really matter. Poway unified in my opinion has the best special services I have seen. Best resource teachers, most experience, best evaluation of skills, these things matter a great deal when you are fighting to get you kid help and struggling to get him up to his peer level. I have known many teachers in the 10 years my kids have been in school (four different counties in three states) and PUSD stands out. I just returned from back to school night, and as one teacher said it, she reached the Holy Grail by finally getting into PUSD. She had taught in Logan Heights, North park, all over San Diego, and finally ended up at PUSD. Most of the teachers my kids have had have many years of experience, and while that is not always the best judge of success, it is a reassurance that they know what they are doing. School is barely three weeks old and I have already met with his resource teacher and made decisions on his education plan. Most of the time for the average child, a good neighborhood school is fine, but in certain cases better districts can be the breaker between a child who falls through the cracks and a child who catches up to the rest of his peers.
