4s yes or no?

[Krissanca]

My husband and I are looking to buy in the north county area. We are drawn to Poway schools, but would also be happy with scripps ranch schools as well. We have been fighting a losing battle in sabre springs in the savannah terrace complex 5 offers all lost to cash investors! now we haved moved onto 4S we have two offers in right now with no word yet….I Would love some feedback on the areas up there. My husband works at ucsd and I am a stay at home mom. We have a budget of about $400k and we are not looking to buy a fixer we have no desire or time to remodel. We have a special needs kid so schools are the uttermost importance to us. Please be honest

[paramount]

Honestly, if schools are of the utmost importance look at Temecula.

[EconProf]

Scripps Ranch schools used to be top flight (my kids went there), but have slipped of late. Be especially wary of the high school. Maybe fellow Pigg SD Realtor can opine on it.

[an]

What do you mean SRH slipped of late? For 2012, their API score is 900. Here are all the HS in Poway:
Del Norte High 865
Mt. Carmel High 821
Poway High 868
Rancho Bernardo High 848
Westview High 872

So, in essence, SRH blew ALL of the Poway’s HS out of the water. 28 points higher than the highest PUSD’s HS (Westview). Even MMHS (861) would be ranked 4th in Poway School. 4 points away from Del Norte and 7 points away from Poway High and 11 points away from Westview. I’m sure API score does tell the whole story.

WRT OP, I think it really is school depending when it comes to special ed kids. Sometimes, it might even be teacher dependent. So, don’t assume that just because the whole district on average score high that they cater to special ed kids. Do you research on the actual school and even the teachers.

[scaredyclassic]

temecula. we don’t have to worry about the quarry any more. live here….

[CA renter]

[quote=AN]
WRT OP, I think it really is school depending when it comes to special ed kids. Sometimes, it might even be teacher dependent. So, don’t assume that just because the whole district on average score high that they cater to special ed kids. Do you research on the actual school and even the teachers.[/quote]

Agree with this. With special needs kids, the official “school scores” don’t matter as much as the specific services the districts/schools provide to special needs students. Some districts might have very low scores, but have fantastic resources for special ed students. Some districts/schools really go out of their way to take care of them.

It also depends very much on what *you* want WRT your child. Are you looking to mainstream him/her, or are you looking to get more services that are specific to your child’s needs? Some districts/schools will do everything in their power to avoid having to offer services to special ed students while others always go the extra mile and get the students everything they can possibly provide.

Definitely do your research on this.

Best of luck!

[ocrenter]

At this point I would say yes to anything within your price range from 4s down to clairemont mesa. You seen how bad is it out there. If you want a house now, there is no picking and choosing at this point.

The economy is improving, I’m hearing that sentiment from Walmart clerks to Nordstrom salesladies to car dealers to flippers and Realtors and electricians. Interest rate is staying low, the QEs will devalue the dollar some more, which means housing prices are heading north. (Remember Romney himself was banking on the economy improving, he was just hoping voter impatience at the pace of the improvement would be enough to get him into the WH).

Just get something so down the line you have something to trade up with.

[livinincali]

If services for your child is of the utmost importance it might be best to rent until you find a school situation that you like for your child. It’s a lot easier to pick up and move if things aren’t working in the school district. I assume your already involved with the regional center. If you are talk to your case worker and see if they have any recommendations. They know which school districts are better to work with than others. with the budget difficulties in CA it’s pretty likely special needs services are going to face cuts and those cuts will be handled differently by each school district.

[UCGal]

[quote=AN]
WRT OP, I think it really is school depending when it comes to special ed kids. Sometimes, it might even be teacher dependent. So, don’t assume that just because the whole district on average score high that they cater to special ed kids. Do you research on the actual school and even the teachers.[/quote]

+1000

API scores are not the be-all/end-all. I recently moved my kids from a high API school to one that looks terrible on paper. But the school they’re at has the teachers/services for my kid’s needs. It was very teacher/program dependent.

A lot will depend on the actual needs of the kids. A friend has an autistic son – the special ed teacher at the school we left is exceptional with kids with autism and on the spectrum. So for her – our old school was the best fit. It’s child/needs dependent as to what the best fit is. Another friend left the school we moved to because it was *not* a good fit for her son’s (emotional) special needs.

You have to look at a school/teacher/program SPECIFIC to YOUR child’s needs. Special Ed encompasses a very broad spectrum of services/accommodations. What works for one child’s issues doesn’t work for a different set of issues. Special Ed is everything from autism, spectrum disorders, ADHD, ADD, Dyslexia, emotional issues (anxiety, etc), physical needs like diabetes, speech issues, deafness, blindness…. The needs all require a different solution. Different schools, different programs, different teachers, will be the right fit for you child’s needs.

Special needs can be so broad. Talk to parents of kids with similar issues. Find out what they liked/didn’t like about the schools they’re at. Ask them to put you in touch with other parents to broaden your data sample of what’s out there.

[SD Realtor]

There is some pending litigation regarding 4S Master HOA due to some construction defects involving common area.

[Krissanca]

My son has mild autism and I have looked into all the schools talked with parents ect…he is still very young in an excellent preschool with Rady children’s at the autism discovery institute. He is very bright so a challenging environment is what we are looking for and the feedback from parents in PUSD is outstanding all signs point to them. I know schools vary and it is “all about the teacher” but I want to make sure the school is doing well since we also have another small typical child and for resale value there is a lot of interest in the Poway district. I went to San Diego Unified schools and they are hit or miss as schools go…

[Krissanca]

Yes we are in with regional have been since he was very little. Most professionals and parents I’ve talked to saypoway has great services. I’m just trying to navigate the neighborhoods in that district

[sdduuuude]

I have heard from several parents that the better school districts are not better for special needs kids. You may be able to get more for your money if you find a generally worse district that is better for your kid.

EDIT: Just saw you have another “regular need” kid.

[carlsbadworker]

[quote=paramount]Honestly, if schools are of the utmost importance look at Temecula.[/quote]

Temecula HS wasn’t that good if you look at GreatSchools.org scores.

[paramount]

[quote=carlsbadworker][quote=paramount]Honestly, if schools are of the utmost importance look at Temecula.[/quote]

Temecula HS wasn’t that good if you look at GreatSchools.org scores.[/quote]

Agreed, I was just trying to do some marketing for my investments.

However, Elem and Middle schools are generally VERY good in Temecula.

I was really disappointed by recent api test scores for Temecula high schools. Although Great Oak high was in the top 1% nationally.

[Author]

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