Carmel valley schools v. “Private schools”

[equalizer]

[quote=fredo4]I’m a former teacher and IMO the biggest thing to look for in a school is parental involvement. It also helps if the school is hard to get in to whether it’s public or private. Schools that make you jump through a few hoops (with lotteries and other prerequisites) weed out the parents and kids that don’t care about education.

Personally, I’m a lot more concerned about the moral climate of a school than the academic climate, but the two often go hand in hand. I’m not nearly as concerned with my kids getting into elite colleges as I am with them doing well and becoming well rounded in high school.
I’ve seen too many people with elite college degrees who have done nothing with them.[/quote]
All good points. I know many people in college who slept through high school and aced college. They had IQs, but were lazy in high school. So need the genetic high IQ, HS is not really important unless you want Ivy League. Is Ivy league really worth it? The WSJ article doesn’t have third comparison which is in state school comparison. It would really tilt in favor of SDSU as long as you weren’t looking for special needs such as hanging with Georgetown beltway crowd, etc

http://wsjclassroom.com/archive/05mar/related_05mar_teacher_ivy.htm

I think you most of you are missing big picture which is grad/professional schools. Better to go to average school like SDSU and get 3.5GPA, then you could have much better chance to get into Harvard Med, then if you went to MIT Undergrad and get 2.0 GPA with same MCAT score. I’d pick the MIT grad, but enough colleges would pick SDSU grad.

[sdduuuude]

[quote=fredo4]I’m a former teacher and IMO the biggest thing to look for in a school is parental involvement.

Personally, I’m a lot more concerned about the moral climate of a school than the academic climate[/quote]

Well said. How do you gauge this ?
Visits to the school or crashing the PTA meetings ?

[quote=equalizer]I think you most of you are missing big picture which is grad/professional schools. Better to go to average school like SDSU and get 3.5GPA, then you could have much better chance to get into Harvard Med, then if you went to MIT Undergrad and get 2.0 GPA with same MCAT score. I’d pick the MIT grad, but enough colleges would pick SDSU grad.
[/quote]

Also an excellent point. This is the “strategy” I used. Going in, it wasn’t really a strategy. I just went to my local university because it was cheap and convenient. In hindsite, I’m sold on big state party schools for undergrad, followed by a serious grad school. I give this advice to as many young’ns as I can.

It saves money and gives you time to be a kid for another four years. The pace and intensity at serious private colleges is not, in my opinion, a very healthy or happy one.

[sdduuuude]

[quote=fredo4]I’m a former teacher and IMO the biggest thing to look for in a school is parental involvement.

Personally, I’m a lot more concerned about the moral climate of a school than the academic climate[/quote]

Well said. How do you gauge this ?
Visits to the school or crashing the PTA meetings ?

[quote=equalizer]I think you most of you are missing big picture which is grad/professional schools. Better to go to average school like SDSU and get 3.5GPA, then you could have much better chance to get into Harvard Med, then if you went to MIT Undergrad and get 2.0 GPA with same MCAT score. I’d pick the MIT grad, but enough colleges would pick SDSU grad.
[/quote]

Also an excellent point. This is the “strategy” I used. Going in, it wasn’t really a strategy. I just went to my local university because it was cheap and convenient. In hindsite, I’m sold on big state party schools for undergrad, followed by a serious grad school. I give this advice to as many young’ns as I can.

It saves money and gives you time to be a kid for another four years. The pace and intensity at serious private colleges is not, in my opinion, a very healthy or happy one.

[sdduuuude]

[quote=fredo4]I’m a former teacher and IMO the biggest thing to look for in a school is parental involvement.

Personally, I’m a lot more concerned about the moral climate of a school than the academic climate[/quote]

Well said. How do you gauge this ?
Visits to the school or crashing the PTA meetings ?

[quote=equalizer]I think you most of you are missing big picture which is grad/professional schools. Better to go to average school like SDSU and get 3.5GPA, then you could have much better chance to get into Harvard Med, then if you went to MIT Undergrad and get 2.0 GPA with same MCAT score. I’d pick the MIT grad, but enough colleges would pick SDSU grad.
[/quote]

Also an excellent point. This is the “strategy” I used. Going in, it wasn’t really a strategy. I just went to my local university because it was cheap and convenient. In hindsite, I’m sold on big state party schools for undergrad, followed by a serious grad school. I give this advice to as many young’ns as I can.

It saves money and gives you time to be a kid for another four years. The pace and intensity at serious private colleges is not, in my opinion, a very healthy or happy one.

[sdduuuude]

[quote=fredo4]I’m a former teacher and IMO the biggest thing to look for in a school is parental involvement.

Personally, I’m a lot more concerned about the moral climate of a school than the academic climate[/quote]

Well said. How do you gauge this ?
Visits to the school or crashing the PTA meetings ?

[quote=equalizer]I think you most of you are missing big picture which is grad/professional schools. Better to go to average school like SDSU and get 3.5GPA, then you could have much better chance to get into Harvard Med, then if you went to MIT Undergrad and get 2.0 GPA with same MCAT score. I’d pick the MIT grad, but enough colleges would pick SDSU grad.
[/quote]

Also an excellent point. This is the “strategy” I used. Going in, it wasn’t really a strategy. I just went to my local university because it was cheap and convenient. In hindsite, I’m sold on big state party schools for undergrad, followed by a serious grad school. I give this advice to as many young’ns as I can.

It saves money and gives you time to be a kid for another four years. The pace and intensity at serious private colleges is not, in my opinion, a very healthy or happy one.

[sdduuuude]

[quote=fredo4]I’m a former teacher and IMO the biggest thing to look for in a school is parental involvement.

Personally, I’m a lot more concerned about the moral climate of a school than the academic climate[/quote]

Well said. How do you gauge this ?
Visits to the school or crashing the PTA meetings ?

[quote=equalizer]I think you most of you are missing big picture which is grad/professional schools. Better to go to average school like SDSU and get 3.5GPA, then you could have much better chance to get into Harvard Med, then if you went to MIT Undergrad and get 2.0 GPA with same MCAT score. I’d pick the MIT grad, but enough colleges would pick SDSU grad.
[/quote]

Also an excellent point. This is the “strategy” I used. Going in, it wasn’t really a strategy. I just went to my local university because it was cheap and convenient. In hindsite, I’m sold on big state party schools for undergrad, followed by a serious grad school. I give this advice to as many young’ns as I can.

It saves money and gives you time to be a kid for another four years. The pace and intensity at serious private colleges is not, in my opinion, a very healthy or happy one.

[fredo4]

[quote=sdduuuude][quote=fredo4]I’m a former teacher and IMO the biggest thing to look for in a school is parental involvement.

Personally, I’m a lot more concerned about the moral climate of a school than the academic climate[/quote]

Well said. How do you gauge this ?
Visits to the school or crashing the PTA meetings ?

[/quote]
All of the above. If possible, visit the school and skulk around the classrooms without them walking you around as an official visitor. Then you can see what’s really going on in the rooms. This, I’m sure is easier for a woman to get away with then a man so you’d have to send your wife.

I wouldn’t go by what parents who send their kids to the school say either. They wouldn’t be sending their kid there if they had any major complaints. And most people are not nearly as picky as I am about schools not having worked at one and seen what goes on (e.g. Bad teachers who are mean to the kids and don’t get fired, improper supervision on fieldtrips, lazy teachers who don’t teach,etc.).

You have to remember that school aged kids are much more influenced by their peers than by their parents, so choosing a school with nice kids and a healthy environment really is critical. It’s much more important than just looking at test scores.
It doesn’t matter how good the school is academically if your kids get mixed up with a bunch of stoners who don’t even graduate high school.

[fredo4]

[quote=sdduuuude][quote=fredo4]I’m a former teacher and IMO the biggest thing to look for in a school is parental involvement.

Personally, I’m a lot more concerned about the moral climate of a school than the academic climate[/quote]

Well said. How do you gauge this ?
Visits to the school or crashing the PTA meetings ?

[/quote]
All of the above. If possible, visit the school and skulk around the classrooms without them walking you around as an official visitor. Then you can see what’s really going on in the rooms. This, I’m sure is easier for a woman to get away with then a man so you’d have to send your wife.

I wouldn’t go by what parents who send their kids to the school say either. They wouldn’t be sending their kid there if they had any major complaints. And most people are not nearly as picky as I am about schools not having worked at one and seen what goes on (e.g. Bad teachers who are mean to the kids and don’t get fired, improper supervision on fieldtrips, lazy teachers who don’t teach,etc.).

You have to remember that school aged kids are much more influenced by their peers than by their parents, so choosing a school with nice kids and a healthy environment really is critical. It’s much more important than just looking at test scores.
It doesn’t matter how good the school is academically if your kids get mixed up with a bunch of stoners who don’t even graduate high school.

[fredo4]

[quote=sdduuuude][quote=fredo4]I’m a former teacher and IMO the biggest thing to look for in a school is parental involvement.

Personally, I’m a lot more concerned about the moral climate of a school than the academic climate[/quote]

Well said. How do you gauge this ?
Visits to the school or crashing the PTA meetings ?

[/quote]
All of the above. If possible, visit the school and skulk around the classrooms without them walking you around as an official visitor. Then you can see what’s really going on in the rooms. This, I’m sure is easier for a woman to get away with then a man so you’d have to send your wife.

I wouldn’t go by what parents who send their kids to the school say either. They wouldn’t be sending their kid there if they had any major complaints. And most people are not nearly as picky as I am about schools not having worked at one and seen what goes on (e.g. Bad teachers who are mean to the kids and don’t get fired, improper supervision on fieldtrips, lazy teachers who don’t teach,etc.).

You have to remember that school aged kids are much more influenced by their peers than by their parents, so choosing a school with nice kids and a healthy environment really is critical. It’s much more important than just looking at test scores.
It doesn’t matter how good the school is academically if your kids get mixed up with a bunch of stoners who don’t even graduate high school.

[fredo4]

[quote=sdduuuude][quote=fredo4]I’m a former teacher and IMO the biggest thing to look for in a school is parental involvement.

Personally, I’m a lot more concerned about the moral climate of a school than the academic climate[/quote]

Well said. How do you gauge this ?
Visits to the school or crashing the PTA meetings ?

[/quote]
All of the above. If possible, visit the school and skulk around the classrooms without them walking you around as an official visitor. Then you can see what’s really going on in the rooms. This, I’m sure is easier for a woman to get away with then a man so you’d have to send your wife.

I wouldn’t go by what parents who send their kids to the school say either. They wouldn’t be sending their kid there if they had any major complaints. And most people are not nearly as picky as I am about schools not having worked at one and seen what goes on (e.g. Bad teachers who are mean to the kids and don’t get fired, improper supervision on fieldtrips, lazy teachers who don’t teach,etc.).

You have to remember that school aged kids are much more influenced by their peers than by their parents, so choosing a school with nice kids and a healthy environment really is critical. It’s much more important than just looking at test scores.
It doesn’t matter how good the school is academically if your kids get mixed up with a bunch of stoners who don’t even graduate high school.

[fredo4]

[quote=sdduuuude][quote=fredo4]I’m a former teacher and IMO the biggest thing to look for in a school is parental involvement.

Personally, I’m a lot more concerned about the moral climate of a school than the academic climate[/quote]

Well said. How do you gauge this ?
Visits to the school or crashing the PTA meetings ?

[/quote]
All of the above. If possible, visit the school and skulk around the classrooms without them walking you around as an official visitor. Then you can see what’s really going on in the rooms. This, I’m sure is easier for a woman to get away with then a man so you’d have to send your wife.

I wouldn’t go by what parents who send their kids to the school say either. They wouldn’t be sending their kid there if they had any major complaints. And most people are not nearly as picky as I am about schools not having worked at one and seen what goes on (e.g. Bad teachers who are mean to the kids and don’t get fired, improper supervision on fieldtrips, lazy teachers who don’t teach,etc.).

You have to remember that school aged kids are much more influenced by their peers than by their parents, so choosing a school with nice kids and a healthy environment really is critical. It’s much more important than just looking at test scores.
It doesn’t matter how good the school is academically if your kids get mixed up with a bunch of stoners who don’t even graduate high school.

[jimg111]

One of my daughters went to Ashley Falls and all schools in the Del Mar School district are excellent.( Pretty sure the highest in the county over Poway as well ) They get the required stuff out of the way 2/3 of the way through the year and the last third is spent on advanced material. Yes the Asian kids pull up the API but most of these kids come from well educated parents. The way they get around the 1 teacher to 20 kids class size is they will sometimes have a teacher’s assistant and many times 2 parent volunteers ( who generally hold 4 year or advanced degrees.) Definite advantage to have 3 to 4 “teachers” assisting at all times. The school district also raises quite a bit of money for the foundation which is used for more specialized classes.

[jimg111]

One of my daughters went to Ashley Falls and all schools in the Del Mar School district are excellent.( Pretty sure the highest in the county over Poway as well ) They get the required stuff out of the way 2/3 of the way through the year and the last third is spent on advanced material. Yes the Asian kids pull up the API but most of these kids come from well educated parents. The way they get around the 1 teacher to 20 kids class size is they will sometimes have a teacher’s assistant and many times 2 parent volunteers ( who generally hold 4 year or advanced degrees.) Definite advantage to have 3 to 4 “teachers” assisting at all times. The school district also raises quite a bit of money for the foundation which is used for more specialized classes.

[jimg111]

One of my daughters went to Ashley Falls and all schools in the Del Mar School district are excellent.( Pretty sure the highest in the county over Poway as well ) They get the required stuff out of the way 2/3 of the way through the year and the last third is spent on advanced material. Yes the Asian kids pull up the API but most of these kids come from well educated parents. The way they get around the 1 teacher to 20 kids class size is they will sometimes have a teacher’s assistant and many times 2 parent volunteers ( who generally hold 4 year or advanced degrees.) Definite advantage to have 3 to 4 “teachers” assisting at all times. The school district also raises quite a bit of money for the foundation which is used for more specialized classes.

[jimg111]

One of my daughters went to Ashley Falls and all schools in the Del Mar School district are excellent.( Pretty sure the highest in the county over Poway as well ) They get the required stuff out of the way 2/3 of the way through the year and the last third is spent on advanced material. Yes the Asian kids pull up the API but most of these kids come from well educated parents. The way they get around the 1 teacher to 20 kids class size is they will sometimes have a teacher’s assistant and many times 2 parent volunteers ( who generally hold 4 year or advanced degrees.) Definite advantage to have 3 to 4 “teachers” assisting at all times. The school district also raises quite a bit of money for the foundation which is used for more specialized classes.

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