04/11/2011:
"Can anyone tell me more about their experiences with Chapel Hill/Carborro?
Thank you for the enlightening information on Wake County Schools. I am
new to the triangle area and am currently doing my homework on the best
schools for my dyslexic children coming to NC from MA where they attend
private schools for language based disabilities which is paid for by the
school district and the state of MA. I am well aware these are no such
excellent schools in NC so that is where I must begin. Chapel
Hill/Carborro schools seem to be the best fit so far thanks to a higher
socioeconomic status of the area. I will be looking into the Hill Center
as well to supplement public school. Please share more information with
me especially if you have children with Dyslexia."
03/14/2011:
"You've got to be kidding. Most people try to escape the Wake County
public school system any way they can. That's why our charter schools
hold lotteries and stop at around 200 on wait lists! That diversity
policy is totally misrepresented across the country. NC waters down it's
state test every other year so it looks like students are achieving. They
teach to the lowest denominator, and shuffle families around every 2-3
years. They'll even split families - assigning a 4th grader to one
school, and a kindergartener in the same family to another. Totally
absurd! I live within a mile of an elementary school and have never been
allowed to send my kids there! The reason the new school board exists is
because most of the voting public got pushed over the edge and got rid of
the people that were standing behind a 60 year old educational policy that
was introduced to address decades old social issues that don't exist
anymore. Cary has remained more immune from the negative!
effects due to the more recent and rapid growth, but believe me when I
say that I can't wait to move to another state this year for this reason
alone."
01/24/2011:
"Could you just print the list and give us the choice when we want the
detail?
I read this a bit and then just called it day. It is too annoying."
11/29/2010:
"Seems, judging from average home price, the best schools are in the
wealthier towns. Why is that? What can be done to get a town with below
average home prices into the best schools category?"
08/30/2010:
"Cary NC has great public schools? Are you kidding me? Nearly a third of
Cary families will not even send their children to a Wake County Public
School (WCPSS) because they are so bad. Check out the SAT scores of the
local high schools - they are much lower than suburbs in other parts of
the US and are an embarrassment to the community. As for the 'high
passing rates' on end of grade tests, NC has one of the easiest testing
systems in the nation. The 'diversity policy' is a huge county wide
forced-busing mess that causes students to be assigned to certain schools
so that the failing scores of disadvantaged students can be hidden among a
higher number of passing students. WCPSS has a lower graduation rate for
disadvantaged students then the state average so everyone (middle class
and disadvantaged) comes up as losers in this system."
07/19/2010:
"NO! Scottsdale is not a good place to send your children. Especially
Ingleside Middle School: Staff are know to verbal embarrass students in
front of their peers and parents. The teachers change they grading and
assignments at will. And if your child has any kind of learning
difference, document every single conversation and keep every
correspondence from staff, teachers and Administration. Beware!"
05/10/2010:
"Yes, Scottsdale is a great place to live and you never have to shovel snow
:-) However you do need to know that Arizona is now 50th (rock bottom!)
for what it spends on Education per child, per year. Sad but true!
I think the new Scottsdale Superintendent, Dr. Gary Catalani, is a leader
with vision. He understands the challenges that public education is
presently facing. I believe he is doing the best he can with the budget
cuts he is having to deal with. The Scottsdale school district, for the
2010-11 fiscal year, is facing $18.4 million in budget cuts alone. As
Superintendent you can only do 'so much' for the students and teachers
when you have so little money to do it with!
Our Governor and the State legislature don't have the backbone to do the
right thing! They have created this present 'nightmare' for AZ public
education! They are allowing the future of all children, in public
schools, to be determined by a vote! On May, 18th, in a special election,
voters decide whether to preserve Education in AZ or not!!!! Please
know that in a State with a large voting population of retirees who have
'paid their dues' and don't have much of a vested interest in passing this
measure the outcome is scary!
"
05/6/2010:
"No Arizona school can be rated as a good school. Arizona ranks 49th or
50ieth in spending and quality of education on most lists. The label
'excelling school' is a sales term made up by the disticts to 'sell' the
schools and make the parents feel complacent. Our state AIMS test is
terrible. We face more budget cuts. The state of Arizona has a high
retired population that have already 'paid their dues'. If we didn't have
family here, we'd get out of this state. Don't move to Arizona.
Scottsdale, specifically, is good at selling outsiders anything."
05/6/2010:
"Scottsdale has a large district staff that stifles the schools. The
Superintendent needs to go back into real retirement instead retire on the
state's time. Principals hands are tied when it comes to real solutions
for the drastic cuts in education. Our famous governor put education on a
sales tax increase ballot chopping block. Stay away from Arizona if you
want to educate your kids. I'm shocked that Great Schools didn't do their
homework."
04/13/2010:
"Don't buy what you read on Cary, NC - and that the diversity policy is
what makes the schools great. By shuffling kids around like cattle, to
make sure that no school has more than 40% children eligible for 'free and
reduced lunch' (a system highly wrought with fraud, I will mention - as
I've seen estimates as high as 60% of the families who receive this
benefit lied about their incomes to get it) - they've created a system
where all schools are just mediocre, and it makes it easier to hide the
low graduation rates among the economically disadvantaged. Would you be
proud of a 55% graduation rate for minorities? I can't believe Wake
County is proud of it. Also, unless you can get your child into a magnet
school (less than 50% who apply actually get in), then you can count on
your public school not offering you many electives. Public schools are
not allowed to offer electives, because they will 'compete' with the
magnet schools who get special funding. Let me tell you, t!
his school district has been run into the ground for years, and is such a
complicated disaster it's almost laughable. To tell you I am horrified by
the mess they've created here is an understatement. PLEASE do your
homework before moving to Wake County, if you have school-age children.
Your children can get a much more high-quality, more stable public
education elsewhere."
04/13/2010:
"This is the FIRST artical that actually addresses my concerns I would like
to move south but could not find any info on schools. Thank you and keep
the info comming."
04/8/2010:
"The so-called diversity program in Cary, NC (Wake county actually)were a
joke. The policy hurt many more than it helped. My three kids spent
there entire school career worrying which school they would be attending
the following year. Every year there was redistricting. They would often
ride a bus past two schools, to a third that was much further away. When
we literally lived right beside one elementary and middle school, they
were bused 10 miles away so poor kids could ride an hour on a school bus
to attend our highly rated school. The school board taught my kids that
liberals with good intentions, rarely think things completely thru. And
that while giving to one group, take away from another that actually
earned their spot. The end of the diversity program came too late for my
kids, but I'm glad the end of it will now help many other kids."
04/7/2010:
"As a Naperville resident I'm very happy with the education our daughter is
getting. It's a truly great place to live and bring up a family."
04/6/2010:
"I'd like to know how you included Overland Park, KS in the top 10, but
ignored Liberty, Blue Springs, and Lees Summit, across the border in
Missouri, who all have better school rankings (according to Great Schools)"
04/6/2010:
"I wonder how long it will take before Florida's public schools suffer at
the mass teacher exodus in light of HB7189. Newly graduating education
majors are heading out of Florida now."
04/6/2010:
"Its obvious that those schools designated a quality schools correspond to
the high socio-economic level of the community."
