[Grovenet] Opinion wanted

[Katie Allnutt]

I'll offer 3 stories:

First from a math teacher at a public high school:
Over many years of teaching he has seen kids transfer from private  
schools into the public high school.  Many come after 8th grade when  
the private school ends. Some come from K-12 private schools for  
various reasons.  The general trend is that kids from private schools  
where the tuition was subsidized by religious groups or where the  
math teacher teaches a broad range of grades (ie they teach 5-8th  
grade math or in some cases K-8th grade math) need help to catch up  
to the average kid. Kids who come from private schools where the  
tuition is $13K per year or more do quite well in math and they mimic  
their cohort from public schools. (If they have college educated  
parents they do as well as public kids who have college educated  
parents.)
If you pay $13-18K/yr you will get a great education. If you pay  
$3-4K/yr you will get a $3-4K education.

 From my sister who moved to Ohio a few years ago:
She had 3 teen boys and had the option to move into several school  
districts. Both provided the statistics on their college bound rates,  
graduation rates, etc. One was a homogeneous district, with a high  
tax rate, and great statistics.  The other was a diverse district,  
with a lower tax rate and good but lower statistics. She moved into  
the high tax, homogenous district. After 2-3 years she figured out  
that while the statistics looked better at her school, if she had  
gone to the other, the college bound and graduation rate was higher  
in her particular demographic. The statistics were misleading for her  
situation because they only reported averages. You have to go to the  
district and see what the conditions are on the ground to see how  
your kid will fit in.  And yes, she moved after her youngest  
graduated because why should she have to pay high taxes for somebody  
else's kid to get a good education. (A familiar attitude these days  
and a story for another time. For reference the per student spending  
was over $10k/yr and this was in the 90s.)

 From my own experience:
My kids have gone to FG schools their whole life and attended  
preschools from local high schools.  I volunteer at their schools so  
I had the opportunity to know the teachers personally. One particular  
weekend I had an 'aha' moment. I drove by the 5th/6th grade school  
and noticed the teachers car in the parking lot. It hit me that over  
the years, when we were on our weekend activities we would often  
drive by the school. Maybe on the way to a friends house or on the  
way to a little league game or soccer or something. I had grown used  
to seeing the teacher's car in the parking lot when we went to the  
school evenings, and on the weekend. And these were teachers who did  
not have children in sports. I don't think we were extraordinarily  
lucky to have such dedicated teachers, it just seemed that this  
district has them.

Plus in high school, now my kid has  a huge number of AP classes to  
choose from. The teachers are often there as well. My kids aren't in  
music or theater but we have extraordinary music and theater  
programs. We go because they are good.  One of the reasons for this  
is because we have, in my opinion, an extremely effective and caring  
superintendent.  During his first year here he impressed me as a  
person who  recognized the value of the school system is in the  
teachers and he respects his capital (the teachers).  We also have a  
great new principal at the high school. Both are vast improvements  
over the previous superintendent/principal.  I disagree strongly with  
a handful of their policies but overall they are darn good. In  
addition, over the last 10 years we have had multiple parents and  
community members involved in the school board. And not just on the  
board but many of the subcommittees as well.

If the person who wanted information is going to decide on the FG  
school system, he should ask these questions? How many years does his  
kid have to go? When does the superintendent expect to retire? When  
does the principal expect to retire? And what subgroup does he belong  
to? Go to the school and try to get the statistics on his  
demographic, not just the average. Look at the course offerings. Etc.
Then get the same information from the other school district he is  
considering. Look at the turnover at the superintendent level,  
principal level etc.

If he does decide to come to FG, be prepared for a little  
overcrowding because we have the kids packed in pretty tight. But go  
to look at the faces, especially at the high school. They are doing  
pretty well.


Katie
And if he decides on a private school, I would recommend an expensive  
one.


On Mar 19, 2008, at 6:32 PM, chuck wrote:

> Hi folks,
>
> Over on the Forest Grove Live board, I had a reader submit the  
> following
> question.  And since I know the good people here will have lots of
> opinions :)  I thought I'd post it here as well.
>
> I can transfer the commentary back the the board, or if you like  
> you can
> comment yourselves - anonymously too if that is your wish...
>
> www.forestgrovelive.com
>
> The question....
>
> "Recently moved to Portland and have been considering living in Forest
> Grove for the small town. However my research of the schools has me
> thinking I need to stay away for the sake of my children's education.
> Would love to hear other's opinions vs. what the test scores show"
>
> thanks
>
> chuck
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