UPDATED! WHICH SCHOOL should I pick for DS1?

[bisous]

B probably.

I had to ride my bike in high school or walk and neither was cool, but I just did it. You need to do what is convenient to you, and what will work best for him.

C sounds great except I hated block schedule my senior year in high school when we had it (94-95). In college I also didn’t care for classes longer than 1 hour.

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Oh really? Walking isn't uncool around here but again regional differences!

This is a good point though. He couldn't possibly walk to any of the schools. All of them are too far. He could ride his bike to A. C is up the freeway so no way, but B is on farm roads with no shoulder and cars driving 50 plus so also no way!

[sariana]

B. IDEA is a huge factor, and working with a school that already has the resources is gold.

As for AVID, it is my understanding that in order to qualify, a student has to have 2 parents who did not complete college. Would your DS qualify? The program is great, and some schools incorporate its principles across all classes. So even if he doesn't qualify for the program explicitly, attending an AVID-certified school is a bonus.

[AnnieW625]

Oh really? Walking isn't uncool around here but again regional differences!

This is a good point though. He couldn't possibly walk to any of the schools. All of them are too far. He could ride his bike to A. C is up the freeway so no way, but B is on farm roads with no shoulder and cars driving 50 plus so also no way!

This was from my experience in a medium sized farm city (30k or so) in Northern California in the 90s. Most people got their drivers license at 16 and got a car as well so if you walked or rode your bike it wasn’t necessarily cool. I didn’t get my license until 3 weeks before I graduated from high school.

Walking is super common here as the area high schools have 4500 students so not conducive to everyone driving their own car.


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[SnuggleBuggles]

Surely not all kids get driven to school. Don't most families have 2 working parents? High school hours are pretty bad for coordinating with work usually.

[smilequeen]

DS1 is at a school with a rotating block schedule. He can roll with anything but for my 2nd (will be there in 7th grade as well) I really like it. For one, they are able to incorporate different learning styles easily into the same class. This particular school is all boys so they are focused on the different ways boys learn...but it gives them a chance to lecture, do projects, and move during class. Will be great for my ADHD 2nd kid. Also they have a different class every day at the end of the day...so he struggles with the last class of the day due to ADHD and it’s nice that it isn’t always the same class. Now, they do take 8 classes, so they also rotate which 4 classes they have in one day. This helps spread out homework too. Con would be that it could be confusing at first to have a different schedule each day (A1, B1, A2, B2, A3 would be one week, then B3, A4, B4, A1, B1 the next, etc.)

All that said, I really would consider giving up on school A. If it doesn’t work, it could be such a disaster year for him. That’s a big risk. The other 3, I could go any way.

[KrisM]

I'd pick B and use the bus. I know you say the bus isn't cool but I guess I"m not the cool mom because my kids would be on the bus!

My kids in middle have a block schedule twice a week. They have 7 classes on Mon-Wed and block Thurs/Fri with 4 each. They hate it. They hate how very long those classes are. They are good for some things, but say they just need to change more often than 90 minutes. Personally, I don't understand how the 3/semester works well. I can't imagine having a foreign language Sep-Jan and then not again until Sep or Jan of the next year. Or math. People say the "summer slide" is real, but some of these block schedules mean you could have 12 months between the end of French1 and the start of French 2. Also, how does an AP class work? Just Sep-Jan and review for the test? Or Jan-May, since the test is early May? Like I said, we do not have these schedules in high school, so I have no experience, but it just sounds awkward to me.

[AnnieW625]

Also what is your DS’s choice?


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[KpbS]

I vote for C or E.

C seems best of all of your traditional school choices and yes, there is always homeschooling as an option too.

Best of luck with your decision. I would definitely avoid option A. Glad you are finding out now instead of a few weeks into the next school year.

[bisous]

B. IDEA is a huge factor, and working with a school that already has the resources is gold.

As for AVID, it is my understanding that in order to qualify, a student has to have 2 parents who did not complete college. Would your DS qualify? The program is great, and some schools incorporate its principles across all classes. So even if he doesn't qualify for the program explicitly, attending an AVID-certified school is a bonus.

I’ll have to do some research about AVID. The principal at his current charter school said it would be great for him but I clearly don’t know enough about the program.

What you’re saying about IDEA is so true. I feel like I need to be really honest about what’s going on with DS and see which school is willing to accommodate him. Some schools that “have” to have been so obnoxious about it whereas some schools are just so happy to give him the help he needs. He NEEDS the latter for High School.

[bisous]

I'd pick B and use the bus. I know you say the bus isn't cool but I guess I"m not the cool mom because my kids would be on the bus!

My kids in middle have a block schedule twice a week. They have 7 classes on Mon-Wed and block Thurs/Fri with 4 each. They hate it. They hate how very long those classes are. They are good for some things, but say they just need to change more often than 90 minutes. Personally, I don't understand how the 3/semester works well. I can't imagine having a foreign language Sep-Jan and then not again until Sep or Jan of the next year. Or math. People say the "summer slide" is real, but some of these block schedules mean you could have 12 months between the end of French1 and the start of French 2. Also, how does an AP class work? Just Sep-Jan and review for the test? Or Jan-May, since the test is early May? Like I said, we do not have these schedules in high school, so I have no experience, but it just sounds awkward to me.

I can totally see your point about the block schedule! I think math could be hugely problematic if you wait 8 months between classes. But everyone I know loves it. I also think someone mentioned it might be a slog in a boring class and that totally makes sense to me. Imagine having two dry classes back to back. That’s like four hours!

Definitely stuff to think about!