92 replies to this topic

[mck]

My children have been going to Carl Sundahl and overall I've been very pleased. Their teachers have been great, they seem to be doing well, and they seem to be very happy with it. When we moved to the area, we chose to live in Folsom because the overall tests scores were high for the area. So far, my expectations have been met.

Any criticism's I have are more towards the state. Busing is a mess, funding is a mess, and it appears the overall quality of education (statewide) has been going downhill for awhile. Instead of switching my children to another district or to a private school, I'm thinking more towards moving out of state.

[zach5]

I found a great site that might be of use to everyone,

http://www.schools-data.com/ (folsom high)
http://www.schools-data.com/schools/Folsom...igh-Folsom.html

[valdossjoyce]

Bordercollie, you're asking a very pointed question. I assume you believe there are great advantages to having a stay-at-home mom, that's why you made that choice-- and I absolutely agree. But the comments on this line are scaring you. Perhaps we're overstating our case against the public schools.

I've almost always had a career while my kids were growing up and now that the younger is just two years short of leaving the nest, I look bakc and regret not spending more time with my kids. I found Folsom's Oak Chan to be quite nice. The middle school, however, was where our troubles began. And the high school is just too BIG.

My advice: if you can supplement what your kids get in public school with enriching activities at home and with the family, if you get involved in the school (volunteer in the classroom, etc) and then just be on their little butts all the time once they get to that adolescent stage, they'll problaby do just fine in Folsom pubic schools.

As I said in my earlier post, the high school has much to offer to a full range of kids. What's appalling is how many kids don't use what's there because of what one of you guys phrased so beautifully: the pervasive peer environment of mediocrity. The kids have talent, the parents encourage learning and reading at an early age, are themselves educated, but at some point the kids just stop caring about achievement or learning. My theory is if you keep them real close, that attitude won't have room to creep up on 'em.

Well, I hope I don't set off another debate on working moms and women's rights. I was there fighting the battle for equalilty with the feminists of the 60s and 70s and am proud that women have choices and now hold some of the most powerful and respected roles in our society. But I know that it is the rare woman who can "have it all". If the job is simply to pay for the private school, then chuck it. If , however, you love your work, have worked long and hard, invested much to get where you are in your career, and risk losing it all by taking fifteen years off, then keep working and pick an appropriate private school.

Oh, and finally, until you actually stay home with your kids for awhile, you won't really know whether you're well suited for it. You may find you're not good at it and may as well be earning money that can be used to pay professionals who are better at it--the teachers.

Hope that helps.

[cybertrano]

Val said it all thanks.

How is Folsom public schools compare to El Dorado Hills or Fair Oaks, Granite Bay?

[forumreader]

The previous post echoes many of my own thoughts. And I apologize if I have too strongly voiced my frustrations about the public school system. And it is more frustration with the state rather than Folsom.

And it is also frustration over the need to compete with mediocrity and other negative peer influences. -- But protecting my child and giving him survival skills is something that I will need to do whether we are in public or private school. Our parents did it for us, as did generations past. Sometimes I feel like I can really relate to early man trying to protect his young from the jaws of the saber-toothed tiger. It is just one of our many roles as parents.

I also agree that deciding whether or not to stay at home....which often determines whether or not you can afford private school.....is probably one of the hardest decisions a mom must make. And what is best differs for each family. I worked until my son was in the 2nd grade, and then made the choice to be at home. Now with more children and their education to consider, again I will soon be making that difficult decision again. IT'S HARD.

But.... excuse me for putting on my cheerleader hat again.....I have confidence that most parents involved in our discussion here will be giving their children the best opportunities they can, be it public, private, homeschool... You care, and that makes a significant and lasting difference in your child's life.

[DalOwnerX3]

Couple of more data points:
* For-profit private schools may not be as good as a good public school. Since they are motivated by profit, they may scrimp on expenses such as having a library or teacher salary. If the teacher salary at a for-profit private school is lower than a public school, the school may not attract quality teachers

* Phoenix school uses an accerelated education system - the pre-k class uses kindergarden curriculum, their kindergarden uses 1st grade curriculum and so on. That would explain why parents of Phoenix schools were disappointed when the kid started public school - it's a repeat of their previous year. I guess this is a way for Phoenix to lock kids into their system.

As for stay-at-home mom's who want to help out in the classroom, my wife works out of the house so she's available to help in the classroom. That tilts the scales toward public school.

Still undecided.

[bordercolliefan]

Interesting point about Phoenix. It's not clear that it's inherently better to be 1-year ahead -- unless at the end the kids get a fabulous "extra" year of exhilirating learning!

Seriously, though. How far does Phoenix go? Doesn't it end at 6th grade? So where do the kids go from there? Do they just end up repeating a year when they get to jr. high anyway?

[puppylover]

I just came across this subject and would like to add my experience, or rather my son's, to the list. My son attended Phoenix from K- 5th grade. The primary teachers were on top of things but I think they have trouble keeping teachers with a good math background at the higher levels. His once- elevated tests scortes fell. For 6th grade we decided to try the middle school mainly because I wanted him to get involved in the fantastic music program- They are considered to be the tops in the nation. He was tested for the accelerated math and english but did not qualify. I thought he would be repeating the same thing as before but this was the year the new state standards were started, so he was learning new things and loving it. He is in the 8th grade now and has had mostly great teachers, made great friends, and participated in many activities- gone on a research ship to study the ocean, participated in the school science fair and history day. He joined a club called BEST and has gone to math and science competitions and won some medals. His grades and all his scores are posted online so that I can see if he is not turning in papers and get on his case. Now I am worried about highschool. I am still debating what to do. But I guess that is what we parents do best---worry

[DalOwnerX3]

Another question - how does classroom size play in to your kid's education?

With the budget crisis, Folsom-Cordova school district is no longer limiting the classroom size to 20 kids. Does anybody have any comments on their experience with larger vs smaller classroom sizes?

[s0479]

My daughter was at Phoenix School from age 2 thru first grade. Yes the schooling is good...though I think they do lack some things that a public school can offer. She had Spanish from age 3 thru first grade and I really didn't see her "learning" it. Chinese was ok...but it was mostly just learning names of items. I was worried about going to a public school but do to numerous circumstances I put her in the new Praire Oaks schools this year and am very happy with it overall. Yes some of the subjects are a bit of a repeat but overall I think she is doing great. In my opinion a big part of it depends on what teacher you get. The one she has this year goes the extra mile to challenge her students.

[bordercolliefan]

What do you mean Folsom Cordova is no longer limiting class size to 20 students? I thought this was mandated by law for grades 1-3.

I was appalled when I found out kindergarten does not (and has never had) class size reduction, because it is not a mandatory grade. My friend's son is in a kindergarten class with 33 students -- she says it's a madhouse. But, I thought, at least when they get to 1st grade, the class size will be more manageable. Now it looks like that's not the case???

[forumreader]

Parents, if you are really concerned about the public school system, take a look at the discussion regarding a student's right to leave campus w/o parental consent in order to obtain confidential medical counseling/services.

Frightening!

[tessieca]

Neither Dal's nor Border Collie's understandings are correct. I was trying to stay out of this discussion despite the Folsom schools bashing, which I think is unwarranted. I think that the choice of private vs. public vs. home schooling is highly personal to a family, and I've opted for more than one of the above under different circumstances with different children.

Anyway, class size reduction is not mandated by law. Districts opt to implement it fully, implement it at certain grade levels, or implement half days as FCUSD does at the kindergarten level. FCUSD has kept it and has not decided to terminate it as of this time. The teacher's union took a pay increase deferral of one year in order to ensure that the district would keep CSR for this school year.

That's now. In the upcoming school year, if Arnold's budget proposals on the March ballot pass, FCUSD will have to find additional cuts of $4.6 million. If the proposals don't pass, those cuts will be much more. $4.6 million equates to $260 per child, or at [I]least[I] $5,200 per classroom.

There has been no proposal yet for where to make those cuts. I assume that CSR will potentially be on the list, at least for one grade level. The research does not show that CSR makes a huge difference in learning, unless your school has low socioeconomic demographics (none in Folsom). Anecdotally, of course, this is a wondrous, fix-all program. Teachers love it, parents love it, kids love it. In the balance, the outcome of the program is uncertain. If lost, it can always be brought back in better economic times. But, there has not yet been a proposal to eliminate it for next year, so keep your eyes/ears open, but don't panic yet.

[tessieca]

As an aside, I think that class sizes at St. John Notre Dame are higher than 1:20, and there have been comments about that school being very good.

[forumreader]

I agree that class size reduction does not necessarily create a better educational environment, increase tests scores, etc. My concerns about public education have not been class size.

And yes, in most grade levels at St. John's the class size is closer to 30.