54 replies to this topic

[UCI-Students Parent]

I think the jury is still out if VdLHS will be better than FHS. I have heard concern that not enough families will send their kids to VdLHS and that at some point in the future the option to choose may be removed.

I dont have a horse in this race since my youngest is a Sr at FHS - but I have also had a child attend a fully block high school and a child in traditional HS. The block student did very well, but frankly the traditional has done equally well also. I actually think the block child would have done even better under a traditional HS program. Very different class structures.

I could site several reasearch studies on the subject of block vs. traditional high school but figure you can look it up if you are really interested in learning the benefits of both programs. Suffice it to say that it is my belief, after fairly extensive research on the issue, that there is no academic advantage to the block schedule and in fact there is a disadvantage to the overall whole person development of the student in such programs. I had heard that when the district asked us to vote the public came back as favoring a traditional HS. Was quite surprised when I was told it was going to be block.

I don't personally believe that VdLHS will be more successful than FHS. FHS has been a truly fabulous experience for my child. If I had to make the deicsion today, I have no doubt that FHS would be my first choice for HS in the area. FHS has a "modified block" schedule, which seems to be fairly unique to Folsom. I realize many students do not utilize the PAWS period as it is intended, but when used to the maximum potential it is a fabulous benefit. Of course, your child has to effectively use PAWS for it to be a good thing!

I could go on but suffice it to say, I think both schools will have ample opportunities for students and depending upon the interest of the students, the child should be able to choose the school that will best meet their personal aspirations. It isn't a matter of one school being better than the other. It is a matter of determining the right fit for your student.

By the way - I was a little offended by some of the comments in prior posts too. I have never thought of my home, the neighborhood I live in or the schools within my boundaries to be somehow below par in Folsom. I actually always thought I have been blessed to live in the nicest neighborhood of Folsom. I guess that is the way it is supposed to be, even if I am on the "wronge side of the tracks" by someones way of thinking, it is totally the "right" side for me and my family. Maybe OP should take a few Sunday drives around town to see what neighborhoods there really are elsewhere, might be a surprise.

[asbestoshills]

Sorry to offend about where you live in Folsom..I lived in the WillowCreek subdivision for 3 years and it's great...I'm trying to point out that the school district is the one making these boundaries.....I just extracted the info from GreatSchools.com and relayed the stats on the highest ranking schools in the area...Did I ever say your school was not up to par? No, I simply showed how the boundaries were determined...

[asbestoshills]

Who is everyone kidding when they claim that API scores don't count....I'm a soccer mom, softball mom and involved in Girl Scouts....This forum must not have these kinds of mom's posting....I noticed it's usually the same members posting their opinions.....If you could hear what is said behind the scenes, you would know what parents really think is important for a school....As soon as the API scores hit the paper, everyone is talking about whose scores are good and what schools are lower.....

In addition, Folsom High wasn't built to hold the population it serves as well...So, this could also happen to Vista Del Lago....Why aren't the schools the same size by the way? Since most of the new building is in Empire Oaks, wouldn't it make sense to have had the same size school so overcrowding won't occur again?

Also, the embarrassment I was talking about was strictly from the look of Sutter Middle on the outside.....Who wants to have degraded fields etc..?

I think this town is small enough where students should get to choose which high school they want to attend based upon the different offerings of each school...Since both schools will not be identical in scheduling and curriculum, why not keep the schools competitive and let the students choose.....

[asbestoshills]

I think size of the school plays into this.

Folsom High has 2800 students to date.

Vista was built to hold 1500 therefore less schools will feed into this school.

right now, if you son or daughter wanted to go to vista they could as a freshman or soph regardless of where you live within the city.

My question: why are you assuming that those that are in apt around town are low income?

I know several families are having homes built, just sold one and waiting to move into another. and for one reason or another are not living in a house, but that does not make them low income.

empire oaks area is the newest area to our city, they will have the lowest number of apt complexs.

Where do you want the boundaries to be?

We rented after we sold our last home and waited for the market to cool.....GENERALLY speaking, apartment dwellers are lower income, more transient, less likely to have school age children, and don't pay property taxes......Vista will soon be overpopulated for it's capacity as long as developers keep building without proper planning.....

[asbestoshills]

Aren't you concerned that your children will attend Folsom Middle but then have to attend FHS when all the other students that will attend your middle school will attend the new Vista Del Lago? Your the one who mentioned friends being separated etc...??? That's exactly what will happen to the friends your children will meet in middle school in the Willow Creek neighborhood...

[tgianco]

....As soon as the API scores hit the paper, everyone is talking about whose scores are good and what schools are lower.....

Not everyone, only the most boring, snobbish folks. It's these type of parents (only concerned about scores) that have ruined the childhood experience. "Everyone" in this case in just a bunch of a-holes.

[cw68]

Not everyone, only the most boring, snobbish folks. It's these type of parents (only concerned about scores) that have ruined the childhood experience. "Everyone" in this case in just a bunch of a-holes.

hear hear!!

[lisasellshouses]

Aren't you concerned that your children will attend Folsom Middle but then have to attend FHS when all the other students that will attend your middle school will attend the new Vista Del Lago? Your the one who mentioned friends being separated etc...??? That's exactly what will happen to the friends your children will meet in middle school in the Willow Creek neighborhood...

You are misinformed:

Kids going to Folsom middle will feed into Vista unless they put in an interdistrict transfer request.

kids going to Sutter will go to FHS unless they put in an interdistrict transfer to attend vista.

[s0479]

Who is everyone kidding when they claim that API scores don't count....I'm a soccer mom, softball mom and involved in Girl Scouts....This forum must not have these kinds of mom's posting....I noticed it's usually the same members posting their opinions.....If you could hear what is said behind the scenes, you would know what parents really think is important for a school....As soon as the API scores hit the paper, everyone is talking about whose scores are good and what schools are lower.....

In addition, Folsom High wasn't built to hold the population it serves as well...So, this could also happen to Vista Del Lago....Why aren't the schools the same size by the way? Since most of the new building is in Empire Oaks, wouldn't it make sense to have had the same size school so overcrowding won't occur again?

Also, the embarrassment I was talking about was strictly from the look of Sutter Middle on the outside.....Who wants to have degraded fields etc..?

I think this town is small enough where students should get to choose which high school they want to attend based upon the different offerings of each school...Since both schools will not be identical in scheduling and curriculum, why not keep the schools competitive and let the students choose.....

I'm sure you didn't mean to offend in your original post, but I must admit I was a bit offended. I'm a Soccer Mom, Swim Mom and Girl Scout Mom and while I will say I look at the API scores, I don't spend a whole lot of time analyzing them. They may say something about a school but not everything. Also....I don't remember having any major conversations with all the other parents other than Oh my daughter did well....or oh yeah the school did well. But the conversations were extremely brief and lasted maybe a day if that. They were by no means the focus of our conversations.

[bv1016]

Sorry guys replied to wrong post and wasn't sure how to delete...

bv

[bv1016]

Aren't you concerned that your children will attend Folsom Middle but then have to attend FHS when all the other students that will attend your middle school will attend the new Vista Del Lago? Your the one who mentioned friends being separated etc...??? That's exactly what will happen to the friends your children will meet in middle school in the Willow Creek neighborhood...

No... it doesn't concern me, I feel there are more important things to stress over than, my child, maybe, being sent to a differant school than some of his/her friends. My children both are involved in baseball, soccer, football, and wrestling and they are familiar with kids all over Folsom. That is one of the great things about the area, when involved in activities outside of school you are teamed wth kids all over the area. So they know kids everywhere. I guess I am lucky, my kids are not concerned and neither am I. They have a bult in network, I could probably move to anywhere in Folsom and change them to any school and they would know somebody.

[MikeinFolsom]

My daughter attends Folsom Hills Elementary. Every grade has it's great teachers, and it's poor teachers. Every school is like that. I'm pretty sure that just because a new high school is opening up in Folsom, all of the "best" teachers won't just jump ship and head to Vista Del Lago.

API scores are a JOKE!!!! The content is soooo limiting, but since the state ranks schools based on their scores, the schools have to take them seriously. So guess what???? The teachers instruct the kids on how to score well on these tests, thus the children are missing out on several topics that may be more educational.

Take a few minutes out of your day sometime and just converse with your child's teacher. Don't be afraid to ask questions, they won't get offended. Ask them what they think of your concerns, be it API scores, baseball/recess fields, etc. You might be surprised to hear that they have the same concerns, but being an employee of the school limits them in how much of an activist they can actually be.

Remember the film 'Stand and Deliver'? Edward James Olmos played a high school teacher that was able to turn a class room of knuckleheads in South Central LA into a high performing machine that in turn had many students accepted into prestigious colleges. Well, he transferred up to Hiram Johnson HS a while back, and did not enjoy any of the successes he had down south. Why? I dunno. Anybody else?

[tessieca]

You are misinformed:

Kids going to Folsom middle will feed into Vista unless they put in an interdistrict transfer request.

kids going to Sutter will go to FHS unless they put in an interdistrict transfer to attend vista.

Except for Blanche Sprentz attendance area. Since VHS is smaller than FHS it cannot accommodate all of those coming out of FMS.

Asbestoshills, you really need to just select the school you want instead of casting aspersions on either school when you are truly just speculating ala Chicken Little. There is open enrollment between the two schools, and it will probably remain that way for some years.

My 8th grader is in FHS attendance area, but opted to go to VHS. Go Eagles! She wanted to take more elective courses and really likes the idea of having only 4 classes at a time. Several students opted to go this route. Several others went from VHS attendance area into FHS, especially those involved in the music program. Some wanted to stay at FHS for the football program, but now VHS hired a premier football coach, so you can see that things will change between the schools. The two schools will set themselves apart very quickly, and each is bound to have unique strengths that will draw students. It's nice to give parents/students/teachers a choice.

[asbestoshills]

You are misinformed:

Kids going to Folsom middle will feed into Vista unless they put in an interdistrict transfer request.

kids going to Sutter will go to FHS unless they put in an interdistrict transfer to attend vista.

No, that's not the case.....Unless they changed it, students attending Blanche Sprentz will attend Folsom Middle and then attend FHS....Maybe after the parents complained they have since changed their minds...There were more than a few parents mad at the prospect of their students attending a different high school than their counterparts.

[asbestoshills]

Except for Blanche Sprentz attendance area. Since VHS is smaller than FHS it cannot accommodate all of those coming out of FMS.

Asbestoshills, you really need to just select the school you want instead of casting aspersions on either school when you are truly just speculating ala Chicken Little. There is open enrollment between the two schools, and it will probably remain that way for some years.

My 8th grader is in FHS attendance area, but opted to go to VHS. Go Eagles! She wanted to take more elective courses and really likes the idea of having only 4 classes at a time. Several students opted to go this route. Several others went from VHS attendance area into FHS, especially those involved in the music program. Some wanted to stay at FHS for the football program, but now VHS hired a premier football coach, so you can see that things will change between the schools. The two schools will set themselves apart very quickly, and each is bound to have unique strengths that will draw students. It's nice to give parents/students/teachers a choice.

Is casting aspersions similiar to throwing stones????
I don't know, but the stone has been thrown...lol....
Students will not be able to choose once Vista is impacted because of the growing population.....The school shoul d have been built the same size as Folsom High to accomodate an equal number of students....Since Folsom is continuing to grow at such a fast pace and the city leaders decided to have another mixed-use library, why didn't they make the school larger? Why have such amenities for such a small upper-income area? Folsom High has been impacted for years and the students suffered with crammed quarters, lack of proper security and large class sizes.....Why wasn't there proper planning for the new school? Have you seen all of the new homes being built out there?