What does a "good school district" mean? - Edited

DH and I were talking about this and honestly other than "reputation," I feel like every district these days on Long Island has gangs, budget cuts, and school closings. We are looking to move and I'm not sure I can justify paying 2X or 3X more in taxes for....what exactly? Now that there is common core requirements, we can't even say that the teachers are better because it doesn't matter. So just looking for opinions, anyone else feel like things have changed on Long Island?

Message edited 5/14/2013 8:58:22 PM.

Re: What does a "good school district" mean? - Edited

My two cents are so long as a school district is safe and good you're child will do well if YOU are invested and involved in their education. What makes schools (and districts) great is that they are filled with kids who have parents who care about their education, this is the single most important thing in your child achieving their personal best.

So personally I agree with you, no you do not need to spend 2, 3 times the taxes to be 'best school district ever' your child can do just as well at 'good school district with plenty of involved parents'. Surely we all want to avoid schools/districts where parents do not care (bc the unfortunate reality is they likely have kids who do not care about learning bc it is of no value and is not reinforced at home) and are not involved but $$$ does not always = best school iMO.

Message edited 5/14/2013 9:09:40 PM.

Re: What does a "good school district" mean? - Edited

For me, nothing has changed. I feel, and always have felt that children can excel wherever you place them. That said, certainly there are school districts that have advantages. Some districts are more sports oriented. Some have a better SEPTA. If your child is very advanced, they may be bored in a district that does not challenge acedemically. I say look at the neighborhood ranks up there too. These are the kids your kids are going to be interacting with. Are you blue collar? Do you plan on keeping up with the Jones, etc.

Re: What does a "good school district" mean? - Edited

Everyone's opinion will be different.

Our options were POB or Syosset. In our opinion, these were the only towns that were worth us leaving queens to move out here and pay these taxes. These districts don't have a gang problem that I am aware of, budget cuts have not been a large issue here, and no school closings.

As for common core, we were not aware of that when we moved here. These districts have very strong test scores , so we are not worried about the testing at all.

It really depends on where you are living right now. We were in district 26 and were zoned for a k-12 school. The students getting off the busses were out of control and I couldn't see us putting our children in that school . Our other option was buy a home in Bayside, in the Cardozo zoned section.

Re: What does a "good school district" mean? - Edited

I think the definition of "good" is severely distorted on Long Island.

Far too many people label a school district "good" or "bad" based on the racial makeup of the student body. Far too many schools are labeled "bad" by people who literally know nothing about them. No, not everyone does this, but plenty of people do.

For DH and I, we are fine living in a school district that works for us. Whether other people label it "good" or not is no longer important to either of us because we see the prejudiced way many people around us look at districts.

Message edited 5/14/2013 9:16:37 PM.

Re: What does a "good school district" mean? - Edited

What does a

It all comes down to test scores and dropout rate...

Re: What does a "good school district" mean? - Edited

There is another spin I would like to put on this also...

A friend was the Valedictorian and Floral Park Memorial--known as a 'good' HS, got full ride to Ivy school. The same kid who have likely finished in the top at the BEST district but maybe not number one, Harvard and the other top schools may take more from the top schools but not all..and they are certainly taking number one and two from the 'good' districts.

Food for thought, some of the schools that are seen as the 'best' often attract the best and the brightest and are much more completive. Just another perspective.

Re: What does a "good school district" mean? - Edited

Re: What does a "good school district" mean? - Edited

What does a

Test scores mean nothing to me. Special education accommodations mean everything. So what is good for one, might be awful for another.

Re: What does a "good school district" mean? - Edited

Re: What does a "good school district" mean? - Edited

Re: What does a "good school district" mean? - Edited

Re: What does a "good school district" mean? - Edited

It's definitely a personal thing. With the exception of maybe 2 or 3 districts (off the top of my head- Roosevelt), Long Island school districts are all good in the grand scheme of things. Different aspects of the SD mean different things to different people.
We chose our district for a number of reasons: what we could afford, where we would fit in (in terms of social/financial factors), size and scores.

Re: What does a "good school district" mean? - Edited

What does a

I think it's also hard to quantify "good" and good on paper vs. good in reality. My DD has an awesome teacher, so that makes me happy. The school is proactive about helping kids who need it, which I also value. However, I have a lot of concerns decisions my district has made, and feel that some of the people at the top are only worried about themselves. But despite those issues, I feel confident in the education my daughter is getting. The teacher is really the more important element and she always lets us know how we can support what she does in the classroom.

Re: What does a "good school district" mean? - Edited

A good district means options. Lots of options! Special education, good budgeting, reputation and standardize test scoring.


Dd needed so much from our district and they never gave us an ounce of a problem getting any services! Sachem rocks!


I have friends who have children who have the exact same hearing issues as dd, that went through hell getting approved for services! Some had to move out of their district.

Re: What does a "good school district" mean? - Edited

I have consulted in districts on LI where I needed to go through metal detectors and there were 2-3 police officers on every floor of the high schools (not security guards..... Police officers). Those kids could all be going to Harvard for all I know. But if there is a possibility my kid could get injured or killed in his own hallway is even a remote possibility, then that is a bad school district.

That being said, safety aside, I think a "good" district is one who scores the highest on state tests, that's what makes the word around town. To me, a district is only as good as the teacher in your kid's class.

Re: What does a "good school district" mean? - Edited

Re: What does a "good school district" mean? - Edited

Re: What does a "good school district" mean? - Edited

Re: What does a "good school district" mean? - Edited

Everyone is different and God bless them because that is what makes this Country so great, each person is entitled to their own opinion and can live accordingly - doing what they'd like to do, what they feel is best for their family, their loved ones.

That being said, if you are asking ME personally what I do (well, what DH and I do) for us, we go by the ratings. These are posted online - I believe Newsday.com has a link to all of them. They rate each school district and give the factual and statistical reports in a few categories that are key, to me.

Those things that they rate by are how I determine which SD I'd like my child to attend. That is how I chose the one that I chose (we are currently closing on a home at the end of the month that we plan on raising our children in, I'm PG with our first). So, that's the educational and scholastic aspect of it, for us... everything else - on how to become a good person, set values and morals, and ESP their behavior I feel it is my (and DH's) responsibility to teach our child ourselves that end of it.

What does a

Test scores mean nothing.. I was in the top 15% of my class and scored VERY high but went to a ‘bad school’ with mediocre to bad test scores. Didn’t affect me one bit

College acceptance, Same thing. Lots of students went on to school in that bad district others did not. Some failed to graduate, some did.

Husband and his siblings went to Hempstead HS. All were in the top three, with literally each one getting better until his baby sister was ranked 1st. All three went to college. All three have degrees. All three have jobs. But from what I gather Hempstead is NOT a great school.

Here in TX, we are in a ‘great district’ and in ‘good schools’. The top elementary school is in an area I can’t afford. The top middle school varies. The Top High School is too rich for me too but our High school is ranked #2 to that school.

Both hubby and I shrug when they say we could have done better by our daughter because you have to understand both of us came from such doubtful schools but succeeded because of our own personal drive. My parents couldn’t and wouldn’t support me academically because I out reached them both by middle school. Instead they just sat back and let me control my future. Jim being the oldest had to cut the path for his siblings. His mother didn’t speak English when she came to this country and I have no idea what her education level was since she had him so young. But she supported his decisions on his own education. We set our own standards.

For our daughter, we both wanted to just give her the thing we both lacked. More resources. We had to work harder to get access to the things most other children took for granted. For AJ, we just want the ability to HAVE the resources she can use. My school only taught Spanish and French. The same district now only offers Spanish, French and German. Whereas the school she will she going to offers at least 6 languages, including Chinese and Japanese. The taxes are higher here in general and my small home is super high for taxes (I pay just under $4000 in taxes for my home that’s tax values is less than 131k) but the school is the HIGHEST portion of that. If I’m going to pay, I’ll pay for her education! Teachers are still underpaid and over worked but they have resources to help here.

All that and my kiddo can choose to toss it all out the window and go to a magnet school in a specific topic if she chooses. I was offered the Medical path when I was in 8th grade but declined it. It was one of 4 available 20yrs ago. Now they have exactly 38!! So what my district offers is only the base of what she CAN do. What I add to it and what she strives to achieve adds the other parts.

Re: What does a "good school district" mean? - Edited

I think test scores are a good indicator that at the very least, your child will be in an environment where other parents and students take school seriously.

I also think a well rounded district is a good district. I wanted a district that had great sports, academics, arts, etc. Who knows if your kid will excel at football or as an artist, and I wanted a district that encompassed all of that. Extracurriculars in high school were important to me, as I went to a small high school and our selection was limited.

I think you can have a great experience with your district if you push your kids. You can't expect the teachers to do all the work.