Minimum possible diversity.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
A neighborhood where parents care about their children's education and have the money to invest in it.

There's no secret. It's not the school itself, they all follow the same program and have the same teachers. It's the community that changes the nature of the school.

The end.

I have met very few parents who don't care about their children's education.

And I have met plenty, which is why I don't live in those areas.

Really? You've met plenty of parents whose opinion about their kids was, eh, who cares what they do? And they all live in "those areas" -- what areas, exactly?

Anonymous wrote:Schools where the vast majority of students and teachers are focused on one thing and one thing only: Learning.

Then there aren't any good schools. Kids are kids.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
A neighborhood where parents care about their children's education and have the money to invest in it.

There's no secret. It's not the school itself, they all follow the same program and have the same teachers. It's the community that changes the nature of the school.

The end.

I have met very few parents who don't care about their children's education.

And I have met plenty, which is why I don't live in those areas.

Schools where the vast majority of students and teachers are focused on one thing and one thing only: Learning.

Anonymous wrote:
A neighborhood where parents care about their children's education and have the money to invest in it.

There's no secret. It's not the school itself, they all follow the same program and have the same teachers. It's the community that changes the nature of the school.

The end.

I have met very few parents who don't care about their children's education.

A neighborhood where parents care about their children's education and have the money to invest in it.

There's no secret. It's not the school itself, they all follow the same program and have the same teachers. It's the community that changes the nature of the school.

The end.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A good school is one my kid thrives at. Seriously. That means the facilities and teachers are adequate to support her academic and social development.

Agree with this. My kid ended up being different than I imagined (who knew) and the environment she thrives in looks different than I expected.

Exactly. It's important to remember what we're aiming for here: Presumably most of us want to raise happy, well-adjusted, compassionate, and contributing members of society who find their own path to happiness. A huge part of that means finding a school that encourages them to learn, grow, and discover who they are and what they're passionate about.

Human beings are inherently competitive and insecure, so we crave recognition--magnet programs, high-ranking schools, big houses, fancy cars, etc.--but there's zero guarantee any of that will contribute to the above goal.

Keep your eye on the prize.

Anonymous wrote:A good school is one my kid thrives at. Seriously. That means the facilities and teachers are adequate to support her academic and social development.

Agree with this. My kid ended up being different than I imagined (who knew) and the environment she thrives in looks different than I expected.

A good school is one my kid thrives at. Seriously. That means the facilities and teachers are adequate to support her academic and social development.

Engagement: by the administration, teachers, community.

Qualified teachers. Safe/Secure Environment. Balance between the "haves" and "have nots". Diverse student and faculty.

That was a very honest answer. When I hear the term and people name the schools they want to be a part of, I see that they want to be amongst a certain income group and many time even with a certain race.

Low amounts is disenfranchised kids from unstable homes who don’t have the resources or support to keep up. Great kids will do great most kids but average kids get distracted easily. It might not be fair to the unwashed masses but honestly not many people are interested in fair when it comes to their children or the propagation of privilege.

Fair is a myth dreamt up by people off the podium.

I’m still trying to figure this out. For me it goes beyond the test score listed on great schools. What else makes up a good school? We are house shopping and see some with lower scores but the community loves the school, while others say they don’t want anything to do with the school because of the score. I live in Howard County.