I'll be posting less frequently this week because I'm in the process of moving.
My husband and I just bought our first house. We looked mainly in Norwalk, but did toy with the possibility of moving to Wilton because of the town's supposed "superior schools." In the end we decided our children could get a good education here. We like diversity of all kinds and wanted our children to grow up in a place like Norwalk.
Did schools factor into your decision about buying a house in Norwalk? Do you know anyone that moved out of the city because of the schools?
In the coming weeks I'll be interviewing families that have stayed in Norwalk because of the schools and those that have left.
***
In the meantime, as I was driving stuff back and forth between houses, I heard a radio program on NPR (National Public Radio) called "At School, Lower Expectations Of Dominican Kids". According to the program parents and teachers often expect less of students who are the children of Dominican immigrants. This causes their grades and ambitions to suffer. It reminded me of the interesting discussion that has been going on NorwalkNet.
You can listen to the program here.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
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My family also remained in Norwalk when we moved to a different house four and a half years ago. My oldest was in the middle of 6th grade at Ponus, my younger 2 were in first grade & kindergarten at Columbus. Our oldest did very well at Ponus, and we felt very comfortable remaining here at a point in his education when so many people leave Norwalk "because of the schools."
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on the new house!!
ReplyDeleteYep - schools and diversity figured in a big way in our decision to buy a house in Norwalk. And school will be the main factor if we ever decide to move out.
Charu
Best of luck to you, Moina, on your home-hunting. Wish your family the very best. Not sure how Norwalk Schools are perceived at scondary level by parents these days. I found my own sons wanting to "drop out" of high school due to boredom. I really think you have to ask the kids what they want to get out of "school" and let them be a part of the process. We know parents and legislators want higher test scores. Kids want a reason to get up in the morning.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your new home! We decided to stay in Norwalk also, our son is at Naramake and we have been very, very pleased with the quality of the teachers, the leadership and the education that our son is receiving. As a family, we value education and place high expectations on our child. I feel that as long as we stay involved and continue to communicate our expectations to both him and his teachers, he will be successful. I feel that we have an opportunity now to move forward with some fresh thinking in a new SOS and BOE. I see what is happening at other schools, like Rogers in Stamford and their accreditation as an IB school, Yale programs being implemented there, applying for grants. There are things like that that can be done in Norwalk! Also, a big thank you for this site, a place where parents can discuss ideas for improving our schools.
ReplyDeleteI recall an experiment a few years back that had Norwalk and Wilton public school children switching schools for a few days. The consensus opinion among the students was that Wilton had superior facilities (no surprise to anyone who's toured a Wilton school) but Norwalk had the better teachers.
ReplyDeleteMoina You need to get a weekly newspaper column because you seem to speak all that needs to be spoken and with the numbers to back it up. My husband and I were pretty much "packed and ready" to move a few years ago specifically and only because of the schools here. Our district is Tracey but having experienced a lot of negative in that school we decided to enroll our oldest child at All Saints Catholic school where he remained for 6 years. While there are some supporters of the school that used to be run by an absolutely fabulous principal, Sister Catherine, most of the school has left because of the apathy and and absolute disfunction of the current administration and most of the staff. Whenever we complained we heard, "go ahead, pull your kids out of here, they will be eaten alive (direct quote) at Norwalk's horrible public schools. Well, we did eventually pull them out after our oldest was hospitalized after a violent altercation. Furthermore, we had begged and pleaded with the administration to help us with my son's learning disability, which the refused to do, even after directed by the State, They wanted to spend the funds they received for special ed on other things -- and actually had the teachers inflate my child's grades to reflect this.
ReplyDeleteWe became desperate to move and then out of nowhere, our youngest was accepted at Side by Side Charter School and absolutely thrived there. We have since switched our oldest to Side by Side beginning this year. Side by Side is not perfect but everyone is extraordinarily dedicated to the children -- putting their safety and the education and self esteem first -- something we never experienced at All Saints -- so you see not just the public schools are in trouble - our mediocre, (at best) parochial schools are as well. But we're staying and knowing things will get better.