Sometimes good stuff just happens.

Mark Wein

Mark Wein

Grand Poobah
Staff member
I've vented about our issues with the local school district and our efforts to get our son into a school that does not have a 60% "English learner" percentage or test scores low enough to qualify them as a "No Child Left Behind" school that they can't force you to take your children to...

One of the options was the local "Magnet" school, which is a K-8th grade "Science, Technology and Mathematics" school that the district offers . It is by lottery only and it is an awesome school with decent class sizes, advanced programs, a 3% English learner rate, high test scores and all sorts of extras to promote your childs progress including (I just found out) an extra hour once a week of private or semi private time with their kindergarten teacher. The parents have to be very active both in the school and with the student at home but it is definitely worth the effort.

We initially lost the lottery (47 our of 25, IIRC) and that started our quest across the school district for a place for our son to start school....we finally ended up at one school that was acceptable but we were really disappointed that we couldn't get him into this particular school.

We got a call two days ago telling us that a spot had opened up if we wanted it! Not only does he get to go but his sister is guaranteed a spot if he is enrolled.

The Wein family is a happy family today.

:msm:
 
Congrats, Mark, I know that this must be a huge relief and victory for yourself, Mrs. Wein, and (though they don't know it yet) the kids.

I find it odd that a K-8 school would focus on science, math, and tech. - is this really just talk, or is it for parents who want to steer their child toward being engineers, and minimizing the role of the arts and humanities in education? Have any of your son's aptitudes emerged, yet?
 
Congrats man.

I'm probably a bit old school in my opinion that high school kids make or break what they've got (I went to a REALLY shitty school but 2 of my buds are doing Phd's in well reknowned universities...) but at your kids age they need as good a school as they can get. :thu:
 
Congrats! That is really good news for your family - and especially your kids...

The magnet schools, if they are well managed by the administration, are usually great schools. We had all four of our kids in a magnet school (called charter schools here) across from where I work that runs K - 8. It was a lottery school and we were really lucky and got one kid in the first year. After that the other kids get automatic spots. We did have to have a pretty good amount of parental involvement - but that is a plus in my book. We have been thrilled with that school and all of our kids have really learned a lot at the school.
 
Phil513 said:
Congrats mark, thats wonderful news! im really happy for you guys!
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Flamencology said:
Congrats, Mark, I know that this must be a huge relief and victory for yourself, Mrs. Wein, and (though they don't know it yet) the kids.

I find it odd that a K-8 school would focus on science, math, and tech. - is this really just talk, or is it for parents who want to steer their child toward being engineers, and minimizing the role of the arts and humanities in education? Have any of your son's aptitudes emerged, yet?
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Thanks guys!

I think they still have music and art programs (there was quite a bit of art around the school office and the music schedule was open on the admins desk when we were in there) but they seem more focused on the tech and science stuff.

As far as my son goes so far he has been more into pursuits that would be consider "pre-engineering" than anything else. We have a pile of PVC pipe in the backyard purchased specifically for him that he uses as a giant Lego set. The toys that he plays with are all of the Lego or erector set variety currently...that stuff always changes but he is always building something or trying to "invent" something. He has a work table and tools at my in-laws shop and can use hand tools better than most 20-something men. Just recently he's come out of his skin a little and enjoys singing around the house or listening to music in the car but I get the feeling he won't be my artist....

This is from the schools website:


¨ Nurturing an academic community, honoring individual strengths, talents, and learning styles.

¨ Inquiry-based learning through critical thinking, questioning, discovery, problem solving, risk-taking, and inventive thinking.

¨ Integrating all curricular areas through the magnet focus of math, science, and technology.

¨ Research and data-based instruction.

¨ Creating relevant, high-quality products which extend beyond the walls of the classroom.

¨ Mastery of identified essential concepts and skills for every child.

¨ Meeting the needs of each child with systematic and timely intervention.

¨ Global citizenship through understanding, compassion, respect, collaboration, and personal responsibility for self, school, community, and environment.
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Flamencology said:
Congrats, Mark, I know that this must be a huge relief and victory for yourself, Mrs. Wein, and (though they don't know it yet) the kids.

I find it odd that a K-8 school would focus on science, math, and tech. - is this really just talk, or is it for parents who want to steer their child toward being engineers, and minimizing the role of the arts and humanities in education? Have any of your son's aptitudes emerged, yet?
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Schools have been heavily pushing that curriculum for quite a few years now, largely to compete with foreign nations who consistently score high marks in those areas. Our high school for instance offered only 7 "English" classes over four years and only three of them were not requirements for graduation... Newswriting, Creative Writing, and Fantasy and Science Fiction. We had one speech and drama class, two art classes, one photography, one music theory, and two choirs/two bands (based on what grade you were in.) There were a couple of other music and drama opportunities, but those were not for credit and were only brought up as extracurricular activities that would "look good on college applications."

My high school had four English teachers, two music teachers, one art teacher, two history teacher, eight math teachers, and eight science teachers, as well as TWELVE coaches. One of my english teachers pulled double-duty teaching psychology and sociology and eventually she quit and became a guidance counselor. When my sis was in high school they didn't even have a psych/soc teacher. :(

I can't speak for schools everywhere else in the country, but in this part of Ohio there is a heavy math and science push and we churn out a LOT of engineers and researchers who work for local companies like General Electric, Proctor & Gamble, etc. Of my high school class of 265 we have 70 students who went to college to study engineering.
 
Thanks all! :)

Phil513 said:
Congrats mark, thats wonderful news! im really happy for you guys!
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jbj said:
Congrats man.

I'm probably a bit old school in my opinion that high school kids make or break what they've got (I went to a REALLY shitty school but 2 of my buds are doing Phd's in well reknowned universities...) but at your kids age they need as good a school as they can get. :thu:
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I think it's very important for them to be in a good school, but I'm also reminded that of my immediate family I am the underachiever and we had public schooling in New York (or here in my case) and a gothic childhood (especially for my siblings, one of whom is an attorney for an incredibly large international corporation and the other two directors at a Pharmaceutical company and the other at a watch company). They didn't need the fancy schooling to excel but it sure would help in todays world I think.

Denverdave said:
Congrats! That is really good news for your family - and especially your kids...

The magnet schools, if they are well managed by the administration, are usually great schools. We had all four of our kids in a magnet school (called charter schools here) across from where I work that runs K - 8. It was a lottery school and we were really lucky and got one kid in the first year. After that the other kids get automatic spots. We did have to have a pretty good amount of parental involvement - but that is a plus in my book. We have been thrilled with that school and all of our kids have really learned a lot at the school.
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This is the one to get into here....we are incredibly lucky.

Aahzz said:
Excellent news!
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12Pack said:
Cool - your in a good mood now - I'll be calling about the helicopters again.
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Was that really you? :cop:

Gary Blanchard said:
Good news indeed. And it is nice to see you non-grumpy. :grin:

:msm:

instead of

:mmad:
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It'll wear off soon, I'm sure :embarrassed:

Punchy said:
That's freaking awesome news, Mark! :thu:
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:thu:
 
Congrats.

The school I went to from k-6 probably should have been condemned 10 years before I attended.

I'm sure that most teachers wouldn't have dared to accept a position there.

That said, in all classes, k-6, there was a total of about 45 students when I finished 6th grade. There was a kindergarten class, a 1-2 grade class, a 3-4 grade class, and a 5-6 grade class.

I think of those 45 students, there were about 10-12 that qualified for, and attended the gifted program once a week.

As shabby as the conditions in the school were, having such small classes and a few teachers who really took an interest in the students and had time to spend a lot of one on one time with anybody that needed it, really seemed to help the students who wanted to learn to excel.

Of course, there were also 10-12 of those 45 students who were just as dumb as rocks and never learned anything at the school.
 
Ask the school if they need a prematurely embittered history teacher who won't quite accept that the British Empire has ended and an accent that no one will understand :grin: :embarrassed:

The one thing I will say Mark. Don't fall into the trap of looking at your kid at the age he is and saying "he's going to be like this" or "he won't be like that" because you never know exactly what they'll grow in to be and though I'm sure you wouldn't, I've come across plenty of parents who have pushed their kids in some very wrong directions throughout their academic and social life just because of the expectations they created about these kids early on.

If I had a quid for every parent I heard tell me that their kid was going to do maths or physics or whatever at uni (when the kid was obviously not going to succeed) I wouldn't be posting via saudi carrier pigeon just now :embarrassed:
 
Prages said:
Of course, there were also 10-12 of those 45 students who were just as dumb as rocks and never learned anything at the school.
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But by god they certainly learned how to post on the internet and host yearly all weekend muso houseparties :embarrassed:














:grin:
 
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