As happens frequently on this blog a discussion thread has evolved in a post that has little to do with the original post [Note: this is by no means a bad thing]. For those of you who have missed the discussion in the Little West of Center post regarding schools and education in the Washoe County School District, one commenter suggested a new thread for the topic.
What does this topic have to do with real estate? Plenty. For many home buyers the quality of the schools and educators they are buying into is their primary purchase criteria.
To get things started I have copied Schoolie’s post below.
I’d love to hear from the collective what are the best schools in Reno. Mike, is it relevant enough for it’s own thread? Sure does seem to have interest. What’s more important to a young family making a real estate decision than quality of the neighborhood schools?
I’ve asked RE Agents, and they are loath to give an opinion — must have been several lawsuits in the past.
It’s my understanding that Reno High and Galena are the two best high schools in the area, and their respective primary schools are also better than their peers. Any dissenters? Any private school options that are worth the cash?
I’ve looked at the websites that supposedly rate schools, and they are devoid of much useful info.
I plan to move to Reno next year from outside the area, and the single issue that gives me pause is the quality of schools for my two primary school sons.
Perry
I’m going to start by saying that I really believe parents are the most important aspect of education. My wife and I have had a lot of experience with schools all over Washoe County both public and private, good neighborhoods and not so good. So here’s my two cents.
The way I see it, is all teachers come from the same educational institutions. The same can be said of principals. There are good teachers and bad, good principals and bad. The school district moves them around and they transfer. I’ve met excellent educators in the not so great neighborhoods who were doing a great job and the schools were run very well.
I understand the struggle we all have with where our children attend school and I’m not saying that I don’t struggle with this myself. I don’t intend to be divisive but what are we asking ourselves when we contemplate the “best schools?” Do we mean the safest? Do we mean the most scholastic? Do we mean the best athletic? ….?
All that said for the most part I chose private schools for my kids. For me the faculty at private schools were more approachable than those at public schools. I did encounter great educators in the public schools but I was often met with “make an appointment”, “wait for parent night”, or “I”m off now” etc.
DowntownMakeoverDude
My best friend’s son is attending the Davidson Academy at UNR. He was pulled out of ‘normal’ 5th Grade to attend at the recomendations of his teachers. I don’t know a lot about the school, but I know he’s learning things at such an accelerated rate it’s almost creepy. The kids have access to UNR professors as mentors, secure campus etc. You may want to check into it! It seems like a cut above the other schools in town. http://www.davidsonacademy.unr.edu/
Schoolie
Dude,
Wow. What a find. Looks to be a world-class secondary school, right here in Reno. Who’da thunk it?
Drawbacks? Appears to be for older kids (grade 7 and up, though no grades are defined). Also (if you want to call it a drawback) it appears to be extremely selective (not sure if my undergrad in Aero Eng would get me in…)
Could this apparent point of educational brilliance be one answer for what some of the naysayers on the blog are clamoring for? Certainly a reason for hope.
longerwalk
The Davidson Academy is a state school in its own category–a university school for the profoundly gifted, as legislated. Students have to test in the top 1% of a few standardized tests and run a battery of tests and interviews. 1/2 the students’ families moved in from out of state, another 1/4 or so moved from in-state/not Reno, and another 1/4 come from Reno. It is one of Bob & Jan Davidson’s ideas to help boost Reno’s educational level & attractiveness for employers & research. (Check out their contribution to the Davidson Mathematics & Science building at UNR!!)
The school started up in 2006, and has built from 30+ students to over 90 this year.
One of the better things about Washoe is the School-within-a-school program for the gifted–so many states wouldn’t allow this, and here Washoe is, providing a way for kids to zoom ahead where they can.
My contacts tell me Billinghurst is good, Pine bad, as far as middle schools go. The docs & lawyers I know have their kids at Sageridge, the cost be damned.
longerwalk
Davidson Academy: Age is no barrier on the low end. Can you do the work at the 6th grade level? Age 18 is when they heave you out.
3 Wombats
The Davidson Academy is fantastic BUT is for the profoundly gifted, these are your Charlie Epps, any Numbers fans? IQ’s of 160 or lower need not apply. So called ordinary or even gifted kids do not qualify. You guessed it – my kids don’t go there, but wow what a school.
We have only been at three public schools – one was less than desirable and the other two have been better than we expected. The neighborhoods were different but what really made the difference is that the teachers wanted to be at the two schools, they liked teaching the kids and they were accessible to parents. At our other school the teachers seemed to hate teaching and in many cases barely tolerated the kids.
The school-within-a-school (SWAS) program is good, the pull out program is ok, but where the school district really shines is in middle school on up with the ALM for the gifted students. This program is terrific!
Zen
Perry’s got it right. It is up to parents to make sure their kid has a good education. That said, you are going to be much better off at a school where parents are active in their kids education. Think about it. What good can a teacher do if half the class shows up without their homework done, unprepared for tests, without the basic skills required for their grade level. You might have that one in a million kid that is self motivated and gets it all done on their own. You might even get that one teacher that gets a movie done about them because they find a way to motivate a classroom full of kids. I wouldn’t count on it though. Find a school with great parent participation and have your kids prepared for school from day one on. Most of the educating happens under your roof.
Back2Basics
Finally!!! After two years of lurking on this blog, there’s a discussion about Washoe County schools! We are actively searching for our long-term family home, and schools are by far one of the most important factors. We’ve declined even glancing at great houses with great prices because they’re in Hug boundaries for example.
We relocated here last summer 2008. Education is important to us. We’re renting and have experienced what Rollan Melton Elementary has to offer. I hear it’s one of the best in the district, but frankly it could still be better. It mostly depends on the teacher. We got lucky last year and loved all three teachers.
This year I have a 6th grader at Billinghurst. She’s stuck in limbo-land because there’s no room for 6th grade at Rollan Melton, but there’s no middle school funding for them at Billinghurst. That means no P.E., no ALM until 7th grade, etc. Still, her teachers seem great and they’re trying to challenge her.
Our fourth grader got into the school within a school program. I’m extremely impressed so far. The bar is finally set higher than mere inches off the ground.
Then we have a second grader and kindergartner at Rollan Melton. Kindergarten is basically public preschool. My little boy keeps wondering why they don’t do math or reading at school. They’re not expected to read until sometime in first grade. My second grader is bored out of her mind. There is so much wasted downtime, and the bar is set way too low. The teacher says giving her extra work would be like punishment. (and being bored isn’t?)
My kids test at 95% or higher. They read before kindergarten (yes, parental involvement is key for this). It’s proven more of a struggle to keep them challenged here in this district than in Idaho and Utah where we’ve previously lived. Those states aren’t much better in their $$$ spending per pupil.
Sorry for the rant, but since we can’t afford private school for four kids, we’re in the public system for good. We’re faced with finding the right home in the right neighborhood so our kids can go to one of the few decent schools in the area. We’ve noticed this means several 10’s of thousands more in the price of a home. So for now, we keep renting too.
Sully
Back in the day, before California and Mass. legislatures turned us into a nanny country, people checked the minority enrollment of the local schools. High minority enrollment usually meant lower test scores, etc.
The same still holds today, we just can’t say it out loud. Which might also be the reason most realtors are reluctant to recommend certain areas over others.
But to make it short and sweet, Hug, Sparks and Wooster HS have over 50% minority enrollment.
billddrummer
My oldest daughter graduated from Spanish Springs High with a 4.9538 GPA (AP classes). She’s now a freshman at the NYU Stern School of Business. (For those who don’t know, one of the professors, Nariel Roubini, is widely credited for predicting the financial crisis of 2007-2008.)
My youngest daughter is enrolled in the WOLF online learning program, and when she’s focused, it works well for her. WOLF has a classroom program run out of the Children’s Cabinet office on Silverada Blvd (lousy neighborhood, caring staff) and the combination seems to be working for her.
As for high schools, Reno, Damonte Ranch, Spanish Springs and Galena seem to be the best public schools academically. Semi-private ones are better (Manogue). I’m not sure about middle or elementary schools.
PriceItRight
In a state which is ranked in the bottom tier of high school graduation rate, buying properties in better school districts is highly relevant to those parents who want their kids to have better chance at success. Parents and individual teachers profoundly impact a child’s educational journey, but the importance of a good school should not be undermined. A School where students on average score in the higher bracket creates an atmosphere of competition and motivation for its pupil. Often the schools with better test scores have also lower transiency rate.
For a smaller city like Reno/Sparks, zonal boundary of a typical high school is large and encompasses neighborhoods of varying character. At the elementary school level however, one starts to see the more heterogeneous make-up of the city. There are websites (e.g. schooldigger.com) that does a fair job of ranking the schools. The Washoe County School District’s website also provides invaluable information in form of Accountability Report of each of its school. The top elementary schools (among more than sixty in Washoe County) in my opinion are(in order):
Hunsberger, Lenz, Gomm, Caughlin, Brown, Beck, Melton, Verdi, Huffaker, Pleasant, Van, and Westergard.
No wonder properties in these school zones are significantly costlier than comparable properties in other areas of the city.
Teacher
Anon teacher here.
It’s all about parental involvement if the school is a challenging environment.
based on teaching experience alone: Avoid Hug at all costs. North valleys too. Thier feeder schools are just as bad.
Mcqueen is quite good in addition to the others mentioned
bob c
The previous post had to be an attempt at
humor (grammar/spelling/puncuation) or our
kids are in deep doo-doo
pogg
I don’t think the above post by “Teacher” is an attempt at humor.
As someone who was attending UNR back in the Clinton era to be a teacher, the lousy quality of many in the education programs was truly alarming.
It is a fact that most teachers began their college careers seeking other degrees and drift into teaching as a last resort. Considering the tuition costs and being forced to work for free for a semester, teaching has little appeal for a pragmatic person. Half of all teachers leave the profession within five years of entering the profession. For several years the investment firm Edward Jones had a link specifically for teachers looking to change careers.
Having been at the Wendy’s on Golden Valley Dr. when it was full of North Valleys High students, I concur with “Teacher”, a tough crowd indeed. Foreclosures are a problem as is getting students from the Raleigh Heights area.
WolfB
Educate yourself
http://www.nevadareportcard.com
Sully
Here is Newsweeks rankings nationally. You can also refine search for city or state.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/education/2009_NEWSWEEK_TOP_SCHOOLS.html