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  1. #26
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    Might be worht looking into a teaching job in Park City. I know more than one family who live in the valley, who take on a job in P.C. to get their kids into school here.

    I'm not saying that schools in the valley are bad, I'm just saying that there may be an opportunity to enroll your kids in what some consider one of the best public school systems in the country.


    Quote Originally Posted by altachic View Post
    I'm with zion on this one as far as the money aspect goes. People who have more money, can do private schools or schools in park city. Cost of living is higher and requires more income, family money...etc. simple as that.

    With a kid on the way, I always think about this. Sure, I'd like to put my kid in a private school, but it costs more money.
    “How does it feel to be the greatest guitarist in the world? I don’t know, go ask Rory Gallagher”. — Jimi Hendrix

  2. #27
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    •Park City High School, in the state of Utah, ranks 150th on Newsweek's most recent Complete List of the 1,000 Top U.S. Schools, with an index of 2.494. This is the highest ranking of any school in the state of Utah (second place is West High School in Salt Lake City, at 191st). It is located at 1750 Kearns Blvd in Park City, Utah.

    Was 150 in 2008. It fell to 208 in 2009. That's pretty good, considering the # of H.S. throughout the country.
    http://www.newsweek.com/id/201160

    Quote Originally Posted by Turd Ferguson View Post
    Schindlerpiste - where did you get your top 150 ranking? I don't know where to go for reliable data, but US News doesn't list Park City as a "medal" school as far as I see:
    US News Utah Schools

    US News gave Skyline HS a "Silver", but schoolmatters.com ranks PC slightly better than Skyline in terms of math and reading proficiency - I don't know if it's simply different metrics or bad data or what.

    PowderAllTheTime - I agree with your sister that the home is more important than the classroom - but, as a freaked-out new parent, it's scary to look at the numbers for Highland High School:
    66% reading proficiency and 27% math proficiency!

    I really hope those numbers are wrong.


    KSL Ranks Park City High School #1 in Utah
    Nadine Wimmer, KSL
    4/2009

    Utah High Schools are ranked in football and basketball, but parents have had no comparable way to view schools' performance in academics until now. KSL has launched a research project called KSL Schools that shows how schools stand up against each other.

    To rank overall high schools, our analyst equally weighted proficiency, how schools prepare students to meet basic state requirements, advanced placement (considered college prep) and progress scores. The state says progress helps equalize the playing field by judging students at a school against their own progress, rather than comparing them to students from different socio-economic categories.

    Utah's Top 5 High Schools:
    1. Park City High School
    2. Davis High School
    3. Skyline High School
    4. Viewmont High School
    5. Lone Peak High School
    Last edited by schindlerpiste; 10-09-2009 at 03:11 PM.
    “How does it feel to be the greatest guitarist in the world? I don’t know, go ask Rory Gallagher”. — Jimi Hendrix

  3. #28
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    Quote Originally Posted by Buzzworthy View Post

    Comes down to what the parents want for their kids. My parents pushed me in HS, graduated with a 3.8, went to college and after graduation he asked me one question: Will you cut your long hair off (to get a job) and I will pay for 4 or your 5 years of college? I went running for scissors! I am lucky to have parents that could do that, very lucky, more than I know.
    I got thrown out of the house and became a skifish bum
    I'm gonna call him and thank him again
    "When the child was a child it waited patiently for the first snow and it still does"- Van "The Man" Morrison
    "I find I have already had my reward, in the doing of the thing" - Buzz Holmstrom
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  4. #29
    bklyn is offline who guards the guardians?
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    Social issues aside, the parents determine and control the study habits and exposure to information of the child. Learning doesn't end at 3pm and shouldn't take a hiatus in July and August.

    [soapbox] The biggest single factor in your child's education is... parental involvement [/soapbox]

    If your kid goes to a great school there is slightly less work for the parents... a shitty school means more work for the parents and the kids on enrichment activities and study.
    I'm just a simple girl trying to make my way in the universe...
    I come up hard, baby but now I'm cool I didn't make it, sugar playin' by the rules
    If you know your history, then you would know where you coming from, then you wouldn't have to ask me, who the heck do I think I am.

  5. #30
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    And this whole "wear your Sunday best" day my friend just went through is just too much. I mean, she is going to get real hot sitting in a classroom with her Marmot gear on.

  6. #31
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    Quote Originally Posted by bklyn View Post
    Social issues aside, the parents determine and control the study habits and exposure to information of the child. Learning doesn't end at 3pm and shouldn't take a hiatus in July and August.

    [soapbox] The biggest single factor in your child's education is... parental involvement [/soapbox]

    If your kid goes to a great school there is slightly less work for the parents... a shitty school means more work for the parents and the kids on enrichment activities and study.
    Quoted for additional emphasis.

    The key is being involved parents.

    If you're the parent of an asshole kid and your position at parent/teacher confrontation night is Not my Johnny, you are part of the problem. [/preaching]

    If you can afford it, give your kids a solid base. We were able to send our kids to Challenger for elementary school years. Now that my kids are in 10th and 11th grade, I think we're still seeing the benefits of their Challenger years.
    A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.
    Science-fiction author Robert Heinlein

  7. #32
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    Of course being an involved parent is the key, which is why I believe in general, schools in wealthier areas are better schools. More money usually relates to more free time for at least one of the parents, and higher income usually indicates more education and therefore, more emphasis on education in the home.

    While we're talking about kids, allow me to brag for a moment. My oldest son is a freshman on the swim team and is already competing with the seniors at a school that has won the state championship for the last three years in a row. I thought he was eating me poor before he was swimming for 3 hours a day

  8. #33
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    ^^^
    CONGRATS!!! Mang.
    Nothing feels better than being a proud parent!
    “How does it feel to be the greatest guitarist in the world? I don’t know, go ask Rory Gallagher”. — Jimi Hendrix

  9. #34
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    Quote Originally Posted by zion zig zag View Post
    While we're talking about kids, allow me to brag for a moment. My oldest son is a freshman on the swim team and is already competing with the seniors at a school that has won the state championship for the last three years in a row. I thought he was eating me poor before he was swimming for 3 hours a day
    Excellent.

    I want to say that on her first three tests this year my 4th grade daughter has scored 100, 100, and 95% respectively.

    She has also not allowed a goal this season.

    I'm more proud of the former.

  10. #35
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    I actually know NOTHING about Salt Lake City schools... but of course I am compelled to answer this question anyway ;

    Having spent much of the last 25 years frequently answering questions like this on schools... I'd offer the following hard earned advice;

    -There are at least 200 criteria/sets of criteria used to rank schools/school systems here in the US.

    -Therefore at least 200 schools/school systems can claim to be #1 using one set or the other.

    -And further OVER 20,000 schools/school systems can claim to be "in the top 100". (200 criteria x top 100 = 20,000 schools/school systems)

    -IMHO the LEAST useful rankings use only a single (or couple) statistics to do their ranking.

    -The BEST single ranking criteria IMHO is the matriculation percentage; the percent of students that go on to further education at 2 and 4 year institutions. This is VERY HIGHLY related to the percent of parents in that system that themselves have similar further education...

    So... take ALL ranking systems with a grain of salt. Make sure you read the actual criteria each test uses to rank. Some are very complex and use weighting across a dozen stats, some are over simplistic to the point of being absurd.

    As an example... I had a customer show up, maybe 10 years ago during the infancy of the internet, with a completely whacked set of rankings for local school systems. When I inquired more I found it was based 100% on the year the High School for the system was built. Since some of the older most affluent systems here have high school campuses that were originally built 80 to 100 years ago, but greatly updated technologically since... and BTW look like frickin' small East Coast Ivy League type Colleges with various domes and spires and more... she was COMPLETELY MISINFORMED on the choices. Instead of asking to live in school districts that sent 90% and 95% of their kids on to higher education, she was asking about our more average to poorer performing systems in the 70%'s... Still quite good on a National basis, but well below 50th percentile here locally.
    Last edited by mocwvmit; 10-10-2009 at 10:41 PM.
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  11. #36
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    Quote Originally Posted by bklyn View Post
    Social issues aside, the parents determine and control the study habits and exposure to information of the child. Learning doesn't end at 3pm and shouldn't take a hiatus in July and August.

    [soapbox] The biggest single factor in your child's education is... parental involvement [/soapbox]

    If your kid goes to a great school there is slightly less work for the parents... a shitty school means more work for the parents and the kids on enrichment activities and study.
    Hit the nail on the head.

    If you think putting your kid in a private or elite school system is all you need to do as a parent, you're an idiot. My wife constantly works with my boys throughout the summer with "homework" projects and has been doing this since they were about 4 years old. I think the home learning environment is the biggest determining factor in a child's success in school.
    "The challenge is to be yourself in a world that is trying to make you like everyone else" Jamie Pierre

  12. #37
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    Thanks everybody for the input.

    Quote Originally Posted by altachic View Post
    All this school talk makes me nervous when little boy is school age. What do we do? (i'm sure we'll figure it out, but it seems a bit stressful)

    Ugh
    Congrats.

    The only practical advice I can give is to figure out what day care you want to use (if you're going to use one) and get on the waiting list ASAP. I don't know what the situation in SLC is, but my experience and the experience of various friends around the country is that the top day cares have really long waiting lists.

    At this point, we could have signed up before conception and still be waiting at 3 different day cares.
    Youth is wasted on the young

  13. #38
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    As of now, we won't be using daycare. I'd like to be w/ little man as much as possible, while working PT from home....we'll see how that works out.
    you sketchy character, you

  14. #39
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    Quote Originally Posted by altachic View Post
    As of now, we won't be using daycare. I'd like to be w/ little man as much as possible, while working PT from home....we'll see how that works out.
    Unfortunately, it's not possible for everyone; but, taking care of your own children rather than using day care is the way to go.

    When is DTM Jr. scheduled to make his appearance?
    A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.
    Science-fiction author Robert Heinlein

  15. #40
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    Yeah, I have friends who use child care and some who don't. Ideally, I'd like to be w/ him as much as possible, but we have bills to pay, like everyone else. Luckily, if I just had to work FT, I'd be able to work from home or my step mom has owned and operated a day care for 25+ years, I could use that if we just had to.
    We'll see.

    He's supposed to arrive somewhere around January 10th (i'm hoping for earlier though )
    you sketchy character, you

  16. #41
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    AC, you'll have to talk to Ms Ballash about the canyons district sometime - but for now, like everyone else said, don't even worry about it just yet.... unless of course like Buzz did, you want to have a savings going for potential private schooling and don't already have a plan.

    For me, the local uproar over the recent Obama back to school speech was insane and I totally disagree with it (if we had a kid, yes, we would have made them watch it anyway) - but if we did have a kid here in SLC, that alone is enough to make me reconsider the private school all the way thing -

    except that there is a really good one, which happens to be halfway between me & AC's house - Waterford (walking distance too) is 17K / year, from 1st grade might be bit of a stretch.

    Day care waiting lists don't seem to be that big of a deal here (back home, yes, there were huge waiting lists), just probably b/c there are so many providers - but yes, it probably depends on the quality of care and cost as well. I haven't looked into it and don't really need to for the forseeable future.
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  17. #42
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    Quote Originally Posted by skiguide View Post
    Day care waiting lists don't seem to be that big of a deal here (back home, yes, there were huge waiting lists), just probably b/c there are so many providers - but yes, it probably depends on the quality of care and cost as well. I haven't looked into it and don't really need to for the forseeable future.
    We weren't able to find any decent daycares in SLC or Sandy that didn't have a (typically long) waiting list. The daycare we ended up going with had a ~year list.

    I suppose I'm biased since my daughter is in daycare 3 days a week (2 a week in SLC), but I don't think daycare is really a bad thing. Yes, there are things I don't like, but the socialization and structure outweigh them. My wife and I had been talking about her quitting work and staying home w/ the kid. We talked to my daughter about that, and she got pretty upset. I think we're going to try to go back to 2 a week and keep it at that.
    Remind me. We'll send him a red cap and a Speedo.

  18. #43
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    Thanks for the info skiguide! I don't want to stop working completely, as I love my job at BC.com and don't want to lose the deals I get.

    Fortunately if we did go w/ child care, I wouldn't have to wait if we went w/ my step mom's place and I trust the people she has working for her, so that's a bonus.
    you sketchy character, you

  19. #44
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    Quote Originally Posted by altachic View Post
    Thanks for the info skiguide! I don't want to stop working completely, as I love my job at BC.com and don't want to lose the deals I get.

    Fortunately if we did go w/ child care, I wouldn't have to wait if we went w/ my step mom's place and I trust the people she has working for her, so that's a bonus.
    totally good to know too UTSG & Phat got lucky in that their kid goes w/ his cousins too - so thats nice.

    being able to stick w/ BC would be killer for you too, and I hope that works out...

    my other friend here who works from home (like me) loved being a SAHM so much that she now only works 2-3 days a week max and had a 19 yr old cousin nanny/help her out ... so i could see that being an ideal situation.

    there is a bit of perception that working at home already will make it easier, but reality is you may not be able to focus as much/do the same hours/want to work vs time w/ kid & necessary house chores... it is different for everyone though!
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  20. #45
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    When we looked at Daycare, the waiting list varied from 4 months to over a year.

    With a Dr. wife and me an engineer, there was no way we had the option of staying home with our daughter. Is that something I regret, partly yes, in a way. My mom quit to stay home with my bro and I till kindergarten.

    While she has only know daycare, she is very socialized, very intelligent and gets a good well rounded education so far pre-kindergarten.

    She also is an only child so she gets a lot of attention from us at home.

    AC, even if you guys started to save for other education options down the road and decide that public is better by that time, you simply have that much more $$ saved for college to help your child.

    Never hurts to save $$.

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