OT: what school would you send ur kid to en dade

Coral Reef has been the top public HS in Dade for a little while now. Also MAST and DASH.
Palmetto is top notch and always has been. But is probably 4th or 5th.
I would send my sons there without batting an eye.

Coral Reef is a magnet school though, right? I kinda feel like the magnet schools, the charter schools and all other specialty type schools should be separated from the ones that just serve specific geographical areas. Not that Miami-Dade Public Schools doesn't absolutely deserve credit for all those that fall under its watch.
 
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Palmetto is absolutely a Tier 1 High School. Not taking anything away from them at all. Amazing school.

Ultimately, from my experience, education begins and ends at home. Some of the smartest students I've EVER encountered attended inner city F rated toilet bowls. These kids were virtually teaching themselves and still managed to hitch a ride to Stanford, Duke, Harvard, Cornell, etc. I noticed the brightest students at every school I've worked with almost always had had a few common denominators:

1. They were all self directed readers. They read because they wanted to, not because they were forced or assigned.

2. They all had someone besides themselves keeping up and staying on top of them (and this is the important part) their teachers about their academics.

So few students and parents are willing to look in mirror and think about above.

If they re-directed just 1/2 the energy they spend complaining about how life "screwed" them (or worse laying on sofa playing video games) into improving their situation, its amazing how far they could actually get.
 
If you have a son and your most important criterias are academics and future business contacts, it's pretty much impossible to beat Belen.
 
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The thing I don't necessarily get and I alluded to initially are the people that are upper middle class that are spending out the culo for some private school tuition.

For example, I know two separate families with three kids each that have paid a ton of money annually to send their kids to Columbus and Belen respectively but they remain living in West Miami. They both have very nice houses and the neighborhoods are fine but they definitely could afford much better if that tuition money was being diverted to mortgage money. I'd assume most people would prefer home ownership in Palmetto Bay/etc. while getting (imo) a similar quality free education at Palmetto.

I think you see a lot of family tradition and social pressure directing these choices for the second tier type of private/parochial schools in Dade. I highly doubt the primary draw is the specific need for the Catholic/Jesuit influence in their kids secondary education.

Then again, my opinions are obviously anecdotal as I've lived in Coward County for the last decade. Go STA.

You make excellent points. Broward's example would be Taravella-Coral Springs-Parkland vs. University School-American Heritage-Pine Crest-STA.

In the 80s and early 90s, Taravella and Coral Springs were Broward's sought after public schools because those addresses were sought after (to some degree South Plantation and Western as well, but not as much). Parkland (e.g. Stoneman Douglas) became the "new place to be" as more "professionals" of all stripes in life moved to northwest Broward. As I understand, MSD is now hemorraghing students and has opened enrollment to surrounding areas--very controversial and we all know how the movie likely ends.

Meanwhile, the sought after privates continued on their own paths with great success (and great cost). Families unable/unwilling to move started seeking those opportunities for their kids. Also, uniforms, like them or not, lend to a more productive learning experience. There is a strong number of "regular" people who make sacrifices to send their kids to those schools because without question, the percentages of the students attending upper/top tier universities far exceeds even the best publics--its not even rationally debatable. What is also very telling is the same numbers of families who live in the "best" public districts and still send their kids to private. It really comes down to the value-added output. Real or perceived, the created reality is that the SoFL privates, overall, are a better environment for students.

Every family makes a choice and works with what choices they can make. Ransom is what, $40K/yr? Pine Crest is $35k, Uni and AH are similar. Same with Guliver, etc. STA (enrollment as doubled since 80s) is $15K (I think Belen and Bishop Mcarty are same?).

When given free alternatives and people still choose to pay, that speaks volumes. Good or bad, it certainly is a statement.
 
I’ll go with University School in Broward and Ransom Everglades in Dade, as I’ve had relatives at each, but there are other good ones as well.
 
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Ransom
Palmer
Belen
Columbus
Gulliver
Country Day
Westminster
MAST
Lourdes
Carrollton

LOL at sending your kid to a public school that isn't Gables or Palmetto


Seriously people are so out of touch. These MDC schools are short staffed, & simply over run by the hordes. No way to instill any semblance of true discipline at that point. Zero

What you get by and large are graduating classes that have the engrained notion that they can get anything to slide, esp below average effort level.

Life doesn't exactly work that way. Zero practical financial education. Limited roll models available. Teachers can't afford to give 100% as they'd have fackin go out of pocket for kids that straight up, do not care. Society here has allowed that disease to spread. Decision makers won't even let their kids think about attending school with the general pop.

No better way to throw away your life, than becoming an apathetic adult living paycheck to....
 
There are plenty of good schools in Miami-Dade County both private, charter, and public.

But as @Savage Cane said, even the best are still short staffed and overpopulated.

Also, there are very few children that will overcome bad parenting and there is no price you can pay to send your kid to the best school possible that will undo ****ty parenting that you will be surrounded by no matter the school.

Every time I see a thinkpiece of the schools, teachers, the education system...the first thing I think about is how none of these pieces touch upon the swarth of human beings being raised by bum parents. There are very few students that will be inspired and re-programmed by a teacher. The lack of real world prep in schools will not do a lick of good when we have students going home to no one worth a ****.

With all of the criticisms about our education system...most of which are justified...the one I don't get is the one that wants schools to "do more"...at what point do you stop asking schools to make up for ****ty parenting?
 
Palmetto is absolutely a Tier 1 High School. Not taking anything away from them at all. Amazing school.

Ultimately, from my experience, education begins and ends at home. Some of the smartest students I've EVER encountered attended inner city F rated toilet bowls. These kids were virtually teaching themselves and still managed to hitch a ride to Stanford, Duke, Harvard, Cornell, etc. I noticed the brightest students at every school I've worked with almost always had had a few common denominators:

1. They were all self directed readers. They read because they wanted to, not because they were forced or assigned.

2. They all had someone besides themselves keeping up and staying on top of them (and this is the important part) their teachers about their academics.

Great points. Sooooo true about the self directed reading. We'd also have an exponentially greater chance with an immeasurable amount of kids if we could just keep them reading at their appropriate grade levels all the way through elementary school.
 
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Palmetto is absolutely a Tier 1 High School. Not taking anything away from them at all. Amazing school.

Ultimately, from my experience, education begins and ends at home. Some of the smartest students I've EVER encountered attended inner city F rated toilet bowls. These kids were virtually teaching themselves and still managed to hitch a ride to Stanford, Duke, Harvard, Cornell, etc. I noticed the brightest students at every school I've worked with almost always had had a few common denominators:

1. They were all self directed readers. They read because they wanted to, not because they were forced or assigned.

2. They all had someone besides themselves keeping up and staying on top of them (and this is the important part) their teachers about their academics.

Can not upvote, like, etc. this post enough.

As a teacher, you can win some battles here n there, but at home is where the war is won and lost.
 
Coral Reef is a magnet school though, right? I kinda feel like the magnet schools, the charter schools and all other specialty type schools should be separated from the ones that just serve specific geographical areas. Not that Miami-Dade Public Schools doesn't absolutely deserve credit for all those that fall under its watch.
Magnet schools is like coaching an all-star team, students don't perform ship them back to their home schools.
 
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Either my Alma Mater Miami Country Day or Ransom.
I don't know too much about Country Day, but I have heard its reputation years ago was for f-ups with a lot of money. Recently, though, they really seem to be coming into their own.
 
Belen Jesuit
Carrollton
Lourdes
Columbus
Gulliver
Palmer
Ransom
Westminster
Country Day

They’re all good. Find the best fit.
 
Palmetto grad. Was 144th in my class and I got a full ride to the state schools and the Merrick scholarship from UM, I'm now an Optometrist. My best friend was somewhere in the 30s in the class and went to Duke. Valedictorian and saludatorian both had 1600s on their SATs. One went to MIT and is on the forefront of cancer research.

If you have money private is fine. If money is an issue, Palmetto can get your kid anywhere they want to go.
 
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Coral Reef is a magnet school though, right? I kinda feel like the magnet schools, the charter schools and all other specialty type schools should be separated from the ones that just serve specific geographical areas. Not that Miami-Dade Public Schools doesn't absolutely deserve credit for all those that fall under its watch.
Thank you for sane arguments.
 
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