Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with schools

Where should I live in SW Connecticut that has a good cheap rent vs. good elem. school balance?

taumeson — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 11:47:28 -0800

I'm moving with my family to Connecticut in a few weeks. Definitely western CT, probably SW CT. Need advice on rent and elementary schools, specifically: "Where should I live that has a good balance of cheap rent vs. good schools"? I'm not going to be making SW Connecticut income, so I need a cheapish place to live with good schools. Aren't we all? I've investigated it a bit and there seem to be plenty of places to live as long as I avoid Norwalk and Bridgeport. Accurate assumptions? I'll be working near Stamford and Norwalk, with occasional stints near Hartford (once or twice monthly). I'd like to see a shorter commute than I currently have (50 mins each way) so I would like to live near where I'll be working.

Bleacher Bum Looking for Fun

gilgamix — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 21:18:51 -0800

Where can I find old bleachers in Los Angeles? Not to buy (unless their really cheap). I just want to take some photos of old, heavily used bleachers. Anyone? This is the weirdest thing I ever asked you for, I think...

Which NYC area colleges and Universities are teaching valid hand marked-up xhtml and css in their web design courses?

stagewhisper — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 07:21:11 -0800

Which (if any) NYC area colleges and Universities are teaching valid hand marked-up xhtml and css in their web design courses? I am trying to find a freelancer or small firm to take over a dating website redesign for a client in the NYC/NJ area. The back-end is/will be Cold Fusion (this is the only option as far as the client is concerned) and the front end styles and all formatting will be implemented using style sheets and fully accessible xhtml. I am having trouble finding an entry level designer who not only has the proper skill set, but who also understands why it is important that their code validates.
The best option seems to be to advertise this job on various area school's alumni and/or student job boards, but if the state university that I am currently a grad student at is any indication, not all web design courses and digital design concentrations teach much beyond WYSIWYG dreamweaver classes, and the computer science classes don't address user interface design and css much, if at all.
Is anyone here familiar enough with the design programs at other schools (Pratt, Parsons, SVA, Rutgers, etc.) that they might suggest the best programs and career services offices for me to contact?

Best way to educate a child who is a follower in large groups but independent in small groups.

lynnie-the-pooh — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 07:54:18 -0800

Need advice: what is the best way to educate a child who is a follower in large groups but an independent leader in small groups? Hello:

My five year old daughter is in public Kindergarten right now and the teacher tells me she is not independent and that she is a follower. She does not speak up and does not show confidence. At home, my child is talkative, independent, assertive, and a negotiater; the complete opposite of her school situation. Plus she is reading at a first grade level.

But I also see this independence outside of home, as long as it is a small group or only a few people. For example, she is a model/actress for a company, and can get up and do a monologue that she memorized in front of a small group. And one time I introduced her to a lady that she never met before (who was a choir instructor), and my daughter got up on the stage in front of this person and began belting out a song from the sound of music, using her arms and face to express the song and everything.

She used to go to Montessori school for preschool, where supposedly an independent child will thrive. The teacher there did tell me that my child was on the quiet side and seemed to be a follower. Now that we are in public school, it seems to be the same thing.

My question is, should I put her back in Montessor, in hopes that she will become independent? Should I keep her in public school, since those schools are more geared toward telling children how and what they are going to do and learn, or should I homeschool her and then put her in a lot of activities? I do homeschool her in the summer, so it's not like I don't know anything about that.

What I'm concerned about, is that a child who appears to be free and independent and assertive, is now changing her personality with every experience she has at public school. And eventually she will see herself as the quiet, unsure, follower in the group.

Any advice?

Lynnie-the-Pooh

Need Colorado Info Please

pearlybob — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 20:27:21 -0800

I need advice/info about the best neighborhoods/school districts in Boulder/Denver Co. Hi all, my good friends are making a quick move from GA to the Boulder/Denver, Co area. They have a high schooler and elementary age children. This is happening really fast and they need some advice about where to look to rent for a year. They want a nice area for families and a good school system. They want to buy after they sell here in GA so they need advice on a neighborhood that they can stay in for a while. Any advice about where to look would be appreciated. They have job possibilities in both cities so all info on both areas appreciated. Thanks all!!

how do I get a cheap law degree

nyc_consultant — Sat, 23 May 2009 07:33:57 -0800

Where can I get a cheap law degree? And should I? Is there a way I can earn a law degree cheaply, either part-time or online, and have it still be a "legitimate" law degree (e.g. an accredited university)? I don't care about prestige, but I want to be able to actually learn the law.

I want to earn it in my spare time, and I don't care if it won't be from a great school and I won't have a great GPA.

That said, if I pass the bar after earning the degree, is that all most people would care about. In other words, does passing the bar supercede the school & performance, when being evaluated by other people?

Note: I am not planning to go into a legal career. I'd like to continue working in business, but be able to bring the JD perspective to bear in appropriate situations.

What is the difference between an I.S. and a J.H.S., and what does IS stand for?

nonmerci — Fri, 15 May 2009 09:22:47 -0800

This is a stupid question, but can someone please explain to me the difference between an I.S. school and a J.H.S. school in the New York public school system? It seems both schools cater to grades 6, 7 and 8 so I'm curious about the difference in naming and the history of this system of abbreviation. Also, what does I.S. stand for? I know this is a silly question, but I've spent a lot of time googling it and I can't find it, and my curiosity is killing me. I'm sure the answer is obvious, but if you can answer the history dimension that might make the question a little more interesting.*

*question arose after reading this article and wondering what a P.S./I.S. was, and failing repeatedly while trying to search for these terms

What's the best school around Edwards AFB for a gifted, special needs third grader?

Cricket — Thu, 14 May 2009 14:05:15 -0800

I need advice on elementary schools on, near, and around Edwards AFB. This summer, my family will be PCSing from Eielson AFB, AK, to Edwards AFB, CA. We're trying to look at all the possibilities so we'll have an idea where to find housing, but the most important factor is the schools.

I have an eight year old, rising third grader, with special needs - he is both profoundly gifted and struggling with severe impulse control disorder (NOS) and depression. We need a school environment in which he will be challenged, but at which teachers will work with him to achieve and understand that he has some behavioral difficulties. His teachers and therapist here are trying to work with me, but none of us has enough familiarity with the options in the area to do more than help solidify what we need to look for. In short, we have no idea how to find it.

A charter, magnet, or experimental school might be best. The psychologist recommends looking into private programs; as strapped as California is, there is some concern that my son will fall through the cracks or be pushed aside as the state and its schools try to make ends meet. Money is an issue for us, but we'll make what sacrifices we need to if it means we can enroll him in a program that will be good for him. If there are scholarships or financial aid available, that would also be a plus.

We need to live within an hour's drive of Edwards AFB, and I'd prefer that the school not be more than another half hour in the opposite direction if at all possible.

Is anyone familiar with the schools in the area? Is there anything there that will help us?

I want to find Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters

MrMulan — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 14:24:27 -0800

Is there anything in real life like Xavier Institute for Higher Learning, formerly Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters minus the mutants? I am not talking about international schools where expats, and diplomats' kids go, but a school(K-12) or institution that accepts bright/gifted kids from around the world.

I just want more information for my own knowledge if one or more exists.

If the answer is no, then why wouldn't something like this work?
Have a boarding school for gifted children, where the kids' come from all over the world, preferably from impoverished areas. The parents, and governments would agree to allow the child to study and board there.
Parents could request the child be sent back at any time. The school would provide airfare and lodgings for the parents 1 or 2 times a year. School would be mostly year round.

I have been thinking about this on and off for over 20 years while drunk, sober, sleeping, driving, ect.. and presently have it stuck in my head everytime I hear about Madonna and the baby adoption thing.

Please no chatfilter answers on why it should or shouldn't be done. Just, Has it been done? If not, can it be done? How or why not?

Developing a web application for school reports in Python

topynate — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 14:48:49 -0800

What web framework, preferably in Python, should I use to develop a student reports web application? My old school wants to employ me to replace their current student reports system. I think that the way to go is to create a web app that the teachers can use to submit comments and exam marks on each student they teach, which will go into a database that can be accessed by the administrative staff to generate personalised reports for each student. This will replace the current system of the teachers filling in special MS Word templates for each student, which causes problems with them blocking each other from filling in the documents, and generates an enormous administrative burden in checking everything is filled in, chasing the delinquent teachers down, and printing the whole caboodle off.

I'm experienced with Python, but have never used it for web dev (except for messing around with Plone once). I have used Ruby on Rails and MySQL to make a survey website, but I never really got to grips with Ruby, and this will be a bigger project involving more business logic. I would prefer not to use PHP. What would be a good framework to use, very preferably in Python, and considering that the focus of this project will be on secure data entry and manipulating that data to generate printed reports, rather than web-based content?

We are Professional vs. "Check out this cute kitty photo."

rokusan — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 09:31:01 -0800

Design Filter: Does anyone have any good best-of-field examples of corporate/institutional websites that are well-integrated with blogs? I'm looking for good-looking examples where a (dry, formal, professional, corporate) website is well-integrated with a (topical, chatty, personal-voice) blog, so the blog does not seem glued-on and doesn't conflict with the overall professional look/feel.

I don't mean technically, or how the url(s) are set up: I mean purely from a design standpoint, in terms of how the two coexist within the same navigation or home page links/integration.

My current need is part of researching a marketing plan for a private art school, if that matters, but this is a pretty generic question I've been chewing on for awhile.

In many cases, an organization's "traditional" website has to be safe, professional, non-threatening. But the same time, the vibrancy and marketing power of a blog is important too, in showing (not just saying) why this is a good place to work/live/attend/hire. To make good sense, a blog just cannot seem glued on, in a "click here for our BLOG omgcool" way, I don't think.

So I think this is a pretty general question for any website/blog that needs to both be coolly professional on the one hand, and aggressively marketing themselves on the other, so if you know any great examples in any other fields, that's fine too. A doctor's office, law firm, or private investigator might have the same conflicting goals, I imagine.

I am thinking about it so far as the "voice of the organization", as a sort of more useful replacement for the usual boring "About Our Philosophy" type content. Show us how smart and friendly you are, in other words, instead of just telling us.

I'd like examples if possible, but also general ideas/guidance. Blogs are not my thing.

"A Very Good School"

pamspanda — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 05:11:47 -0800

I am trying to locate a copy of a Charles Osgood column entitled "A very Good School". It is at least 15 years old and I have lost my original copy that was published in the local newspaper. Can you help?

Canadaian Computer College Classifications?

mjewkes — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 09:42:32 -0800

Where should a Canadian 1.5st year student transfer to, in order to complete a computer science degree? Canadian Computer Science transfer student.

I am a 22 year old Canadian university student with a year of arts credits under my belt. I am currently attending Dalhousie University in Halifax, where I've been taking computer science for the past term, and have decided that that is how I'm going to finish my degree.

Everyone who talks about computer science degrees on the internet seems to place a real emphasis on the quality of the school you get your diploma from. I somehow doubt Dalhousie is in the upper echelons of such school.

My marks are pretty good, both in university and high school courses. Would it be best if I transfered to a better Comp Sci school? If so, what are the best options in Canada?

Best Distance Learning schools with Computer Science degree programs?

premo — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 02:07:57 -0800

Best Distance Learning Universities with Computer Science degree programs? Any recommendations appreciated! I've been considering going to Troy University for my BA in Computer Science. Are there any other competitors that I should be looking at?

I've been to University of Phoenix and they are awful, high priced and don't care about their students at all. I'm 27 and need a school that I can complete entirely online. My main objective is to find a school that is well received and will be enjoyable, price and difficulty aren't as important to me as the caliber of teachers and or program is.

Thanks so much.

Best SF Middle Schools?

asavage — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 22:07:54 -0800

SFMiddleSchoolFilter. Help me figure out which are the best and worst San Francisco middle schools Everyone in San Francisco with 8-9 year olds (I have twin 9 year old boys) has the same intel: there are 3 good public middle schools in SF, and if you don't get into those you pretty much gotta go private. SFUSD's site provides information but little context. (GOD I have government websites) and there's a lot of advertising driven sites like greatschools.net which have a lot of info, but they also have little context.
My kids currently attend Miraloma- lots of parental involvement, great school. My kids have done well there. I'm sure there are middle schools with lots of parental involvement. I'm not hung up on them going to a super academic school. Just want a good school, run by nice thoughtful people, who care, and have room to care. Anecdotal information is greatly appreciated, but context in the wider picture is also great.
I"m willing to think about private, and I'm also collating information about that too, but before I commit to that, I want to know the public landscape.

Help with the text of a poem about the disparity between funding for education and the military?

goo — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 14:09:48 -0800

I'm looking for the text of a poem/ statement that was printed on tea towels (where I saw it but could very well also be elsewhere) about how governments are willing to spend millions on armies and navies but schools have to hold cake stalls to provide basic services. The tea towels were popular among my friends' hippy parents in Canberra, Australia in the early- to mid-80s and were possibly printed by the Nuclear Disarmament Party, but just as likely found elsewhere. I've searched with all the terms I can think of but can't find the text. Can you help? Thanks.

How does education about religion work in US schools?

bjrn — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 12:49:54 -0800

Someone told me that in the US most public schools don't have religious studies or comparative religion type classes. Is this true? If this is true, how far does it go? Does that mean there's no (Greek/Roman/Norse) mythology either? And what would be the rationale behind not teaching it?

public high schools in NYC

pmaxwell — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 20:45:09 -0800

What public high schools in Manhatten should I look at for my Daughter? September is coming: Tours, apps, interviews – Yikes!

CBC FLV

pcameron — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 20:49:34 -0800

I want to download a (non-copyrighted) FLV film (called A Film For Schools) from the CBC Radio 3 site, so I can post it on YouTube. How do I download it? The film is not copyrighted because it is made of public domain educational films (this is stated in the end credits). I really love the film and would like to make it more available, but the CBC Radio 3 website is badly designed and the video player stops to re-buffer every 30 seconds so I want to put it up on YouTube.

If I Make This School Better, I Can Change the World! Um, right?

jeanmari — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 11:45:43 -0800

I'm looking for some research or (last resort) anecdotal stories about the effect of improved/improving schools on communities/neighborhoods. I'm putting together a project that would try and encourage local community members to adopt classrooms/teachers in an urban school.

I'd like to be able to describe to people other than parents how improving a school can help to improve a community. I have a hunch that it helps with property values, but I don't have the data to back that up. Effects on crime? Effects on local businesses? Etcetera, etcetera.

Unfortunately, I'm working from home these days and don't have access to the good old university database that I'm used to. And it's been difficult to find what I need on Google.

Anyone have leads on where to look for this type of research, if it exists?

Austin public schools versus SF Bay Area public schools: which will leave our children behind less?

jewzilla — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 15:03:25 -0800

I can't find a consistent way to compare public schools in two different states, but maybe someone here has personal experience that'll help. We're considering buying a home in either the SF bay area or in Austin. Is there a substantial difference in the quality of the public schools? Regardless of which way we go, we'd pick a neighborhood that has highly rated schools. The definition of highly rated schools for us: In CA, that would be an API score of 850 or more (e.g., Cherry Chase in Sunnyvale); in Austin, it would be an "exemplary" school according to the Texas Accountability Rating System (e.g., almost any school in the Eanes district in Westlake).

Indy, Indiana, not Louisiana, Paris, France, NY or Rome

DiscourseMarker — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 12:01:54 -0800

Moving to Indianapolis, need neighborhood recommendations. Posting this for a friend: Mrs. Friend just accepted a job located near the SW corner of the greater Indianapolis tri-county area. They are currently in South Dakota (Brookings). Mr. Friend is looking for suggestions on where to live. They need a good school system (1 middle-school aged kid) and a house. They also need housing in Indy for grandma who is now in a HUD supported senior apt complex in Brookings. They like the college town vibe, but I think Bloomington is too far of a commute. Mr. Friend is a freelance writer/audio producer/stay-at-home dad.

Please give suggestions for good neighborhoods, MLS numbers, zip codes, etc where they can look. My friend thanks you!

Tell me anything you know about the New York City public school system.

HotPatatta — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 10:04:11 -0800

I live in LA and I'm going to a job fair for the NYC public school system (elementary school teacher). What can I say about the NYC public school system that is flattering and makes me sound like I know what's going on within the NYC Dept of Education? I want to be able to say something like, "I'm really eager to work for the NYC public school system because it is doing a lot of exciting, innovative things to address the needs of its students. Rather than accept mediocrity and underperformance of teachers and students, the NYC schools are doing x, y, and z to improve the quality of education that all students receive."

Basically, I want to be able to say more than just "I really love New York City and I have always wanted to live there. That's why I'm applying for a job there."

Are there any interesting city-wide initiatives, policies, etc. that I can mention or read up on?

Bay Area (horse) Riding School?

penciltopper — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 14:43:11 -0800

Looking for SF Bay Area equitation schools (wanna make with the horse-riding). I have pretty much the same question as this one.

Lots of good information there. But I'm looking for recommendations in the SF Bay Area.

I've lived in suburbs or cities all my life, so my exposure to horses has been limited. But I've gone on trail rides as described above, had a friend as a teen who was a show-jumper, etc. I've found that I like just being around horses in general.

So I'd like to spend my weekends this spring/summer learning to ride (instead of just sitting on top of a horse). Bonus for some place that would allow me to spend time there cleaning stables, grooming horses, whatever, if I wanted/they'd have me, rather than "your 1-hour lesson is over, please go home now".

(also, I don't really have the income that many in the horsey set do; so if I could cut my lesson rates by shoveling sh*t, that would be welcome.)

How do you change a school?

acoutu — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 14:41:02 -0800

Can you turn a bad school into a good school? I live in the downtown of the most expensive city in Canada: Vancouver. My catchment area includes two schools. One is an annex, which goes from K to 3. The other is the main school, K to 7. The annex is well regarded. However, the main school is not. The students there have many, many problems. A recent school report shows that 0% of kindergarten students there have personal preparedness skills and that at least 1/4 students is 20 minutes late every morning. 11% of grade 1s can do grade level math. And so on.

The annex has good results. However, because people don't want their kids to transfer to the main school for 4th grade, people move or send their kids elsewhere. By 3rd grade, only 3 students are original to the school and the class size is quite small. (Not that small is a problem.)

The main school apparently has problems with 7th graders bullying kindergarten students. My friend, who is a teacher, says no one wants to teach at the main school, although the annex is a popular destination.

People have apparently hoped to change the main school, but, if you head there for 4th grade, it's hard to get on the PTA. The people who were there from the beginning don't want to give up their spots or vote for new people. And the entrenched people are apparently okay with the way things are. (This is what I'm told.)

Most of the parents I know are great parents. We all have preschoolers. And we're all unsure what to do about school. A few parents have suggested that we could all band together and work to change the schools. The problem is that we'd all want to send our kids to the annex. Then you're in a game of chicken, when it comes to waiting it out till 4th grade. People inevitably panic and pull their kids out before they need to move to the big school for grade 4. And so things never change.

Is there any way to change this? If our kids don't go to these schools, they'd have to go out of catchment, which involves commuting and kind of defeats the purpose of living downtown.

A few key points:
- starter houses in this city are $800k-$1.1M. Housing prices have spiked in recent years; more people are living downtown than ever before, including families.
- the school board decided not to build a new school in this area and instead transferred funding to build a school on the new Olympic grounds
- we've got about 2 years before our kids get to kindergarten
- the nearest French Immersion is over a bridge and so popular that a lottery system is used to award spaces. It is not necessarily a solution.
- we recognize that many "bad schools" actually do a great job in teaching, but the word on the street is that this is not one of them and that the social environment is dismal.