Irvine Schools

NEW -> Contingent Buyer Assistance Program
They just need James Belushi to step in and clean up the place.





<img src="http://www.impawards.com/1987/posters/principal.jpg" alt="" />
 
<p>I'm just saying that certain groups care more about academic success than others. In Orange County, half of the student population is Hispanic. From my personal experience, Hispanics tend to care more about family and relationship over school and academics. They rather socialize and date rather than study and do homework.</p>

<p>Frankly, it makes sense to want to do activities that are more fun. I guess it's just a matter of preference and choice. </p>

<p>But being that Hispanics are the dominant group in the student population, today's teachers are trained to accommodate their needs.</p>

<p>Honestly, I don't think it's a competence issue, I think it's more of a motivation issue.</p>

<p>Irvine schools have a student population that is motivated and puts great importance on education. Which makes it ideal for some, but not so much for others. People just have to decide what they value. A student can get the same education in Huntington Beach, but they'll be with others who care less for academics.</p>
 
My first post here, so please don't slug me too hard for not using the search and the like....



I am likely to move to the area next year from Europe (job in NB), and the school choice is critical with my boys being 8,4, and 1. The house purchase choice seems to be between Aliso Viejo and Irvine (cheer up housing bulls, overseas buyers are coming). I have not seen any coments about Capistrano School District vis-a-vis Irvine. Is there a real difference, socio-economic-racial mix seems to be similar.



My focus is obviously on the elementary schools, however, I'd like my kids to have a choice to go to the most rigorous academic high schools, if they like this sort of thing. (The 8 yr old is definitely a studious type, just a bit too extravert to be a nerd).



So the Q is, do the elementray schools play a significant role in what merit-based high school education is available, and if so how does CUSD compare to IUSD?



Thanks!
 
<p>earthbm - Loaded questions of which there is not clear cut answer, just opinions so here is mine.</p>

<p>You can not go wrong by living in the University HS area or any of the elementary schools feeding into Uni High. But, it is competitive. And you do not have to buy a home in order to live in that area. It is possible to lease some nice homes there, and now may not be the most advantageous time to buy.</p>

<p>Capo is a mixed bag. If I had to choose between Capo Valley High and Tesoro, and we did, I would choose Tesoro. It is less proven, but IMO there is greater parental involvement. Ladera Ranch is nice, but you have to know the zoning to figure out which high school your property will feed into. All the elementary schools in Ladera are excellent with parental involvement over the top. I think Wagon Wheel and Tijeras Creek are also outstanding.</p>

<p>Do you have any specific questions?</p>
 
Capo Unified is a bit . . . um . . . distracted at the moment by politics, <a href="http://www.ocregister.com/education/cusd_trouble_wide.php">and has been for a couple of years</a>. The district also has a lot politics surrounding race and class, as the school district boundaries encompass both white wealthier areas and poorer Hispanic (mostly Mexican) ones.





If you can afford to live in NB, the schools there are not too bad either.
 
Thanks! The news story is exactly the kind of local color I was looking for.



Specific question: when you say that elementary schools "feed" intro University HS, does that mean that it is harder for a kid who went to a different elementary school to enroll into UHS even if the family moves into UHS area?





Re: competitive, I don't want to engage in this discussion too much, other than say that I am on the side of thinking that as long as there is 1hr of TV or Nintrendo per week, there is not too much school. My wife is of a different opinion though.



Re: NB, I am looking to pay 900k for a 3bd SF or a newer semi-detached, we may still get there in NB, but not next year.
 
<p><em>"when you say that elementary schools "feed" intro University HS, does that mean that it is harder for a kid who went to a different elementary school to enroll into UHS even if the family moves into UHS area?"</em></p>

<p>If you move into a particular school's zone/district, your kid is in that school and generally speaking can not be turned away from that school. If you live in the Uni zone, your kid will go to Uni unless you petition for a different school. The reason I mention the "feeder" elementary schools is because as a general rule, the best high schools have the best elementary schools feeding into them.</p>
 
<p>Here is the link to the Irvine schools website (<a href="http://iusd.org/">http://iusd.org/</a>) You can look up school test scores, attendance areas, etc. there. </p>
 
If you can afford to splurge $900k on a 3 bed house, you can basically pick and choose through most neighborhoods across South OC. In Irvine that'd buy you a 4 or 5 bedroom house. It's not enough for a water front McMansion in Newport or on Lake Mission Viejo, but should not be a barrier to enter any school district you prefer.





You could also look into private schools. I've heard good things about Our lady Queen of Angels, Mission Parish, & Mater Dei High. However, I did not attend these schools, nor am I an expert on them. So you'll have to do your own research.
 
Ok, I should probably scale back my housing budget. I don't really want/need a 5bd at this stage. Just want a nice neighborhood with an academically good school. Thank you all for taking time to answer. This has dented Aliso Viejo's stance in my plans.



My perception (possibly wrong) of private schools is that they are either religious (a big no-no for me, again at odds with my wife) or a hideout for spoiled rich kids.
 
Earthbm - I don't know if you know, but the City of Irvine is served by two different school districts. Parts of the city are served by IUSD, and others (West and North) are served by Tustin USD. Using the search function, you would likely find various thoughts comparing the two.
 
Earthbm - yes, the private schools mentioned are religious. Our Lady Queen of Angels is in NB (K-8) and feeds into Mater Dei High. Its a nice school and 98% of the moms are stay at home moms (so only a handful of kids in after school care), but if your wife is also stay at home, that works. Parents are very involved (they raise a lot of money every year at their auction ball - last year a mom bid/paid $10k plus to get a parking spot on campus for the academic year to make drop off/pick up easier). As to spoiled rich kids hideout, I don't know about that, but the majority of the parents live in multi-million $ homes (in Big Canyon, One Ford Rd, etc.) so they are affluent. Also, there is very little diversity (98% white).
 
<p>Rich schools perform better than poor schools. So if you want good schools, just move to an affluent neighborhood.</p>

<p>Personally, I think it's silly to separate rich kids from poor kids, because in the real world, rich people are always working with poor people.</p>

<p>Doctors, lawyers, phamacists, accountants, etc. are always serving lower income clients/patients.</p>

<p>So unless you're in the top 1% of the wealthy, your kids need to thrive in social diversity to succeed.</p>

<p>Just go to <a href="http://www.greatschools.net">www.greatschools.net</a> and do some comparisons based on zip codes for detailed school info.</p>
 
Thanks, wasn't slurring the rich at all. Just private schools as a choice. Speaking from personal experience -- my nephew wasn't performing well in a public school so the parents shipped him to a private school at great expense so that he could graduate. Also influenced by Al Pacino's "Scent of the woman" movie. Also, suppose that private religious schools are more likely to veer towards "intelligent design" type of curricula (I am NOT trying to start a discussion on that can of worms here).



Thanks for the link!
 
earth - "Also influenced by Al Pacino's "Scent of the woman" movie."



Well. Did you watch "Good Will Hunting"? There's a line in there about dropping 100K on an education you could have had for free at the public library! I'm not sure about the amount and it refers to a college education. Different than what you're talking about but you get the point.



I guess everybody's talking about increasing your kids chances at making it. But making what? The top kids in every high school usually have the ability to go to top colleges. Even from schools in Santa Ana. If your child goes to the top high schools, the competition gets tougher...etc, doesnt this seem like you're lowering your child's chances to make it into a better college?



So in trying to get to the best schools so your child could make it, you're thinking like the other parents in the neighborhood. I think your chances might seem better at first, but looking at it in detail, you're right back where you started.



Now, if your kid is tops in a very good school, then that kid would probably be tops in any high school.

Says more about the kid than it does about the school.

if your kid is average in a very good school, then that kid might be tops in an average school.

if your kid is below average in a very good school, then that kid might be average or below average in an average school...etc.....



A totally different subject would be MOTIVATION of the kid and I dont want to get into that...

Good Luck to the parents here. My views might change when I have children of my own but...
 
<p>blackacre-seeker: Go look at iusd.org and look at the school report cards which have test scores, percentage of kids receiving free lunches, ethnicity breakdown, etc. Best and prestigious is a subjective measure (ie. a more "prestigous" or snottier, higher average wealth school may or may not have the best test scores).</p>
 
This is an interesting discussion, and thanks for everyone's contributions.


One thing I still don't understand is why everyone is so hung up on API scores, or whether Uni high is "better" than the other high schools in the area, but probably because of the "fear factor", many parents (especially Asian ones) buy into the concept that better schools will automatically make their kids better.


I am in no way discounting this line of thinking, but my wife's friend bought a big expensive house in Irvine in the University High area just so her daughter could "do better" and get into a good college (as if Mission Viejo where she was living wasn't good enough). My wife and I laughed (privately of course), since we're the products of sucky public schools in a poor area of town....


I got accepted to both Stanford and Harvard, and you know what the secret was??? It wasn't having a brand name high school appended to your diploma, or a lot of money, or whatever...nope, my high school didn't even offer Calculus and I was a dirt poor student whose parents were illiterate and never went to school. They are looking for outstanding examples of achievement, but not in vacuum. What they're looking for, once you've met their base qualifications, is how well you have performed and achieved based upon your current socio-economic and other environmental factors. That is, if your parents were well-educated people, and you grow up in an affluent area and many of your peers are the same, then you are measured on how well your distinguish yourself from this pack. So if you're a hispanic person growing up in a poor and broken family in Santa Ana with 1500 SAT, carry a Straight-A average, work 2 jobs to support her family while raising your brothers and sisters because your father is in jail, then ALL the major colleges will want you on their campus!





Which brings us to the question the student's motivation to excel and improve their lot in life. Those are things that the school district cannot give your kids...and to me, that is the most important thing that the kids need to have to do well not only in school, but in life.


So I've thought of staying in Garden Grove (where I live now) and sending my kids to the public schools here so they can have diversity in their education experience, so that they can "how the other half lives", so that they can see where they'll be if they don't have motivation to succeed, so they can be a "big fish in a small pond". In Irvine, perhaps they just be another bright kid among thousands of bright kids...





But I'll tell you what, Irvine sure is pretty and clean, and that's why we're planning to buy a house here in 2010 :D.
 
Thanks Anonymous, I just looked at it. To me, best test scores would define most of the "prestigiousness" part, but the school's rep in the community is also important to me (and they do not list that info there :)

So, what is (are) elementary school(s) "feeding into" Uni High?
 
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