Schools~~~~Are they worse or better than stateside?

cathy-

schools in stx are way worse. to get a comparable education to stateside public schools, you'd need to send your child to a private school. even then you're not getting what you pay for. just my opinion, but schooling down here needs major improvement.

-adam

One of my sons just graduated from Good Hope School this past weekend. He did well there and will be going onto college... but if he had gone there his full high school years, instead of just the last 1-1/3 year of it... he would be in much better shape and be going to college on scholarship. You do pay for the private schools on STX, but most of the kids get into great colleges with most of it paid for. If your daughter is already an honor student, she'll do well here. I also have a son who will be starting high school in the fall. By time he graduates, he'll have his pick of places to go to college. Most universities have to accept a certain number of "disadvantaged" students from the territories, etc. Since the public schools lost accreditation, that makes the private schools the only source of potential new college freshmen for those universities. Class sizes are anywhere from 8-15 kids in a class at any one time; so they get lots of personal attention. There is good and bad, but most kids thrive in the small school environment.

Thank you both for your insight! Wow, it's definately something to consider. At least we have a year before she starts High School so that might be to our advantage.

Cathy

Alexandra,

I am a little confused by your post. The public high schools in the U.S.V.I. regained their accreditation this year. From a public high school on STT - 220 out of 289 graduating students are college-bound. I have little first hand experience with the public junior high and high schools, but the more info I gain - I feel better about the education the students are getting. I wouldn't go as far as to say they are great, but thank goodness they are getting better.

When I first moved here, I was completely opposed to public schools based on reputation and opinions from this board (sorry). However, my kids are now in public school and I am very pleased with their progress. They are in elementary school and we will see how well the junior high is when we get there, but I am hopeful that my kids might go to public school the whole time we live here. FYI - my kids are mid-western white kids and have adjusted well. They are actually one eighth Japanese, but you can't tell. 🙂 This is just my two cents and hopefully it gives you more of an idea of the school situation.

If anyone wants to know more, read the article from June 6th, 2005 titled 'CAHS graduates celebrate eventful year' from the www.virginislandsdailynews.com website. There are several articles about graduates from public and private schools in the U.S.V.I.

Teresa

I think while you are doing your assesment and research on the Public schools vs the private schools determine which one is meeting the mandates of No Child left Behind, and the Individuals with Disablities ACT. Determine if there are attitudes and beliefs that hinder or empower students who have different learning styles or whether all instruction is based on the mainstream learner. I think you might find that there are going to be significant benifits and challenges in all types of schools depending on what you are looking for and how your child's needs are met.

Melody,

Well put. I must add that my decision to go with public schools was halfway thru the school year when I decided that homeschooling was not going so well. Also, we could not afford the private schools. I was pleasantly surprised with the public school even with my daughter having some learning delays before starting. I must admit, there still is need for improvement and Cancryn Junior High on STT is in deplorable shape. I do hope the government does build a new school as promised.

Teresa

Teresa,
Thank you so much for your positive schooling posts! As a CAHS teacher, I am so proud of our 2005 graduates-so many are off to college and they won loads of scholarships to boot, including a sizable one from the Bill Gates Foundation. There were also over 120 honor graduates, with an 83% average and above. Our Valedictorian was a stateside white student who has completed the majority (if not all) of his schooling in the public school system, including attending Cancryn.
Here is my dilema...my daughter will be going into 6th grade at Sibilly next school year and I am starting to think about middle schools. On the one hand, I really don't feel that Cancryn is an option due to the building conditions and lack of support given to the staff. On the other hand, how can the public schools improve if we all keep our kids as far away as possible? We are looking into All Saints but I'd love to hear more on your perspective and anyone else that has encountered the same situation.

Suzanne

Thank you for your thoughts on the public schools, and I will read those articles that were suggested! If this move does take place, we are doing everything in our power to assure as smooth of a transition as possible. My teen daughter is very excited about the prospect of moving to a new culture(she's a writer at heart)and very adaptable to any circumstance!

Cathy