whiteplainsfamily.com

Someone sent me a link to a great website for school ratings, stats, etc.

https://www.nystart.gov/publicweb/Distr ... 2200010000

Wow. That's some serious data! Judging WP schools by data alone is very tough, however, because the composition of the student body is so unique. I remember getting a good education there, and I have the sense that a misperception exists about problems there now. I'd like to hear from parents whose kids are currently enrolled, to get beyond the data.

I have two daughters in the elementary school. The school has a great feel to it -- you walk inside and you see kids who are engaged and learning. I have generally been very happy with the quality of teachers and the rigor of the education, and recent innovations like "I Block" where students are groups by reading ability for 40 minutes every day, really helps to create a good peer group.

I find that I sometimes have to provide a little extra push to get them to think critically. School could be more challenging academically -- but that is probably balanced out by the life lessons they get from being in such a diverse setting. And the learning does seem to be age appropriate.

I'll be interested to see what happens in middle school next year.

Thank you, Jennifer, for that information. When I used to attend WP schools, the students got "tracked" at some point. I don't remember exactly when, but I seem to recall there being an "accelerated math" program starting around 5th grade, different groups that had all classes together in 7th grade, and, in high school, different levels by subject (so, for example, for Social Studies, there was an AP class, and other levels). Theoretically, someone could be in an advanced Social Studies class, but a standard math class. I'm curious to learn whether that is still the case.