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My family and I will be moving to Marietta next summer and have already started looking at housing just to see what is out there. We've decided that we want something in the Walton district so now, we are trying to narrow things down a bit more based on middle schools. On paper, Dickerson and Dodgen are similar in terms of scores, size, and student makeup, although I did read somewhere that Dickerson may be [for lack of a better term] more "academically driven" than Dodgen, which may or may not prepare a child better for Walton. We were hoping to get some thoughts about this. Thanks.
You may also want to consider the other high schools in "eastern" East Cobb and their corresponding middle schools...since you said you like the Walton district. They are also excellent options.
Can you explain further why you prefer Dodgen over Dickerson?
Thanks for offering Pope and Lassiter as options as well. We did consider those initially but there was one key factor that made us prefer Walton after comparing all three; where the students go after graduation. Walton was able to tell me which colleges/universities last year's graduates went, particularly Ivy League or other nationally recognized universities. Pope and Lassiter were not as they did not keep track of this information. Pope actually didn't even know where students ended up matriculating at, which was somewhat astonishing to hear (all they knew was where they sent final transcripts). Not only did this tell me that Walton takes pride in where its graduates go, it also tells me where graduates are capable of going, which to us is highly important.
Can you explain further why you prefer Dodgen over Dickerson?
Thanks for offering Pope and Lassiter as options as well. We did consider those initially but there was one key factor that made us prefer Walton after comparing all three; where the students go after graduation. Walton was able to tell me which colleges/universities last year's graduates went, particularly Ivy League or other nationally recognized universities. Pope and Lassiter were not as they did not keep track of this information. Pope actually didn't even know where students ended up matriculating at, which was somewhat astonishing to hear (all they knew was where they sent final transcripts). Not only did this tell me that Walton takes pride in where its graduates go, it also tells me where graduates are capable of going, which to us is highly important.
Dodgen will provide a more nurturing environment for your child (which is so good for the early adolescent years), while still offering the academic rigor for which Dickerson is supposedly known. As a master educator, I would definitely choose Dodgen for my child over Dickerson...no question.
I would tell you more in-depth information on East Cobb high schools, but you've already decided on Walton.
Thanks for the reply. Feel free to provide more of your insight into east Cobb high schools as your experiences and knowledge would be quite valuable. Just a FYI, we are picking east Cobb because not only will I be working in Marietta, I also need to be within 20-30 minutes of Kennestone Hospital so that limits our housing to either east or west Cobb. I really don't see a need to go to private schools and since east Cobb's high schools are supposed to be better, we are choosing to live in east Cobb. As far as east Cobb high schools, I've heard that many people don't like Walton because they feel it is too academically driven. At the same time, many people choose Walton because of that. A rigorous academic environment in high school doesn't really bother me as I feel it prepared me well for college, graduate, and medical school (I attended a magnet school for middle and high school where 100% graduates attended 4-year colleges/universities, of which at least 25% ended up going to Ivy League's). My wife even though she was valedictorian in her class did not have as easy of a time transitioning to college because her high school wasn't as rigorous as mine. That in why in a nutshell why Walton is at the top of our list. Again, I welcome your thoughts as it will only help us make the best decision. Thanks again.
Thanks for the reply. Feel free to provide more of your insight into east Cobb high schools as your experiences and knowledge would be quite valuable. Just a FYI, we are picking east Cobb because not only will I be working in Marietta, I also need to be within 20-30 minutes of Kennestone Hospital so that limits our housing to either east or west Cobb. I really don't see a need to go to private schools and since east Cobb's high schools are supposed to be better, we are choosing to live in east Cobb. As far as east Cobb high schools, I've heard that many people don't like Walton because they feel it is too academically driven. At the same time, many people choose Walton because of that. A rigorous academic environment in high school doesn't really bother me as I feel it prepared me well for college, graduate, and medical school (I attended a magnet school for middle and high school where 100% graduates attended 4-year colleges/universities, of which at least 25% ended up going to Ivy League's). My wife even though she was valedictorian in her class did not have as easy of a time transitioning to college because her high school wasn't as rigorous as mine. That in why in a nutshell why Walton is at the top of our list. Again, I welcome your thoughts as it will only help us make the best decision. Thanks again.
*You are smart to choose East Cobb if you will be working in Marietta (and yes, West Cobb, North Cobb, or South Cobb would have also been good choices).
*There is definitely not a need to go to private schools.
*About Walton and the other schools..."academically driven" does not mean academically better or more rigor. At the other East Cobb high schools (Pope, Lassiter, Wheeler, Sprayberry, Kell), one would still find the same rigor one finds at Walton. In fact, Lassiter and Wheeler have just as many AP offerings (or close to) as Walton--Walton offers so many because its population is larger than the other schools (this in turn means that Lassiter and Wheeler have more AP offerings per student than Walton).
*As an educator and product of an East Cobb high school very similar to Walton, I feel that a student benefits with academic rigor and other "things"...these things being more diversity (socioeconomic, ethnic, etc), different types of students, etc. When I arrived at college, I feel I missed out when I met other students who attended rigorous schools--but schools that also had other tangibles that one would not find at Walton.
*So, considering how well I know East Cobb, education, colleges/universities, etc...I personally would choose the East Cobb schools in this order for my child: 1) Wheeler; 2) Sprayberry or Kell; 3) Pope or Lassiter; 4) Walton
(Don't get me wrong...Walton is a good choice...and I think you and your family will be very happy with your decision. I just went more in depth at your request! )
*About Walton and the other schools..."academically driven" does not mean academically better or more rigor. At the other East Cobb high schools (Pope, Lassiter, Wheeler, Sprayberry, Kell), one would still find the same rigor one finds at Walton. In fact, Lassiter and Wheeler have just as many AP offerings (or close to) as Walton--Walton offers so many because its population is larger than the other schools (this in turn means that Lassiter and Wheeler have more AP offerings per student than Walton).
*As an educator and product of an East Cobb high school very similar to Walton, I feel that a student benefits with academic rigor and other "things"...these things being more diversity (socioeconomic, ethnic, etc), different types of students, etc. When I arrived at college, I feel I missed out when I met other students who attended rigorous schools--but schools that also had other tangibles that one would not find at Walton.
*So, considering how well I know East Cobb, education, colleges/universities, etc...I personally would choose the East Cobb schools in this order for my child: 1) Wheeler; 2) Sprayberry or Kell; 3) Pope or Lassiter; 4) Walton
Maybe it's different in GA in terms of how high schools gauge academic success. I grew up in NYC, and at least there, one of the key measures of how "good" a high school is which colleges students attend and how many. Sure, the "top" schools also had the highest SAT and other scores but I think that opens the door to the "top" universities. It's probably because of my HS educational background that I was "distressed" when Pope and Lassiter had no idea where their graduates went and "comforted" when Walton was able to provide a list. Don't get me wrong, I won't be dissapointed if my sons don't end up going to an Ivy League school but I at least want attending a nationally recognized university to be an option. With Walton, I know it's possible. I just can't say the same for Lassiter or Pope.
Again, coming from NYC, exposure to diversity was not an issue. If I had to guess, I would suspect that the makeup of my HS in terms of ethnicity was probably the same as Walton's. My HS was probably more diverse from a socioeconomic standpoint since it didn't matter where you lived (had to be >90th percentile just to take the entrance exam but you could be from any of the 5 boroughs and then they only took 10% of those who took the test) whereas with Walton, if you live in the district (aka your parents were able to afford a home in within the zone), you got to attend Walton. We certainly want our boys to be diverse and not just bookworms with no social skills so academics are not the only thing we are looking at but are the other "tangibles" as you put it that much more scarce at Walton? And what about Wheeler magnet?
Again, we appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts.
Maybe it's different in GA in terms of how high schools gauge academic success. I grew up in NYC, and at least there, one of the key measures of how "good" a high school is which colleges students attend and how many. Sure, the "top" schools also had the highest SAT and other scores but I think that opens the door to the "top" universities. It's probably because of my HS educational background that I was "distressed" when Pope and Lassiter had no idea where their graduates went and "comforted" when Walton was able to provide a list. Don't get me wrong, I won't be dissapointed if my sons don't end up going to an Ivy League school but I at least want attending a nationally recognized university to be an option. With Walton, I know it's possible. I just can't say the same for Lassiter or Pope.
My daughter is at Lassiter and I recall that one of the school's 2009 graduates, a student who had a perfect score on the SAT, mentioned he was entering Harvard in the fall. So plainly, it's possibly for a Lassiter graduate to attend a nationally recognized university. It's my impression that all the East Cobb high schools send graduates to the Ivy League and other prestigious colleges every year. However, according to your experience, the schools are not uniformly concerned with counting and advertising their college placements.
Like aries, I'm not seeking to change your mind, since Walton seems like a good choice for you. Just wanting to defend Walton's neighboring schools from the claim that they're not preparing students to enter top universities. That's certainly not correct.
Thanks for your responses. Fortunately, we still have several months before we seriously start looking and all your comments have been helpful. We'll keep trying to get as much info as we can and hopefully will be able to make a good decision by spring.
Well to add this to the mix since your original question was about middle schools, Hightower the Pope feeder was the only middle school in GA to be recognized this year as a Nation Blue Ribbon school. I am not sure if the criteria for this matters to you but I thought I'd mention it.
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