Oakwood schools? (Dayton, Kettering, Beavercreek: 2014, buying, school district)

[hensleya1]

Originally Posted by MilMom6

It also talks about school choice being allowed under Ohio law. In practice, how does that work? (Or precisely, does it work? Do you see kids from Dayton in say Beavercreek schools?

In theory, the district where we currently live is bad enough ("failing" under NCLB) we are eligible to apply to other schools but friends tell me it's hard to get accepted because it is "space available" and the good schools don't seem to have space so we have never done it.

Does it actually happen up there?

http://education.ohio.gov/getattachm...21-14.pdf.aspx

Here's the complete list of school districts and whether they allow open enrollment. There's no comment on the number of people they actually accept, though.

If you're searching, it's sorted by county. Most suburbs and the city are located in Montgomery, some are in Greene (east of Dayton - think Fairborn, Beavercreek, Xenia), and some are in Miami (north - Tipp City, Troy, etc.)

Most of the Montgomery County school districts, notably, don't have open enrollment. I can only imagine this is because if they did, they would all be flooded by parents trying to get their students out of Dayton Public Schools.

***

One big hurdle to why, as far as I know, there aren't any Dayton students in the Beavercreek school district - transportation is solely the responsibility of the parents if they get into another school district via open enrollment. There isn't a lot in the way of mass transit - RTA serves Montgomery County exclusively except for the Wright State line, #1. It now stops at the Fairfield Commons mall too, after a 3 or 4 year legal fight, but doesn't go anywhere near any of the Beavercreek city schools. So the only viable option really would be to drive the kid to school and back every day.

[SWOH]

^Very interesting. Explains why the district I attended had a number of open enrollees.

@wrightflyer - good point. I wasn't thinking about the amount of time it would take to resell. Deweese Park houses would take a lot longer to sell than Oakwood. They make a good deal for those who are committed to the area, but for someone like yourself, you probably are better off in Kettering in particular, or Oakwood, Beavercreek, etc. Even Patterson Park in Dayton would be good IF you were willing to do private schools, just because it's a nice desirable neighborhood where houses sell quickly.

[MilMom6]

@hensleya1. That's an eye opening link! I noticed neither Oakwood nor Kettering is accepting open enrollment. So I will need to chose carefully. I noticed the Dayton Regional STEM Academy will accept applicants from both Montgomery and Greene Counties but I don't know how selective it is (like are they lottery only?). I will try to call them tomorrow and get more information. They might be our safety school if we go the Kettering route.

@IDtheftV --thanks for the reminisces. Reminds me what the goals are which really isn't about the number of AP classes I can enroll my kids into. I would like a community for them (and me!), too.

@wrightflyer -- appreciate the advice.

I am looking forward to our house hunting visit (several months from now but can't wait!) to see these places in person.

Thanks so much for all the help, everyone! Such a wealth of info-

[RDriesenUD]

If you go with Kettering, I would recommend looking in West Kettering or Kettering by the Rec Center. Over by the Rec Center has you by one of the Junior Highs, the Rec Center, The Greene, and I-675. For me, I think it is the best place to live in Kettering even though West Kettering is "nicer".

[hensleya1]

Originally Posted by hensleya1

http://education.ohio.gov/getattachm...21-14.pdf.aspx

Most of the Montgomery County school districts, notably, don't have open enrollment. I can only imagine this is because if they did, they would all be flooded by parents trying to get their students out of Dayton Public Schools.

I'm quoting myself because I'm chasing down this rabbit hole: it's a pattern that's repeated in every county that has a major city in it.

Almost no school districts surrounding Cleveland (Cuyahoga County) have open enrollment, except notably, Cleveland's own district.
Likewise for Cincinnati (Hamilton County). Only Cincinnati Public and a couple others have open enrollment.
And a plurality for Columbus (Franklin County).

[hensleya1]

Originally Posted by MilMom6

@hensleya1. That's an eye opening link! I noticed neither Oakwood nor Kettering is accepting open enrollment. So I will need to chose carefully. I noticed the Dayton Regional STEM Academy will accept applicants from both Montgomery and Greene Counties but I don't know how selective it is (like are they lottery only?). I will try to call them tomorrow and get more information. They might be our safety school if we go the Kettering route.

I have a lower opinion of Kettering than everyone else here, but that's been colored by my own unique experience dealing with students that currently go there Van Buren Middle School, Kettering Middle School, and Fairmont High). Maybe my sample size is too small to be scientific I wonder if the name "****mont" has been justified by the behavior of the students there.

Plus their superintendent recently got booted from his job after people realized he was working to pass a tax levy while on a the clock as an employee (conflict of interest much?)

[RDriesenUD]

I'm sorry, but I have no problem with what he did. They were just looking for a reason to get rid of him. I went to Fairmont and know plenty of people who have kids who go there now. It's a big school in a city with affordable housing, so there are going to be some "bad" kids. I always find it funny when people try to give it a bad name because of less than 1% of the school population.

[cjmeck]

While you are looking up schools, look hard at Centerville City Schools as well as Bellbrook (Sugarcreek Local Schools). I personally know them to be excellent for gifted and special needs kids. Oakwood's strengths will be in the GT programs.

[MilMom6]

Originally Posted by cjmeck

While you are looking up schools, look hard at Centerville City Schools as well as Bellbrook (Sugarcreek Local Schools). I personally know them to be excellent for gifted and special needs kids. Oakwood's strengths will be in the GT programs.

So, it sounds like you are saying all of those districts would be fine for GT but that Bellbrook or Centerville would also be good choice for a kid on an IEP (not a GT kid, just a regular high functioning autism kid)?

Is Oakwood hostile to IEP kids?

I'm worried that the new district will either want him in a regular class with minimal help (he has a 40 % time aide now) or put him in a self contained special ed class with a too easy curriculum and then there is no hope of him getting a regular HS diploma. He has a normal range IQ just has significant problems with attention and executive function. I am pretty sure he can't do "no help" but aides are expensive and districts don't like paying for them. On the other hand, he has come much further than anyone thought he would. He was very low functioning when we got started.

[SWOH]

MilMom6, the most recent school report cards from the State of Ohio were just published. I will start by saying offhand that I do not support these report cards in any, shape, or form whatsoever. But I also assume you and I probably subscribe to a far different mentality than myself when it comes to education (I don't believe in ranking schools because I believe it is our government's responsibility to provide an excellent education to all students and that education is not a competition, but I digress). Politics aside, here's what I found.


Centerville appears to do a better job than Oakwood for IEP students:
Pages - District-Report

Bellbrook appears to do an even better job with IEP, but gifted performance is somewhat worse:
Pages - District-Report

Overall, Kettering still wins. A's for both gifted students and students with disabilities:
Pages - District-Report