Looking for good middle school in El Paso (Lorenzo: law, ratings) - Texas (TX) - Page 3 - City-Data Forum

nixau27 · 10-05-2007, 11:02 PM

Don't even think about sending your kids to Da Vinci!!! I just pulled out my daughter there, she is in 6th grade and that's the biggest mistake I ever did! I hope it's not too late!!! She was in Connections (Gifted & Talented Class) in her elementary years and I thought since the superintendent harped on how good Da Vinci would be in terms of Science and Math and all that we transferred her!!! The admin. office is the worst- the principal is just apathetic!!!! My daughter had a substitute teacher for 3 weeks now (this is only the 6th week-going on 7th) and the superintendent has not returned my calls!!!! How's that for accountability! It seems like they don't care,,,not seems,,,they don't care! Well, I'm going to make sure they don't get any more of my hard earned tax dollars!!! This is like a scam! They lure you in and then forget about you! It also seems like this school is like a "reform" school; the first week, all they taught the children was the "rules and regulations". My daughter does not have a discipline problem,,, she has "structure" in her life. I regret sending her to this school! Beware!!!

KimK · 10-08-2007, 06:10 PM

Thanks Nixau for the feedback. I wondered about Da Vinci since I had a poor experience with Burnam Wood (the sister school). I was very unimpressed with the principal when she was at Burnham Wood so it is no surprise she went over to Da Vinci and was apathetic there too. If this is the Da Vinci school that is partially or all funded by the Gates Foundation, I find it hard to imagine they are going to keep getting those funds.

On a brighter note, we found El Paso Country Day School. Its been, a month or so of school. Excellent on many levels, the best of which is my child still likes school and she is learning a lot. Look into it. They have two campuses. The lower campus is to fifth grade. Something like 17 per cent of their graduates are National Merit Scholars which is pretty good considering 50 per cent of Gadsden H.S. doesn't even bother to graduate....

atrabilius · 10-12-2007, 07:12 PM

You're probably in El Paso by now, EPBound. Let us know how your choice turned out.

I heard the principal of Canyon Hills was replaced for incompetence and things there may be improving by now.

Assuming you opt for a public school, your middle-school child's school will be Canyon Hills if you're in the part of Northeast bordered roughly by Fred Wilson Boulevard on the south, Dyer Street on the east, Harlan Drive and Diana Drive on the north, and the Franklin Mountains on the west (except for the Logan Heights part of Fort Bliss, which is in the attendance zone of Bassett Middle). The Canyon Hills Middle attendance zone includes the notorious Angel's Triangle neighborhood between Dyer, the Patriot Freeway and Hondo Pass Avenue which is served mainly by Moye Elementary (partly by Whitaker Elementary). The feeder elementary schools of Canyon Hills include these two plus Burnet Elementary, Park Elementary and Schuster Elementary (the last west of Dyer only), and Canyon Hills graduates into Chapin High and Irvin High.

mausinator · 11-09-2007, 03:15 AM

Okay I have some questions & I hope it's not too late to ask (as in the thread is dead.) We've been thinking about moving back to El Paso & have 2 sons (9 & 3) I know in the begining I'd be staying at my sisters place in the NE & was wondering what were the best schools over there? Also what are the price ranges for private schools? Oh & where is the best place to send a 3-4yr old? I know that last one really has to sound odd but I live in Germany & have never had a child in the education system in the states, so any & all help would be great!
Also are uniforms manditory over there?

Thanks for the help!

KimK · 11-09-2007, 08:12 AM

Look into El Paso Country Day School. I think they have preK classes too. I am very happy with this school so far. It is private. This school runs around 8000-10000 per year. There are many children from around the world that go to school there so the population is quite diverse. It is a secular school. They work one grade ahead so by the time they leave high school they have already done the first year of college. She has 11 kids in her class. This school has actual language classes like Spanish for the elementary grades if you are interested. They have a dress code. One day a week they wear a uniform (polo shirt and khakis) as they go on field trips and they want to quickly identitify the kids (as well as advertise their school too!). I could not take the public schools here with overcrowding being my main complaint. Good luck.

Jack Knapp · 02-25-2010, 01:05 PM

The posts here are from 2007. How is CHMS doing now, 2009-2010 school year? I retired from CHMS about 1999 (I was a science teacher) so I'd like to know. I don't recognize the names of any of the faculty members, so there's been 100% turnover since I left.
I'm also curious about Guillen Middle School; I taught there before I came to CHMS.

atrabilius · 02-26-2010, 07:47 PM

I think they built additional classrooms at Canyon Hills. I heard several 12- or 13-year-old boys broke in one night several years ago and were caught red-handed vandalizing the office after they set off a silent burglar alarm. Last time I checked, Canyon Hills didn't make the Academically Unacceptable list (it never seems to), but I believe Guillen did last year, so I guess they're going to have to work harder.

Jack Knapp · 02-27-2010, 09:18 AM

Two of us had started a program at Guillen called "No Failures". It looked like it might really make a difference, despite the strikes against the school; low income, almost all minority, etc. But it ended when both of us got kicked out during the "Reconstitution" of Guillen. I guess the big experiment didn't work.
Am I still bitter about what the District did there? Y'betcha! We were already trying new and innovative approaches to try to change things, and it didn't matter. Stan Paz, then the Superintendent, yanked the rug out from under us. I always thought he was padding his resume before he moved on to another big district and an even fatter paycheck.

atrabilius · 02-27-2010, 07:15 PM

Lorenzo Garcia, who's superintendent now, seems to be putting a high priority on keeping schools from getting sanctioned through No Child Left Behind (which I'd like Congress to junk).

indy001 · 01-22-2016, 02:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nixau27

Don't even think about sending your kids to Da Vinci!!! I just pulled out my daughter there, she is in 6th grade and that's the biggest mistake I ever did! I hope it's not too late!!! She was in Connections (Gifted & Talented Class) in her elementary years and I thought since the superintendent harped on how good Da Vinci would be in terms of Science and Math and all that we transferred her!!! The admin. office is the worst- the principal is just apathetic!!!! My daughter had a substitute teacher for 3 weeks now (this is only the 6th week-going on 7th) and the superintendent has not returned my calls!!!! How's that for accountability! It seems like they don't care,,,not seems,,,they don't care! Well, I'm going to make sure they don't get any more of my hard earned tax dollars!!! This is like a scam! They lure you in and then forget about you! It also seems like this school is like a "reform" school; the first week, all they taught the children was the "rules and regulations". My daughter does not have a discipline problem,,, she has "structure" in her life. I regret sending her to this school! Beware!!!

Hello,

I'm interested in knowing more about your opinions about this school. I have a some opinions that I might not want to publish here.