Eastwood should be proud! (Houston, Austin: magnet schools, university, living)

[modster]

Originally Posted by City Love

See, I think that's where the problem is. You think the Eastwood we are talking about encompasses the other side of Harrisburg. When in fact, I don't think anyone considers that section Eastwood. Is it even technically Eastwood? That side IS hood. I've seen it, but rarely ever venture that way. The Eastwood we talk about is more West. From Leeland, to Polk to Mckinney, to the tracks. I think Eastwood park is at the very edge of Eastwood and probably very close to the rougher sections which are on the other side of Harrisburg.

I understand what you are saying. But it's the city. It's like saying that Woodlands Heights ($300k+) in 77009 is dangerous because a few blocks to the East you have homes in the $40k-$80k range with very likely drug happenings. Or like saying that Oak Forest ($250k+) and Garden Oaks ($300k+) are dangerous because the other side of Yale is very bad,(VERY BAD.) Both examples have a difference of less than a quarter mile or less between the good and bad. Areas like off Washington in 77007 are littered with small shacks and can easily house drugs, but then right next door you have $300k+ townhomes.

It's the city and that's just the way transitional areas are. It's not for everyone, but it definitely works for many people. Just look at the appreciation in those areas and compare them to the suburbs. It's all about personal opinion. The city is big and there are choices for everyone.

This, and Sherman & Lockwood is by no stretch of the imagination Eastwood, that is Harrisburg.

[vegankris]

Quite the contrary Southwest4life.

I'm certainly not sending my kids to a less competitive school. I disagree quite strongly with Illum and his numbers. I have the numbers from the HISD website and followed up with the school. He has an agenda, what it is I have no idea. I can't figure out why I've gotten to him so much just because I happen to have a completely different view point than him.

The purpose of this thread I started was not to try to get people to suddenly move into Eastwood. Believe me, I don't want the kind of people there who post such negative and nasty remarks living in my neighborhood. The purpose of this thread was to simply point out my experiences after spending many, many hours at the schools. I went into the schools expecting them to be bad because of all the bad PR I had heard about them. I left with a totally different perspective and I wanted to share that with anyone else with kids who may be wondering about Eastwood schools. I am very proud to be moving into Eastwood.

Now, back to the schools. It has become very apparent to me that what I am dealing with here is not only ignorance on the part of certain posters, but racism and elitism. It is what it is and I don't have to go back and quote it or point it out. I'm not going to defend Eastwood Academy or any other school in Eastwood anymore. There hasn't been a single poster who has kids in the Eastwood schools right now. I did my due diligence with the schools. I likely spent more time researching and visiting the Eastwood schools than most parents will ever do for any other school. I will not debate anymore whether it is prudent to look at demographics as a way to measure a school. It's disgusting that the people who bash the schools only point to the demographics as a reason for the school being undesirable. Illum's numbers are wrong and I will not debate that. It's silly to waste my time on it when the numbers are right there in black and white. Besides, Eastwood Academy is ranked number 37 out of ALL the high schools in the nation. Apparently the people who made this list decided demographics didn't matter.

I know I'm sending my kids to very competitive, excellent schools and that is the bottom line. The sarcastic remarks about me sending my kids to bad schools so they can graduate number one in the school is so far out of line.

[Illủmiñatex]

Darn, I guess greatschools.org, HAR.com and all these other websites are lying to me about all the Eastwood schools being nearly 100% economically disadvantaged, as well as the poor SAT scores in all the Eastwood schools. That includes Eastwood Academy's 800-something average. Thanks for setting me straight! I guess I'll have to re-evaluate this future-kids-schools thing if I want them to have a guaranteed success track.

[vegankris]

Eastwood - Ranking America's High Schools 2011 - The Washington Post

[vegankris]

Debate over.

And ffs! Quit bringing up the stat of economically disadvantaged! I never debated that with you. You are an elitist racist.

[Ice-man]

Careful vegankris. Oildog likes Illum and does not like him to be called racist or ellitest. Now if you call him a liar or deceiver of new potential urbanites, that might be acceptable. We'll see if your posting gets deleted. That would be called "spicing it up" hustla style.

[Ice-man]

I like the Washington Post. It has a decent reputation for sound facts and good data. I don't know if your detractors can follow the link, as they have trouble using links that show good numbers for Eastwood. While the article shows Eastwood sliding from 37th in the nation to 38th, the 1407 SAT score is an improvement. Just expect 1 of the typical trio to respond with contradictory numbers from an article they did not understand, or paste out of context, again.

[Ice-man]

Why is illum so hung up on everyone knowing there is a high number of economically disadvantaged? How is that relevant? I think there might be a motive.

[vegankris]

Meh... doesn't really matter. Debate is over.

[Illủmiñatex]

Originally Posted by vegankris

Eastwood - Ranking America's High Schools 2011 - The Washington Post

Yep, that SAT score is out of 2400, putting it in the 30th percentile. Sounds great! No competition = guaranteed gold star! Why it's rated #37 and not #1 is beyond me.