Opinions on Edina High school (Bloomington, Eden Prairie: best schools, university, live)

[daboywonder2002]

Stepson will be attending high school and i was looking for him not to attend Richfield High. He wants to go to Kennedy but I'm not sure that's a good idea. We are Edina residents but are considered Richfield school district. The only issue with Edina is the lack of diversity. Being African American, Edina and also Holy Angels barely have diversity. Minnehaha Academy could be an option but I applied once and didn't get the financial aid package I was hoping for. Until I land a higher paying job, money is tight. We prefer a school where he can catch the school bus. Can you guys give me an idea on schools that meet the following criteria?


1. College prep- School that has students getting accepted to college. It's important to be around smart kids who expect to go to a 4 year university.



2. Diversity- does not want to stick out like a sore thumb


3. Homework- I want him to work hard even when he is not in the classroom


4. Athletics- He may want to play basketball like his brother.



Schools of choice are Edina,Holy Angels, Benilde Margaret, Eden Prairie, Eagle Ridge Academy and any other surrounding schools you can think of. Private schools are an option if they have a good financial aid package.

[Glenfield]

DeLaSalle meets all your requirements. Our daughter goes to Minnehaha but De was a close second. Give them a look.

[daboywonder2002]

Originally Posted by Glenfield

DeLaSalle meets all your requirements. Our daughter goes to Minnehaha but De was a close second. Give them a look.

But do they have buses going to Edina? The only private school bus I've seen is Breck and I'm sure Holy Angels since it's in Richfield.

[Glenfield]

Originally Posted by daboywonder2002

But do they have buses going to Edina? The only private school bus I've seen is Breck and I'm sure Holy Angels since it's in Richfield.

Yes, they do. More schools than Breck and AHA have bus or van service to and from Edina but they use private companies so you may not realize where the bus or van is from.

https://delasalle.com/about/transportation/

[Ghengis]

Edina wouldn't be a good choice for anybody not wearing a MAGA hat, some things never change...

https://blogs.mprnews.org/newscut/20...kids-of-edina/

[Glenfield]

A couple of other points.

As an Edina resident who is outside the Edina school district, you will receive special consideration for open enrollment. https://www.edinaschools.org/Page/5108

Be aware that you are late in the process. I am going by memory here, but I believe the open enrollment deadline for most public school districts was January 15. Bloomington is still accepting applications. https://www.bloomington.k12.mn.us/en...pen-enrollment

Some private schools have already had their placement tests for incoming 9th graders and they all have enrollment deadlines. Some private schools do have wait lists due to capacity constraints and it takes time to process financial aid requests. https://delasalle.com/admissions/admissions-timeline/

The point is you really need to make a decision on a school or two and get in touch with the enrollment offices ASAP.

[daboywonder2002]

Originally Posted by Glenfield

A couple of other points.

As an Edina resident who is outside the Edina school district, you will receive special consideration for open enrollment. https://www.edinaschools.org/Page/5108

Be aware that you are late in the process. I am going by memory here, but I believe the open enrollment deadline for most public school districts was January 15. Bloomington is still accepting applications. https://www.bloomington.k12.mn.us/en...pen-enrollment

Some private schools have already had their placement tests for incoming 9th graders and they all have enrollment deadlines. Some private schools do have wait lists due to capacity constraints and it takes time to process financial aid requests. https://delasalle.com/admissions/admissions-timeline/

The point is you really need to make a decision on a school or two and get in touch with the enrollment offices ASAP.

Any other schools I should be looking at that are under the radar?

[Glenfield]

Originally Posted by daboywonder2002

Any other schools I should be looking at that are under the radar?

No. It’s time to get going. You can pursue a few options at the same time and then pick from the ones you get into. Open enroll at Edina and Jefferson and apply to DeLaSalle. Let your stepson visit them all if it’s not too late and pick one. Time to pull the trigger if you’re going to make a move.

[57special]

Originally Posted by daboywonder2002

Stepson will be attending high school and i was looking for him not to attend Richfield High. He wants to go to Kennedy but I'm not sure that's a good idea. We are Edina residents but are considered Richfield school district. The only issue with Edina is the lack of diversity. Being African American, Edina and also Holy Angels barely have diversity. Minnehaha Academy could be an option but I applied once and didn't get the financial aid package I was hoping for. Until I land a higher paying job, money is tight. We prefer a school where he can catch the school bus. Can you guys give me an idea on schools that meet the following criteria?


1. College prep- School that has students getting accepted to college. It's important to be around smart kids who expect to go to a 4 year university.



2. Diversity- does not want to stick out like a sore thumb


3. Homework- I want him to work hard even when he is not in the classroom


4. Athletics- He may want to play basketball like his brother.



Schools of choice are Edina,Holy Angels, Benilde Margaret, Eden Prairie, Eagle Ridge Academy and any other surrounding schools you can think of. Private schools are an option if they have a good financial aid package.

I speak as a "move in" to Edina about 10 years ago. I came from a place where the school system was so mediocre that we had to put our kids in a private school system. I have noticed that the face of the school system has changed since we first moved. There are far more Asian faces than there used to be. We notice these things as we are a mixed race family. I can't say that there are any more AA families than there used to be. Definitely a lot more Somalians. In general, we have had a positive experience. BTW, we looked at Minnehaha too for my eldest (pre-explosion), who is quite the athlete. Determined that it was too much $$, and too much driving...also had some qualms about the influence religion had on the teaching there. On to your questions;

- it's all there for college prep- if your son wants is prepared to put the work in. He ended up with 13 AP courses....a brilliant friend of his had 25! He was admitted to Harvard, of course. If he wants to be a slacker, he can find that too, of course. I would just say that there is quite a crowd of high achieving students at EHS though.

- Diversity...as I said before, Edina is getting more diverse. Maybe I am influenced a bit because my son is of mixed race, and many of his friends were of many races. Best to tour the school when it is in session and see what you can see. I do know that very bright AA friend of his went to Berkeley for CS...

- Don't know what to tell you about HW. That's up to your son. Both of mine are quite studious, and like attracts like. A lot depends on what academic track your son is on. Is he taking advanced math? AP courses? Honors?

- Basketball has been quite good the past few years. Two years ago they beat both of the teams that were in the State finals during the season. My son ran into Trey Jones at his University when Duke was playing an exhibition there. They had a laugh about the Apple Valley/Edina games. Hockey is the big dog, of course, but tennis is good, as is swimming, skiing. Baseball is decent, too. The problem is that the Lake conference is a buzzsaw, with EP(football..Ugh), Tonka(everything), Wayazata(everything), Hopkins(basketball), Edina (hockey).

- there also all sorts of clubs like Debate, Robotics, Model UN, Math club, etc., etc., etc..

- My eldest was(and is) a Varsity athlete, quite social, and found it quite a challenge to keep his marks up, but got it done because he surrounded himself with like minded friends. I would say that he "stuck out" because he was also a Varsity athlete(now a college athlete), a high academic achiever, and of mixed race. He had very few problems having to do with race...maybe a few times when he was playing against other towns from opponents... my youngest complained a bit the other day because he keeps getting "borrowed" as a "Biracial" for other's projects on "diversity". It's pretty PC, here, but that's better than intolerance, I guess.

Hope this helps. I have lived in many places in the world, so I don't get the resentment that some local people seem to have against Edina. I have found the people to be quite friendly and easy to get along with, for the most part.

[Kayekaye]

Originally Posted by 57special

Hope this helps. I have lived in many places in the world, so I don't get the resentment that some local people seem to have against Edina. I have found the people to be quite friendly and easy to get along with, for the most part.

Very good information. I have some relatives that go there and they love the school!

Edina has had the best schools for a long time. The resentment comes from the school district having so much more money than the other inner city schools. Of course you wouldn’t find them unfriendly, you are them.