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I'm a recent product of Pittston Area, which was more of a middle-class school district with dreary standardized test scores. Do I feel as if the education I received there was a hindrance? Not at all. On the contrary I enjoyed some of the wonderful educators there (Mrs. Ann Marie Roberts especially comes to mind), I was enrolled in AP courses, and I managed to snag a 1300 SAT score while working nearly full-time. When I "came out" in high school and faced some difficult times with my family and with some bullies in school, a few astute teachers noticed my slipping grades and mounting depression and intervened. They literally gave me hope to live another day, and I personally dropped off thank you cards at their homes after graduation in order to express my gratitude for all that they had done. For as much as the locals love to bash teachers, I most certainly can't stop singing their praises.
I was a shoo-in here at King's College, and I'm very happy here. The social environment is much more conservative than I would like, but otherwise I'm thriving academically, have wonderful professors, have made wonderful friendships with peers from diverse backgrounds and from different areas, and (God willing) as of a week from today I will have successfully aced a promising job interview in my field. Pittston Area may have had a horrid reputation (and still does), but just to put things into perspective consider that a lot of folks on this forum think I'm "intelligent," yet I wasn't even in the top 10% of my graduating class. That just goes to show you the multitudes of bright minds even these "bad" schools churn out annually. Some of my classmates are now thriving in various universities and careers throughout the nation. Others are already raising a few children with a few different fathers and are probably living off of my hard-earned tax dollars. You'll get this wide range at ANY school.
I don't feel any less "prepared" in life as a Pittston Area graduate than my peers who came here from Seton Catholic, Bishop O'Reilly, Scranton Prep, Wyoming Seminary, MMI Prep, etc. The only difference I see is that my parents were able to save enough money by sending me to public school that they were able to live comfortably. I know Dan is a product of Scranton Prep, and I don't mean to belittle that school's reputation, but I definitely don't see the "advantage" of our local private high schools over the public ones. I'll be sending my future children to schools in the Scranton School District, and I'll have no qualms about this. Student academic excellence largely stems from having a supportive background at HOME---I'm sure there are even students in Philadelphia's public schools who are thriving because their parents are heavily involved in their academic lives.
I can only speak of my child's brief expierence in a private school here in Scranton...it promised so much and delivered so little. The school (HGS) swore to me it was NOT A MONTERSSORI SCHOOL, yet the reality is...that is exactly what it is!
I did a great disservice to my son and he lost 7 months of a good education.!!!!Plus the cost of those 7 months was $3500.00! I did not mind paying so much...if he had gotten what I was promised he would!
just wondering--what areas of west side should i avoid living in--am looking at homes on eynon st.and n.rebecca ave?
N Rebecca Ave should be fine. Eynon St is probably OK as long as you're on the western side of Main Ave. Washburn St is kind of run down and the area around Luzerne St on the east side of Main Ave is not somewhere I'd want to live. Anything else should be OK. But that's the funny thing with Scranton, you can see a run-down block or two, and then all of a sudden you run right into a nice neighborhood.
I'm a recent product of Pittston Area, which was more of a middle-class school district with dreary standardized test scores. Do I feel as if the education I received there was a hindrance? Not at all. On the contrary I enjoyed some of the wonderful educators there (Mrs. Ann Marie Roberts especially comes to mind), I was enrolled in AP courses, and I managed to snag a 1300 SAT score while working nearly full-time. When I "came out" in high school and faced some difficult times with my family and with some bullies in school, a few astute teachers noticed my slipping grades and mounting depression and intervened. They literally gave me hope to live another day, and I personally dropped off thank you cards at their homes after graduation in order to express my gratitude for all that they had done. For as much as the locals love to bash teachers, I most certainly can't stop singing their praises.
I was a shoo-in here at King's College, and I'm very happy here. The social environment is much more conservative than I would like, but otherwise I'm thriving academically, have wonderful professors, have made wonderful friendships with peers from diverse backgrounds and from different areas, and (God willing) as of a week from today I will have successfully aced a promising job interview in my field. Pittston Area may have had a horrid reputation (and still does), but just to put things into perspective consider that a lot of folks on this forum think I'm "intelligent," yet I wasn't even in the top 10% of my graduating class. That just goes to show you the multitudes of bright minds even these "bad" schools churn out annually. Some of my classmates are now thriving in various universities and careers throughout the nation. Others are already raising a few children with a few different fathers and are probably living off of my hard-earned tax dollars. You'll get this wide range at ANY school.
I don't feel any less "prepared" in life as a Pittston Area graduate than my peers who came here from Seton Catholic, Bishop O'Reilly, Scranton Prep, Wyoming Seminary, MMI Prep, etc. The only difference I see is that my parents were able to save enough money by sending me to public school that they were able to live comfortably. I know Dan is a product of Scranton Prep, and I don't mean to belittle that school's reputation, but I definitely don't see the "advantage" of our local private high schools over the public ones. I'll be sending my future children to schools in the Scranton School District, and I'll have no qualms about this. Student academic excellence largely stems from having a supportive background at HOME---I'm sure there are even students in Philadelphia's public schools who are thriving because their parents are heavily involved in their academic lives.
I agree. Schools sometimes are more than what their standardized test scores show. Sometimes a school like Pittston Area or West Scranton, etc, might be underrated because the test scores may not be as high as some, but that doesn't necessarily mean the level of education is bad or that the teachers are not high quality. Also, some schools like Abington Heights, Dallas, etc, may be overrated due to high test scores...when in reality, the teachers at Abington or Dallas may be no better than the teachers at Pittston Area or West Scranton....its just that the Abingtons and the Back Mountain have a higher percentage of affluent people like doctors, and their kids will do better in school no matter how good or bad the teachers are.
Personally, I think private schools are overrated. I have co-workers who went to Scranton Prep, Bishop Hannan, Bishop Hoban, Wyoming Seminary, etc...and the University of Scranton and other pricey private schools...and they have the same job as me with my public school and public university education.
I'm a recent product of Pittston Area, which was more of a middle-class school district with dreary standardized test scores. Do I feel as if the education I received there was a hindrance? Not at all. On the contrary I enjoyed some of the wonderful educators there (Mrs. Ann Marie Roberts especially comes to mind), I was enrolled in AP courses, and I managed to snag a 1300 SAT score while working nearly full-time.
I was a shoo-in here at King's College, and I'm very happy here. The social environment is much more conservative than I would like, but otherwise I'm thriving academically, have wonderful professors, have made wonderful friendships with peers from diverse backgrounds and from different areas, and (God willing) as of a week from today I will have successfully aced a promising job interview in my field. Pittston Area may have had a horrid reputation (and still does), but just to put things into perspective consider that a lot of folks on this forum think I'm "intelligent," yet I wasn't even in the top 10% of my graduating class. That just goes to show you the multitudes of bright minds even these "bad" schools churn out annually. Some of my classmates are now thriving in various universities and careers throughout the nation. Others are already raising a few children with a few different fathers and are probably living off of my hard-earned tax dollars. You'll get this wide range at ANY school.
I don't feel any less "prepared" in life as a Pittston Area graduate than my peers who came here from Seton Catholic, Bishop O'Reilly, Scranton Prep, Wyoming Seminary, MMI Prep, etc. The only difference I see is that my parents were able to save enough money by sending me to public school that they were able to live comfortably. I know Dan is a product of Scranton Prep, and I don't mean to belittle that school's reputation, but I definitely don't see the "advantage" of our local private high schools over the public ones. I'll be sending my future children to schools in the Scranton School District, and I'll have no qualms about this. Student academic excellence largely stems from having a supportive background at HOME---I'm sure there are even students in Philadelphia's public schools who are thriving because their parents are heavily involved in their academic lives.
It's good that you feel that way.
It's important to be confident in your abilities regardless of where you come from and what path you've taken. I believe that. But after you're well settled and no longer have a vested interest in selling yourself, you can take a look at things more realistically. The reality is that the public schools around here for the great extent don't cater to its top students, the atmosphere is anathema to learning, and you don't have the same opportunities as at a more exclusive school.
What I think would be wonderful for the area is to establish a magnet school or two for our talented students. That way we can provide the benefits of a quality private school education at a public school price. Magnet schools would also make this area more attractive to potential residents. That would carry a bit more weight as a selling point than yet another reference to the "Penguins" or the "Yankees."
As far as your King's College education goes, I have some insight there. I did in fact matriculate from King's with a bachelor of arts, summa *** laude, with a certificate from the Honors Program, and membership in D.E.S. (the most selective honor society; elected by professors in my junior year). I have to tell you that in the real world, a King's College degree doesn't mean very much *unless* you're in the business or science programs. If you're not, and you're only a sophomore, I seriously suggest transferring to the best school you can get into.
Our landlord will not let us out of our lease...and I do not want to buy out of it! Oh well...when the time is right. This is one of those situations where I believe God has his hand in life events so I temper our disappointment that belief with
Last edited by bloominscranton; 04-17-2008 at 07:23 AM..
Reason: I can't type! :)
Our landlord will not let us out of our lease...and I do not want to buy out of it! Oh well...when the time is right. This is one of those situations where I believe God has his hand in life events so I temper our disappointment that belief with
Well that sucks. Your landlord must be a real .
You'd think he'd have a heart and see that you have an opportunity to buy a home. Oh well...some people only care about themselves, I guess...
i find it funny that commish had to write summa *** laude to avoid the censorship mechanism on the message writing utility.
yeah... he said *** huh huh huh huh huh heh heh heh
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Plus the cost of those 7 months was $3500.00! 
I did not mind paying so much...if he had gotten what I was promised he would!
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