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In the most recent testing, CAM juniors and seniors on campus averaged 1382 on the SAT test compared to CAM students in Running Start who averaged 1214. The overall average on the test in Battle Ground Public Schools was 1145 and the state average was 1075. BGPS board drops CAM building purchase idea | Life | thereflector.com
Family and friends still use CAM as well as Hockinson (many co-workers kids attended there). Some do Prairie for Sports and Band. Nearly all do Running Start.
All the larger districts in Clark County have alternative schools. CAM Academy is the Battle Ground version. Vancouver, Evergreen, and Camas all have similar alternative schools that have varying focus. The smaller districts like Ridgefield don't have the resources to establish separate alternative schools so HS students wanting something different do Running Start or enroll in programs from other districts like Cascadia Tech which is run by Vancouver School District.
But even the smaller districts are looking to create various types of alternative programs, mainly to compete with running start which sucks $$$ of of their districts. For example, Ridgefield is creating Center for Advanced Professional Studies (CAPS) program that will be run off-site that is kind of a business-oriented project-based learning curriculum that is gaining popularity around the country. And they plan to expand and open up new alternative programs together with the new Clark College branch campus that is scheduled to be built in Ridgefield. Clark College at Boschma Farms
Personally I would not look at the existence of the CAM program in Battle Ground as a selling point for Battle Ground Public Schools. It's more of an escape valve for Battle Ground parents who want out of the existing Battle Ground Schools.
Bottom line? This is not the Mississippi Delta or heart of Appalachia. Motivated parents and families will find the means to provide their children with meaningful education anywhere in SW Washington through whatever combination of public schools, alternative programs, and early college entry they choose. That said, there are very real differences between districts and schools that, like everywhere else in the US, mostly track community wealth. No matter how much you squint, Battle Ground is going to come out on the lower end of that range. And I would not hold out much hope for that to change in the next decade or so. The other districts are all striving to improve their programs too and aren't going to stand around waiting for Battle Ground to catch up.
Compared to the rest of the US or even much of Oregon, none of the Clark County schools are bad and most are probably well above average. Even the lowest rated schools in the region are still miles above the schools I saw in the poor parts of Texas, for example, along the Rio Grande Valley, or poor parts of Houston. But it also most certainly true that you can find dramatic differences in schools and school performance across Clark County that mostly track with wealth and involvement of the parents. That is just a fact of life in the US that there is no getting around. It would be nice if we had a system such as in Finland where even the poorest and most isolated communities have massive investment in schools at the national level to insure equity in education across the nation. But we don't live in that world.
Last edited by texasdiver; 11-11-2018 at 01:23 PM..
All the larger districts in Clark County have alternative schools. CAM Academy is the Battle Ground version. Vancouver, Evergreen, and Camas all have similar alternative schools that have varying focus. The smaller districts like Ridgefield don't have the resources to establish separate alternative schools so HS students wanting something different do Running Start or enroll in programs from other districts like Cascadia Tech which is run by Vancouver School District.
But even the smaller districts are looking to create various types of alternative programs, mainly to compete with running start which sucks $$$ of of their districts. For example, Ridgefield is creating Center for Advanced Professional Studies (CAPS) program that will be run off-site that is kind of a business-oriented project-based learning curriculum that is gaining popularity around the country. And they plan to expand and open up new alternative programs together with the new Clark College branch campus that is scheduled to be built in Ridgefield. Clark College at Boschma Farms
Personally I would not look at the existence of the CAM program in Battle Ground as a selling point for Battle Ground Public Schools. It's more of an escape valve for Battle Ground parents who want out of the existing Battle Ground Schools.
Bottom line? This is not the Mississippi Delta or heart of Appalachia. Motivated parents and families will find the means to provide their children with meaningful education anywhere in SW Washington through whatever combination of public schools, alternative programs, and early college entry they choose. That said, there are very real differences between districts and schools that, like everywhere else in the US, mostly track community wealth. No matter how much you squint, Battle Ground is going to come out on the lower end of that range. And I would not hold out much hope for that to change in the next decade or so. The other districts are all striving to improve their programs too and aren't going to stand around waiting for Battle Ground to catch up.
Compared to the rest of the US or even much of Oregon, none of the Clark County schools are bad and most are probably well above average. Even the lowest rated schools in the region are still miles above the schools I saw in the poor parts of Texas, for example, along the Rio Grande Valley, or poor parts of Houston. But it also most certainly true that you can find dramatic differences in schools and school performance across Clark County that mostly track with wealth and involvement of the parents. That is just a fact of life in the US that there is no getting around. It would be nice if we had a system such as in Finland where even the poorest and most isolated communities have massive investment in schools at the national level to insure equity in education across the nation. But we don't live in that world.
Sorry for the late reply but thank you so much for the insights. I really appreciate it. I know all about making the best of out of the school your child is routed to since we are in a bit of a struggling district right now. Not terrible but I keep thinking that I really want this move to be an improvement in the school dept. Thanks so much!
I know teachers who teach over there who talk about ceilings falling in and toxic chemicals in the carpets and I don't know what all. This was at Prairie HS. When I went to job fairs at Vancouver School District 3 years ago I ran into a bunch of Battle Ground teachers who were looking to get out of the district. That was almost a running joke. They are just tired of being squeezed and I think there has been a lot of strife between teachers and admin in the past.
Honestly I don't really see things changing. The problem from a school supporter point of view is that the district is massive and runs way up into the mountains and covers a lot of rural area that is popular for people who want to get out and buy their cheap piece of land in the woods or in the country and who don't want to be bothered by taxes or services or anything. So the more upscale new suburban areas where new families are moving in are getting outvoted by a lot of older rural conservative folk who don't want to see their taxes increase. Districts like Camas and Ridgefield have a much higher percentage of suburban voters and lower percentages of older conservative rural voters and so have a built-in advantage when it comes to school bonds. Also remember here in WA a school bond measure requires a 60% supermajority to pass so it only takes a minority of voters to keep voting things down.
If you are new to the region also undertand that Battle Ground has a longstanding reputation of being something of a more downscale area where you might be more likely to find biker bars than say yoga studios. That isn't necessarily how things actually are, just the general reputation of the area. But combined with the repeated failure to ever pass school bonds and the lack of any sort of interesting downtown or city center area, it's kind of all just part of the package.
If it were me, the two districts that I would avoid are Battle Ground and La Center if you have young kids are looking at decades of public schooling in your future. The rest of them are all decent and I'd have no issues sending my kids to any other district in the county, although Camas is clearly the highest performing but that's mainly because it is the most wealthy.
What are the rural areas that folks are in that don't want to be bothered?
How bad are those?
Are we talking "don't want to be bother because they have a meth lab", or "horses and chickens", or just folks that prefer freedom and privacy?
I personally like the idea of the house being set back from the road, rather than the 1 car length that is common with new CA style community builds.
In my dream life I have enough land to grow trees that have fruits and nuts and such... and are far enough from the road that the garbage trucks can't dust them with landfill filth. But that's just me, and it's just a dream. (Not wealthy enough to have a serious orchard, to be sure.)
I like CA style houses, but would really like it to be on a 160 acre plot like my grandparents had way back when.
But, that won't be in my lifetime.
I can recall the driveway was like the "Road to Oz"... was a big S-turn up to the house... Grandpa used to fire up a mowing tractor to go get the mail.
In all reality, they were surrounded by corn farming and woods... was very cool, but they were just country folks... they didn't do any farming of merit... They grew stuff... but only for themselves. Had horses, etc.
Basically retired. Grandpa had owned hotels in Florida and could live how he wanted.
They burned it all before the passed away, LOL! So none of that made it to me. Some went to my father, but not much.
Anyway, I've always remembered that place... Probably long gone now and turned into suburbia.
Have tried to find it on google maps every once ina while for ages.
(Was a small kid in those days... can't remember the exact address, but would recognize an aerial photo... no one is left in the family that could tell me the address. We're talking late 60's, I was maybe 6 yrs. old... everyone else has passed away.)
What are the rural areas that folks are in that don't want to be bothered?
How bad are those?
Are we talking "don't want to be bother because they have a meth lab", or "horses and chickens", or just folks that prefer freedom and privacy?
I personally like the idea of the house being set back from the road, rather than the 1 car length that is common with new CA style community builds.
In my dream life I have enough land to grow trees that have fruits and nuts and such... and are far enough from the road that the garbage trucks can't dust them with landfill filth. But that's just me, and it's just a dream. (Not wealthy enough to have a serious orchard, to be sure.)
I like CA style houses, but would really like it to be on a 160 acre plot like my grandparents had way back when.
But, that won't be in my lifetime.
I can recall the driveway was like the "Road to Oz"... was a big S-turn up to the house... Grandpa used to fire up a mowing tractor to go get the mail.
In all reality, they were surrounded by corn farming and woods... was very cool, but they were just country folks... they didn't do any farming of merit... They grew stuff... but only for themselves. Had horses, etc.
Basically retired. Grandpa had owned hotels in Florida and could live how he wanted.
They burned it all before the passed away, LOL! So none of that made it to me. Some went to my father, but not much.
Anyway, I've always remembered that place... Probably long gone now and turned into suburbia.
Have tried to find it on google maps every once ina while for ages.
(Was a small kid in those days... can't remember the exact address, but would recognize an aerial photo... no one is left in the family that could tell me the address. We're talking late 60's, I was maybe 6 yrs. old... everyone else has passed away.)
If you just want a place in the country and aren't concerned about schools or commutes then look anywhere north and west of Battle Ground proper (the main downtown area of Battle Ground) and you will find lots of rural land that is slowly (or not so slowly) being developed into exurbia. Amboy and Yacolt are the two small towns up there. Small acreage lots, that sort of thing. I don't think there are any secret meth head colonies or such to avoid. What you see is pretty much what you get. If the houses look nice and not trashy, it's probably a nice area. If the yards are strewn with garbage, old sofas, mattresses, and broken down cars then probably not so much.
There are some heavy concentrations of Apostolic Lutherans out there which are kind of an ultra-conservative clannish sect similar to conservative Mennonites. That could affect who your neighbors are. But if you are looking for someplace in Clark County to go raise your chickens and be left alone, that is the area.
As in any rural area, you'll have to due your due dilligence to make sure you don't wind up next to a gravel quarry, hog farm, or landfill or whatever. Rural land gets used for multiple industrial purposes and there are often less restrictions on what your neighbors can do then in upscale suburban subdivisions where all that stuff is regulated out.
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