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When I lived down there the best high school was Rio Mesa. Now there is Channel Islands and Pacifica. Are any of these schools alot better? Or are they all pretty much the same? I know Oxnard is the worse. Has it become the private schools are the only good schools?
we just bought a home in the Pacifica boundaries. My son wants to play football there. They also have a magnet theatre arts program. It is the newest school in the district. In my opinion though too many kids are going there.
My oldest son graduated from Rio Mesa this year. We liked the school and my son did very well out there. They have the least amount of kids attending. Mostly from El Rio, North East Oxnard and West side of Camarillo. Problems with the school are that the bus gets the kids to school an hour before school starts. Remember Rio Mesa is out in the farm fields far from the city. The Strickland track is out there but not much to do in those 3 or 4 blocks of homes and a few stores. Drugs before school and after are a problem we have heard. A few years back they did build a new aquatic facility and their golf team is the top in the area. Unlike other golf teams this one is funded 100% by a yearly fund raiser that a former students family hosts. Rio Mesa is also the only school in the district with their own scholarship fund for graduating seniors.
Oxnard High School moved to Gonzales road with a beautifull new campus. Competitively this is the school to be at for prep Football although my son would disagree. LOL. It is in a nice area with Victoria Estates across the street. Much of the school is surrounded by fields and many of the kids walk some distance to get there. The local city bus service does make a stop in the morning and when school is over at the end of the day during the school year. I would say that the district puts more time energy and resources into the Oxnard and Pacifica campuses.
I attended Hueneme High School and it has fallen on hard times. I wouldn't suggest sending kids there. They did bring in a new Principle a few years back and he was let go when he tried to make changes in the school.
Channel Islands and Camarillo High are both aging campuses. I can't say much about them other than what I read in the paper. The parents in Camarillo have wanted to split from the district because they have felt that the district has not done much for them.
I would rank the schools in the district in this order but that is just me.
1. Oxnard
2. Rio Mesa
3. Pacifica
4. Camarillo
5. Channel Islands
6. Hueneme
7. Frontier
Last edited by SOON2BNSURPRISE; 12-22-2010 at 08:03 AM..
My coworkers children all went to Rio Mesa and they rave about how great the school is. The rest of the kids I know go to Santa Clara. There are many that go to Pacifica and Oxnard High.
Things have changed tremendously since I went to high school here ('93). Hueneme and Channel Islands are now in the "bad" part of town. It seems Oxnard is dumping all of its resources into fixing up N. Oxnard and forgetting about the southside of town. Pacifica and Oxnard HS are the newest ones and both are gorgeous. I'd rank Pacifica at the top; it seems they have a lot more resources for the kids. 2nd best would be Oxnard. I can't say much about Rio Mesa, so that might be up there as well. All I know is stay away from the southside of town. No shopping, houses are falling apart, crime rate is going up, and it's just a bad area to live in these days (Port Hueneme included).
Things have changed tremendously since I went to high school here ('93). Hueneme and Channel Islands are now in the "bad" part of town. It seems Oxnard is dumping all of its resources into fixing up N. Oxnard and forgetting about the southside of town. Pacifica and Oxnard HS are the newest ones and both are gorgeous. I'd rank Pacifica at the top; it seems they have a lot more resources for the kids. 2nd best would be Oxnard. I can't say much about Rio Mesa, so that might be up there as well. All I know is stay away from the southside of town. No shopping, houses are falling apart, crime rate is going up, and it's just a bad area to live in these days (Port Hueneme included).
Funny because I see plenty of improvement that is happening in the South Side of town. I grew up in Port Hueneme and my old neighborhood is doing fine. What I see is not so much that the Southside is doing bad, it is that the North Side is doing so much better. From what I see the South Side is similar to how it has been for years, but is improving. New places are going in, shopping is improving. Sure it will take some time but it will happen. I went to Hueneme and you are correct that compared to Pacifica or Oxnard it needs help. Still it has not changed since when I was there back in the early 1980's. Looks the same to me. remember that Oxnard was built as a replacement school to the old Oxnard high near the Airport and that Pacifica is a new school. I know everyone wants what is new but that doesn't mean that things have gotten worse at Hueneme. I would say that they haven't changed.
Funny because I see plenty of improvement that is happening in the South Side of town. I grew up in Port Hueneme and my old neighborhood is doing fine. What I see is not so much that the Southside is doing bad, it is that the North Side is doing so much better. From what I see the South Side is similar to how it has been for years, but is improving. New places are going in, shopping is improving. Sure it will take some time but it will happen. I went to Hueneme and you are correct that compared to Pacifica or Oxnard it needs help. Still it has not changed since when I was there back in the early 1980's. Looks the same to me. remember that Oxnard was built as a replacement school to the old Oxnard high near the Airport and that Pacifica is a new school. I know everyone wants what is new but that doesn't mean that things have gotten worse at Hueneme. I would say that they haven't changed.
Sorry, but I completely disagree with you. The Kmart shopping center (the only multi-use store on this end of town) is a complete dump. Everything has shut down since K-mart closed its doors several years ago. To get anything outside of what one can buy at the grocery store, you have to drive to North Oxnard. Hueneme High school may "look" the same as it did years ago, but the education is severly lacking, primarily because the community resources that can be provided aren't there. And let's talk about the elephant in the room, shall we? You have all the middle-class, educated (because I've read some of your posts and you're big on that one), white people moving into the new developments such as River Park and the other newer communities on the North Side. Southside, not so much.
Sorry, but I completely disagree with you. The Kmart shopping center (the only multi-use store on this end of town) is a complete dump. Everything has shut down since K-mart closed its doors several years ago. To get anything outside of what one can buy at the grocery store, you have to drive to North Oxnard. Hueneme High school may "look" the same as it did years ago, but the education is severly lacking, primarily because the community resources that can be provided aren't there. And let's talk about the elephant in the room, shall we? You have all the middle-class, educated (because I've read some of your posts and you're big on that one), white people moving into the new developments such as River Park and the other newer communities on the North Side. Southside, not so much.
All us white people. Better tell that to my Mexican wife. Oh and the many other non white educated people as well. Since the majority of people that we hang out with are Mexican and most of them have a college degree then for us it is the educated Mexican people that live within the Oxnard area that I am talking about. You should drive around River Park and see who is buying all those homes. Two of our kids attend Rio Vista the Middle School in River Park and the majority of kids there are of color and not white. Many live in River Park.
You are pointing out one neighborhood in Oxnard. What about the many other areas that are doing very well? Have you seen Sea Bridge on the South West Side? Have you been down by Rose and Channel Islands? Lots of things are happening and more will be happening during the next 5 to 10 years. The city is doing a lot to make changes. Sure it will take time but it will happen.
As far as Hueneme, show me that we had far more college bound students in the 80's when I went there than we do now? I doubt you can do that.
I put myself thru school as a working adult. All others can do the same as I did. It isn't fun but it is worth it. I would have prefered to do it out of high school but I didn't go that route. If someone is lacking in education their is no excuse now adays. Anyone can do it.
The south side of Oxnard is in bad shape, and that includes houses, streets, schools...etc. If you listen to the residents of the south side on the Oxnard City Council they always sound pissed about the way the city has "forgotten" about them.
All us white people. Better tell that to my Mexican wife. Oh and the many other non white educated people as well. Since the majority of people that we hang out with are Mexican and most of them have a college degree then for us it is the educated Mexican people that live within the Oxnard area that I am talking about. You should drive around River Park and see who is buying all those homes. Two of our kids attend Rio Vista the Middle School in River Park and the majority of kids there are of color and not white. Many live in River Park.
You are pointing out one neighborhood in Oxnard. What about the many other areas that are doing very well? Have you seen Sea Bridge on the South West Side? Have you been down by Rose and Channel Islands? Lots of things are happening and more will be happening during the next 5 to 10 years. The city is doing a lot to make changes. Sure it will take time but it will happen.
As far as Hueneme, show me that we had far more college bound students in the 80's when I went there than we do now? I doubt you can do that.
I put myself thru school as a working adult. All others can do the same as I did. It isn't fun but it is worth it. I would have prefered to do it out of high school but I didn't go that route. If someone is lacking in education their is no excuse now adays. Anyone can do it.
Yes, I am referring to one neighborhood in Oxnard. The neighborhood that feeds into Hueneme High School. The neighborhood on Rose and CI Blvd feeds into Channel Islands, and even then all they've done is put up a Walgreens (now available on every corner of Oxnard!) and a Fresh & Easy. You can wear your rose colored glasses if it makes you feel more comfortable. Me, I'm a realist.
As far as college-bound students go; in the 80's it wasn't as much of a necessity to have a college degree as it is now. Now, even the BS or BA is not enough to make the big bucks. So more college-bound, yes, of course. It also helps to have a state university 20 minutes down the road, which wasn't available in the 80's. I, too, put myself through school as an adult, and was only able to do so BECAUSE CSUCI is close to home.
And don't even get me started on the Hueneme School District or OUHSD as a whole. There's a reason I'm getting out of this town as soon as feasibly possible, and it isn't because I don't have a shopping center close to home. Go to www.greatschools.com and see where we rank. 4's and 5's, out of 10. These are rankings based on the national average, but go ahead and put in other districts in Ventura County, such as Conejo or Ojai, heck even Ventura, for that matter. Oxnard/Hueneme don't come close.
Bottom line: the weather's nice, the people are friendly, but schools and infrastructure are terrible and no, I don't see that improving any time soon. My children can't afford to wait "5 or 10" years for that to happen.
I attended Hueneme High School and it has fallen on hard times. I wouldn't suggest sending kids there. They did bring in a new Principle a few years back and he was let go when he tried to make changes in the school.
I would rank the schools in the district in this order but that is just me.
1. Oxnard
2. Rio Mesa
3. Pacifica
4. Camarillo
5. Channel Islands
6. Hueneme
7. Frontier
You yourself agree that Hueneme and CI High school rank at the bottom. Are you willing to explain why that is?
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