Down here in Chesapeake Virginia we have been experiencing a boom in population. It seems like everyone who lives here is from somewhere else. People have migrated from just about everywhere to live in Chesapeake. It's like there's some sort of magnet here. One of those magnets is the school system.
The high schools in Chesapeake are better than most in the state. In the Hampton Roads area even the worst Chesapeake schools are better than the best in other areas, like Portsmouth. Even in Chesapeake we are diligently observant of which school is better than the others. Currently, the lead school is called Hickory High.
Hickory is like the Yale of Hampton roads high schools. All of the best SOL (Standards Of Learning) scores come out of Hickory. The rich quickly buy up houses down here. Well, because everyone is buying up the housing down here and new developments are being pushed, there is a need for another high school in the area. This has put the district zoning on its ear. Parents have been holding protests against the school board rezoning commission. It's been a real site.
The new school promises to be another elite school, similar to Hickory called Grassfield High. The area where they're putting it centers around the mansions of Chesapeake. Congressman Randy Forbes lives in that area. It's destined to be the Harvard of Hampton Roads high schools.
The other high schools in the area are still nothing to laugh at. The lesser high schools, Deep Creek, Great Bridge and Oscar Smith, could all be considered like the Brown University of local high schools. They're borderline Ivy League high schools.
The reason I bring this up is the rezoning commission made a five to four vote in favor of finalizing a plan over which schools were to be going where. You can read all about it in our local liberal paper, The Virginian Pilot.
So where did we get placed? Unless the plans change for 2011 my son will be going to Yale. Yes, I am relieved.
(I'm also sure that pretty much none of you out there care about this, but I do. It has a much greater priority for me than some stupid vote on judicial nominees.)
"Unless the plans change for 2011?"
Wow. Impressive. In Charlotte the plans literally change every single year. There are many cases where siblings are assigned to different schools. But I guess that's what racism will to do you (the people running the school system are blacks who despise whites).
Posted by: Ogre at May 24, 2005 03:04 PM2011 is when they're supposed to be putting in ANOTHER high school.
Making sure your son gets the best possible education should be important to you! I'm glad it is.
Sounds like you've decided to keep the house you hated last winter. *wink*
What's the middle school like in your area? As much as I wish you lived closer, It is probably better for Brandon to grow up in one neighborhood and graduate high school with the same kids he started kindergarten with. Crud. Then he'll stay in Chesapeake and raise his kids there too.
Posted by: Patty-Jo at May 25, 2005 12:22 PMYou never really know. When we moved to Santa Rosa, there was property and zoning for a high school just blocks away from us. We were assured that it was scheduled to be built in the next year or two. Santa Rosa had been booming because Hewlett-Packard had moved up there and there were other tech industries arriving. But... it slowed down. The high school wasn't started until after my kids graduated, so hold on for the ride. By the time Brandon gets there... who knows what will be?
My hope was that they would be close to home. However they went to the high school downtown, which is right next to the Junior College. It was the best thing, since they both combined college classes with their high school work.