Now that my kids have graduated…read more..
Background: We switched from the charter system at the high school level. We were running out of classes to take/electives, we were having to volunteer to the point where between extra curriculars and homework, we were down to 2-3 hours of sleep per night. Running around sleep deprived with lack of support from the school. Add on top of that there was a whole lot of politics/parent drama being dragged onto campus and I could see that kids were turning inward in survival mode instead of growing/thriving.
You can probably read in my other review (of a charter) that we went to a public school and they helped us come up with a plan in under 10 minutes for two students. That was RBV. And yes, their counseling department was/is fantastic. They answered our questions even without an appointment. Any time we needed support, they were always there and went the extra mile. When we did a school tour, we watched the senior class president speak with poise and confidence. That was a HUGE difference between the charter kids and the public school kids. I pointed at him and told my kids that they needed to go from mousey to that guy by graduation.
So was it worth it?
It depends.
Were there more electives? YES!! Even shop class. The kids made a lot of great memories finding out who they are, while contributing to the community through their classes.
Were the science classes as good? Depends. Chemistry, no. They didn't do a lot of hands on which was majorly disappointing (they really need to shore up this part of the curriculum), but they had these awesome elective science classes that made learning interesting and fun.
The environment was far more competitive then collaborative (with the exception of track and cross country, those were great experiences).
Did my kids gain confidence that we were looking for and learn to stand up for themselves? Yes. Getting the parents out of the way and getting them involved in clubs made a huge difference. There were also great teachers along the way that were awesome mentors for both of my kids.
And what didn't work for them taught them to either advocate for a solution or change what you are doing to go try something else. That lesson will carry them for life.
RBV is a public school and you have to set your expectations. You are going to have everything from the driven kids to the knuckleheads who just want to goof off. Are kids probably going to make fun of yours by saying stupid stuff like any other public school? Yes. Are kids doing sketchy things in the bathroom? Yes, it's public school. We got that in charter school too. That's high school for you.
Is it safe? Average. The first day of school, the other kids were cool and told mine where the escape points were on campus should there be an active shooter (see other Yelp reviews, that all happened before we made the change). It stinks that it's the world we live in but it is good to know that the kids were nice enough to share how to stay safe with students that they just met.
The only thing we missed with the charter is that they had a partnership with the junior college. Before we left the charter, we had signed up for a summer class (due to lack of electives). It turns out to do that at public school and put it on your transcript is a BIG DEAL with Vista Unified. You have to ask permission, go through a long process, etc. "We should have asked permission," blah, blah, blah. Long story short, it was on their transcript by graduation but if you want to dual enroll, it's not easy at RBV. Not impossible (and even discouraged) but not easy. If your kid wants to do primarily dual enrollment, go the charter route.
Also the awareness of what it takes to get into college was better at the charter level. Since the school owned more of the every day educational responsibilities, it allowed me (parent) to go find the information for the kids, reach out to colleges, ask them for advice, schedule tours, etc. RBV had all sorts of colleges come to campus (and the military) and allow students to ask questions. So that's good. But if your kids don't know what to ask, well that's where are a parent, you help connect the dots.
The lesson I learned that I want to share with every other parent is kids grow at their own rate. It is our job to give them options, opportunity to try things and figure out what they are about while this stuff is free. You don't have to burn yourself out or them out while doing it. You know your kid. You know what they need. If they need a lot of options, RBV is a good fit. If they need more parents involvement, independent study/flexibility in learning/curriculum, or dual enrollment, then by all means go the route of the charter school.
High school and college have one thing in common. The name alone means nothing, it's about finding your best fit. There is more than one option, more than one teaching style.
Do what is right for your situation.
