Okay, so hiring season for teachers is just starting to kick off. I've subbed around but I still don't always have a great idea of what different schools are like. Maybe you guys do, maybe you don't. But as I am nosing around different schools, I'll probably come here to ask if you guys know anything. I'm most interested in the English departments, but I'd also be happy to learn about administration, culture, what they value, rumors you've heard, etc.
First up: Lehi High school. Any dirt?
Give me the skinny on the schools
Re: Give me the skinny on the schools
All I know about Lehi is apparently one of the doors is broken and so kids can break into the school. If you're ever looking further south in Alpine School District, I could probably be more help.
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Indefinite Integral
- Posts: 370
- Joined: Mon Jun 14, 2010 9:57 am
- Location: Not Quite Provo...ish
Re: Give me the skinny on the schools
I can't help too much with Utah county schools, but if you are thinking about coming up to the south end of the Salt Lake Valley, let me know, I've got a few connections.
Oh, except for Lone Peak works really well with the BYU Math Education department, and both Lone Peak and Timponogos have nice newish buildings.
Oh, except for Lone Peak works really well with the BYU Math Education department, and both Lone Peak and Timponogos have nice newish buildings.
"The pursuit of mathematics is a divine madness of the human spirit." ~ Alfred North Whitehead
Re: Give me the skinny on the schools
There's a charter school down here called ALA (American Leadership Academy) and the principal is in our ward. I think it's a K-12 school. There's also a school around here for wayward teens (basically they've been expelled from other schools or something), and a lady in my ward is a counselor there. That's all I got.
Re: Give me the skinny on the schools
I think yayfulness's fiancée might have worked at one of these schools. You could message him and ask.
Re: Give me the skinny on the schools
I can give some feedback on school districts in general and (possibly incorrect) things I've heard about them:
* I attended Nebo School district and did student-teaching there. Overall, I'd say they're pretty lax, so teachers have a lot of control over what they get to do. On the other hand, there's not a lot of support. My mother kind of forbade me from teaching there because of issues she has with the administration. Some schools are better than others, of course--I did some observations at a school in Mapleton and it was a nice school, I'd daresay. So it kind of depends on which school you are looking at.
* Provo school district is DEFINITELY a mixed bag. Timpview High has a high-achieving reputation and more funding (i.e. rich parents), but that means more strictness. Provo High is on the lower end of the socioeconomic spectrum.
* My sister-in-law hated attending high school in Nephi and I'd assume doesn't like Juab school district in general. Of course, I think a lot of that is probably colored by negative personal experiences, so there you go.
* Granite school district has a GREAT inservice program for new teachers. I work here now. (In The First Days of School, they actually said that inservice programs should be a (major?) factor in deciding where to work. Anyway, I think that's one of the biggest pros. One mixed pro/con is the amount of testing required by the district, though. English teachers have the most of anybody, I'd assume (especially those who teach ESL). Granite district supposedly does twice as much testing as any other district in the state. On the flip side, extra testing means you have some data you can actually work with. (I think the district worries too much about data, but at least they try to measure progress.) Another challenge is that you have a lot of students from low-income areas who have moved around a lot and may be behind in school or reading levels. Another good thing about Granite is that they seem to have a lot of professional development opportunities for teachers--you can get an ESL endorsement through an arrangement with Weber State University for a few hours a week during the school year.
*Basically every private and charter school is different. I've heard very positive and negative things about ALA, for example (unfortunately I can't remember what any of them were now, hehe). It's kind of like political dictatorships--if the leader is a good administrator, they make a lot of progress, but if the leadership stinks, the whole place stinks. I've heard of students going to a charter/private school and being told they're all that and advanced students, and then switching back to public school when they're dissatisfied, only to discover they're behind.
Obviously since I've been working in Granite district, I have more to say about it.
* I attended Nebo School district and did student-teaching there. Overall, I'd say they're pretty lax, so teachers have a lot of control over what they get to do. On the other hand, there's not a lot of support. My mother kind of forbade me from teaching there because of issues she has with the administration. Some schools are better than others, of course--I did some observations at a school in Mapleton and it was a nice school, I'd daresay. So it kind of depends on which school you are looking at.
* Provo school district is DEFINITELY a mixed bag. Timpview High has a high-achieving reputation and more funding (i.e. rich parents), but that means more strictness. Provo High is on the lower end of the socioeconomic spectrum.
* My sister-in-law hated attending high school in Nephi and I'd assume doesn't like Juab school district in general. Of course, I think a lot of that is probably colored by negative personal experiences, so there you go.
* Granite school district has a GREAT inservice program for new teachers. I work here now. (In The First Days of School, they actually said that inservice programs should be a (major?) factor in deciding where to work. Anyway, I think that's one of the biggest pros. One mixed pro/con is the amount of testing required by the district, though. English teachers have the most of anybody, I'd assume (especially those who teach ESL). Granite district supposedly does twice as much testing as any other district in the state. On the flip side, extra testing means you have some data you can actually work with. (I think the district worries too much about data, but at least they try to measure progress.) Another challenge is that you have a lot of students from low-income areas who have moved around a lot and may be behind in school or reading levels. Another good thing about Granite is that they seem to have a lot of professional development opportunities for teachers--you can get an ESL endorsement through an arrangement with Weber State University for a few hours a week during the school year.
*Basically every private and charter school is different. I've heard very positive and negative things about ALA, for example (unfortunately I can't remember what any of them were now, hehe). It's kind of like political dictatorships--if the leader is a good administrator, they make a lot of progress, but if the leadership stinks, the whole place stinks. I've heard of students going to a charter/private school and being told they're all that and advanced students, and then switching back to public school when they're dissatisfied, only to discover they're behind.
Obviously since I've been working in Granite district, I have more to say about it.