<p>spectrum, Pennsylvania has 501 school districts, each ruled by a nine member school board. Some districts are very small like mine with just over 3,000 students in 6 schools, including one high school. Philadelphia School district, OTOH has 32,348 students and 63 schools.</p>
<p>While the state does set minimal standards, the school boards and administration add their own rules and mandates. A good example is the Senior Project, which is a supposed to be a special something done before Senior year. In my son’s High School it’s mainly a research project culminating in a power point presentation done in the Junior year. In other schools it’s doing so many volunteer hours. Some schools have it tied into a career search and job shadowing. My school district has always met the NCLB standards in every category while school districts adjoining ours have not.</p>
<p>The current lame-duck Governor suggested that the districts be combined earlier this year to about 100 districts and that was very controversial since each district has it’s own teacher contracts (teachers are allowed to strike) and local funding sources. Anyway, my point is that there is little that is done the exact same way across my state, let alone a section of the country.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone for the advice on sending 1st Q grades. I spoke to D last night before she went out with her visiting camp friends and she eagerly agreed. </p>
<p>LOL, then I spent my Saturday night googling the names and e-mails of all the appropriate college admissions counsellors. To think: all those years of education and training and experience, just to become the unpaid PA for my daughter!</p>
<p>Congratulations to all the wonderful acceptances coming in. My son gets his second acceptance to Salisbury. I told him I think he should take Towson. My son wants to re-visit Salisbury-says he likes the professors, quiet atmosphere, small university. Alas,
no Jewish activities at Salisbury. I only encouraged him to apply to Salisbury as a backup school. Any thoughts?</p>
<p>Hi…congrats…and I am so thankful I have found this thread! </p>
<p>Mdcissp - I think your son has to make this decision, as long as both meet the financial obligations the family is willing to make. This is launch 101 I think. I can only imagine me saying exactly what you said, but I will have to remember to bite my tongue and my husbands! Congrats that you have choices :)</p>
<p>cherryhill - re-read what you wrote - it sounds so funny! I guess you mean your husband will also be biting his own tongue - but it sounds like either you have multiple husbands and are biting them all or I don’t know what! I am really cracking up! </p>
<p>mdcissp - I think you have to visit Salisbury again and see what you all think. It’s not really fair to have him apply and then remove it from consideration once he is accepted. I struggle with the Towson vs. Salisbury issue also - have not yet decided if S2 will apply or if we will even visit - I’m going to wait to see first semester grades and his February ACT score before deciding if we need it on the list or not. Clearly, Towson is closer and has a very vibrant Hillel and lots of Jewish life. There is also a lot more to do in the surrounding area and you have the proximity to Baltimore as a plus. But Salisbury is half the size and they are almost done with that beautiful new business center - plus new upperclassman housing - some very attractive and valuable additions to the campus. Personally, I always wonder why Salisbury is in Fiske and PR, but Towson is not. Any thoughts on that?</p>
<p>Mdcissp: Congrats! Its early, he doesn’t have to make a decison quickly. Results from other schools probably still needs to come and at that point weighing the advantages and disadvantages of each is the thing to do. It sometimes is the case that on some days some things about some schools looks better and on other days other things look better. By all means take another look and probe into the things that are important to your son at each school that is now a for sure possibility. This can be like looking at the school with new eyes. Then among schools that the price is right and you don’t see factors that are detrimental to your son’s well being I would say it ought to be his choice. Good Luck with a nice dilemma!</p>
<p>Kathiep: Our state also has a multitued of independent school districts (11.000+) and lots of variations. Some big, some tiny, some tiny ones encircled by huge different ones,(very odd). I guess our state, being home of “No child Left Behind” has had so many standards handed down from the state level that districts have sometimes been in a talespin to keep up and therefore it is less likely that more control is imposed at the district level. Hard as our district may try, things are not the same even from school to school within the district. There are however, some general trends within our state which seems like a region all by itself. One of these is that as far as I know there are no “honors” classes in Texas publics, but from what I read on CC they seem really prevailent in the East or at least the northeast. We also have few publics that don’t rank, while this seems to be more of a trend in other parts of the country. I agree that nothing is all the same but my conclusion from reading CC has been that there are regional trends and the trends all have exceptions. When I first found CC it seemed that my eyes were open to a different world than I see at home. There are pluses and minuses to both. It isn’t a big deal, we can happily disagree. (A very Jewish approach to life I guess :))</p>
<p>Congrats to your son, mdcissp! I think that you could say something to your son like this:
“Jewish identity is very important to me, and I hope that it is to you also. Have you thought about the two campuses in regard to how many Jewish activities are offered?” Yes, ultimately it is his decision but he may not realize what the impact of no Jewish activities might have on his college experience.
RVM: I think that it is fantastic that your son has organized this whole BBYO event! That is real leadership and it will serve him well in life as well as in college!
mhc, congrats to your daughter on those great grades. You could suggest that your daughter send an email to the admissions representative saying what the grades are, and then asking if she should have the GC send the official copy. A question will force an answer, so that you know that the email was read.
To add to what kathiep said, PA does have “state standards” and these are changing; a “culminating project” will soon be required, and “keystone exams”, which I believe districts can opt out of by demonstrating proficiency in other ways, will just about mandate certain coursework. Also, there are state requirements about PE and health. Congratulations to kathiep’s district in meeting NCLB standards! Out of curiosity, kathiep, do you have more than 40 students in each school of the “subgroups”? (African American, Hispanic, low income, special education). They don’t “count” as a separate category unless there are more than 40 in a school. This makes it very difficult for schools that are actually diverse, because they must conquer the achievement gap as part of those standards.</p>
<p>Mdcissp: Congratulations on your son’s acceptance to Salisbury. It’s great that you have two in-state options that meet most of your criteria. I think you should take your son back to both schools. See if he can sit in a class and have an opportunity to meet some students. You might want to wait until the spring accepted students events, although I suspect your son might want to make a decision sooner. I think that Towson and Salisbury have similar reputations. As RVM pointed out, they are in very different locations, so that may be a factor in the decision. I know that you prefer the higher quality of Jewish life at Towson, but how important is that to your son? It’s a hard decision, but all in all a good decision to have.</p>
<p>RVM: It’s great that your son is getting so many leadership opportunities through BBYO. BBYO is a wonderful organization that connects teens to Judaism in a fun, welcoming manner. I was very involved in BBYO in high school and met my husband in BBYO, so I’m a big fan. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get our daughters interested. My older daughter regrets not having more Jewish involvement in HS, and has become somewhat involved in Hillel in college.</p>
<p>Rockville: LOL! No. I only have one husband. Somehow my thoughts of that I will have to bite my husband’s tongue - meaning, he better not influence our son’s choice- just didn’t come across as what I wanted to say.</p>
<p>cherryhill - I met an older woman one and we were having a conversation regarding daughters-in-law and mothers-in-law and the issues that come up - and she said that the key to her getting along with her d-i-l was her willingness to succumb to “bloody tongue disease”. And I asked what in the world that was - and she said it was the result of all the times she bit her tongue so as not to say something that would be taken as criticism by her d-i-l. So - we can all start practicing now!</p>
<p>Anyway - I knew what you meant - your wording just cracked me up! :)</p>
<p>Mdcissp, Congratulations! I hope your son is not one of many whose most important priority at this age is to do the opposite of what you pressure him to do.</p>
<p>You have received excellent advice above. For comfort, you might want to reread that excellent article someone posted many pages ago by the Jewish girl at Grinnell who said she chose Grinnell despite its small Jewish presence and found she loved the school and it did not interfere with her sense of identity at all.</p>
<p>If your son is willing, overnights at each school might be helpful. At the very least, visit each again an, based on your sharing about your son, check in with Hillel folks, show him how much more difficult it likely is to find good offcampus ethnic food and things to do at Salisbury. Do both have chess clubs?</p>
<p>Remember how worried you were re financing school, transportation to York and the distance to UT Dallas and give thanks those issues are gone. And, if your son really felt a fit at Salisbury, give thanks for that, too–lots of kids do not find fits anywhere, especially AS kids. For example, a Hillel full of Abercrombie Jewish kids might be worse for him than no Hillel. And a campus with few Jewish kids might incite his feeling of Jewish identity.</p>
<p>(at least we no longer have to worry about the Litvaks and the Galitzianers) </p>
<p>I can’t see any reason why you shouldn’t go back and visit again - both schools in fact. And overnight. There’s plenty of time before he has to accept. Ultimately though, this should be a decision he makes.</p>
<p>Two viable options, how wonderful! Weren’t you the one who has a daughter in college in California?? And your son was looking there too? Don’t remember exactly, but if that’s true, I’m sure you must be happy that he’ll be much closer to home? And closer than UT Austin too! Hope I’m remembering this correctly-</p>
<p>Mdcissp: Let me add that I was recently having a conversation with a friend in NJ who purposely sought out a neighborhood with a strong Jewish community to raise her kids. As we spoke we were both amused that my kids growing up as the only Jews in their schools were more volitionally observant than her kids are. My S1 goes to a school with a small but active Hillel. He did do a birthright trip but otherwise his main Hillel participation has been for the high holy days and Pesach. I am grateful that Hillel is available because otherwise it would be very difficult for him to be observant. In your case, it sounds like your S is close enough to home to spend holidays at home so that isn’t as critical. Sure it is nice to have an active Jewish community but he can still feel Jewish even if he isn’t in a community. I sometimes think that part of my kids strong sense of identity comes from them getting comfortable with being the lone Jew. I’m not saying that all things being equal I wouldn’t pick the school with the Jewish community, just that the lack of one doesn’t have to be a deal breaker. The main question though is how your son feels about it after giving this some consideration. Good Luck and again Great news!</p>
<p>“at least we no longer have to worry about the Litvaks and the Galitzianers”</p>
<p>Haha. I married a Litvak. I had to make major adjustments to my cabbage soup.</p>
<p>I think that it is interesting to compare and contrast the experiences of the students who have grown up in areas where there are very few Jews to the experiences of the students who have grown up in areas with lots of Jews. Would anyone like to describe their kids’ experiences?
My kids have grown up in an incredibly supportive Jewish community that remains in the city. I am amazed every day at how this community supports Jewish continuity, Jewish institutions, and Israel. For example, this entire community gives financial support to the local Hillel by attending and supporting fundraising events and contributing money, even if our own children do not attend college in town. Our partnership with our sister city in Israel is so strong that our kids are actually friends with the kids there - they have been back and forth, have hosted each other, expect the kids to come here several times a year for different events, and communicate all the time. We have synagogues and schools that are Reform, Conservative, Orthodox and Reconstructionist but also schools that are for the entire community regardless of “stream”. The youth groups, BBYO groups, camps, and JCC are extremely fluid and the kids can be friends with anyone. The Jewish Student Union within the local high school meets at lunch every other week; rabbis come in with activities or discussions, and it attracts a big crowd (of course, no one is excluded, even if not Jewish). There are setups for the university students to connect with local families, as friends or mentors or for job connections. We keep kosher and no one would consider this extreme at all; it is easy to do because of the availability of food but other kids respect my kids for this and plenty of people around here do it. It is “normal” to build a sukkah, to say Kaddish daily for a deceased parent, to require kids’ attendance at Shabbat dinner and to say the blessings, to attend shul weekly etc. but no one is ostracized for not doing these things; kids are invited in to do them with other families though. It is not necessary to be Orthodox to do these things; people from all streams do them. I know kids whose parents were totally non-observant or intermarried with no Jewish affiliation whatsoever, who decided to affiliate because of the strength and the draw of the community. I truly have to thank this outstanding community for giving my kids their Jewish identity. Yes, we could have done a lot at home but it has been so much easier with this level of support.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone. This is a great group for support.
I wish to clarify that my son is not withdrawing any applications. We are going to re-visit all college acceptances. Also, Salisbury does not have any Hillel, does not have study abroad in Israel, no Shabbat on campus. We are not talking about a very small Hillel, we are talking about no Hillel. Also, not easy to come home from Salisbury. My son says he liked the professors he met at the Salisbury open house, the smaller campus, and the quiet pace.</p>
<p>The Towson open house had tons of kids and was very social. This can be overwhelming for an Aspergers kid, but I think he would adjust once he gets a routine. </p>
<p>I only told him to apply to Salisbury as a safety to Towson. I heard Towson is hard to get into. Just very grateful for these acceptances.</p>
<p>MD,
Could your son visit Towson on a “normal” class day to get a sense of what the pace of the campus is really like? My sons all disliked the dog-and-pony shows that were meant for the masses.</p>
<p>Another thing you might do is take the curriculum guides for each of the programs your son is interested in, at all of the schools he is accepted to–lay them out and compare them, apples to apples. For your son, this might be an important consideration to his level of comfort academically and as far as overall experience. </p>
<p>One more thing–at the bigger school, a smaller major might give him the comfort level he seeks.</p>
<p>By the way, when correcting a typo in my other post, I erased my Mazal Tov to your son and to you MD…two great acceptances under his belt! It’s always nice to have choices!</p>
<p>My son went to the Math presentation at the Towson open house. I went to the Business school presentation. Wish he had gone to the Business presentation because the presentation was superb. At Salisbury, we did not go to any specific presentations. The various departments just had faculty and info. sheets out in a large room to talk about their departments. My son liked the faculty at Salisbury. </p>
<p>I don’t want to pull my son out of school first semester to sit in on classes at these universities. Second semester seems like a better time to more closely explore these schools again. </p>
<p>Towson starts accepting housing applications Feb. 1. Since I am hoping that my son gets a single (which is very hard to get at Towson), I feel I have to send in the $300. deposit even if there is a slight possibility of attending another school. Not sure if we should wait on sending the deposit. Towson housing said there will be no or few singles available next year.</p>
<p>Rockville Mom: How was the BBYO convention? Perhaps this valuable work experience highlights your son’s talents to work in business (event planning, hotel administration, sports management, etc.). Make sure you keep notes about what he is doing to put down on the activities section of his college applications next year which will demonstrate sought after leadership, organization, and strong social skills.</p>