I need help understanding US public HS systems

Parent Cafe
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A lot of time on CC we wind up telling posters to cool their jets for awhile, and not to get ahead of themselves.

Not now, not this time. Every school district, every high school has its own culture and its own quirks. Everyone there is so familiar with them that they are not even aware that whatever they do is not necessarily the natural order of things that every human being instinctively understands. Notwithstanding the mobility of the U.S. population, as far as I can tell very few districts or schools that do not serve huge military populations are really good at integrating students who arrive from anyplace else, much less a foreign educational system. It will take a lot of time and a lot of annoying people by asking what they consider dumb questions to get to the point where you really understand how things work. It’s not too early to start that process yesterday.

I don’t know what to do if you don’t know where you will live yet. Try to figure that out. Then do everything you can to learn the local high school system – and not by googling Great Schools, or anything crude like that. You have to talk to people at the schools, and to parents in the community. You have to stalk their websites if you can. Figure out when the critical dates are; that may help inform your decision about when to start. (My instinct, like that of others, is mid-8th grade, recognizing that you are probably setting your kid up for a few miserable months by doing that. The investment will probably pay off in a year or less.)

But it’s not just when to start. Do you need to get independent testing done to qualify your kid for a “Gifted and Talented” program, if they exist? (Watch out for this one. There’s a chance that, coming from a local public middle school, your child could never qualify at the high school level if he or she was not in the program in middle school, whereas coming directly into the high school they would accept independent testing.) When are the sports tryouts, the orchestra, the choral groups, the plays, etc.? How does the ranking system affect what courses kids take? If there are more than one high school, how do people choose?

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I would expect placement testing for math and foreign language. I would absolutely make sure your student reviews in advance of the placement testing to be sure the result will accurately reflect what the student has already studied.

Search the high school’s website for any information about how it organizes math tracks (alg 1, geometry, algebra 2, vs integrated math 1, math 2, math 3). Typically, precalc would follow algebra 2 and then AP calculus. Students starting 9th grade in algebra 1 or integrated math 1 will study precalculus in 12th and will not usually reach calc without some special doubling-up or summer study.

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Thanks all. Would be moving into Oregon. Interestingly, it seems the school district’s web page is blocked to foreign addresses so I need to figure out a safe proxy to use to get all this done. I am going to do a trip to the area soon and will make it a point to talk to friends who have kids in the system to try and figure out what I need to do!

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If you are making a trip to the area where you plan to relocate, make an appointment to talk to the HS guidance personnel in that district. Bring info about your kiddo’s current schooling. My bet is they will be able to help you.

Let’s put it this way…many, if not most, school districts have transfers from different places, and some internationally. The school personnel should be able to help you.

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I would make the move in 8th grade to make sure that you have time to ensure your kids have the opportunity to try out for band, sports, desired classes, etc. Also, one thing that hasn’t been mentioned is that if you are in any town with more than one middle school, your kids will encounter a high school where kids will know the people they went to school with in middle school but not everyone. Sometimes they get clique-ish. At Jefferson, kids will assume a “new” child perhaps went to Washington or Kennedy. Thus, it may be more difficult to make friends. If you come in the middle of the year, everyone knows you’re new and will try to make an effort to get to know you.

I’m going to echo the sentiment upthread about moving at the end of the summer. I moved in the beginning of the summer between elementary and middle school and it was the worst summer of my life. The only two people I met were a younger cousin and one irritating neighbor. Fast forward several decades, and we moved when one child started school a month later than the other kids (it was a charter school that went year-round). She had three new BFFs by the end of the second day because everyone was interested in her story.

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You are very very wise to be thinking through these things now. This is a tough transition for all of you. I have done the overseas to the states in secondary school myself and I have done it to my children, multiple times.

I don’t know Oregon but since you are taking a trip soon I would highly advise you to not only talk to your friends in the area but anyone knowledgeable you can get to speak to you both while visiting and via email or phone while you are still overseas. You probably want to choose a school district prior to choosing a place to live and it can be surprisingly difficult to get the important information you need.

Our last move was after 9 years abroad in two very different countries. We returned with a 7th, 10th, and 11th grader.

If it is possible for one of you as parents to not work or work part time both leading up to the move and for several months post move do it. You will be surprised how much work a successful transition takes and how much it takes out of all of you.

I communicated via email with many school registrars. I spoke to friends of friends in various neighborhoods to get a sense of school policies. In the end we had to choose between three school districts. One was heavily sorted by magnet programs and our kids were past the normal entry points. Absolutely no exception could or would be made. We thought we could move into the home district for the high school with the magnet program we liked best and then our kids could at least attend some classes with the magnet students. Nope, in this district the magnet program was essential a self contained school within a school with no class overlap outside of PE. In this district my kids would have no option for any advanced classes whatsoever. So even though this county was by far our top choice to live in for other reasons it came off the list.

The next choice school district/county wasn’t as bad but access to advanced classes were tightly controlled. Certain test scores were necessary and only the school could perform those tests and the tests would not be given until our kids were already enrolled and attending. Furthermore school quality, resources, and advanced classes varied tremendously based on neighborhoods and we were completely priced out of the good neighborhoods.

So that left the district where we ended up which had more more flexibility.

Even with all that research we still made mistakes. Our 11th grader took a much lighter load than she should have expecting to find the academic load harder than it was. Our 7th grader was only prevented from the same mistake by a good guidance counselor who looked at her standardized test scores and talked her into the toughest classes the school had to offer. Our 10th grader took Honors pre-calc instead of regular because no one told her honors was the class for kids planning to go straight to BC calc and regular pre-calc was for kids heading to AB calc. It’s the little stuff like that that trips you up.

Personally, speaking as someone who moved mid-year and at the beginning of a school year, I would not move in the middle of a year if I could avoid it. Especially in 8th grade. But that’s just my 2 cents. I do agree with the many people who have advised against a move at the beginning of summer. Unless you have a full summer of camps, travel, or other activity to keep the kids busy I’d move just soon enough to get fully past jet lag and the initial move in.

Mostly though remember that no matter how well you prepare somethings will take you by surprise. Your kids may have a rough transition but you have given them a great gift by living overseas and the pros of that almost certainly overcome the cons.

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If you do move toward the end of the summer, that does not preclude you for registering for school earlier - that process can be started as soon as you have proof you will be moving - signed purchase contract or lease. I have not done an international move, but I have moved state to state, both mid-year and at the end of the summer. When we moved at the end of the summer, my oldest was starting middle school. She was blocked from the gifted and talented program until 8th grade, because they based entry on testing which was done in 3rd, 5th and 7th grades. While students here make course selections in early Spring, classes are not assigned until late August, often because schedules have not been finalized, due to staffing issues While you’re hear speak with the guidance staff and find out how early you can select classes, and if it can be done before classes are assigned. Ask for the appropriate forms for physicals (for HS both for entry, and for sports). You might be able to have them completed by your current doctor, and save the hassle of having to make a last minute appointment with a new doctor. Make certain the date of the physical meets the state and school requirements, and that immunizations are up to date.

Edited to add: if your child is in any advanced classes, arriving during 8th grade could result in loss of that advanced standing, if the middle school doesn’t have an appropriate class available. My daughter attends a STEM magnet school, started Algebra 1 in 6th grade. If she had chosen to return to our district she would have fallen back to Algebra 1 in 8th grade, unless we chose to pay for an online class. Now that she’s in high school, the offerings are more broad, and she would be able to select appropriate classes.

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City data will be better, great schools is more miss than hit. One thing I would say is that if you move and find your school isn’t working, move schools We did live in an area where you could apply to any school though (outside of the magnet programs).Our relo experience was a bit hit and miss, so my younger kids did three schools in 3 yrs but it all worked out for the best. Mine were younger so the time I spent in their first school was vital information. Older kid was easier as he was was just at 2 elementaries, waiting for his spot in the magnet. What I would have done though, is push for the magnet instead of politely waiting out the testing timeline (as was possible I learned later)… As your kid may well be ahead of US grade level you might have the same issue, my approach was to stay on grade level and get in the magnet. This meant an overlap for my kids that was essential for the culture shock. If I had a do over I would have gone straight to the cheapish academic private and waited for the magnet spots there. Jumping grades was not any advantage, more like the opposite.As per others my kid was tested in a foreign country as being in the top 1% and considered gifted but here his teacher just smiled and nodded at me LOL. Either way all my kids qualified into the magnet and that was due to having had good schools from 2/3 yrs, vs any innate ability. I think this issue is at least as important as a college search issue. There is no way I would arrive and hope for the best.