She ended up at Davis with Jaymi Ropp for a teacher. The woman is amazing. She instructs other teachers and uses the most up-to-date education techniques. My daughter loves it at Davis and so far hasn't had any issues with being intimidated by anyone.
Good for us, but our positive experience doesn't mean there aren't real problems to deal with in our schools. I'm just not sure what or how bad those problems are.
After my experience I wondered if what I had been hearing about TeWinkle Middle School was fact or fiction. It's amazing that a school that makes you giggle when you say its name conjures up so much ire. I was contacted by two TeWinkle and Estancia High School moms and my exploration into the conundrum that is the Newport-Mesa middle school education system began.
Kathy Miller and Julie Leahy told me they are sick and tired of people questioning their parenting because they haven't pulled their kids out of their neighborhood schools. They are also tired of losing the sense of community on their street because the neighbor children attend private schools or schools across town.
They have plenty to say about how well a student can do at both TeWinkle and Estancia.
So I have heard the rumors. I have seen the test scores. I have talked to parents and principals. I have visited campuses. I still don't have an answer to why TeWinkle is so scary. I do know the school is struggling with low test scores for the socio-economically disadvantaged students and apparently has had issues with violence in the past, but I can't find what that violence was, except the MySpace.com/hate crime incident.
Why do they have problems with test scores? Wong said the answer lies with the parents, but he also said the problem is one found across the board.
