Expert: David Beckett - 7/20/2006

Question
Interviewing in Waterbury, VT. My son will be in the 11th grade.  Has attended a wonderful incredibly advanced academically, sports, etc. in Orlando through 8th...and THEN Jesuit in Dallas...Jesuit was larger and pitiful academically.  He ended up quitting and now needs to redo 11th grade.  Any suggestions on where to look?  Would we be better off in public school in Stowe? (small) Or is there any chance of acceptance to Rice?  Not sure how competitive admissions are in the north. (He has high PSAT scores.) Impossible in the south.  This is going to be cultural shock for him so would like to find a nice school.  Katrina (hosted family for 5 months) contributed to the the end of 11th and enrollment in community college which also wasn't a good solution.  CC courses were way too easy, also.  Thanks from a take-me-back-to-florida-girl-living-in-the-country-OF-Texas-from- Syracuse!  

Answer
Nancy -
I wish I had more help for you, but all I can offer are a few general observations.
First - the obvious: Yes, it's going to mean culture shock. Waterbury is quite a small town. That in itself may take some adjustment for everybody. But from my point of view, what you'll gain by moving to VT will eventually outweigh the stuff you lose. Unless VT is just going to be wrong for you, in which case you'll probably not accept the job in the first place, right? I'd find it impossible to live anywhere else in America, but perhaps that's just that my particular needs are so very well met here. I'm in Burlington though, which isn't like the rest of VT. I adore it here.

Rice HS does have a tremendous reputation. And my sense is that it's not too tough to get in to. That just might be the best solution. Burlington to Waterbury is almost exactly 30 minutes.

Stowe must be 30 minutes from Waterbury too...I'm afraid I just don't know too much about Stowe HS, although I'm guessing the mix of Vermonters from generations back, and more recent arrivals who came for the charm of Stowe - would make it a good High School.

My kids go to Burlington High and seem to like it. They both get good grades and are quite athletic (soccer, baseball, figure skating). One's at Harvard Summer School studying Arabic at the moment (?!) and will be a Senior. The other one is about to be a Junior.    

This may be the most useful tool I can offer. You can click the Education button at the left and get amazingly detailed school info. There's a wealth of other info at this site too.
http://crs.uvm.edu/

Feel free to contact me - I'd welcome a chance to help.
David Beckett
david@askdavidbeckett.com
1 802 578 6361 (cell)