I live in, taught in (I used to be a teacher), and have relatives recently graduated from EF and trust that West Mifflin has way more opportunities for kids to excel. EF’s high school building roof leaks, but they have a multi-million dollar stadium and a non-winning sports program using it. Poor educational priorities, although more recent administration is trying to change it.
We’re talking about a few different things, though, Sean. What the district can offer for those who choose to use the opportunities, as opposed to the “class” (or lack thereof) of the student population that gets the negative publicity or pulls the rankings down… those are two different things.
West Mifflin offers a lot for those who want it, and the teachers and administration have the student’s best interests at heart even though that may not be seen when the politics become involved.
I graduated from NA and have friends who teach there now, and under the glossy exterior and rich district is a seedy underbelly of poor administration in some of the buildings, very heavy political agendas, and rampant student drug use. Upper St. Clair and NA have serious heroin problems. Of course that isn’t something reported in a web-based internet ranking.
Bottom line is, when you look at dollars spent per student, programs offered, and AP coursework offered, West Mifflin is up there. There are many schools with major problems, that West Mifflin certainly has, that don’t offer the kids who want to succeed a way out of it all. It is accepted practice from the administration on down in some districts to just live in mediocrity and not offer varied ways for students to achieve.
All I’m saying is: Yes, there are bad apples, like there are anywhere, from administration down to groups of students coming from areas where education may not be a priority. But the opportunity to succeed is offered and explored by West Mifflin, as a district, more so than many districts within the county, some with a more affluent population overall. Students choosing to take those opportunities (and parental support) is a different story, and that’s where West Mifflin has problems and why their “ranking” may not be as high.
Anyhow, sorry for the threadjack. It is moot. I wouldn’t move to West Mifflin, but I’d send my kid to school there in a heartbeat. And I would have my doubts about some other districts, some of which look great on paper, simply from knowing what I know from the inside of things and having friends within those districts. The shit you talk about at West Mifflin happens everywhere. West Mifflin at least offers ways out that some other districts with the same problems don’t.
Ideally, if I were in the south I’d pick TJ. If I were in the north, NA. But both have their share of problems that only differ from West Mifflin in skin color, or price of the drug used.