I posted this on a different forum a few days ago, so I am copy pasting. Just some observations for now, things may change along the way.
I moved to Irvine from FL two months ago, and really thought, after reading so much about it on different forums, that Irvine schools would be much better academically. I was so excited about all that Asian competition. Here is what I have found: my 4th grader is bored to death in her math and ELA classes. Kids are not very advanced, and in fact the teacher has to focus too much on the kids who are slower, sacrificing the kids who need to be challenged. The GATE concept is weird. They do get just a little bit more advanced stuff (if you are familiar with the GO Math books, it's the Enrich one). Hardly any homework, my kid is done in about 5 minutes. In FL they have the concept of subject acceleration, where if you are in 4th grade but advanced in math, they test you and they place you in a 5th grade class only for math. I asked about that here, they told me they only offer GATE. Which at this level is a joke, maybe it does make a difference in middle school. I do 6th grade math at home with my daughter, Singapore books, 6th grade Go Math, just to keep her motivated and progressing. But the school math class is a complete waste of time. My son is in 6th grade. Since we started school on January 9th, he has had homework from his textbook maybe twice. For one entire month they worked on a perimeter and area project that could have been done in one weekend. The tests he's been taking are basic skills tests, which is just that, basic skills. For the whole month of February they worked on ratios. I have no idea how they are going to get through the book, maybe they don't even care about the textbook. My son, being a preteen boy, is in heaven. 20 min of homework per day, max, all subjects. Math in FL was super advanced, in 6th grade they were covering 7th and 8th grade topics. Oh, and it's a K-8 school, but no math club, which I have found kind of strange, this being Irvine.
The facilities are nice, buildings nice and clean, small school, but too many kids for one teacher (32 in 4th grade, they are like sardines in that room).
What I do like is the music program. To get free strings instruction for one hour every day in 6 grade and twice a week in 4th, that saves me lots of private lessons money.
Whatever reputation Irvine has, elementary level up to 6th grade is major hype, in my opinion. Maybe it gets more intense in high school. For high-achieving kids, and parents with high expectations academically (PhDs in Physics and engineering), it's been a disappointment.
I moved to Irvine from FL two months ago, and really thought, after reading so much about it on different forums, that Irvine schools would be much better academically. I was so excited about all that Asian competition. Here is what I have found: my 4th grader is bored to death in her math and ELA classes. Kids are not very advanced, and in fact the teacher has to focus too much on the kids who are slower, sacrificing the kids who need to be challenged. The GATE concept is weird. They do get just a little bit more advanced stuff (if you are familiar with the GO Math books, it's the Enrich one). Hardly any homework, my kid is done in about 5 minutes. In FL they have the concept of subject acceleration, where if you are in 4th grade but advanced in math, they test you and they place you in a 5th grade class only for math. I asked about that here, they told me they only offer GATE. Which at this level is a joke, maybe it does make a difference in middle school. I do 6th grade math at home with my daughter, Singapore books, 6th grade Go Math, just to keep her motivated and progressing. But the school math class is a complete waste of time. My son is in 6th grade. Since we started school on January 9th, he has had homework from his textbook maybe twice. For one entire month they worked on a perimeter and area project that could have been done in one weekend. The tests he's been taking are basic skills tests, which is just that, basic skills. For the whole month of February they worked on ratios. I have no idea how they are going to get through the book, maybe they don't even care about the textbook. My son, being a preteen boy, is in heaven. 20 min of homework per day, max, all subjects. Math in FL was super advanced, in 6th grade they were covering 7th and 8th grade topics. Oh, and it's a K-8 school, but no math club, which I have found kind of strange, this being Irvine.
The facilities are nice, buildings nice and clean, small school, but too many kids for one teacher (32 in 4th grade, they are like sardines in that room).
What I do like is the music program. To get free strings instruction for one hour every day in 6 grade and twice a week in 4th, that saves me lots of private lessons money.
Whatever reputation Irvine has, elementary level up to 6th grade is major hype, in my opinion. Maybe it gets more intense in high school. For high-achieving kids, and parents with high expectations academically (PhDs in Physics and engineering), it's been a disappointment.