45 boys and their families who graduated from MVMMS have chosen to attend private high schools.
Interesting statistic. How will CT, Rob and SC spin that fact?

That number has been pretty consistent since the new middle school has opened its doors so there is no spin necessary. The class sizes are actually 15 to 20% larger than they were 10 years ago. Most of the families of 8th grade students go through the process of determining whether MHS is the right place for their kids, and most have a pretty good understanding of the issues at the high school. Its certainly not for everybody and it has its fair share of challenges. However, the private schools these kids are heading to have a fair share of their own problems and are no panacea. Outside of SJP and BC High the academics at these schools are pretty bad, the courses are limited, the teachers are underpaid, the sports stink, there are practically no extra curricular opportunities and the facilities are a dump...all yours for $15,000 to $17,500 per year (after tax). SJP and BC High will cost you $20K and the preps are $50K. Its a tough pill to swallow. We stuck it out at MHS and worked through the challenges with the kids. The kids did great, loved their time at the school and went off to good colleges. One to go and happy with our decision to stay in Melrose. Its not perfect, but the grass on the other side is not any greener and significantly more expensive. A pretty good amount of the kids who leave head back to MHS their sophomore years.

No on override sounds like a parent who doesn't know how to add very well.
$17,500 time 4 years is $70,000. With two kids that's $140,000 and so on. The average override is $200 a year. With your kind of math skills I hope you married into some money. Personally I'd sell my house and move to Winchester before I sent a kid to a second rate parochial school. It's cheaper.

Bye bye. You won't be missed, but I'm sure we'll here from your parents on this board. Once they realize that they are shelling out big bucks for a horrible education they will come on this site and flail away to make themselves feel better.
Paying for MC,AC,PJ,AP or BF is a complete joke. Horrible schools.

Sorry to "hear" about the horrible education.

Something is worth what someone will pay for it. Parochial education, for whatever reason, seems to be overpriced, but there are people paying for it. However misguided, they obviously believe they're making a good investment.

Just like real estate in Melrose.

You are correct, the education is worth what people will pay for it. Good spelling pick up. You should be proud. As much as people want to say they are leaving for a better education; there is another side to this issue. Parents of many of these kids have concerns with the level of discipline of their own child and think public school may not be an option. They are willing to pay big bucks for subpar education so their kid can wear a tie to school. When these kids graduate, many of them are now choosing to enlist in the military; an honorable choice to be sure; but sadly this is increasing the venom that their parents spew against the district.

Real Fraud, the over weight parochial school cheer leader, can't help the animosity towards public schools. The reality is parents send their kids to SJP and BCH for the education and parochial school environment. They spend over $20,000 per year, per kid, to do it. If that's your thing, those are the places to be. As a general rule SJP and BCH parents don't come on this site and bash Melrose Public Schools...they are better than that and left Melrose for a concrete belief in Parochial School education, and for $80,000 per kid they will get it.

The rest of the Parochial's, specifically Malden Catholic, Austin Prep, Arlington Catholic, and Bishop Fenwick are second rate schools, provide second rate educations and are populated by Melrose students whose parents felt that their kids couldn't hang at Melrose academically, athletically or socially and made a move. Academic options are limited, teachers are underpaid, facilites stink and the sports programs and extra-curriculars are below average. So the parents then spend the next several years making themselves feel better by bashing Melrose Public Schools. It doesn't mean that there are Melrose kids that don't do great there. There are. But typically there was an aspect of Melrose High School life that there kids didn't fit in with. All fine. The problem is that in order to justify their decision they need to attack Melrose High School instead of behaving with class like the parents of the SJP and BCH kids.

Why limit the discussion to just Catholic schools as options? There are Melrose kids at Pingree, the Commonwealth School, Boston University Academy, Belmont Hill, and probably others as well. There is plenty of academic rigor at each of these.

You keep insisting that the education at MHS is so great....just curious, do you actually have kids that currently attend? Do you have any idea what is going on up there? Are you aware of the shuffling of staff this year, of who is teaching what classes, the scrambling of the curriculum, the addition of a bunch of joke electives that will do nothing but make admissions officers roll their eyes? The difficulty upperclassman have getting the courses they NEED, while ridiculous AP classes were added for freshman? The attitude of many of the teachers, the disorganization, the lack of professionalism?

I don't disagree about the second tier privates....but how should I respond as a parent and taxpayer when my student comes home saying he didn't think he learned anything all year in his honors class, because the teacher barely gave them any work?

Granted, it's pointless to vent on this blog. I'll give you that. But don't assume that everyone posting is a disgruntled MC parent. Because I totally see how someone could just feel they have had enough and send their kids to somewhere else, just to avoid the frustration and dysfunction up at that high school.

If your point is that parents that send their children to one of those privates feel the need to "bash" the public schools do so out of some need to make themselves feel better about sending their kids there, you may or may not be right. I simply can't confirm that one way or another.

If your point is that all those who "bash" the public schools do so for that reason, you're way off base. The vast majority of posters here don't send their kids to privates. They simply are disgusted at the state of the public schools. I have no kids in a private, nor do I have any in the public schools (anymore), and I think the public schools are disgrace, for the litany of reasons outlined ad infinitum in many other posts and strings.

Tell your little genius to call the recent MHS graduates that are at Harvard or Brown and ask how they are making out. By all accounts they are just fine. You are a private school fraud just like the other posters out here and it ****** you off when you see kids from MHS have success. It was said on another string and it bears repeating. F U from the parents of MHS students.

Parent, lets get a few things straight. The "vast majority" of posters adds up to the same 5 or 6 clowns that constantly attack the City of Melrose and its school system at every opportunity, and another 5 to 10 parents who shipped their kids off to private school. Take your ad infinitum and credit it to the same people posting over and over and over. No one will argue that the Melrose Public Schools, particularly the high school, need some work...but the tremendous majority of Melrose parents are somewhere between satisfied with the education their kids are getting and cautiously optimistic that the school administration can get the high school squared away. I know many parents in this City and have sent 3 of my own through elementary, middle and high school here. Like most of the parents we interact with we think our kids are getting a quality education, while at the same time realizing that there are areas we would like to see improve...particularly our experiences at the high school. With that said, we, and the parents of the other 85% of the eligible school age population have chosen to keep our kids in the Melrose Public School system because we think its the best option for our families...and I'll put my kids grades, athletics and extra-curricular's, and ability to pay for a private school education up against anybody else's in the City. Its the right choice for us because we think our kids are getting a tremendous amount out of the public school system and wouldn't trade it for any other option out there. These parents who feel this way haven't buried their heads in the sand, they aren't ignorant, they do care and have looked pretty hard at the subject. I know it kills those of you who hate all things Melrose, but most people in this City like living here and like the school system.

Apparently a nerve has been struck, with vociferous defenders of the district jumping in for a bit of specious generalizations. As can be seen, they don't know the difference between "Its" and "It's" (just like most of the six-figure administration of the district). They love to classify anyone with a criticism as a "clown" or a "liar," since they have no imagination and can't think of any other way to "win" their specious argument. Several descend to the level of foul language, which is right in keeping with the vile language that emanates from the top brass of the district and city. Typically they write about "haters" (who "hate everything Melrose") and presume that anyone who criticizes ("all 5 or 6") is a parochial school parent with buyer regret. That's all quite amusing since none of those things are true about most of the considerable number of people we know who post and read here.

In psychological terms, it would be easy to reverse everything these fierce defenders of the district state (never, of course, having actual facts), and call it all Classic Projection. In those terms, it would be about "5 or 6" who chronically post their illiterate, lame defenses of the district, starting with the infamous and ever-disgusting, Vuvu, who will stoop to any level if it suits the illogical and toxic rant. It's really quite pathetic and a distressing statement on the level of discourse in Melrose to see that a mature discussion is impossible from all indications.

Yes, let's get a few things straight. I am not one of the frequent flyers on this message board, I don't have a lot of complaints about the city. I am happy, more or less, with how the city is run, with the exception of the schools. Most of the parents I know, especially professional, educated parents, have serious issues with the high school. I can't speak to what is going on in various elementary schools across the district, so I won't comment on that. The middle school ranged from just OK to a disaster for my kids, but the high school has been even a bigger disappointment.

My kids remain in the public schools, for a variety of reasons I don't feel the need to defend. I was extremely optimistic when Dan Richards was hired, and I started to see real change; college fairs held at the high school, better communication about what was happening at MHS coming directly from the principal, the exodus of several lousy teachers, etc. That all ended when he left, and we are moving backwards.

Everyone has different standards, and yours and mine are obviously different. I expect minimal standards of professionalism, competence, and a decent work ethic from educators that my tax dollars support. My kids do well in school because of their native intelligence, work ethic, and parental expectations, NOT because MHS delivers a top notch education. I will continue to be disappointed in this school, and will share my opinion with parents of younger children who ask for it. You can continue to sing it's praises to the community, thus insuring nothing will change for the kids.

That would be "overweight", "cheerleader" and "parochials", dumbf%#k. You obviously didn't matriculate at Harvey Mudd.

Last week's paper had an article on an 18 year old charged with kidnapping and threatening to murder. He is being held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing. Can anyone guess which local, private high school this cherub just graduated from?

Dating violence, sexual assault and domestic violence are everywhere including Malden Catholic. Educate yourself by stopping by the MAAV table at the Victorian fair. Using this tragedy to bash private/parochial schools is ignorant.

Good advice, but I didn't see anything in the article about sexual or domestic charges. Thanks for confirming the school!

So, a grad from one of the local parochial schools is arrested. And your point is? That's a shame, as it always is when a young person is in trouble, both for the community and for the accused and family.

It's even worse when it's the adults who are at fault or accused. No one has to look far to find examples of adults here or in schools where Melrose students attend who've been proven in a court to have done wrong.

MHS has a convicted disbarred felon running its PTO and site council. MV charter has a convicted disbarred former attorney running its PR and making six figures. So? Are there adults in positions of authority at MC who have a record of felony convictions? That might be worthy of discussion. Other than that, you sound like so many of the posters using irrelevant information to "prove" how great Melrose and MHS are, and sounding like the nitwits they are, only embarrassing themselves and doing Melrose no honor.

Yup. Res ipsa loquitur.

And you wonder why the OVERRIDE will not pass!

I'm not saying you don't have a success story on your hands regarding your children and MHS. But don't for one second try to paint a picture that isn't there. EVERY private school in this area is better than Melrose High School, not an opinion, just a fact. Yes, you have to pay, and it can strain the bank account but for the kids education it is 100% worth it. You seem like a nice person, not on here to instigate so I won't go on the offensive, just get your story straight before posting that is all I ask. Sports stink? Wrong. Academics are pretty bad? Wrong. Teachers are underpaid? And Melrose high has the highest paid and motivated teachers? All I know is that I had friends go to all the aforementioned schools, BC High, MC, SJP, and almost every single one of them became a success in life after breezing through college. Many of my MHS friends struggled with the academic transition, once again, not opinion, fact. Melrose High has far more problems than those schools, everyone knows it, and that is the reason they send their children away. And this administration is brutal, all they do is throw money at the problem. Did you know that over half the city budget is geared towards education and they STILL can't get it right! Go ahead, look it up, not lying. If you think logically, there has to be a reason those 45 boys (and its probably more than that) and their parents choose to leave. No one just chooses to bypass a free education at a public school if they can help it. They leave because the school is a mess. Too much inconsistency, especially with teachers leaving like a rotating door.

Another baboon parent who can't type something before turning red and crossed eyed. Did you learn to spell at MHS? Saying "FU" to people on here just makes you look like a coward, we all know (pro mhs people and con mhs people) you would never do this in public to someones face, so get over yourself.

Is this any better than the kid from MHS calling in Bomb threats and being charged by Police? Stop cherry picking, you look foolish. Want to know the main difference here? If that kid you mentioned was still at MC during this incident he would have been given the big ol' boot! The little gem from MHS I just spoke of, ya, that little cupcake still roams MHS halls with your kids. Have fun swallowing that pill.

Melrose Kid who called in bomb threats was expelled. He is not back in school. His family is using the legal system to try to get him back in a "Public School" and they probably will. However, you are still a liar and a moron who doesn't know what you are talking about...so stick the pill and your parochial school cheerleading up your @ss. MC is a dump, always will be a dump, and is a haven for kids who couldn't cut it academically, socially or athletically at MHS. However, I bet they will take $15,000 from the family of the kid who called the bomb threats into MHS. Why? Because an MC application is very simple...sign the check baby, we take anyone who can pay.

hahah couldn't hang at MHS?? There are chimps who could take college prep courses at that joke of a public school, gimmie a break. And just FYI, I was a public school kid, not private/parochial, proud MHS grad. But guess what moron, I have eyes, and ears. That school is not the same as when I was there. When I was there they were in the top 50 in the state, those days are long gone. ohhh you're cute you think Melrose has good sports, adorable. Put Melrose High ANYTHING vs MC ANYTHING and we'll see who wins. Typical Melrose loser, probably never even left this city.


And I don't know your source jackass, but that kid who called in the threats is ABSOLUTELY still at MHS. Your source must be as stupid as you are.

Liar, Liar pants of fire....

Melrose kicked MC's @ss in the Lacrosse State Tournament two months ago. No contest.

For the record shocker, Melrose would smoke MC at Football, Soccer, Cross Country, Golf, Basketball, Wrestling, Swimming, Winter Track, LaCrosse Spring Track and be straight up in baseball. MC's only winning record in any sports in the last century is baseball and hockey. The hockey program is legitimate. I think that is all the male sports and MC sucks at all but one. Pretty poor for a school that can draw from all over the State.

My guess is you were a non-athlete or an also ran at MHS...otherwise you would never have made the statement about MC athletics being better than Melrose. Shocker is a Liar as stated previously.

You're the same clown on the sports thread, bro, give it a break. We all know you were a loser and a homer. Have a good day. You can't just take away the "Melrose" from your screen name and make people think you're a different person. Melrose Lacrosse is legit, I'll give you that, Any other sport Melrose would get worked. They haven't been a powerhouse in anything since the 80's minus girls bball and some decent baseball/football teams.

Saying MC is better than MHS and trying to position it as a fact is foolish. What facts back that up? Is it the long line of recent MC grads that dropped out of college and went into the armed services or trades? Is it the criminal that was in the papers last week that you are so proud of? The school is horrible. They would never subject themselves to standardized testing as that would only expose them. Regarding sports, yes they are a powerhouse hockey school and have good basesball teams from time to time. The rest of the sports teams are poop.
I'm sorry that you spent all that money only to have your kid graduate with a suspected kidnapper, but that is a fact, not opinion.

When are you morons going to get it through your thick heads? Who give a $hit about the privates - any of them? What I care about is the abysmal state of the Melrose schools, especially the HS, which is a laughingstock in the educational community. Meanwhile, you morons go off on another tangent about privates with the singular intent of deflecting attention to something - ANYTHING - except what a disgrace our own system is. Most of you either have calluses on your knees from kneeling in front of the "education expert" or that thing you call a superintendent, or are just too stupid to understand the wool is being pulled over your eyes.

Shocker, you clearly are a liar and a fraud. MC athletics are a disgrace. Check out their records in each sport they play. Don't change the direction of your initial comment once you lose the argument.

Actually, while not considering the school perfect, many of us are happy with the education our kids are getting at MHS, enjoying the extra-curricular activities and athletics the school offers and are simply responding to the criticism. This thread in particular (Exodus to Private Schools) created by a member of your crowd started the comparison. What you morons need to get through your thick heads are that many members of this community disagree with your positions. These people are not ignorant, disinterested or connected to the Mayor and the administration. They are parents of kids who are doing well in MPS and look at private schools, and any exodus to them, as a poor choice for their families.

The most prolific poster on this board doesn't even have any children in the schools. She has an axe to grind about MPS that goes way back. I agree, there are people who are very satisfied with their children's educational experience, and there is a certain group of posters here that just can't seem to accept that.

And who might that be, since you seem to know so much? Do tell. Or are you just another coward connected to the administration making snide remarks but not willing to back up anything with fact? How is it you think you know who is posting?

Seems that there are actually quite a few "prolific" posters these days, with a lot of different perspectives, good, bad and ugly.

Oh really, Vuvu, just can't help yourself with this stuff, can you?! Everyone knows what axe you simply must grind. Do YOU have kids in the schools?!

What difference does it make anyway? Plenty never had any kids in the schools, but we pay taxes here and our home value depends on a good school system. Does that give us less right to praise or be critical of the school system? No. My partner and I care very much about having a decent school system, not just for the property value but because we have a constitutional mandate to educate all children. Otherwise they might end up sounding like people like you!

I wouldn't have any idea who would be the most prolific poster on this board or about any axe grinding, and I could care less. I'm sure there are people who are satisfied. Perhaps they are the parents of motivated kids who have been raised with good values and habits, and who have made their own education a productive experience. I accept that as being statistically inevitable, given the thousand sets of parents in the system. Some will inevitably thrive, and you never see their names in a police report.

Nevertheless, I see what I see. The majority of parents either have no freaking clue about some of the stuff going on in that building, or are just too self-absorbed to care, and a goodly number DO have their heads up the administration's butt, in the manner of butt kissers that have been around in one form or another since the beginning of time.

All that aside, the facts speak for themselves. The system is in turmoil and shows little, if any, promise of returning to it's former excellence. We can't retain good teachers, and we suffer through multiple iterations of administrators who think they know it all when they clearly have no clue. As one poster put it: "If they knew what to do to fix it they'd already be doing it.".

Resting my case, there are certain posters who cannot go 5 minutes without responding to a string supporting the schools without another flurry of diatribes against the school system. It is actually funny how worked up you get.

There's nothing funny if you have kids in the system and have to live the disaster every day. Good kids who are good students come home with pathetic excuses of assignments from teachers who are not even close to competent, and instructions from administrators that are even worse. Good kids who are being demoralized because they know that even if they are at the top of their class, it doesn't mean a whole heck of a lot when the school is so lousy and has such a lousy reputation that they have a leg down before they've even started applying to college. Sure, statistically some will do well because that's always the case. But there are a lot who don't stand a chance. They've missed out on so many of the fundamentals in science, in history, in English, math, you name it, that no matter what "excellent" grades they get, they won't be competitive with the kids who got all those fundamentals every single year of their public or private school education. I couldn't care less what schools other families choose or how bad/good they are. I have to go with the public option here. And no, I can't and won't move just because some ignorant jerk tells me to. I volunteer and give every which way, but it just doesn't matter because in the end this place is a mess.

How many of your kids came home to report that the vice principal announced the first day of school that no MHS kid will be allowed in the library after 3:15, that they will be considered trespassing and face possible disciplinary actions if they're there, even just minding their business doing their homework, because "if you're there then, you're up to no good...."? Really? So my tax dollars are paying for a school library that won't be available to my or anyone's kid after school, and to make it worse, my kid will risk being treated like a criminal if found there studying one minute beyond 3:15? Really? And any of you think that's defensible?!!!

No there's nothing funny about that or any of the other million things that should be talked about but aren't.

So what are you doing about it other than complaining here?

Doing everything within my powers as a parent and in my best judgment, none of which I would ever disclose to the hateful likes of someone like you. Say all the snide and nasty things you want. You just prove how rude and awful you are, and you do NOTHING to make the district look better. You in fact sum up the horrible attitude of the administration. You are awful and so is the district you cackle and defend. Glad it amuses you. Get a life!

Hardly a defender. My kids go to private schools. And this does amuse me.

How many of your kids came home to report that the vice principal announced the first day of school that no MHS kid will be allowed in the library after 3:15, that they will be considered trespassing and face possible disciplinary actions if they're there, even just minding their business doing their homework, because "if you're there then, you're up to no good...."? Really? So my tax dollars are paying for a school library that won't be available to my or anyone's kid after school, and to make it worse, my kid will risk being treated like a criminal if found there studying one minute beyond 3:15? Really? And any of you think that's defensible?!!!

No there's nothing funny about that or any of the other million things that should be talked about but aren't.[/quote]


And you wonder why the OVERRIDE won't pass!

This board is hilarious. To some dimwit who can’t figure out why the school library is closed at 3:15: SCHOOL IS OUT. Your kids should be home so that you can watch them.

Actually, I don't think that the issue with the school library closing at 3:15 is a stupid question at all. The Middle School library stays open until 4:00PM each day and that school gets out 10 minutes before the HS. So, I do find it ridiculous that HS students are not able to use the library beyond 3:15. Many students are there for sports and their practices may being after 3:15 so why can't they use their own school library?

The library had always been open after school so that students who have to go to various practices can study and do homework, and also just so that kids have a place to study. There is no excuse for any respectable high school not to have library access for its own kids for some period each day after school. This is taking MHS from bad to the dark ages. If they can't figure out how to staff the library, they are even more incompetent and care even less than is already known. But don't dare interfere with the superintendent and administrators getting their hefty raises! That is untouchable. But the kids matter not one iota. And that's not even talking about the fact that they were addressed by the vice principal (heard it from my kid, too) as if they are all criminals in training. Nice way to improve morale and get the student scores up! Oh sure, maybe tell them to go sit in the little kids room at the public library, or maybe pay rent (!) on some of the newer books that the Melrose "public" library charges (disgusting!). But they are all young potential criminals, so maybe they should just go get ankle bracelets proactively and forget studying altogether.

Who is going to be responsible to watch the little genius’s? The coach is on the field with their teams. I know why don’t you volunteer.

They have had paras work in the resource center previously. No reason they couldn't do that again, except perhaps they've spent everything on all the administrator raises.

This isn't grade school with all the obnoxious mommy library volunteers/district job hunter sleeze wads.

The Bridge volunteer program could provide help...there are hundreds of volunteers in Bridge.