Looking for honest opinions on this college.
Have kids in the school but am frustrated at school's management & attitude of late. Just wondering what the general concensus on school is.
Experiences with Community College
My children all attend there in 1st, 2nd & 5th year.
Some of the teachers are very dedicated and work really hard with the kids. This is contrasted by those who couldn't give a toss - I find the teacher absenteeism alarming. So many free classes/worksheets.
People will know from my previous posts that I've been frustrated at the lack of sport involvement. Did you know PE is only done for part of the year in cycles for 5th & 6th years? Thankfully sports is getting a good focus now, with 3 Dublin Schools titles for the 1st, 2nd & 3rd year GAA teams and the hockey team in the Finals now too.
Having said that, I believe that pupils get out what they put in. If your child works hard, they'll do well. I've seen kids getting on trains at 07h00 and not returning till late in the evening. That's hard on them - I think the convenience and camaraderie of a local school is worth the trade off.
Some of the teachers are very dedicated and work really hard with the kids. This is contrasted by those who couldn't give a toss - I find the teacher absenteeism alarming. So many free classes/worksheets.
People will know from my previous posts that I've been frustrated at the lack of sport involvement. Did you know PE is only done for part of the year in cycles for 5th & 6th years? Thankfully sports is getting a good focus now, with 3 Dublin Schools titles for the 1st, 2nd & 3rd year GAA teams and the hockey team in the Finals now too.
Having said that, I believe that pupils get out what they put in. If your child works hard, they'll do well. I've seen kids getting on trains at 07h00 and not returning till late in the evening. That's hard on them - I think the convenience and camaraderie of a local school is worth the trade off.
We've had serious problems with one particular subject in the last two years. The performance of this previously well-performing class went right over a cliff. There was a turnover of teachers in that time and the replacements were, quite frankly, very poor. I understand the wrong syllabus was also being taught in one instance. As previously mentioned, there seems to have been an absentee or availability problem with some staff. I cannot blame individual teachers because, if they're sick, they're sick. However the buck still stops with the school and their unwillingness or inability to get on top of what now seems to be recurring issues is a huge concern. There are quite a few parents now paying for extra tuition and grinds.
I know I am not alone in feeling this way about the school and I take no pleasure whatsoever in offering even this tempered criticism of them. I have one child there at the moment but my others may well likely go elsewhere when their time comes. It's really sad and I would love to see things turn around because there are some really cracking good teachers there and the place has huge potential if all of the parts click into place. But I see no evidence yet that this might happen soon. The obvious convenience of a local school has to be weighed against our children's overall academic interest, and on that simple test, I'm sorry to say that in my mind the school is unfortunately loosing.
I know I am not alone in feeling this way about the school and I take no pleasure whatsoever in offering even this tempered criticism of them. I have one child there at the moment but my others may well likely go elsewhere when their time comes. It's really sad and I would love to see things turn around because there are some really cracking good teachers there and the place has huge potential if all of the parts click into place. But I see no evidence yet that this might happen soon. The obvious convenience of a local school has to be weighed against our children's overall academic interest, and on that simple test, I'm sorry to say that in my mind the school is unfortunately loosing.
thanks for responses - similar experiences. I think it's the blatant indifference towards parents & the lack of conviction to make improvements which is making us consider sending the kids elsewhere. Ideally, we would prefer to continue sending them to DCC with their local friends but not at all costs, and at the moment there's not a whole lot keeping us there.
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Mr. Stupid
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I don't have kids in the school but just wondering if people have realistic expectations here. I mean I would expect a primary school to involve parents a lot more than a secondary school. Is there not a board of management / Parent's association that can people can join if they are interested in getting involved more?
Don't have kids there either but will be keeping an eye on this for a few years time. As far as I know it's a VEC school so the Board of Management would have less powers - correct me if I'm wrong. They just went through a school inspection will be very interested in the results of that.
As a Parent of children attending the school at present. I am severely disappointed with the school in the last few years. Sport seems to be the one and only agenda, no interest in keeping any contact with parents, little interest if any in grades and students getting good results. A lot of students are getting extra help outside the school.
Good observation Patsman,patsman wrote:You can't please everyone Sydney says lack of sport. James says sport only agenda. I am all for children being involved in team sports and I think DCC has about the right emphasis on sport.
I think it's worth noting that there have been some excellent results by students in the school albeit not as many as some people would have liked. It is hard to maintain a cohort of students aiming for 500+ points when 20-30 of these students leave the school after Junior Cert every year and go to the institute.
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Vlad the Impaler
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The Institute? Where's that? Why do they go there?
The question has to be asked why parents are removing their kids after junior cert from the school. As a parent of a child currently in the school I know that more and more parents are planning on doing this. It comes down to complete lack of confidence in the school due partly to poor engagement and communication with parents.
At any meeting I have attended there questions seem to be discouraged and parents are not listened to .
It is a shame.
The school is never going to achieve good results if there is a brain drain every year of students whose parents are genuinely concerned about standards.
At any meeting I have attended there questions seem to be discouraged and parents are not listened to .
It is a shame.
The school is never going to achieve good results if there is a brain drain every year of students whose parents are genuinely concerned about standards.
When I'm catching the train in the morning there's a fair size crowd of girls and boys going both ways to other schools of ages from 1st year all the way up. What should have been a big advantage to the community is actually costing parents big money every year...not what should be happening. Unfortunately it's a bit of a bit of a downward spiral once the concern is there it's hard to shake that off.
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Mr. Stupid
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The same happened to my school when I was young. Terrible reputation. Then a new principle came and everything changed. For the better. You need a decent Principle. It's a great job for whoever wants it.
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diggerbarnes
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Who is the principal now?
interesting replies. Communication with parents is severely lacking which breeds a lack of confidence in the school & management. Not quite sure what the Parents' Ass. achieves other than fundraising. There appears to have been a huge shift in mindset of the staff (in particular principal, vice-principal) and most seem to have become less motivated & to have developed a disregard for parents & students. Seems worryingly chaotic & unreliable.
agree completelyScarlett wrote:The question has to be asked why parents are removing their kids after junior cert from the school. As a parent of a child currently in the school I know that more and more parents are planning on doing this. It comes down to complete lack of confidence in the school due partly to poor engagement and communication with parents.
At any meeting I have attended there questions seem to be discouraged and parents are not listened to .
It is a shame.
The school is never going to achieve good results if there is a brain drain every year of students whose parents are genuinely concerned about standards.
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topsyturvey
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- Joined: 08 Mar 2013, 23:11
There is a lot of talk about the school amongst parents - does anyone know how to bring about change ? What should the community be doing/demanding? Is there a parents action group? Is there anyone local on the board of management relaying these concerns to the decision makers?
I don't have anyone in the school yet but I feel for the students and worry for the long term welfare and health of our kids and the community if the negativity (based on what I hear) continues without a visible effort to turn things around. I don't know what the answer is but it lies with the parents and it would be great to hear that someone had taken up the fight to turn things around.
Just saying...like
I don't have anyone in the school yet but I feel for the students and worry for the long term welfare and health of our kids and the community if the negativity (based on what I hear) continues without a visible effort to turn things around. I don't know what the answer is but it lies with the parents and it would be great to hear that someone had taken up the fight to turn things around.
Just saying...like
I have two kids in the school at the moment and another starting in a couple of years. I was initially delighted with the school. My eldest got a great Junior Cert there. Ms Lafoy had the place running ship shape. It all seems to have declined since she left in my opinion. Having a Principal who stayed a year, disappeared for a year and then came back was very unsettling for students and, I'm sure, staff alike. My eldest is having severe difficulties in sixth year. Her grades have dropped down so low that she failed several of her Mock exams having gotten all honours (As and Bs) in higher level papers at Junior Cert level. The younger guy is doing ok so far but I can already see a slip in some subjects due to a change in teachers. There seems to be a lack of focus and a lack of interest in the students from some teachers (particularly in the current sixth year students). There is a parent teacher meeting tomorrow and I was hoping to drum up a bit of support from other parents to get together and tackle the school about the issues. It may be too late for my child. I don't have the funds to send my kids into the Institute and am already struggling to pay for grinds for certain subjects. We pay enough money to school our kids each year without having to pay for outside help to top up their education. I am so disappointed to be typing this as I had great hopes for the school and was so happy to have it here on our doorstep after so many years of waiting.
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topsyturvey
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I dont know you Spider but for what it's worth, I'm very sorry to hear your story. I have one heading for Secondary School next year and having attended the local Dublin northside suburban school on my own doorstep, I want my own kid to have the same quality of life I had and local friendships I feel I forged by going local.
I am very impressed by the sporting achievements of the school in recent times which is to me a good news story and deserves more positive press in the community.
In my limited experience, it all comes from the top - the Principal can make things happen if they have the knowledge, the personality, the motivation and the energy. Perhaps the new guy will rise to the challenge and I hope he does. But until he does, It needs parents like you to represent your kids and the younger generations to make sure that the change that is needed does come about.
I am very impressed by the sporting achievements of the school in recent times which is to me a good news story and deserves more positive press in the community.
In my limited experience, it all comes from the top - the Principal can make things happen if they have the knowledge, the personality, the motivation and the energy. Perhaps the new guy will rise to the challenge and I hope he does. But until he does, It needs parents like you to represent your kids and the younger generations to make sure that the change that is needed does come about.
I think concerns need to be forwarded to school management. Maybe they are blissfully unaware of the general air of dissatisfaction with the school. Does anybody know how to go about contacting the board of managenent? The board could be directed to the comments here and in previous discussions. It's a start.
Given the number of first hand stories I've heard about people contacting and complaining to the school and subsequently hearing nothing back, I'm afraid that I seriously doubt any notion that they ignorant of what's going on.Scarlett wrote:I think concerns need to be forwarded to school management. Maybe they are blissfully unaware of the general air of dissatisfaction with the school.
Having said that, I am pleased to here that there should be additional tuition available next week for one particular problem subject. If this comes to pass then it's a good development.
After a lot of thought and research we have decided to send our eldest to the local secondary school, starting September 2016.
It is not without concern that we have made this decision.
However, from many conversations I have had on the subject it appears that the majority of issues are in relation to 2 subjects. 1. A language that has not been adequately or consistently resourced. 2. One teacher in a mandatory subject that is delivering very low quality teaching.
This may be not represent everyone's concerns, but certainly they are the repeated ones that I have heard.
As a result our eldest will not study the language in question, and we are prepared to tackle any low quality teaching with grinds. (the intention would also be to raise concerns with the school, but not to wait for speedy or any resolution)
These issues were balanced against the alternative school choices. It is our opinion that throwing a commute on top of a busy second level education reduces the opportunity for most extra-curricular interests, of which our eldest has many.
We have also consistently heard how settled and happy the local students are in the secondary school. This settled feeling and community belonging is more difficult to support from home than temporary support for a poorly delivered subject.
It is with an open mind, and a willingness to support the school towards improvement, that we are sending our eldest locally.
It is not without concern that we have made this decision.
However, from many conversations I have had on the subject it appears that the majority of issues are in relation to 2 subjects. 1. A language that has not been adequately or consistently resourced. 2. One teacher in a mandatory subject that is delivering very low quality teaching.
This may be not represent everyone's concerns, but certainly they are the repeated ones that I have heard.
As a result our eldest will not study the language in question, and we are prepared to tackle any low quality teaching with grinds. (the intention would also be to raise concerns with the school, but not to wait for speedy or any resolution)
These issues were balanced against the alternative school choices. It is our opinion that throwing a commute on top of a busy second level education reduces the opportunity for most extra-curricular interests, of which our eldest has many.
We have also consistently heard how settled and happy the local students are in the secondary school. This settled feeling and community belonging is more difficult to support from home than temporary support for a poorly delivered subject.
It is with an open mind, and a willingness to support the school towards improvement, that we are sending our eldest locally.
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jack white
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I have absolutely no problem with the school. Junior has been thriving since turning up there as a skinny little first year.
There was one significant issue where a teacher wasn't performing at all well but that teacher has apparently left the school (to run unsuccessfully in a Southside constituency in the recent general election) so that issue is now resolved.
I don't buy the notion that a school should dance to the tune of the parents. There will always be individual parents with their own agenda but the school has to be run for the benefit of all the pupils so I wouldn't be too bothered to hear that there are certain parents complaining that they're not being listened to.
The best thing about the school compared to the alternatives is that it's local. For example, my eldest went to Loreto Balbriggan a few years back. It's a decent school but there was roughly seven hours traveling per week. That was seven hours per week that could have been very useful for studying around the time of the Leaving Cert. Junior (with more or less the same brain power as his siblings) seems to be on target for a better Leaving cert and I put that down to the extra study time that you can avail of by using a local school.
There was one significant issue where a teacher wasn't performing at all well but that teacher has apparently left the school (to run unsuccessfully in a Southside constituency in the recent general election) so that issue is now resolved.
I don't buy the notion that a school should dance to the tune of the parents. There will always be individual parents with their own agenda but the school has to be run for the benefit of all the pupils so I wouldn't be too bothered to hear that there are certain parents complaining that they're not being listened to.
The best thing about the school compared to the alternatives is that it's local. For example, my eldest went to Loreto Balbriggan a few years back. It's a decent school but there was roughly seven hours traveling per week. That was seven hours per week that could have been very useful for studying around the time of the Leaving Cert. Junior (with more or less the same brain power as his siblings) seems to be on target for a better Leaving cert and I put that down to the extra study time that you can avail of by using a local school.