Inquire vs odyssey academy

4,527 Views | 25 Replies | Last: 5 yr ago by gettingitdone
cinag83
How long do you want to ignore this user?
Went to info sessions on both of these for my 9 year old grandson. My impression was that Inquire was poorly staged and the information poorly shared. Odyssey seemed more professional. Is this indicative of the two programs. We were leaning Odyssey anyway.
02skiag
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
I've never heard of either.
isitjustme
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
Inquire preps students for the high school IB program, which is very good for the student.

Odyssey has more of a STEM focus and is very good if your kid is inclined that way.

Each is based in a different Bryan middle school and both are excellent. You are fortunate to have the opportunity to make this choice.
toolshed
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
Our daughter is in the Inquire program in Bryan. We chose it over Odyssey because of what the above poster said. My wife is in science, but didn't want to necessarily push our daughter into a program that was more math/ science/ stem weighted. Inquire seems to be a more rounded program, the teachers expect a lot.

I think our daughter could be challenged more, sometimes she seems bored with what she's doing, in the sense that it's not as challenging as it could be. But it beats being frustrated with mountains of homework that she can't figure out as well, so I'll take the prior over the latter! We've been very happy with the teachers and the program thus far. She's in her second year, will move up to Davila next year.
KristyH2004
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
When you fill out the application for the programs there is an option to apply for both. I encourage you to do this and once the acceptance letters come out make the final decision. I also invite you to come out to the Bryan ISD showcase tomorrow morning at 10:00. I would be happy to answer any questions that you have about the Inquire program. Thank you!
cinag83
How long do you want to ignore this user?
Thanks for the input. I think we are leaning toward Odyssey because he is really strong in math, but concerned about the amount of homework. Of course, this only matters if he gets accepted
cinag83
How long do you want to ignore this user?
Thank you Kristy. I think we will apply to both with Odyssey as our first choice.
mamagutz
How long do you want to ignore this user?
We have had two students go through Odyssey Academy and two are currently in it (5th and 8th). What has always impressed us about the Odyssey is the level of commitment the teachers have for their students. The
leadership, team building, and academic environment also allowed our kids to establish strong friendships with like-minded students. All of this has ensured a strong foundation for academic success in high school and now college. That said, I have heard wonderful things about Inquire too but our family is super proud to be Broncos.
RG20
How long do you want to ignore this user?
Son went in inquire/dual language route at Jane Long then into IB program. I will say this, IB is a very intense program that requires a TON of committment on the students part. If your child is heavy into extra cirricular activities that require time after school, IB will be tough. My son got so burned out his freshman year from not having ANY downtime because of the courseload and trying to manage sports in the evenings and weekend.
Abbyag06
How long do you want to ignore this user?
Our daughter is in Odyssey 7th grade and I can not say enough about the program. She was not challenged in Elementary and now is mostly A's with some B's. It does have a lot of science and math but ELA is also a large part of the program. I think it is very well rounded. The teachers have been amazing and the students seem committed. The stuff they learn is amazing and I enjoy watching how excited she is about going to school. I don't think you could go wrong with either program. Good luck!
isitjustme
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
To add more info, while most of the students in my kids' IB program classes were from Inquire, many were from Odyssey and were also well prepared for the rigors of IB. Again, can't go wrong with either program, it just depends on where your preferences lie.
iisanaggie
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
Our son is in 7th grade Odyssey. He LOVES it! He has an engineer's mind and has really enjoyed the projects and challenge. He doesn't have a lot of homework, but he also tends to finish it before he gets home. The teachers are very dedicated and committed. They also have strong ELA teachers so that is neglected for STEM subjects. We did go to both meetings for our current 4th grader. I agree that the Inquire meeting was not well-organized. However, I do know some students that really enjoy the program. Out 4th grader has decided to go the Odyssey route because of his love for math and the many opportunities that it offers.
soso33
How long do you want to ignore this user?
Not debating the merits of either program, but the concept of putting satellite programs filled with "smart kids" within schools that are historically poor performing in state evaluations is interesting. It gives those schools a sort of artificial boost. Kids at Inquire take classes with the regular Jane Long students as well. I happen to think that's a good thing in terms of diversity of experience and exposure to different cultures. It probably cuts down on the fishbowl feeling as well.
cinag83
How long do you want to ignore this user?
Application submitted. They mail out acceptance letters on March 8th, so we'll see how it goes. Thanks everyone for all of the comments. We are raising 2 grandchildren and didn't necessarily expect to be having to deal with middle and high school decisions again. Excited and a little bit scared at the same time. May the Lord give us both strength and patience to navigate the next several years.
angus55
How long do you want to ignore this user?
[You aren't going to say that on this forum. -Staff]
Gone Camping
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
I've had a child participate in both programs.

Odyssey is outstanding. The faculty work together to coordinate the curriculum and to encourage the students and make them grow. The projects, course objectives, and overall goal keep kids excited and have them prepared for their next steps through HS and college. It is an excellent STEM program.

Inquire was a joke and wasn't coordinated at all from what I could see. There was a little more work in some classes but not a coordinated effort among faculty. If my child wasn't interested in STEM I would not use Inquire as a program for advanced learning. My child who did Inquire is a junior now so hopefully they've changed that program but my wife and I were not pleased with it at all.
angus55
How long do you want to ignore this user?
You want the truth from a BISD parent before staff shuts it down the truth. My child was at Jane Long in the program and now at Rayburn in the STEM one. The Jane Long campus was out of control. The principal is flat incompetent. Had a significant incident that caused us to go to Rayburn now. Got really nothing out of the Long program. Somewhat better but general population still out of control at Rayburn. The STEM program is better ran. Principal tries and cares there but his underlings are lacking. The new Sup is still cleaning up the mess from worthless Wallis. The 2 intermediate campuses are too crowded for the number of students there. It needs to be addressed soon because there will be major issues. We just gave BISD their bond package not long ago but their lack of vision with the re-zoning led to another mess. I'm paying $600 a month to teach my daughter Math that BISD can't. So yes I stand by my Staff redacted and censored statement. I would love to send my kids to anywhere but BISD.

[The post that was removed was not this detailed and did not indicate that you had a child in BISD or any of the programs that you specified in this post. We will always remove posts like the one that you had edited because they do not add anything to the discussion and are usually received as trolling posts by other posters on the board. -Staff]
isitjustme
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
Sorry for your experience, and your latest post is much more reasonable than a troll-sounding "just move them out of BISD" because you shared your experience.

That being said, my kids and their classmates had a much different/better experience but have been out school for a few years. They and their friends were in Inquire or Odyssey before Wallis got here, and I don't doubt that he likely screwed that up just like this new configuration of k-4, 5&6, 7&8, and high school he left of with during that last bond package. It may work in CS but I have not heard good things about it in Bryan.

I'm hoping that the new super will continue to make improvements. Even though it doesn't impact my family, I recommend going back to k-5 and 6-8 before high school.
Turf96
How long do you want to ignore this user?
[Nope. -Staff]
Turf96
How long do you want to ignore this user?
What do you mean by nope? While it was a sarcastic comment I admit, why is it not a viable question? One school district just completely tore apart a community to get balanced socio economic numbers with no regard for part of its student body. These two programs don't seem as though it has any consideration for socio economic balance to me. That is why I asked the question. Some have already said they would chose one over the other program due to behavioral issue. I'll try and ask again nicer do either of these programs take into account socio economic balances or are they a way to divide the high achievers?

Not trying to start a fight. Trying to get an answer if socio economic factors play into who can enter these two programs.

[That was not how you asked the question and if you had been that detailed on the previous post it would not have been edited. -Staff]
WTM
How long do you want to ignore this user?
Turf, to answer your question briefly, no. There are no socio economic factors in the admission process. There are only two 7/8 campuses in Bryan and each has an academy program. Technically Inquire is the harder to get into. There was talk about changing the policy for admission, but as of last year a child had to be GT to be admitted. Odyssey does not have a GT requirement. It is open to any student to apply.
WTM
How long do you want to ignore this user?
I feel Bryan offers opportunity for all races and economic groups. As a district, it is essentially 80% minority and 80% socio economically disadvantaged. As a result, all of the campuses are "balanced" from 6th grade up. Elementary can be a little more divided based on neighborhood schools.

While campuses like Bowen and Houston have a higher income, Sul Ross has a dedicated GT academy and Johnson a vaunted dual language program. All campuses offer elementary GT programs. Inquire and Odyssey cover middle school and Bryan High has IB while Rudder has Project Lead the Way (STEM). I feel the broad range of programs creates opportunity for all students in the district.
techno-ag
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
WTM said:

I feel Bryan offers opportunity for all races and economic groups. As a district, it is essentially 80% minority and 80% socio economically disadvantaged. As a result, all of the campuses are "balanced" from 6th grade up. Elementary can be a little more divided based on neighborhood schools.

While campuses like Bowen and Houston have a higher income, Sul Ross has a dedicated GT academy and Johnson a vaunted dual language program. All campuses offer elementary GT programs. Inquire and Odyssey cover middle school and Bryan High has IB while Rudder has Project Lead the Way (STEM). I feel the broad range of programs creates opportunity for all students in the district.
Somewhat typical numbers for a Texas district. Consol has 46% minority enrollment and 34% low socio ec by comparison. But CS is atypical in demographics which are skewed somewhat thanks to TAMU. The state numbers are 72% minority and 59% low socio-ec.
halibut sinclair
How long do you want to ignore this user?
cinag83
How long do you want to ignore this user?
Thanks for the input on these two academies. I am happy to say that we just received my grandson's acceptance letter to Odyssey Academy. He is very excited. I hope this ends up being a good experience for him.
double b
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
If we need any further validation about the Odyssey program, the director recently received an international teaching award.

Odyssey teacher Naveen Cunha wins technology & engineering award
gettingitdone
How long do you want to ignore this user?
Angus55 it is unfortunate you had such a bad experience. While my son did not participate in any of the programs offered, he did great in his pre/AP (middle school), and AP in high school. As far as the math curriculum is concerned, my only "complaint", which really isn't a complaint, is that the district doesn't offer Geometry in middle school. This left me shuttling my child between Rayburn and BHS for one class. You see, BISD did such a phenomenal job teaching math to my son that by 8th grade, he was taking Geometry. Without knowing which particular math your student is struggling with, have you reached out to the teacher or considered switching your child's class?



Refresh
Page 1 of 1
 
×
subscribe Verify your student status
See Subscription Benefits
Trial only available to users who have never subscribed or participated in a previous trial.