Does anyone have any feedback on Smithson Valley High School?

6,707 Views | 43 Replies | Last: 2 yr ago by NastyNate
TheHoneybadger
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AG
I will have a daughter going into high school age in a year and I do not want her going to any "woke" high schools. I do have experience with the area and the school from a long time ago, but I have no idea how things are now. Given that I bought a couple of lots in that area I am deciding on moving sooner or later, this being one of the deciding factors. Can anyone provide any feedback on SVHS? Thanks!
azul_rain
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Are you rich, white and lean conservatively. If so SV will be good for your kid
OilFieldIRI
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S
hedge said:

Are you rich, white and lean conservatively. If so SV will be good for your kid
Spot on
aggiejim70
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My sister is Alamo Heights class of '71. Her daughters, my three nieces, all went to Smithson Valley, all got a great education, and now all three are college graduates. My sister is of the opinion that Smithson Valley is more like Alamo Heights was than Alamo Heights is today.
The person that is not willing to fight and die, if need be, for his country has no right to life.

James Earl Rudder '32
January 31, 1945
azul_rain
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I fooled around with a girl that went to SV while at A&M, my white whale
TheHoneybadger
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hedge said:

I fooled around with a girl that went to SV while at A&M, my white whale
TheHoneybadger
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aggiejim70 said:

My sister is Alamo Heights class of '71. Her daughters, my three nieces, all went to Smithson Valley, all got a great education, and now all three are college graduates. My sister is of the opinion that Smithson Valley is more like Alamo Heights was than Alamo Heights is today.
Thanks for the feedback. The vibes I get from online reviews seem reassuring but you just never know. I don't need a majority of teachers and administrators pushing their Leftist agenda. Or at least I'd hope to keep that stuff at a minimum.
TikkaShooter
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Quote:

. I don't need a majority of teachers and administrators pushing their Leftist agenda


I know this might be shocking to hear, but 2 things:

1. What happens/is taught at home >>>>>>> teachers who get your kid for 50 min/day

2. It's probably a pretty damn good teachable opportunity if your child encounters differing opinions in school. Gives your kid the chance to practice listening to others, then explaining why they think that's incorrect and backing it up with facts.

Why people want their children to live in echo chambers is beyond me. Nothing like robbing kids of an opportunity to prepare for the real world.
LCE
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It's not a "woke" school, but they do make the kids wear at least one gay pride shirt during gay pride month.
TheHoneybadger
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TikkaShooter said:

Quote:

. I don't need a majority of teachers and administrators pushing their Leftist agenda


I know this might be shocking to hear, but 2 things:

1. What happens/is taught at home >>>>>>> teachers who get your kid for 50 min/day

2. It's probably a pretty damn good teachable opportunity if your child encounters differing opinions in school. Gives your kid the chance to practice listening to others, then explaining why they think that's incorrect and backing it up with facts.

Why people want their children to live in echo chambers is beyond me. Nothing like robbing kids of an opportunity to prepare for the real world.
I'd love to have you point out where I said anywhere in my original question that I desired an "echo chamber." If you've been paying any attention to what's happening in the United States in the last decade with social media, MSM, peer pressure and woke teachers then you'd realize it can go beyond what you teach at home. She is excellent at debate and we do just fine at home. However, I'm not oblivious to what can happen when a developing person is exposed to a bombardment of woke leftist thinking every single day. Think next time before you post.
TikkaShooter
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American Thinker called. They want their fake news talking points back.

Bruh. This is public high school in Texas. Not liberal arts college in Portland.

Your kid gonna be ok going to HS in the Hill Country.
Obi Wan Ginobili
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hedge said:

I fooled around with a girl that went to SV while at A&M, my white whale

She was a big girl, eh? Hawt
azul_rain
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She was in top shape way out of my league in terms of looks
TheHoneybadger
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TikkaShooter said:

American Thinker called. They want their fake news talking points back.

Bruh. This is public high school in Texas. Not liberal arts college in Portland.

Your kid gonna be ok going to HS in the Hill Country.

I'm sorry, but the minute you used the word "bruh" you lost any credible take on this. I am also looking for people with actual recent experience in this particular district and you do not seem to have any, which makes me wonder why you're even on this thread. The last time that I checked, Texas has many schools that are infested with leftists' talking points. So unless you have anything to say from real relevant experience with this particular thread topic, I would appreciate you taking your general issues back over to the political board.

That being said, if you'd like to start a thread on said board about why you do not think any Texas high schools have leftists in the students' ears, I would be very interested in that thread. I will keep an eye out for it if you're interested.
azul_rain
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Just like any public I'm sure there will be leftists, that being said most people I know from SV are pretty conservative. I would say that's one of the least liberal HS in San Antonio metro
TheHoneybadger
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Thanks, Hedge. Yeah I am not looking for a school that has no leftists, that doesn't exist. I just wanted some feedback from people in the current loop how the school culture generally is and how the teachers come across to the parents/students. I appreciate your feedback.
azul_rain
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You should be fine, I would strongly recommend just being active in their lives ( which I'm sure you are if you're concerned for their education ) as well informing them about social media. IMO social media is the biggest influencer right now and had many negative consequences
aggiejim70
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Badger......Upon further review, your concerns remind me of a conversation I had with my late mother almost 30 years ago concerning my older son and the drug problems, at the time, when he was a sophomore at Robert E. Lee. My mother was of the opinion he should should be taken out of Lee and sent to private school and she was more than willing to help pay for it. My counter argument was that was a waste of time and money. You can run, but you can't hide. There were drug at TMI, drugs at the Catholic schools etc. My point to you is I don't think you can prevent what you're trying to prevent. You may get less of it at SV, but you can't prevent it.
The person that is not willing to fight and die, if need be, for his country has no right to life.

James Earl Rudder '32
January 31, 1945
azul_rain
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Spot on, there will always be bad influences. It's up to your kids to make the right decisions
TheHoneybadger
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That's very true. I hate what social media has become. I do trust that she will make good decisions for herself. Hopefully the high school experience will be two-sided with conversations and not have certain viewpoints shoved down her throat almost everyday like they're facts. Sounds like SV will be a good place for her. Thanks all who gave constructive feedback.
TikkaShooter
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You're welcome
Reel Aggies
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My buddy lived out there and had a son that went SV high. But when his kid was in 8th grade out there , my buddy got a call from ED one day because some kid gave him a fentanyl lollipop and his son was knocked out. (They didn't know it was fentanyl until later). When he was in high school out there, my friend also found several diff SV girls naked selfies on his sons phone. He had to confiscate it and go tell several sets of parents their daughters had naked selfies floating around. No school is immune.
210
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What would an example of a "woke" high school in San Antonio be?
azul_rain
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NESA, maybe one of the SAISD schools or Edgewood
LCE
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None would be
azul_rain
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That's just simply not true
you may all go to hell and i will go to Texas
Agswinning
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SV is Comal ISD and it's a well run school district. My kids go to the new high school in Garden Ridge. Our schools were open post covid much sooner than San Antonio if that tells you anything. The superintendent is very good at communicating with parents as well.
210
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LCE said:

None would be
My mom teaches in SAISD and I've never heard of this concern until this thread.

I think the social media and MSM that some people are worried about are impacting their own opinions on "woke" schools.

However, they are your kids and you gotta do what you think is best.
TheHoneybadger
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Agswinning said:

SV is Comal ISD and it's a well run school district. My kids go to the new high school in Garden Ridge. Our schools were open post covid much sooner than San Antonio if that tells you anything. The superintendent is very good at communicating with parents as well.
That is great to hear. Thanks for your feedback!
TheHoneybadger
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210 said:

LCE said:

None would be
My mom teaches in SAISD and I've never heard of this concern until this thread.

I think the social media and MSM that some people are worried about are impacting their own opinions on "woke" schools.

However, they are your kids and you gotta do what you think is best.
Yeah, I understand why you would say that. Being that I am not current with the schools in the area, that is why I am checking on it. My wife and several of my friends are teachers. I see and hear many things up close that concern me with various areas all over the place.

I do not have any major concerns about SV, but I wanted to invite people to share anything that I might not know.

Between what I witness at the university level (which I am around a lot, and it is really bad), the situations I see and hear from others around me with grades 1-12, and the videos I do watch with teachers being insane with leftist ideology lately, I wanted to check.

Again, I am not trying to put her somewhere that nothing like that is around her. I am just doing a bit of personal research in an area that I am not currently in the know about. I want to make sure there aren't any crazy stories about overly pushy teachers ramming their personal ideology down their students' throats as if they are facts.

Most of this starts with the school administration. Sounds like the area is solid.
Boban
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Since the beginning of time you have been able to find people in any setting with different viewpoints of your own. I graduated from a high school 15 miles from SV sometime in the last decade, and attended A&M more recently. The idea of indoctrination in the suburbs of San Antonio is laughable. Sure, there were people with more liberal leaning ideas, almost all of which I disagreed with as a conservative, but running from these people is a problem. If anything, I'm glad I was exposed to some of this thinking. Why be a sheep and listen to other people tell you why you should dislike a group of people when you can learn the reasons yourself?

IMO, just as easy as MSM can brainwash you, so can anyone in your life you give too much credit to unwarranted. I've seen it myself from my time in high school and college. What it seems to come down to among all of my peers is, those that were taught right from wrong by their authority figure in their life, how to be financially independent, how good getting a paycheck after a hard days work feels and how reading outside of class could be more valuable to accurate learning than what may be taught in school is what differentiated some of us from the others.

This is all just my opinion, and I wish your kid the best of luck. Maybe I'm wrong and indoctrination is more serious of an issue now in high schools, but even in my time in high school and at Texas A&M more recently, it was extremely overblown. Just another talking point the MSM has in impacting our country, among the million other examples of them doing that.

Anyways, SV is probably one of best public high schools in SA besides AH, Reagan, Johnson just to name a few. Probably has less of a liberal leaning than any of those. I live in the area now and would certainly send my kid there if I had any of that age. They are generally well staffed, having higher than average scores on ACT/SAT, and offer many AP classes with higher passing rates to get credits to save money in college.
SAGuy281
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Put three kids through school there.

Always slight bumps as with any big school, but they had a great experience.

As the previous poster said... AH, Reagan, Johnson would be comparable
aggiejim70
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Reference my aforementioned nieces. All three are married with children and careers of their own. Their politics for as long as I remember are just to the right of Atilla the Hun.
The person that is not willing to fight and die, if need be, for his country has no right to life.

James Earl Rudder '32
January 31, 1945
AgsMyDude
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Live in Timberwood park and my neighbors have kids that have gone through or currently go there. All have great things to say and one of the kids will be attending A&M in the fall. Seems to be a great school.

And none of us are "rich"
Snowball
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I'm in the area. Familiar with the campus and the SV feeder pattern. SV is a densely populated campus with close to 3000 students currently. Can't overstate how huge it is. Not necessarily a bad thing, just be aware of the size. Campus is a hike to get around too, tell your kid to wear good shoes. They just built another high school (Pieper) nearby that will lower enrollment at SVHS and bring it down to a 5A enrollment level in the next year or two.

Comal is the one of the fastest growing districts/county in the nation. It has low property taxes, with a 20% supplemental homestead exemption, but a new bond measure is going to be voted on soon that will be a TRE or Tax Ratification Election with a provision to take the tax levy and only use it to pay our teachers/staff more. (they have lowest salary in area for all levels). Story Here about Tax/Bond election FWIW.

SV has highest standards in athletics (HFC/AD has been there for almost 30 years). Cannot recommend athletics enough here. Best program in the area with great coaching staffs. Ag/electives are outstanding as well. They have great academics too. It is a great school in a beautiful area. Lots of growth happening. Have a look here. Here are the figures from 2019-20. It has grown since then,

Here's some info about SVHS Academics from the state. You can look these up for any school on the TEA website FYI.

SVHS TEA report card
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