Looking for reassurance about OSA
Hello Parents,
My daughter plans to enter OSA this fall as an incoming 6th grader. I'm looking for a little reassurance about the school, I suppose. I get that the art emphasis part is great, but I'm concerned about all of the rest. My daughter is leaving an amazing school with high academic standards as well as focus on a well-rounded education with art, music, and foreign language instruction for all students. As I understand, OSA does not have any foreign language classes in middle school and does not offer any opportunities for art and music outside of the student's emphasis. Are there any opportunities, perhaps afterschool, for students to get enrichment beyond their emphasis? Also, I have heard rather mixed reviews about the academics. I understand there's been some instability in the past, but that this situation has improved. What have your experiences been with 6th grade math and English instruction? My daughter is not a self-motivated learner, unfortunately. If she can coast, she will. However, if the expectations are high, she will generally rise to the occasion. What can I expect from the 6th grade teachers and the standards they hold students to? Thank you in advance for any insights!
Parent Replies
I am happy to talk to you by phone if you would like my son started at OSA as a sixth grader last year and it was a wonderful experience. The exposure that he got was amazing and I couldn't have been happier. He is not a self-motivated learner so I always have to be on top of everything but Osa makes it easy to do so. The school is wonderful and it's amazing that we have something like this in our neighborhood.
Thanks
Krystell
Your fears are well founded. My kid, now about to enter 10th grade at Oakland Tech, did not feel prepared for High School even with straight A's in her 3 years at OSA. When it became evident that her 8th grade OSA math teacher would not complete the curriculum, my daughter and some friends formed an independent study group to finish the math work. Despite their efforts, she and other OSA students hadn't learned things that other 9th graders who went to other middle schools knew well.
My other children went to different middle schools. Their science classes were engaging and fun, with field trips. My kid at OSA complained about lots of worksheets.
Her emphasis was theater. She reported watching movies, not discussing them, just watching them at least one or two days per week. The middle school kids got very few opportunities to perform, because the roles would be taken by high school students. She would have had more acting experience if she'd gone to a regular middle school and sought extracurricular opportunities.
My kid is extraordinarily self-motivated, and managed to succeed despite OSA. If I had a less motivated child, and was hoping that child would be prepared for college, I would not send the child to OSA.