Why didn't I send my kid to Camelback, the public high school down the street from us. It would be so convenient. Let's start with high school night at Madison No. 1 (my son's middle school), the curriculum that CHS was offering left a lot to be desired for those who are college bound. Then there's the wonderful neighborhood experience, eg, the gunfight out in front of the high school. Old news? Ok, how about the little league game last year where the game had to be stopped because two guys got into a fight over a girl. It was a darn impressive fight. One guy, a CHS student, he looks like superman. The other one a wiry terrier guy who won't stop yapping at superman. Not even when superman rips off his own shirt and starts pounding his own mighty chest with his fists. Terrier-guy didn't stop yapping at all even while superman was shaking him like a rag doll and banging terrier guy against the walls and concrete deck. Terrier-guy even managed to land a few punches while he was bouncing off the wall.
I'm done with breaking up fights. I dialed 911 and yelled at superman and terrier-guy that the police were on the way. Some other brave souls finally separated them. Superman finally came to his senses and ran off. He's had the crap nurtured out of him and realized he didn't need to be there when the cops arrived. Lucky for him it took the cops 30 minutes to show up.
I've lived in the Madison neighborhood for 20 years I love the kids -- I've been a soccer or baseball coach for a lot of them -- but a few of them scare the crap out of me. And if they scare me, my kid isn't going to CHS.