We are going to move soon and I would like to know if anyone really likes their school system or does not like ital all. Any recomendations out there? This decision is very overwhelming to me and we would like to pick an area to live where we like the schools. Sometimes we have liked the lower grades, but the highschool is ranks very poor. Please share your expirences. Much appreciated.
What state are you in? I am in CT and just moved based on that criteria -there was a website that evaluated all the towns. By the way I went To Edgemont in Scarsdale, NY - been a very highly rated school for years.
Manasquan, NJ has both Elementary and High School across from each other. They score very highly in testing. My kids and now grandkids attended or are there now and we've been please.
FYI schools are only as good as what you put into them. If you study hard and pay attention you will learn, if you goof off and fool around you wont. Look for a relatively good school district, but dont worry about if it is excellent or not. The most important thing is that your child ENJOYS school. If the curriculum is too hard the child might no longer enjoy learning.
You can check out the districts' "report cards" on the state's Dept of Education website. But after 17 years and several schools, my advice is no matter where your children go to school, your involvement at their school and with their teachers & school staff will make the biggest difference. Volunteer, introduce yourself to every teacher, go to every P/T conference and take an active role in your child's education.
We are doing the same thing. We want a highly rated high school, so that's a MUST HAVE. Unless you are in a terrible area with a lot of violence and gangs, most elementary schools will be fine if rated 5 or higher (out of 10), at school rating sites. Another option would be to pay for a private school just for K-8, and then you have the good public high school. By private school, I mean a catholic or other church school, which is generally affordable. If you are in CT, I am not sure, but in the midwest it's about $2 to $3 thousand per child, but it caps out at 3 or 4 kids, usually.
Check out this website for New Jersey Schools. They are ranked- A being the worst, J being the highest
I live in Pompton Lakes and the school system is ranked high. I have 3 kids in the Elementary School and our High School is also in Pompton Lakes which Pompton Lakes and Riverdale attend. The High School is also rated ver good.
Pequannock school system is rated even higher than Pompton Lakes and Wayne school system is also very good.
I hoped this help you.
M. S.
our school and our neighborhood is excellent.. but you also pay very high taxes for what we get.... Scotch Plains Fanwood school district.. also most towns around us are excellent.. berkeley heights, new providence, westfield, clark, basking ridge, far hills, watchung... it's all good out here.... i love our town.. but hate the taxes.. oh well..
Hi C.
Are you simply moving to the suburbs to get out of the city?
Then you pick by the district that has a great elem. program because you might move again before high school.
Are you moving because of a job and therefore moving to a new area and want to know where to buy a home when you get there? My way for that which we have done numerous times is to find the church we wanted to go to, then choose a school district which was within a distance we wanted to travel to church.
In our case we moved to a place that we decided to homeschool in so I am not a great resource. I can tell you that your child's work ethic and study habits are much more important to the college of their choice than where they live.
God bless your decisions and may you find His peace in those decisions
K. SAHM married 39 years --- adult children --- 38,coach; 33,lawyer, married with son; and twins 19 in college after homeschooling 3 semester is almost over and they have made dean's list so far.
I had originally responded thinking you live near me, but now I cannot figure out how to erase my response. Sorry, but good luck!
I'm not sure where you are looking to move, but this is my situation.
I live in Little Ferry,NJ. Our district is pre-k through 8, around 960 students, 2 school buildings and so far my son has done well - he's in 1st grade. But I do not like the high school that we go. I haven't decided what to do yet - but our options include a county magnet HS or a county technical HS. There are even private HS's if we have to, or we could move for HS.
remember that test scores are important, but are more of a real estate issue than a definite indicator of student performance. the tests do have thier place, but many districts with the highest scores focus completely on test prep for half the year to support local real estate at the expense of teaching kids. very important when considering your homes value, but often less so when considering the quality and adaptability of the education. (a district near me has excellent scores, high home values, but within the school there is lack of discipline because the kids are all on their cellphones to their parents the minute they get in trouble and the district kisses the parents butts).. something to think about...and dont forget to look at the percent of high school kids that go on to college.
some things to look into in addition to (not instead of) the almighty test scores... #1-class size AND student-teacher ratio. some classes have higher numbers but have more teachers/paras in the classroom. look at the districts specials...gym, art, music etc and see if they have cut back. look at enrichment programs, both extra help and "gifted" programs, can they accomodate your kids in either case? talk to parents, attend a pta meeting, how is attendance? how accessible is administration? do the teachers have continuous contract gripes/conflicts? ask about discipline, bullying programs, gang awareness, stuff like that.... good luck
Hi C.,
I live on Long Island (Nassau County, north shore). Syosset and Woodbury are both covered by the Syosset school district, which is excellent. I've also heard that Jericho is highly rated.
Bayberry Elementary in Watchung, NJ has an excellent school system. My son is 9 and writes on a 7th grade level and reads on a 9th grade level. Their curriculum is very reading and writing focused. They give lots of repetative home work so the kids are very prepared for any top private school by the time they go to middle school.
Not sure what state you are looking to move to, but there are many good schools in Westchester. I grew up in Scarsdale and the schools were fabulous there. We now live in Edgemont, which is the next school district over. I don't pay too much attention to rankings, but allegedly, Edgemont is ranked pretty high for the NY State schools... I can tell you that so far, kindergarten and first grade have been amazing.
Of course, it all depends on your price range. Closer commute to NYC will cost more!!! But there is a good range of prices in Edgemont.
Larchmont, too, has a good school district.
Good luck with the house hunting!
Hello, We moved b/c of my husband's job transferred about 60 miles in addition to needing more space. We were living in a two family with my parents in northern NJ. We moved to Ocean co. and purchased a mother/daughter. We made the decision based on the house we were looking for that suited our needs. We didn't consider other factors. We have a great house, in a great school district. However, I miss the convince of the Northern towns. We didn't consider the total impact it would have on my parents. Shortly after moving my mother was involved in a 5 car accident which now limits her driving.
My children adjusted after time. The first year or so, I made frequent trips to see their old friends ( school holidays) which slowly faded as their made new friends. I made an effort to become involved with the school,throw classroom invites to birthday parties, join sports- volunteer coach, have play dates, go to town events.
However, we didn't consider our entire families needs or other factors of what we wanted in a town. Schools ratings go up and down. My son has special needs and we didn't consider that in our excitement to move. My husband is still traveling. The commute is really not much different.
If I had to do it again, I would have rented in the area first, to make sure it was the right fit. I really am not sure I would have stayed here.
Yet, My family has developed some wonderful new friendships and still have a lovely home. They say, they are happy and love it here and wouldn't move.
Good Luck,
S.
