Potential move to Alliance, help (Canton, Westlake: appointed, rental, crime rates)

[alybain]

Thanks for the links, the McKinley A.L.I.V.E school seems to be more what my son is about, he is thinking of doing engineering, hes top of the class at Math, and loves science, along side the sport it might be a good choice?? any comments very gratefully recieved on this, really need to get this right, unhappy kids=unhappy house and an unhappy move.

GlenOak looks ok, reports seem to be good, but no idea how the application/transport side of things would work out?

We were thinking Salem would be a good place to live but the high school is tiny, I had a thought that a tiny high school might be harder for him to fit into as he would stick out more, whereas a big school he would just blend in a bit more, more kids, less kids to notice, he could just get in with the football kids and settle easier?? or is that not how it goes?

Also, my daughter being 18 at the time of the move, may not have the grades for college, is there an option to repeat senior year? at least then she would have something that college can recognise, our school system is so different.

Thanks so much for your replies :-)

[South Range Family]

A school like Salem has so many kids that have been playing football together for so many years that a newcomer would have a hard time getting on the team. I would recommend my own school district as one of the best around, and close to Alliance, but he would not get on the team. That's why I'm really pushing you towards Western Reserve. They are top notch at academics, They have been having several winning seasons at football, and they are small enough that they would accept any newcomers that want to play.

It would also be a much easier drive to Alliance.

I think a new British kid would be accepted a lot quicker than an ordinary transfer. Everybody wants to have a foreign friend to feel more wordly. The girls will be all over him.

I hope this link works. http://www.ode.state.oh.us/reportcar...IST/043711.pdf The Canton city school district is terrible. They only met 5 out of 26 required indicators.


Glen Oak is in the Plain School District. They get an excellent rating. Here is their report card.http://www.ode.state.oh.us/reportcar...IST/049932.pdf

[alybain]

Western reserve is too far out I think, the reason I was looking at Canton particularly was that we have the possibility of renting a furnished house in Canton for a while initially, and I dont want to have to move him once he's settled in a school.

Having said that, I am not sure of the exact location of the house, (next on the list) and if the schools are as bad as they look from the report card we may ahve to find another house to rent!

I desparately want to get this right, and value all opinions given cant thank you enough for taking the time to reply and be so helpful

[TheYO]

I would definitely avoid anything in the Canton City school district. It's really bad. GlenOak is a great high school with a solid football team that competes in Division I (the largest schools in Ohio).

As for your daughter, I wouldn't recommend repeating a year of high school. Instead, I'd suggest enrolling in a community college. Stark State College in North Canton is probably the best option. She can go there for two years and then transfer to a traditional university for two years to earn a bachelor's degree. A lot of students start at community colleges either because they didn't have the grades to get to a four-year university right out of high school, or because they want to save money (community colleges are A LOT cheaper than universities).

[South Range Family]

Mount Union to the middle of Berlin Center is 16.3 miles. Google maps has it as 24 minutes drive time. It can be done in a lot less time. Driving through the traffic of Canton will take much longer.

You could check out Hartville too. It's due West of Alliance.

[alybain]

think I might have been looking at the wrong Western Reserve then

I'll have another look around, Im going to email about this furnished house and find out exactly where it is and see whats around, is it possible to apply and get a place in a school thats out of the immediate district?? if the house ends up being in the middle of Canton for instance, could I get him into a school further away? that could make all the difference, and take some of the stress away

Thanks for the info on community college too, how much are the fees roughly a year?? thing is she can go to Mount free but she may not have the grades, just trying to weigh up the options.

[South Range Family]

Some school districts have open enrollment. They set their own rules on who they accept. Sometimes they only allow kids from bordering school districts, others allow anybody.

You may have been looking at Warren Western Reserve. It's another County North. Way too far.

Berlin Western Reserve starts on the Eastern Edge of Berlin Lake. Alliance is South of the lake.


http://www.trulia.com/property/30263...enter-OH-44401 This is a smaller property. Hook up with an agent. They will find you a rental.

Missed out on this one. http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/55...61344010_zpid/

[TheYO]

Originally Posted by alybain

think I might have been looking at the wrong Western Reserve then

I'll have another look around, Im going to email about this furnished house and find out exactly where it is and see whats around, is it possible to apply and get a place in a school thats out of the immediate district?? if the house ends up being in the middle of Canton for instance, could I get him into a school further away? that could make all the difference, and take some of the stress away

Thanks for the info on community college too, how much are the fees roughly a year?? thing is she can go to Mount free but she may not have the grades, just trying to weigh up the options.

Here's a link that shows which school districts allow open enrollment. As you'll see some Stark County school districts allow students from anywhere in the state to enroll there (look for districts with the X in the far right column). So you could live in Canton city school district, but send your son to Perry High School (another excellent rated district with a large Division I high school), for example. However, if you do this, you'll have to provide your own transportation to/from the school. Schools only provide busing to students living in the school district. Unfortunately, some of the best schools like North Canton Hoover and Jackson do not allow open enrollment.

For 12 credit hours per semester (generally considered the minimum amount to be a full-time student), Stark State would cost $1,764 per semester or around $3,500 per year, plus fees. For comparison, tuition at a four-year public university like Ohio State is around $10,000 a year.

I don't know what your daughter's grades are like, but Mount Union isn't that difficult to get into. It's a private school, but the admission requirements are very similar to public schools in the state.

[StarkCountyOhio]

If your kid plays football, check out Massillon. They have the best high school program in the world and excellent schools. Their players earn more college scholarships than any other in the area. They play in the biggest and best stadium and have a brand new state of the art indoor full sized field. Houses are nice and affordable. Massillon is really a city on the rise.

[Cruzincat]

I graduated from Gelnwood HS in 1968, which eventually became Glenoak when it combined with the other HS in the district called Oakwood. When I was there, Mckinley and Massillon were the perennial football powerhouses in the area. Just this fall, on Directv, they shoed a HS football ganme between Glenoak and Mckinley. It was one of the best HS level football games I have ever seen. Glenoak won.

Dan Dierdorf graduated the year before I did. He went on to play for college and the pros and has been enshrined in the Pro Football Hall Of Fame in Canton. You coming to an area very steeped in Football at all levels. Good luck to your son.

I would consider either Glenoak or Hoover HS in North Canton. The commute for your husband, for the most part, would be against the general flow of traffic. If you lived east of Alliance, he might be with the flow most of the time.