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What is the deal with Kingsley? We are considering a home in this area, however, the school reviews are all over the map. Greatschools.com reviews range from 5 star amazing to 1 star "similar to an inner city school". It looks like it is in a nice high SES area so where does this inner city school thing come from? I'd appreciate any input since it is hard to tell about the intangible factors of living in an area until you actually live there. It feeds into Peachtree Middle and Dunwoody High just like Vanderlyn and Austin right? Is there a big difference between those two schools and Kingsley?
The inner-city element comes from three apartment complexes on Peachtree Industrial that feed into Kingsley. I would choose Kingsley over Chesnut though.
Just wondering, if you can afford Kingsley, you can probably afford Austin or Vanderlyn. If it's good schools you are after, why not just go for a house in one of those districts? The prices aren't that much higher. It's all Dunwoody.
Chesnut actually has higher test scores than Kingsley. Chesnut and Kingsley are much more diverse than the other Dunwoody schools. There is a new Dunwoody Elementary School, Dunwoody Elementary that will be grades k-5 this year. With this change, Chesnut and Kingsley will be smaller and warmer than the other area schools. All the Dunwoody elementary schools offer a good education, but their personalities and cultures are very different.
Yes, they all feed into P'tree and Dunwoody -- which are the schools that really matter. No one ever asks where you went to elementary school when applying to college
I have a hard time recommending DeKalb schools right now at all. How old are your children/child?
Just wondering, if you can afford Kingsley, you can probably afford Austin or Vanderlyn. If it's good schools you are after, why not just go for a house in one of those districts? The prices aren't that much higher. It's all Dunwoody.
Actually, it is the houses in the Vanderlyn and Austin district that we generally don't like. They were all built in the 80's/90's or newer and just don't have that "old house" feel and they seem like "newer subdivisions" rather than a "neighborhood". We like the older homes that have been renovated. Not sure why and I know other people have different tastes. We couldn't really find what we were looking for in Austin/Vanderlyn.
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Originally Posted by lastminutemom
Chesnut actually has higher test scores than Kingsley. Chesnut and Kingsley are much more diverse than the other Dunwoody schools. There is a new Dunwoody Elementary School, Dunwoody Elementary that will be grades k-5 this year. With this change, Chesnut and Kingsley will be smaller and warmer than the other area schools. All the Dunwoody elementary schools offer a good education, but their personalities and cultures are very different.
Yes, they all feed into P'tree and Dunwoody -- which are the schools that really matter. No one ever asks where you went to elementary school when applying to college
I have a hard time recommending DeKalb schools right now at all. How old are your children/child?
The kids are 4 and 2. We would rather do public schools if possible but can do private if necessary. I just have a hard time paying over 3 grand per month for someone to teach the kids how to count to 10 and color happy trees. We already do that at home and for that price I could take the whole family to Europe every other month for some real life education.
What is going on with DeKalb schools? Why are you down on them?
They are very close to losing accreditation. The previous superintendent and chief operating officer have been indited. The board of education is so horrible that one or two of the members leaked the details of the negotiations with one of the top candidates for superintendent, and she withdrew.
Yeah Dekalb is sort of a train wreck right now in every possible facet, which is why Dunwoody made the push to become a city in the first place. I do not know what will ultimately happen with the school system...I have a 2 year old and am really only concerning myself with elementary right now because a lot can happen in 9-10 years and, to be honest, a lot of the areas with great high schools around here are not places I would enjoy living (at least, the schools are that much better to justify living someplace I don't care for), but that is just me. I figure when the time comes, we will re-evaluate and decide if our daughter will go private or if we will move, or just stick with it. My understanding of P'tree and DHS is that there is definitely an issue with disruptions and overall quality, there are opportunities for good students to excel. We will cross that bridge when we come to it...for the time being we really enjoy the family atmosphere and the general location of Dunwoody. I am sort of confused about the statement of no older homes in Vanderlyn/Austin, as I would estimate that at least 80% of the SFHs in the area are pre-1985.
Overall, I think Dunwoody is on the right path, but it will take time. I think a lot of people would be in favor of a separate "city" school system, but that is a pretty monstrous task and one that a new city can't really handle. There is talk of making a charter school cluster for the area, but not sure of the specifics around that. The people of Dunwoody are smart enough to realize that the more they can sever ties to Dekalb the better (ummm...except for trash service, which is awesome).
Regarding your original question, I can't really imagine anyone whose been anywhere near the inner-city thinking that Kingsley is remotely inner-city at all. That is pretty ridiculous. Kingsley seems like a pretty close-knit community and I think the school (while lower in reputation than Vanderlyn and Austin) is good. Like the others said, you pull in some lower-income areas, and that happens even more so on the move up to P'tree and DHS, but to me that just prepares kids for real life and is one of the benefits of public schools.
My child starts 2nd grade at Kingsley in the fall, and overall I've been pleased with the school. The parents are very active and close-knit and my son has made good friends there. To be honest DeKalb county scares the living hell out of me and if I had it to do over again we probably wouldn't have moved here, but given the circumstances we were in at the time I don't think we had much of a choice. Having said that though, Kingsley is still a good school. I'm somewhat fanatical about these things, and I'm reasonably comfortable there.
Kingsley is VERY diverse. There are a lot of English as second language kids and I think that has affected test scores, though I could be wrong. The school administration can be chaotic at times, but I think we have a good principal and very good teachers for the most part. I'm generally in the school several times a month so I have reasonably good insight into what's going on. I've said this before and will say it again, if you're looking for a white suburban school, Kingsley isn't it. If you're happy or at least comfortable with diversity then I think Kingsley can be a good fit for you. As for Kingsley being an urban school, I'm wondering if that person knows squat about urban schools. It's true that DeKalb is increasingly becoming an urban county, but that hasn't hit in Dunwoody yet, and probably won't for at least another decade or so. And goodness knows the way Dunwoodyites are fighting it tooth and nail it probably won't happen at all.
As for the price differential in houses I'm not sure if things have changed all that much since we bought in 2008, but I didn't see anything in Austin/Vanderlyn for less than $300k. I haven't really followed it since then, but they were definitely out of our price range.
If you have the time to wait a purchase, I would visit these elementary schools in question. Since it is now summertime, it wouldn't be the same without the kids being there. Were I in your shoes and you want to use public schools for the long haul, I would avoid the Dekalb county school system period, and would buy in nearby North Fulton or Gwinnett. Ditto for City of Atlanta schools, too many issues to name.
Gotta correct some of the wacky comments as I'm sitting here in my house, a 5 minute walk from Dunwoody HS.
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Just wondering, if you can afford Kingsley, you can probably afford Austin or Vanderlyn. If it's good schools you are after, why not just go for a house in one of those districts? The prices aren't that much higher. It's all Dunwoody.
Ehhhh...no it's not. Austin/Vanderlyn do command a premium, usually about 20-30%, although in this upside-down market, it's hard to tell, as foreclosures have hit all throughout Dunwoody.
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Actually, it is the houses in the Vanderlyn and Austin district that we generally don't like. They were all built in the 80's/90's or newer and just don't have that "old house" feel and they seem like "newer subdivisions" rather than a "neighborhood".
Not sure where you're looking, but almost everything around me was built in the mid 60's - mid 70's. In fact, I would bet that at least 75% of the houses within a 1 mile radius of Dunwoody HS are from that period. Austin may be a tad newer.
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Were I in your shoes and you want to use public schools for the long haul, I would avoid the Dekalb county school system period, and would buy in nearby North Fulton or Gwinnett.
Mehhhh. Now let me say that test scores aren't everything, and I can't predict the future, but we looked LONG and HARD at moving to the area above Dunwoody Club Drive (N. Fulton), before we settled down at our current location in Vanderlyn. Loved the larger houses in that area but that would have placed us in Dunwoody Springs, which, IMHO, is a step down from where we're at now. Let's just say that if you can afford a Mansion in that area, you can afford private school. You really need to cross the river to get to better N. Fulton schools. But that's another can of worms regarding traffic/commutes.
I don't really know anything specific to Kingsley, but keep in mind that Dekalb has publicly stated their goal of larger elementary schools (~900), so the future is cloudy for smaller (and "warmer") elementary schools.
Ehhhh...no it's not. Austin/Vanderlyn do command a premium, usually about 20-30%, although in this upside-down market, it's hard to tell, as foreclosures have hit all throughout Dunwoody.
Yeah, they command a premium, but it really depends on what you are looking for. If the buyer would settle for a split-level in Springfield or Heathwood or one of those older Vanderlyn neighborhoods, it would likely be the same price as a comparable 5-4-and-a-door in Kingsley.
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Not sure where you're looking, but almost everything around me was built in the mid 60's - mid 70's. In fact, I would bet that at least 75% of the houses within a 1 mile radius of Dunwoody HS are from that period. Austin may be a tad newer.
I would agree with this. I wasn't quite sure about that comment either. Vanderlyn = late 60s-70s, Austin = 70s-early 80s (besides Mill Glen).
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Mehhhh. Now let me say that test scores aren't everything, and I can't predict the future, but we looked LONG and HARD at moving to the area above Dunwoody Club Drive (N. Fulton), before we settled down at our current location in Vanderlyn. Loved the larger houses in that area but that would have placed us in Dunwoody Springs, which, IMHO, is a step down from where we're at now. Let's just say that if you can afford a Mansion in that area, you can afford private school. You really need to cross the river to get to better N. Fulton schools. But that's another can of worms regarding traffic/commutes.
I agree with this also. It's such a shame that area has to share its elementary school with Roswell Road apartments. But even so, if I was going the public route, I would prefer Peachtree MS and Dunwoody HS over Sandy Springs Middle and North Springs High.
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