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Some other posters seem to think that people with kids want to move to outer burbs and don't care about the amenities of the city.
We're wanting to stay intown simply because it's home. I've lived intown my entire adult life and can't imagine raising my family anywhere else. I love the strong sense of community in many Atlanta neighborhoods, the diversity, the access to cultural activities, and the political climate. My husband and I both work intown and moving to the suburbs just doesn't seem to make sense for us.
I know a lot of people who do assume that having children means moving to the suburbs. I've even had some family members tell me we're being irresponsible for even considering to stay intown with a child. But every day I see good parents with happy well-adjusted children living intown, so I know it's possible. I suppose it just boils down to individual choice.
What constitute good schools. I know Kirkwood has affordable homes in your price range, has Drew Charter and the greatly improved Toomer E.S. Why only charters is there something wrong with public?
I'm not only looking at charter schools. I'm actually trying not to consider them much at all when choosing a neighborhood. There are many wonderful charter schools, but to me it seems unwise to select a neighborhood based on a charter school. I have a friend who moved to a neighborhood because she wanted her children in the local charter school which was a great school - the zoned public school was mediocre. Neither of her children were admitted to the charter school since there wasn't adequate room. I don't want to end up in that situation. A good charter school is definitely a bonus, but for me to feel comfortable buying a home in a neighborhood I need to feel good about the public schools first.
No to Avondale, unless a change is made in leadership and families from Avondale Estates start to use the school. If Museum School thrives and grows, something dramatic (in addition to a leadership change) will have to happen to make Avondale Elem the school of choice for you neighbors.
I would avoid DeKalb, as the new administration, so far, is seeming like more of the same.
To assess whether a school is "good" or not, one must look well beyond test scores and greatschools.org.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Onthemove2014
Like where?
Aries is correct. I also have children and though my oldest (only one in school right now, youngest is too young) is in a charter school right now, he started off in a traditional public school in APS.
When you are looking at schools, test scores should not be the primary focus. I do like "greatschools" because it provides a section where people personally review the school. The best place to go to see what a school is like, is to the school itself.
Though I do consider test scores to be valuable in assessing schools, I don't view them as an indicator of how "great" a school is. I would prefer them to have at least a 4 rating or better though on test scores but a 9 or 10 IMO means they teach to the test and may not be a place where children can learn material outside of what will be on the scantron. Also a lot of the schools on the "great schools" website have older scores, pre-cheating scandal scores and new ones aren't availabe there yet, you can usually get them at APS though at their website.
My son went to MA Jones originally and it was a decent school and he had really good teachers, especially in kindergarten and 2nd grade and for Pre-K. I never really liked his 1st grade teacher that much and ironically that teacher has been fired for cheating and admitted to cheating.
Other schools I have heard about that are good outside of the top 10 rated test score schools that are in expensive neighborhoods are Parkside (they only have a 3 rating on greatschools), Bolton Academty (also a 3), West Manor (has a 8 I think and is "below I20" a place where many here will say that you shouldn't move but West Manor is a decent neighborhood), Peyton Forest (has a 6 or 7 and is near the West Manor neighborhood in zip code 30311, there are a lot of nice affordable houses in these neighborhoods, which are near Cascade Rd.), Centennial Place, which is rated a 5 or 4 I believe and is in downtown but is zoned for downtown as well as Knights Park and closer neighborhoods.
If I were you, depending on the grade of your child, I would use greatschools as a first start and then visit a couple schools, find out when the PTA meets and see if they have a good group of parents who are organized and involved in the school. Though large attendance at PTA is a good thing, I don't even necessarily attribute the amount of those in the crowd to be indicative of a good PTA as many parents work late and don't have time to attend after school all the time but I like to go to a meeting to meet parents and see what is going on at the school. I also feel the office staff is indicative of a good school environment. Unfortunately, when I was looking for a school for my son, there were a lot of front offices that were so rude and inept that that sealed the deal in me not sending my kid there. Also, if you have young kids, the middle/high school may not be good right now but if a neighborhood that you are considering is in a district with a lot of newer families moving in that are committed to sending their kids to the neighborhood school, that cluster may be better in the future. I have heard good things about the Jackson cluster as there is a lot going on in the east side and there are a lot of still affordable neighborhoods over there.
Also wanted to note that I live in the city with kids because I don't like driving long distances to work and I would rather spend time with my kids at home and be able to make it to PTA meetings and other activities rather than spend time in traffic. We used to live in Cobb county and sometimes it would take over an hour to get home and I just didn't want to deal with all that traffic anymore as I felt it took away time from my family. Also, I save money on gas and car repairs/maintenance that I can use to pay for activities for my kids as I rarely drive now outside of a 5 mile radius (downtown, midtown, Little 5 points, West Midtown, Buckhead, etc, are all within 5 miles of my house and I can take and know backstreets so I am not perpetually stuck in traffic and can enjoy more of the city with my kids).
No to Avondale, unless a change is made in leadership and families from Avondale Estates start to use the school. If Museum School thrives and grows, something dramatic (in addition to a leadership change) will have to happen to make Avondale Elem the school of choice for you neighbors.
I would avoid DeKalb, as the new administration, so far, is seeming like more of the same.
Thanks for the advice. I've noticed most of my neighbors in Avondale with kids won't send their kids to Avondale Elementary. I actually only know one family that does and that's because the Museum School didn't have room and they couldn't afford private tuition. They've had nothing good to say about Avondale Elementary. It concerns me enough to consider moving elsewhere.
Aries is correct. I also have children and though my oldest (only one in school right now, youngest is too young) is in a charter school right now, he started off in a traditional public school in APS.
When you are looking at schools, test scores should not be the primary focus. I do like "greatschools" because it provides a section where people personally review the school. The best place to go to see what a school is like, is to the school itself.
Though I do consider test scores to be valuable in assessing schools, I don't view them as an indicator of how "great" a school is. I would prefer them to have at least a 4 rating or better though on test scores but a 9 or 10 IMO means they teach to the test and may not be a place where children can learn material outside of what will be on the scantron. Also a lot of the schools on the "great schools" website have older scores, pre-cheating scandal scores and new ones aren't availabe there yet, you can usually get them at APS though at their website.
My son went to MA Jones originally and it was a decent school and he had really good teachers, especially in kindergarten and 2nd grade and for Pre-K. I never really liked his 1st grade teacher that much and ironically that teacher has been fired for cheating and admitted to cheating.
Other schools I have heard about that are good outside of the top 10 rated test score schools that are in expensive neighborhoods are Parkside (they only have a 3 rating on greatschools), Bolton Academty (also a 3), West Manor (has a 8 I think and is "below I20" a place where many here will say that you shouldn't move but West Manor is a decent neighborhood), Peyton Forest (has a 6 or 7 and is near the West Manor neighborhood in zip code 30311, there are a lot of nice affordable houses in these neighborhoods, which are near Cascade Rd.), Centennial Place, which is rated a 5 or 4 I believe and is in downtown but is zoned for downtown as well as Knights Park and closer neighborhoods.
If I were you, depending on the grade of your child, I would use greatschools as a first start and then visit a couple schools, find out when the PTA meets and see if they have a good group of parents who are organized and involved in the school. Though large attendance at PTA is a good thing, I don't even necessarily attribute the amount of those in the crowd to be indicative of a good PTA as many parents work late and don't have time to attend after school all the time but I like to go to a meeting to meet parents and see what is going on at the school. I also feel the office staff is indicative of a good school environment. Unfortunately, when I was looking for a school for my son, there were a lot of front offices that were so rude and inept that that sealed the deal in me not sending my kid there. Also, if you have young kids, the middle/high school may not be good right now but if a neighborhood that you are considering is in a district with a lot of newer families moving in that are committed to sending their kids to the neighborhood school, that cluster may be better in the future. I have heard good things about the Jackson cluster as there is a lot going on in the east side and there are a lot of still affordable neighborhoods over there.
Also wanted to note that I live in the city with kids because I don't like driving long distances to work and I would rather spend time with my kids at home and be able to make it to PTA meetings and other activities rather than spend time in traffic. We used to live in Cobb county and sometimes it would take over an hour to get home and I just didn't want to deal with all that traffic anymore as I felt it took away time from my family. Also, I save money on gas and car repairs/maintenance that I can use to pay for activities for my kids as I rarely drive now outside of a 5 mile radius (downtown, midtown, Little 5 points, West Midtown, Buckhead, etc, are all within 5 miles of my house and I can take and know backstreets so I am not perpetually stuck in traffic and can enjoy more of the city with my kids).
Thanks Residinghere! I do use GreatSchools because some of the reviews are helpful but like any other review site I take a lot of them with a grain of salt.
I think your idea of visiting schools is wonderful, however we don't have a child yet. We're considering buying a house and plan to start a family very soon, so schools are playing a key role in our decision. However it seems like many of the local districts are changing so much with redistricting, cheating scandals, school closures, etc. I'd hate to buy a home because of certain schools only to have the local school closed. I'm wondering now if maybe we should just wait until we have a child and are a little closer to school age before we decide.
I don't want to be negative, but here are my $0.02.
What you are looking for does not exist. A hidden gem neighborhood in the city where you can buy a home big enough for a small family in a solid school district for $170K?
Look, this is a major metro area of over six million souls. You might find something like this in Kansas City or somewhere else in flyover country, but in Atlanta? I wish you luck, but I don't think so. I went through similar research while assessing a job opportunity in NOVA just outside of DC and I was stunned by the real estate costs. Large, relatively desirable cities with job markets that either haven't stalled (NOVA) or should recover quickly (ATL) are simply going to cost more.
You may need to re-set your expectations and will need to increase your budget somewhat, I am afraid.
Kirkwood is zoned for Drew Charter, the oldest and one of the best charter schools in GA. Many parents from the neighborhood send their kids there for middle school. Toomer is a great elementary school winning the governor's award this year.
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