School Ratings Thread - READ FIRST for school inquiries. (Atlanta: appointed, calculation)

[kaday]

Originally Posted by ajagor92

That's true. But that was also one of my points. In private schools the students as individuals tend to be of higher caliber. It's an environment more conducive to learning.

That, and the majority of my teachers hold PhD's. My AP US History teacher, for instance, is the leader of the APUSH board. Many teachers are able to teach at a college level but instead choose to teach high school. There is much more school unity. It's really something I can't put into words. The experience for me (and for most.. no matter how much we complain) has been incredible.

So better people attend private schools...better individuals??? I can understand if you said better students...but a higher caliber person? What exactly do you mean by that?

[JeffRaw-RE/Construction]

The City of Atlanta Public Schools are making a comeback as young professionals quit the commute to the big house in the burbs and trade it in for a smaller bungalow community with a sense of community. The top elementary schools are typically: Morningside Elementary, Mary Linn Elementary, Springdale Park Elementary (referred to as SPARK) (new). Slightly North you get the Buckhead area elementary schools like Sarah Smith and Jackson. Let me know if you need any more ideas and help with your move.

[frances125]

Originally Posted by ajagor92

That's true. But that was also one of my points. In private schools the students as individuals tend to be of higher caliber. It's an environment more conducive to learning.

Sure ajagor, that's why... when I was in a prestigious private school, all the public school kids who were looking for harder drugs hung out with private school kids. Public school... the occasional beer party. Private school.... pot, acid, cocaine. Shoot, we even had a teacher who would go behind the gym and get high with students. If kids got busted their wealthy fathers would straighten everything out for them.

Not all private school kids are druggies of course - many (including my friends) didn't touch the stuff. You say the private school kids are "higher caliber".. higher maybe.. but not higher caliber necessarily. Wealth does not equal caliber.

Having done the private school thing and done it well, I would never send my kids to a private school beyond 5th grade. There is just too much temptation and entitlement mentality ... for the money spent it's not worth it IMO.

[firemonkey53]

Originally Posted by atlantagreg30127

I've noticed that it seems the Atlanta thread gets much more "where are the neighborhoods with good schools" type of questions than many if not most other city threads. At times it seems like 40% of the inquiries are along the lines of, "I'm moving to Atlanta - where are the best neighborhoods and schools at?".

Perhaps those who are more web savy could compile a list of sites that rate the schools throughout the metro area, give test scores, and even show incidences of violence, as well as all the pluses. We could then compose a thread and just keep it at the top of the board titled, "Good schools thread - READ THIS FIRST". It would eliminate or reduce the repeats, and give folks a one-stop message with all the links they would need to get vital info.

Just an idea.

Well I'm moving to Atlanta and I did the opposite instead of looking around for a good neighborhood I searched for a good school first. Money Mag has a best school list for every state. I suggest start there look for the best school then contact the school for the attendance area.

[firemonkey53]

Money magazine issues a best place to live list yearly. They also publish a best school list Gold/Silver/Bronze type of ranking. I suggest for anyone moving to anywhere look up the stats on the area you are moving to. This year Peachtree City was picked as one of the top ten best places to live and McIntosh High one of the better schools in the area. Soooooooooo, that's a no brainer where I moving to. However, for the city of Atlanta you are going to have to look that up. Or, just do a BEST SCHOOL search in Money Magazine.

[jalilaw]

I am moving from Southern California to Atlanta with my mother and 7 year old daughter. My mother will be a full-time student at Georgia State and I am opera singer/classical vocalist, so we are looking to be at least fairly close to GSU and the city's cultural centers, however our decision will weigh heavily on my daughter's elementary school.

I am looking for a high-performing public or charter school that is ethnically diverse, and, of course in a safe neighborhood. We will start off renting (condo or house). In my research so far, the school that best meets my criteria is Teasley Elementary in Smyrna. Does anyone have experience with this school? I also know nothing about Smyrna except for the statistics I have come across. Can anyone offer insight, or even other options for me to consider?

[eagermum]

Could someone shed light on the New Dunwoody Elementary School?

Thank you in advance for your input.

[arjay57]

As others have commented, the city of Atlanta has a number of outstanding elementary schools. Morris Brandon, Sarah Smith and the new Sarah Smith Intermediate school, Garden Hills, E. Rivers and Jackson in Buckhead all offer the International Baccalaureate (IB) program. Morningside, Springdale Park and Mary Lin in the Virginia-Highland/Candler Park area are highly sought after as well. Many people with kids move into those areas specifically to have access to the schools.

Inman and Sutton middle schools are also highly regarded. The better city schools have become so popular in recent years that they are bursting at the seams, and Springdale Park and Sarah Smith Intermediate have been built to accommodate the growing enrollment. Several months ago the school board announced they were building a new state of the art urban high school in Buckhead, which would be the first on the northside in about 50 years. (It’s my recollection that they said North Atlanta High will be converted to another middle school to take some of the load from Jackson). And of course several posters have described their excellent experiences at Grady.

The bottom line is that your kids can get an absolutely first class education in the city proper. In addition to the public schools, there are a bunch of world class intown private schools such as Westminster, Paideia, Pace, Lovett, Atlanta International, Woodward, etc. I know many, many parents inside the city limits who are very pleased and involved with their schools. In my opinion that’s one of the best benchmarks of Atlanta’s success in the last 10-15 years.

[mama23]

Hi All,

I've been reading through this thread - but it is so long! Please excuse if this has been addressed.

Never having set foot in Georgia before, my family & I will be relocating to Atlanta for my husbands work @ CDC. We currently live on the west coast in an area that is very liberal & home prices are much higher than in GA - so cost of living seems quite appealing.

I have 3 kids in elementary school (K, 2, 5) & are in gifted programs here. We like the idea of a K-8 school so all kids can be together since they won't know anyone else. We can afford private school & are planning on staying for 5 years or less before returning to our current home (& before our kids are in high school).

I'd like to look for a good school & then find a neighborhood based on that. We've been recommended that we stay inside perimeter based on our liberal, non-religious, casual background.

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

[lastminutemom]

To find k-8, in metro Atlanta, you will need to use private school. I recommend Cliff Valley School (google it), but I don't know what the odds are that they will have 3 spaces. Galloway School and Paideia (google them) are other possibilities.

Even in this economy, most private schools are full. Start calling around and see what you can find.


Good luck.