School Ratings Thread - Start One & Keep On Top? (Atlanta: apartment, lease)

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by lidlfeet

Many, many helpful posts in this thread! We are relocating next summer and need middle school/neighborhood recommendations. But my head is spinning because I know nothing about the area and I'm having a difficult time pinpointing locations reading through the posts.

If this helps:
- my husband's job will be in Norcross, I work from home
- our daughter (youngest) will be entering 7th grade, good student but very into sports
- we'd like a neighborhood where kids play outside and interact with each other

Thanks for any help you can provide!

Housing price range?

[lidlfeet]

Knew I'd forget something! 400k-500k. Thanks!

[lidlfeet]

After reading the thread about East Cobb , let me add to my previous post - we are very unpretentious people who dislike the "keeping up with the Joneses" mentality. A low key, relaxed neighborhood where folks are friendly is what we're looking for.

[visionary02]

Originally Posted by caramel74

This helped me out quite a bit. I am a teacher trying to move to ATL. Thanks for the help.

Where do you live now? I'm a teacher too wanting to move to Atlanta.

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by lidlfeet

Knew I'd forget something! 400k-500k. Thanks!

I'd suggest looking in the Peachtree Corners area--a part of Norcross.

Excellent area, great school, great commute for you.

The school would be Pinckneyville Middle School. Great school! Your child would go on to Norcross High School.

Pinckneyville Middle


I think you will be very happy and find what you're looking for.


I hope this helps. Good Luck!

[all4kevin]

Originally Posted by saralbrown

Why compile your own list. Schools are measured and ranked already....

Georgia Public Policy Foundation - www.gppf.org

GreatSchools.net

Thanks so much for the wonderful ranking lists for GA public schools! so very very helpful!

[Team Sullivan]

greatschools.net or schoolsk-12.com excellent source

[E-RPM SOFT COM]

Sounds like a great idea. This would make it more easier for people to get answers to some of their most important questions.

[jwgraves2]

I think that since this is the school ratings thread, this is as appropriate a place as any to post this question. If I have stepped on someone else's toes or "thread-jacked"--advanced apologies. Will be attending Emory Law, wife Emory 1 year-Emory MBA Fall 2010 start. Have enough equity to live for a year (or two if we had to) while she's in school. Presume she'll get job in city; we don't want a Marrietta-style commute and want to live close-in with a genuine sense of community--restaurants, historical homes and a good elementary school for AT LEAST K-5 (I think we could afford private by the time 6 grade comes around, but it'd be great if we could do public K-12, and still feel we'd given our children every opportunity for personal greatness.) Price point first five years in neighborhood=$500k, then I'd think we'd go up to $750k+.I've read all the threads on Mary Lin, Morningside, Decatur City and Fernbank. I've visited the neighborhoods around these schools and have one question:Are there appreciable differences among the schools mentioned in the: 1.) proportion of parents who have graduated college? 2.) level of parental involvement in the schools 3.) socioeconomic status of the parents (and this isn't code for race--not concerned with race--concerned with poor/gangs/crack) 4. administration and teaching quality. Also, which of these school districts is best for dogs--(a Brittany Spaniel)?Finally, in which of these communities (if any) do children walk home safely? Thank you.

[frances125]

Here are my answers based on your factors. I have three kids in Decatur City Schools (two in elementary and one in middle) so that's my area of expertise but I have friends in some of the other districts and lived in the Mary Lin district for a decade so I have a good bit of knowledge about the other schools.

1) I would say the proportion of parents who have graduated college will be about the same for all of these areas - if there are any differences .. they are not significant.

2) Parental involvement is going to be very similar in all of these districts.

3) In public schools, children who are lower income receive free or reduced price lunches (FRL), and the number of such kids in each school/district is tracked. Here are the FRL percentages for the schools you list Mary Lin- 13%; Morningside- 12%; Fernbank- 10%; Decatur City- 29%. The middle schools and high schools that Morningside, Mary Lin and Fernbank feed into have much higher FRL rates (around 50-55%) while Decatur's middle and high school remain stable at right around 25-30%. That being said, FRL does not always mean gangs and ghetto behavior. In Decatur, a large number of the FRL kids are recent Muslim immigrants from northern Africa. They wear very modest clothes (the girls wear head scarves and long skirts/dresses), and these kids are anything but ghetto. They have strict home lives, two parent families and are well behaved in school. Many are top students.

3) Decatur has excellent teachers. They typically have more than 100 applicants per position so Decatur can be picky. Decatur grades K-8 are all either Expeditionary Learning schools or International Baccalaureate (IB) schools. Decatur High is in the process of seeking IB authorization. These school models are focused on project based learning rather than worksheets, textbooks, etc. It is much harder to teach this way so we tend to get teachers who are looking for a challenge and who are really committed to teaching. My understanding is that Fernbank, Shamrock( middle) and Druid Hills (high) are also an International Baccalaureate schools. I am sure that all of these schools have terrific teachers.

Administration - IMO there are not a lot of central office administrators who are worth a darn. I'm quite fond of Decatur's Superintendent.. the Assistant Super. is not well liked at all and very few parents that I know trust him. Re principals in Decatur, the ones at Oakhurst, Winnona and Renfroe are well liked and respected. There are mixed reviews on the Glennwood principal (I like her though) and word on the street is that the Clairemont and Decatur High principals are not so good. DeKalb County (Fernbank) is known for its nuttiness in central administration... not sure about principals. I do know that they move them around a lot. Atlanta (Mary Lin/Morningside) appears to have a more stable central administration. Again, I can't speak for principals.

4) Re dogs... Decatur is your place for dogs all day long! They are everywhere! There are three dog parks within four square miles. Most of the city has a dog park within walking distance.

5) Fernbank, Mary Lin and Morningside are all walkable if you live near the schools, but most kids in these districts are not within walking distance. Once you are in middle and high school.. you can pretty much forget it. In Decatur, my kids will be walking to school from K all the way to 12th. If you live north of Scott Boulevard in Decatur you will not be able to walk to any schools though. A huge amount of kids walk/bike to school in Decatur... it's sort of a cultural thing. You almost feel like a bad parent if your kids don't walk! My kids have walked on their own to school (with friends) since 3rd grade.

Hope this helps. In a nutshell, you really can't go wrong with any of your choices. If I was you, I'd pay a visit to the schools on your short list, see which ones feel right to you and take it from there.