Morningside diversity and schools (Atlanta, Alpharetta: house, neighborhoods, middle school)

[SSA119]

Hello,
We will be moving to Atlanta in July and were looking at possible areas to live. We are looking at homes anywhere between 400K and 600K. Many friends and colleagues have mentioned JohnsCreek/Alpharetta and Cumming to have very good schools and good diversity (decent mix of whites, blacks, Asians and others), however it seems like those are very suburban areas and we were hoping to live in a place where it is walkable to parks, shops and restaurants.
Morningside seemed like such a community. I read through earlier posts for morning side but couldn't find information I was looking for. Any input on the diversity in this place would be helpful. Also the elementary school rating seems to be great, but the middle and especially the high school ratings are much lower. Do families typically move out of the area after elementary or opt for private schools...curious as to why the school feed doesn't maintain the high ranking.
Feedback or pointing to other links would be very helpful!
Thanks in advance!

[red92s]

Morningside is going to test your budget. The cheapest house currently listed in Morningside Lenox Park is $575k. There are only three MLS listings under $600k. You might find it difficult to find a listing that meets things on your "wants" list while remaining in your budget.

[jeoff]

Originally Posted by SSA119

Hello,
We will be moving to Atlanta in July and were looking at possible areas to live. We are looking at homes anywhere between 400K and 600K. Many friends and colleagues have mentioned JohnsCreek/Alpharetta and Cumming to have very good schools and good diversity (decent mix of whites, blacks, Asians and others), however it seems like those are very suburban areas and we were hoping to live in a place where it is walkable to parks, shops and restaurants.
Morningside seemed like such a community. I read through earlier posts for morning side but couldn't find information I was looking for. Any input on the diversity in this place would be helpful. Also the elementary school rating seems to be great, but the middle and especially the high school ratings are much lower. Do families typically move out of the area after elementary or opt for private schools...curious as to why the school feed doesn't maintain the high ranking.
Feedback or pointing to other links would be very helpful!
Thanks in advance!

There are 4 or 5 schools that feed into the middle school-Inman (which, I think has a pretty good ranking), and 5 that feed into Morningside's high school--Grady (which my child will be attending in just a few years). Three of the elementary schools are among the system's best (Mary-Lin, Springdale Park, and Morningside), Hope-Hill has a very low rating, and Centenial Place is average. I know that Centennial feeds into Grady, but I think it is either moving to be a K-8 school, or already is. Some kids go private after elementary school, but many stay. Academically, my 6th grader finds Inman challenging--for us, it definately has a little more of a sink-or-swim feel about it when compared to elementary school--it is a little tough for a kid that is not organized--but a kid has to learn this sometime.
(FWIW, "diversity" is not the first thing that comes to mind when I think of Morningside.)

[Tarzanman]

Originally Posted by SSA119

Hello,
We will be moving to Atlanta in July and were looking at possible areas to live. We are looking at homes anywhere between 400K and 600K. Many friends and colleagues have mentioned JohnsCreek/Alpharetta and Cumming to have very good schools and good diversity (decent mix of whites, blacks, Asians and others), however it seems like those are very suburban areas and we were hoping to live in a place where it is walkable to parks, shops and restaurants.

I worked and lived adjacent to Johns Creek for many years (including a few years before they incorporated). Johns Creek is predominantly white and asian. Wikipedia lists the demographic split thus: ( Johns Creek, Georgia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia )
63.5 percent White; 23.4 percent Asian; 9.2 percent African American; 5.2 percent Hispanic/Latino; 0.1 percent Native American; 1.4 percent from other races; 2.4 percent from two or more races.
Whether you would call it diverse depends on your subjective definition. I consider it fairly diverse for the north metro.

The high schools in johns creek have a reputation for being very competitive academically... but one must keep in mind that it is still a Georgia public school.

Cumming is also overwhelmingly white (about 80%), so your friends have seem to have a strange definition of 'good diversity'

Morningside seemed like such a community. I read through earlier posts for morning side but couldn't find information I was looking for. Any input on the diversity in this place would be helpful. Also the elementary school rating seems to be great, but the middle and especially the high school ratings are much lower. Do families typically move out of the area after elementary or opt for private schools...curious as to why the school feed doesn't maintain the high ranking.
Feedback or pointing to other links would be very helpful!
Thanks in advance!

Morningside is one of the least diverse neighborhoods in Atlanta. Demographics of Atlanta - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
79.6% white; 10.0% black; 3.3% asian; 7.2% other; 9.7% hispanic; I only lived in Morningside/Lenox Park for about 18 months, but I did not see a ton of elementary school age kids even though I was on the streets regularly jogging and bicycling. My guess is that the amount of wealth needed to live in the area makes private school a viable alternative for the families there. I have only heard good things about Morningside Elementary, but only via its reputation.

[kferq]

Morningside is one of the least diverse neighborhoods in Atlanta. Demographics of Atlanta - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
79.6% white; 10.0% black; 3.3% asian; 7.2% other; 9.7% hispanic; I only lived in Morningside/Lenox Park for about 18 months, but I did not see a ton of elementary school age kids even though I was on the streets regularly jogging and bicycling. My guess is that the amount of wealth needed to live in the area makes private school a viable alternative for the families there. I have only heard good things about Morningside Elementary, but only via its reputation.[/quote]

While Morninigside is very white, my experience differs with the post above. I live right behind the school and the neighborhood is packed with elementary aged kids. Just visit the parks with playgrounds on a sunny day to see what I mean. The school is excellent, all three of my children went there. The school demographics are a little different than the neighborhood, because the school attendance zone goes outside the nieghborhood: White 72%, Black 13%,two or more races 7% Hispanic 4% Asian 4%. This is a change from just 10 years ago when the school was 23% Black. Morningside is definitely one of the more white neighborhoods in Atlanta, but it is diverse in a few ways. There are a large number of gay families, many Jewish ones and many people who are from outside the US. It is a convenient neighborhood for working in Buckhead, Midtown, Downtown or the Clifton Corridor and has a large number of Emory faculty. We have loved the neighborhood and the local events, even though it has become whiter and wealthier in the past few years.