Good Schools in Tucker??? (Roswell, Dunwoody: real estate market, apartment, crime)

[Marissa04]

Hey All,

Im looking to buy a house around the Tucker area and was wondering what schools are considered "good" in that area??? Any help would be much appreciated!! Thanks!!!!

[lastminutemom]

What age are your children and are you interested in Gwinnett or DeKalb (Tucker is in both) or does that matter...

[Marissa04]

From what ive heard some say i would rather stay in gwinnett.....

[TakeAhike]

Livsey is a good elementary school. I would research it at greatschools.com and contact/visit the school.

Lots of changes taking place within the school system/DeKalb.

This is an old thread but you might get something from it. I really do not know anything about the part of Tucker that is in Gwinnett except it changes somewhere along Norcross-Tucker or Tucker-Norcross Rd. and that subdivision seemed nice--Tucker PD would certainly know about the crime in the area.

http://www.city-data.com/forum/atlan...tucker-ga.html

[rackensack]

Originally Posted by Marissa04

From what ive heard some say i would rather stay in gwinnett.....

Not in the Tucker area. The schools that serve the Tucker-in-Gwinnett area are among the worst in the Gwinnett County school system, and are generally significantly worse than the schools just across the county line in DeKalb. This is largely a function of the huge number of apartment units in the Gwinnett portion of that area, leading to a highly transient, lower-income population and schools that are just too large to be effective. Nesbit Elementary, which covers most of the Tucker-in-Gwinnett area, tries hard and has some excellent teachers but is just overwhelmed with 1200 students, nearly 3/4 of whom speak something other than English as their primary language at home (87% are are on free or reduced-price lunch programs). Lilburn Middle is equally crowded with similar demographic challenges and has had lots of discipline/violence problems in recent years. Likewise with Meadowcreek High.

In DeKalb, Livsey, Evansdale and Oak Grove in particular are quite good elementary schools, and Briarlake, Brockett, Midvale, and Henderson Mill aren't far behind (Idlewood and Pleasantdale, not so much -- they share many of the same challenges as Nesbit in Gwinnett), Henderson Middle is also relatively strong, and Lakeside High is well regarded; Tucker Middle School and Tucker High are no better than an average performers academically (quite comparable to Meadowcreek in Gwinnett and better than many other DeKalb high schools) but don't have quite the number of discipline problems and violent episodes that Lilburn Middle and Meadowcreek High do.

We moved from the Tucker-in-Gwinnett area to East Roswell a couple of years ago for a variety of reasons, but school quality was definitely one. We considered a lot of places in the Tucker area on the DeKalb side of the line, but wanted to be closer to our synagogue in Dunwoody. In fairness, I should say that while our kids were only at Nesbit Elementary briefly, their experience there was generally positive -- the teachers were excellent, the administration responsive, etc. -- and had we stayed in that area I think they could have done well for the entire time. I've heard the same from other parents. Uniformly, however, the same parents report that things changed for the worse -- dramatically -- once they reached Lilburn Middle School.

[TakeAhike]

I believe Lilburn Middle has made the news a few times and not in a good way.

Sadly it is difficult to know what is going to happen with any school/school system these days.

I know the community around Henderson Mill Rd and Lakeside/Oak Grove will be involved.

Very, very frustrating to have beautiful homes with central access to the city and not be certain that the quality of education will remain high.

[JPD]

In addition to those already mentioned, Brockett is a good elementary school in Tucker.

I don't know much about Tucker Middle school, other than it being only a few years old.

Tucker High School is getting replaced with a new state-of-the art school starting at the end of this school year.
New Tucker High School Construction Website

Also, Tucker High School is an International Baccalaureate school.
International Baccalaureate

[rackensack]

Originally Posted by TakeAhike

Tucker PD would certainly know about the crime in the area.

Minor nitpick -- there is no Tucker police department -- there isn't even, officially, a city of Tucker (it's an unincorporated area, albeit one with a pretty distinct identity). The Tucker area is served by the DeKalb County Police (who have a relatively new precinct located next to the Cofer Crossing WalMart on Lawrenceville Highway) and the Gwinnett Police Department's Westside precinct, located at I-85 and Jimmy Carter Boulevard.

[TakeAhike]

Originally Posted by rackensack

Minor nitpick -- there is no Tucker police department -- there isn't even, officially, a city of Tucker (it's an unincorporated area, albeit one with a pretty distinct identity). The Tucker area is served by the DeKalb County Police (who have a relatively new precinct located next to the Cofer Crossing WalMart on Lawrenceville Highway) and the Gwinnett Police Department's Westside precinct, located at I-85 and Jimmy Carter Boulevard.

That is true, I suppose. From time to time I have seen or I thought I saw DeKalb PD/Tucker on a patrol car. I can definitely confirm that DeKalb PD patrols this area effectively.

I worked in Tucker for years and unless I have really lost my mind there was a police station there. If I don't hear some really good news about schools and DeKalb County in general I think I will go insane.

[ebenjamin]

Hello all,

First I am a brand new member, and this is my first post.


Tucker (30084) currently has 162 houses on the market, ranging from 719K-93K and is served by the following DeKalb elementary schools:

Midvale

Livsey

Brockett

Idlewood

Smoke Rise

All have their merits and downsides, but when you look at how the real estate market approaches them, Midvale and Livsey are your best bets for resale.

best,
Eric