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I always think it's kind of funny judging if an entire city would make someone feel unwelcome based on certain factors. A lot falls on the individual being open minded and plugging in where needed regardless of community. There is not inherent about PTC that would lead me to believe it would be unwelcoming to someone.
Having said that, it IS a bit removed from the city core, moreso than many other suburbs. I think that's relevant because from a culture perspective that puts it a bit more on an island. Not like it's out in the boonies, but it's also not Sandy Springs for instance.
Actually, there indeed IS an area with incredible schools within a reasonable commute of Conyers.
That area is the clusters of the Gwinnett County Public Schools system anchored by the highly rated Brookwood and Parkview high schools in the Snellville and Lilburn areas, respectively, of south-central Gwinnett County.
Brookwood High School itself is only about a 15-20 mile drive (or roughly about a less than 30-minute drive) each way from Conyers.
The Brookwood HS and Parkview HS zones are located much, much closer to an East metro Atlanta outer-suburban community like Conyers than a Southwest metro Atlanta outer-suburban community like Peachtree City, which is about a 45-50 mile distance and about a 50-70 minute long drive each way from Conyers when traffic conditions are good.
Brookwood High School has consistently rated as one of the top-two regular public high schools in Gwinnett County and one of the best regular public high schools in the state of Georgia and the Southeastern U.S. over the years.
And along with its extremely high academic ratings, Brookwood HS also features an increasingly diverse student body in an area that is loaded with amenities in south-central Gwinnett County.
(Asian students currently make up more than 18 percent of the student population as Brookwood High School, and racial and ethnic minorities as a whole make up about 72 percent of the student body at Brookwood High School.)
The Brookwood HS cluster also provides great access to a fairly large cluster of retail amenities along Georgia 124 Scenic Drive on the Northside of Snellville.
Meanwhile, Parkview High School is a very high quality school where Asian students currently make up more than 20 percent of the student body, and where racial and ethnic minorities as a whole currently make up about 77 percent of the student population.
And with the area’s large and fast-growing South Asian population (punctuated by multiple Islamic mosques and numerous Hindu temples, including what has been reported to be the largest Hindu temple in the world outside of India in Lilburn), both the Brookwood and Parkview school clusters provide access to South Asian (Hindu and Islamic) services in the Lilburn, Norcross, Snellville and Lawrenceville areas.
Quote:
Originally Posted by vtecluder617
Unfortunately, unless remote work is a possibility (even a few days a week), the commute from the northern suburbs going south is quite bad.
If he ends up working east of Atlanta, I would heed Born 2 Roll's advise and look into south Gwinnett county (which would be a manageable commute). Gwinnett County would be much more diverse (home to a large Asian/Hindu population) and the school system is regarded as one of the best in metro Atlanta.
Yes.
Salley O'Malley,
If the work will be in Conyers, and based on your other criteria, you should definitely focus your search on the Brookwood-Parkview Area of South Gwinnett County. This would be North Snellville, East Lilburn, South Lilburn, and South Lawrenceville.
The Brookwood-Parkview Area has excellent schools, beautiful neighborhoods, and great amenities - with a good commute to Conyers.
You should also look into the Union Grove-Ola Area of Eastern/Southern Henry County. The clusters have great schools and fantastic neighborhoods - with an excellent commute to Conyers. There is good diversity in these districts, but the Asian population is a bit lower.
If the work will be in Conyers, and based on your other criteria, you should definitely focus your search on the Brookwood-Parkview Area of South Gwinnett County. This would be North Snellville, East Lilburn, South Lilburn, and South Lawrenceville.
The Brookwood-Parkview Area has excellent schools, beautiful neighborhoods, and great amenities - with a good commute to Conyers.
You should also look into the Union Grove-Ola Area of Eastern/Southern Henry County. The clusters have great schools and fantastic neighborhoods - with an excellent commute to Conyers. There is decent-to-good diversity in these districts, but the Asian population is lower.
The Union Grove HS and Ola HS clusters of the Henry County Schools system are excellent options to consider for commuting to and from work in Conyers.
Union Grove High School itself is about an 18-mile/30-minute drive each way from Olde Town Conyers (Downtown Conyers).
Ola High School itself is about a 21-mile/30-35 minute drive each way from Olde Town Conyers.
The Union Grove and Ola clusters are the highest-rated clusters of schools in Henry County and in Atlanta’s Southeastern outer suburbs.
Though, like aries4118 noted, both the Union Grove and Ola school clusters have lower Asian populations than the aforementioned Brookwood/Parkview school zones of Gwinnett County.
(Asian students currently only make up just over 6 percent of the student population at Union Grove High School.)
I always think it's kind of funny judging if an entire city would make someone feel unwelcome based on certain factors. A lot falls on the individual being open minded and plugging in where needed regardless of community. There is not inherent about PTC that would lead me to believe it would be unwelcoming to someone.
Having said that, it IS a bit removed from the city core, moreso than many other suburbs. I think that's relevant because from a culture perspective that puts it a bit more on an island. Not like it's out in the boonies, but it's also not Sandy Springs for instance.
So true. The city and community is what you make it, and that's more of a reflection of the connections one chooses to create within it. PTC as a whole is on the red side of the political spectrum, though a much lighter shade of red than it used to be. As vtecluder617 stated, don't let that misinform you. The summer of 2020 brought a few large BLM rallies to city core, and I was just as likely to see BLM signs in chalk on the multi-use paths and Biden signs in yards as I was to see Trump signs. Neighbors remained neighborly and everyone friendly. School board meetings never got heated and no seems to wear their politics on their sleeves.
As a resident of PTC with a family of color, I can tell you the community is very welcoming and fitting in would not be an issue for the OP. It is a bit isolated from core metro with the highway 54/34 corridor between Fayetteville/PTC/Newnan serving somewhat as a shopping, dining, entertainment core in this part of the metro. Beyond that it is usually a trip to and up 85 or 285 to some other destination. This isn't necessarily a negative as the lack of population density keeps the feel outer suburban to exurbs/rural with low crime and good to excellent schools. If being outside with your kids is a desire, the multi-use paths connecting the neighborhoods, villages, lakes and parks makes PTC an incredible experience for that. The city becomes If you want the city, it's not that far away.
All that being said, if you are looking at Conyers that's still a bit of a commute, and the southern side of 285 can and does get backed up which can really extend that commute. I was looking at a position just due south of Lithonia and the commute gave me a bit of pause.
I always think it's kind of funny judging if an entire city would make someone feel unwelcome based on certain factors. A lot falls on the individual being open minded and plugging in where needed regardless of community. There is not inherent about PTC that would lead me to believe it would be unwelcoming to someone.
Having said that, it IS a bit removed from the city core, moreso than many other suburbs. I think that's relevant because from a culture perspective that puts it a bit more on an island. Not like it's out in the boonies, but it's also not Sandy Springs for instance.
Citykid. I agree with you. It is a bit ridiculous and we tend to get along with everyone. We also tend to make friends really easily and don't look to see if they fit our specific demographic. I understand this post could sound a bit odd.
We are trying to make a decision about moving three kids across the country after a 48 hour visit so I am kind of grasping at whatever detail I can glean from these conversations which have been very helpful. Also hoping to quickly identify any red flags.
I appreciate your contribution to the conversation. Thank you.
[quote=Born 2 Roll;62914675]Actually, there indeed IS an area with incredible schools within a reasonable commute of Conyers.
That area is the clusters of the Gwinnett County Public Schools system anchored by the highly rated Brookwood and Parkview high schools in the Snellville and Lilburn areas, respectively, of south-central Gwinnett County.
Brookwood High School itself is only about a 15-20 mile drive (or roughly about a less than 30-minute drive) each way from Conyers.
The Brookwood HS and Parkview HS zones are located much, much closer to an East metro Atlanta outer-suburban community like Conyers than a Southwest metro Atlanta outer-suburban community like Peachtree City, which is about a 45-50 mile distance and about a 50-70 minute long drive each way from Conyers when traffic conditions are good.
Brookwood High School has consistently rated as one of the top-two regular public high schools in Gwinnett County and one of the best regular public high schools in the state of Georgia and the Southeastern U.S. over the years.
And along with its extremely high academic ratings, Brookwood HS also features an increasingly diverse student body in an area that is loaded with amenities in south-central Gwinnett County.
(Asian students currently make up more than 18 percent of the student population as Brookwood High School, and racial and ethnic minorities as a whole make up about 72 percent of the student body at Brookwood High School.)
The Brookwood HS cluster also provides great access to a fairly large cluster of retail amenities along Georgia 124 Scenic Drive on the Northside of Snellville.
We were watching videos about Brookwood High School and Lilburn all morning. It looks like a great community but I thought the English and math numbers were a little lower (percentage of students at or above level) than PTC or Decatur. Looks a little quirky which would suit us well. I'm hoping for a ton of great middle eastern and Indian food too. We will include it in our fast tour of the region.
So true. The city and community is what you make it, and that's more of a reflection of the connections one chooses to create within it. PTC as a whole is on the red side of the political spectrum, though a much lighter shade of red than it used to be. As vtecluder617 stated, don't let that misinform you. The summer of 2020 brought a few large BLM rallies to city core, and I was just as likely to see BLM signs in chalk on the multi-use paths and Biden signs in yards as I was to see Trump signs. Neighbors remained neighborly and everyone friendly. School board meetings never got heated and no seems to wear their politics on their sleeves.
As a resident of PTC with a family of color, I can tell you the community is very welcoming and fitting in would not be an issue for the OP. It is a bit isolated from core metro with the highway 54/34 corridor between Fayetteville/PTC/Newnan serving somewhat as a shopping, dining, entertainment core in this part of the metro. Beyond that it is usually a trip to and up 85 or 285 to some other destination. This isn't necessarily a negative as the lack of population density keeps the feel outer suburban to exurbs/rural with low crime and good to excellent schools. If being outside with your kids is a desire, the multi-use paths connecting the neighborhoods, villages, lakes and parks makes PTC an incredible experience for that. The city becomes If you want the city, it's not that far away.
All that being said, if you are looking at Conyers that's still a bit of a commute, and the southern side of 285 can and does get backed up which can really extend that commute. I was looking at a position just due south of Lithonia and the commute gave me a bit of pause.
Thank you. If we chose PTC our job would also be south of ATL. I'm sure we'd have a lovely time in the community. I'm glad to hear the school board meetings didn't get crazy. That's always a good sign. Thank you for your feedback about the opportunities for families as a PTC resident. Appreciated.
We were watching videos about Brookwood High School and Lilburn all morning. It looks like a great community but I thought the English and math numbers were a little lower (percentage of students at or above level) than PTC or Decatur. Looks a little quirky which would suit us well. I'm hoping for a ton of great middle eastern and Indian food too. We will include it in our fast tour of the region.
Any lower English and Math numbers at a school like Brookwood HS when compared to schools in PTC (like Starr’s Mill and McIntosh high schools) and Decatur, maybe can be explained by the significantly increased level of socioeconomic diversity at Brookwood HS when compared to schools in PTC and Decatur.
Roughly between 26-29 percent of the student population currently is classified as low-income and qualifies for free and reduced lunch at Brookwood HS.
Compare that to Decatur HS where only about 13 percent of the student population is classified as low-income and qualifies for free/reduced lunch. (...This is something that is opposite the situation in the past when a substantially and noticeably higher proportion of the Decatur City Schools student population was considered to be low-income before the City of Decatur proper was completely overtaken by gentrification by affluent young professionals.)
At McIntosh HS in PTC, only about 9 percent of the student population classifies as low-income and qualifies for free/reduced lunch.
At Starrs Mill HS in PTC/Fayetteville, low-income students only make up about 6 percent of the student population.
In an increasingly extremely socioeconomically diverse jurisdiction like Gwinnett County, you may notice the significant socioeconomic diversity of student populations may have an effect on some academic measurements at schools that overall may enjoy extremely high academic ratings and top-notch academic reputations.
Though, the roughly 26-29 percent low-income/free/reduced lunch rate at a school like Brookwood HS is still substantially and dramatically lower than in other school zones in the Gwinnett County Public Schools system... Like in nearby school zones like at:
> South Gwinnett HS, where 65% of students come from low-income families
> Shiloh HS, where 69% of students come from low-income families
> Discovery HS, where 72% of students come from low-income families
> Central Gwinnett HS, where 76% of students come from low-income families
> Berkmar HS, where 77% of students come from low-income families
> Meadowcreek HS, where 78% of students come from low-income families.
We were watching videos about Brookwood High School and Lilburn all morning. It looks like a great community but I thought the English and math numbers were a little lower (percentage of students at or above level) than PTC or Decatur. Looks a little quirky which would suit us well. I'm hoping for a ton of great middle eastern and Indian food too. We will include it in our fast tour of the region.
The Brookwood high cluster schools in the Parkview high cluster schools are highly rated. I would definitely not worry about any marginal difference in English and math scores that you read somewhere.
Any lower English and Math numbers at a school like Brookwood HS when compared to schools in PTC (like Starr’s Mill and McIntosh high schools) and Decatur, maybe can be explained by the significantly increased level of socioeconomic diversity at Brookwood HS when compared to schools in PTC and Decatur.
Roughly between 26-29 percent of the student population currently is classified as low-income and qualifies for free and reduced lunch at Brookwood HS.
Compare that to Decatur HS where only about 13 percent of the student population is classified as low-income and qualifies for free/reduced lunch. (...This is something that is opposite the situation in the past when a substantially and noticeably higher proportion of the Decatur City Schools student population was considered to be low-income before the City of Decatur proper was completely overtaken by gentrification by affluent young professionals.)
At McIntosh HS in PTC, only about 9 percent of the student population classifies as low-income and qualifies for free/reduced lunch.
At Starrs Mill HS in PTC/Fayetteville, low-income students only make up about 6 percent of the student population.
In an increasingly extremely socioeconomically diverse jurisdiction like Gwinnett County, you may notice the significant socioeconomic diversity of student populations may have an effect on some academic measurements at schools that overall may enjoy extremely high academic ratings and top-notch academic reputations.
Though, the roughly 26-29 percent low-income/free/reduced lunch rate at a school like Brookwood HS is still substantially and dramatically lower than in other school zones in the Gwinnett County Public Schools system... Like in nearby school zones like at:
> South Gwinnett HS, where 65% of students come from low-income families
> Shiloh HS, where 69% of students come from low-income families
> Discovery HS, where 72% of students come from low-income families
> Central Gwinnett HS, where 76% of students come from low-income families
> Berkmar HS, where 77% of students come from low-income families
> Meadowcreek HS, where 78% of students come from low-income families.
Thank you! I'm amazed you are so fluent in all this data! This is so valuable to us as we are making a decision.
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