Moving to Atlanta Area (Dunwoody, Duluth: low crime, homes, school district)

[Aurora11]

My husband and I are considering a move to the Atlanta area. His office would be in Norcross and I would work from home. We want an area that would have a failry manageable commute to Norcross and that has great schools. We also want a swim community with homes in the low $300s that is close to shopping/activities. Any suggestions for particular areas or subdivisions? Thanks so much.

[martarider]

Dunwoody

[lastminutemom]

In that price range, Dunwoody will be tough.

Peachtree Corners might be a possibility as well as a little North of there in unincorporated Norcross and Duluth. The Northview High School district is excellent-- though I don't know the price ranges there.

[sweettea1]

Duluth could work too.

[Iconographer]

Originally Posted by lastminutemom

In that price range, Dunwoody will be tough.

Peachtree Corners might be a possibility as well as a little North of there in unincorporated Norcross and Duluth. The Northview High School district is excellent-- though I don't know the price ranges there.

My first thought, too...and I don't think it's out of reach for the OP pricewise.

[TakeAhike]

Originally Posted by lastminutemom

In that price range, Dunwoody will be tough.

Peachtree Corners might be a possibility as well as a little North of there in unincorporated Norcross and Duluth. The Northview High School district is excellent-- though I don't know the price ranges there.

The AJC reports that Northview HS had the highest SAT scores this year. I think that is Fulton County? The test score articles are featured today at Atlanta News, Sports, Atlanta Weather, Business News | ajc.com

[matt8325]

Originally Posted by TakeAhike

The AJC reports that Northview HS had the highest SAT scores this year. I think that is Fulton County? The test score articles are featured today at Atlanta News, Sports, Atlanta Weather, Business News | ajc.com

Northview had the highest scores in Fulton I believe, but Walton High in Cobb had a higher score than Northview.

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by matt8325

Northview had the highest scores in Fulton I believe, but Walton High in Cobb had a higher score than Northview.

Let's put all this in perspective, though.

Walton's scores were 562 in Reading, 580 in Math, and 555 in Writing, or 1697 total.

Meanwhile, the mean SAT score for the entire state of Minnesota (http://www.grandforksherald.com/articles/index.cfm?id=85198 - broken link) for 2007-08 was 596 in Reading, 609 in Math, and 579 in Writing. That's 1784 total.

Assuming we're comparing apples and apples, Walton isn't very impressive.

Of course, the SAT is administered somewhat more selectively in MN due to the fact that most colleges in the area tend to focus on the ACT, so I suspect that has a rather large impact on the scores achieved.

For the record, I never bothered to take the SAT when I went to high school in MN. My ACT score was good enough for me to not care about it.

[startinganew]

Originally Posted by LovinDecatur

My first thought, too...and I don't think it's out of reach for the OP pricewise.

What are the best part of Atlanta .. low crime .. great neighbors and community - great for teens - relaxing for the elderly .. so I guess all in one

[RainyRainyDay]

Originally Posted by rcsteiner

Let's put all this in perspective, though.

Walton's scores were 562 in Reading, 580 in Math, and 555 in Writing, or 1697 total.

Meanwhile, the mean SAT score for the entire state of Minnesota (http://www.grandforksherald.com/articles/index.cfm?id=85198 - broken link) for 2007-08 was 596 in Reading, 609 in Math, and 579 in Writing. That's 1784 total.

Assuming we're comparing apples and apples, Walton isn't very impressive.

Of course, the SAT is administered somewhat more selectively in MN due to the fact that most colleges in the area tend to focus on the ACT, so I suspect that has a rather large impact on the scores achieved.

For the record, I never bothered to take the SAT when I went to high school in MN. My ACT score was good enough for me to not care about it.

Somewhat more selectively? According to the Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune at More students in state taking advanced tests (http://www.startribune.com/local/27441469.html?elr=KArks7PYDiaK7DUoaK7D_V_eDc87DUiD 3aPc:_Yyc:aUU - broken link)

Minnesota students graduating in 2008 also performed above the national average for SAT, which is taken by fewer than 10 percent of Minnesota high school graduates....

However, according to a Georgia newspaper at Ga. SAT scores drop for 2nd straight year

Still, Georgia also ranks low among states where the majority of students take the SAT. Georgia is eighth among the 10 states with 70 percent or higher participation rate on the test....

We're definitely not comparing apples and apples, here.

Posts commenting on the quality of metro Atlanta schools by people who don't have school-age children here just exasperate me. I'll try to be brief. Those of us from up north, with kids who actually attend public schools in the north Atlanta metro area, tend to be blown away by the high academic standards we encounter. It's not just me on this forum; there are several posters who mention this whenever the subject comes up.

My own child is getting a far superior education in Cobb County than her cousins in Canada - that's a country whose students handily outscore the US on international tests, and her cousins live in upscale areas where the schools are particularly good.

I was a top-scoring, national scholarship-winning student back in the "good old days" when educational standards in North America are generally thought to have been higher, but East Cobb schools are much demanding than anything I encountered in my school days. It's not just "busy work", either. Critical thinking is expected.

My kid is currently working with matrices - determinants, inverting, solving systems of linear equations etc. - as a high school freshman. This is in the accelerated stream of Georgia's new math curriculum. As the director of engineering at my workplace, a brilliant guy who was a math major at a prestigious northeastern college, observed "That was college freshman math in my day, 20 years ago. What are they expecting these kids to learn as college freshman? Complex Analysis?"

Obviously, rural Georgia must have some really terrible schools, in order for the state to be doing so poorly on high school graduation rate and other measures. This is a serious problem for the state. But all these posts from well-intentioned people who lack personal exposure to the school system, suggesting that schools like Walton are pretty terrible compared to schools up north....! Academically, Walton is one of the highest ranked public high schools in the country. That's the truth.