Smyrna Vinings Schools (Atlanta, Roswell, Mableton: for sale, foreclosure, houses)

[kfischer]

HELP!! We are relocating to Atlanta from Boston in the next few months and have 2 small children who will enter the school system next year. I am very nervous about choosing the right area - we want to make sure it is the best place for the kids. We have looked in Roswell, but the commute (to midtown) seems far. We have been hearing all these wonderful things about Smyrna/Vinings area - great town/parks/homes/commute, etc. HOWEVER, I have been researching the schools and they seem awful. Where do all these people living in these huge, expensive homes send their kids to school?? Do they all go to private school???

We are looking to spend around 400,000 and are hoping for an okay commute, a good community (recreation/parks/town) and good schools - any suggestions???

Thank you!!

[sweettea1]

Smyrna/Vinings is a great family area! All of the children in our neighborhood go to Teasley Elementary which is excellent, has wonderful family involvement and activities. You should really talk to a realtor in the area who has a sense of the school systems and can give you a good overview. I highly recommend Rebecca Mohandiss at Keller Williams or Karen Blass at Coldwell Banker. Both have sold so many homes in Smyrna, both have young children themselves and both will give you an unbiased view of the school systems.

[GF72]

I'm not going to lie, most of the schools in the Smyrna and Vinings area are pretty bad. Vinings and most of Smyrna is the Campbell High district which is less bad than the other south Cobb districts (Pebblebrook, Osborne, South Cobb) which are terrible.

As far as elementary goes, some are better than others. Argyle is very bad, Teasley is above average, Nickajack is fairly bad, King Springs is also fairly bad, Brown, Norton Park, Belmont Hills, Green Acres, Fair Oaks, LaBelle are all terrible. Honestly, Teasley (which mostly serves Vinings and a little bit of Smyrna) is the only decent school in the area. However, the middle and high schools are pretty bad. If you really want a top-notch school, you could look a couple of miles east at the Sope Creek Elementary district which is far superior than any of these schools. It would eventually lead to Wheeler High (which is great) or Walton High (which is the best in the state). Though, you won't be in the Smyrna/Vinings area anymore, you'll be adding a bit of time onto a midtown commute but not much (5, maybe 10 minutes). As far as community goes, that area is actually a lot nicer. Unfortunately, homes are more expensive as a result, though $400,000 can buy quite a nice house. Not new though if that's what you want.

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by kfischer

HELP!! We are relocating to Atlanta from Boston in the next few months and have 2 small children who will enter the school system next year. I am very nervous about choosing the right area - we want to make sure it is the best place for the kids. We have looked in Roswell, but the commute (to midtown) seems far. We have been hearing all these wonderful things about Smyrna/Vinings area - great town/parks/homes/commute, etc. HOWEVER, I have been researching the schools and they seem awful. Where do all these people living in these huge, expensive homes send their kids to school?? Do they all go to private school???

We are looking to spend around 400,000 and are hoping for an okay commute, a good community (recreation/parks/town) and good schools - any suggestions???

Thank you!!

Oh my...be careful with some the posts you read about schools on here.

Here is the real lowdown:

Great/Good Elementary Schools in the Smyrna/Vinings/Mableton area:

1. Teasley
2. King Springs
3. Nickajack
4. Mableton
5. Brown


Good High School:

1. Campbell



Good Luck.

[GF72]

You just don't like what you perceive to be an "elitist" attitude. However, nothing is going to change the fact that almost half the students in many of those schools fail GA's very easy CRCT standardized test.

CRCT pass rates by grade:

Brown
3rd - 57%
4th - 47%
5th - 60%

Teasley
3rd - 80%
4th - 79%
5th - 78%

King Springs
3rd - 67%
4th - 61%
5th - 70%

Sope Creek
3rd - 93%
4th - 95%
5th - 91%

Now, you can be offended that I dare suggest some schools are way better than others, but it's kind of a big deal to parents to know that they are sending their kids to a school where 60% of children will pass a simple elem. school standardized exam (I have experience with the CRCT - elem. students in this country should be far above CRCT level for their grade, not failing) or 90+% will pass. This isn't the high school SAT, no one should fail the CRCT barring learning disabilities or other extenuating circumstances.

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by GF72

You just don't like what you perceive to be an "elitist" attitude. However, nothing is going to change the fact that almost half the students in many of those schools fail GA's very easy CRCT standardized test.

CRCT pass rates by grade:

Brown
3rd - 57%
4th - 47%
5th - 60%

Teasley
3rd - 80%
4th - 79%
5th - 78%

King Springs
3rd - 67%
4th - 61%
5th - 70%

Sope Creek
3rd - 93%
4th - 95%
5th - 91%

Now, you can be offended that I dare suggest some schools are way better than others, but it's kind of a big deal to parents to know that they are sending their kids to a school where 60% of children will pass a simple elem. school standardized exam (I have experience with the CRCT - elem. students in this country should be far above CRCT level for their grade, not failing) or 90+% will pass. This isn't the high school SAT, no one should fail the CRCT barring learning disabilities or other extenuating circumstances.

Be careful, brother...it's your soul you have to live with.

[GF72]

ooook.....

All I'm going to live with is the fact that I'm helping parents make educated decisions. I'm not going to stop anyone from picking a certain school, I'm just giving them all the facts. And these test scores are a result of a school's teachers - Sope Creek's kids aren't all geniuses. This year, Mabry Middle School in East Cobb was a NCLB receiving school and they still posted the same kinds of numbers they always did - 94% 8th CRCT pass rate and 95% 8th grade Writing Assessment pass rate, and they were named a 2008 NCLB Blue Ribbon School of Excellence for it, the only middle school in metro Atlanta. Just goes to show, it's not the students as much as the teachers that really elevate a school's standards.


Anyway, back to the OP. Looking online, there are currently 182 houses for sale in the Sope Creek district, from $229,000 to $6,475,000. 119 are $500,000+ but 64 of these are from $229,000 to $500,000. So there's plenty of choice around the $400,000 range budget. Looking at what's available, the $350,000 to $400,000 houses are 4 to 6 bedrooms and 2 to 4 full baths. These are established older neighborhoods so the trees are all intact. So this is definitely an option I'd consider considering the school district is (especially if you lead into Walton High) is best-in-country level and you'll only be adding maybe 10 minutes to your commute (this area is about 5 miles east of Vinings/Smyrna). Some examples of what's for sale:

$414,900


$398,500


$400,000



Basically the trade offs are that in Smyrna/Vinings the commute will be a little better, and in that price range the house will be newer, probably built 2000+ so it will have all the benefits of a newer house, though visually the neighborhood will probably be less pleasing (less mature landscaping - except in Vinings "proper" of course).

In the Sope Creek area you'll trade the better commute and newer housing structure for much better schools and a better looking neighborhood. The houses in your price range in this area were mostly built in the 70's and 80's.

[netdragon]

If you have kids, you may even want to step down a notch to the $300k range and can still do very well in Smyrna. Plenty of great neighborhoods with lots of kids in that range and if you have cash, you may be able to get a foreclosure and save yourself $30k or so. However, there are some neighborhoods along Atlanta Rd near the exit of Paces Ferry and Ridge Rd and also some off Cooper Lake and Concord Rd (covered bridge district) and off the E/W connector with a kid-friendly neighborhood and good schools. $400k is just a mid-size home in these neighborhoods (4-5br, 3bath).

One thing you really need to keep in mind is that some of the most expensive homes are on "large" lots on through streets like Kings Springs Rd. Probably not the best for kids. Some neighborhoods have few kids and are mostly older people. So you should actually go there and see if there are lots of kids playing in the neighborhood. I'd shoot for a swim/tennis neighborhood and I'd also consider looking near the Silver Comet trail. That's where we are and it's great.

King Springs is the best school in Smyrna other than Teasley (very little of Teasley is in Smyrna proper). Nickajack is getting better since they got rid of the administration in '02 or so. Lots of $600k to million dollar homes have gone up lately in the Nickajack district. I imagine not everyone can send their kids to private schools.

Realize when looking at the stats that many East Cobb schools are generally declining in comparison with Smyrna/Vinings and it mainly has to do with demographic changes, not quality of educational opportunities.

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by GF72

You just don't like what you perceive to be an "elitist" attitude.

It does get old. Test scores are not gospel, and don't always represent the actual experience your kids will have at a given school (though they can be a good indicator).

The folks in my neighborhood seem generally pleased with the schools we have in our area, and I trust their firsthand experience more than I would a yearly report on test scores.

(We're zoned for Nickajack Elementary, Griffin Middle, and Campbell High)

For the curious, zone maps are here:

http://www.cobbk12.org/schools/zonemaps.htm

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by rcsteiner

It does get old. Test scores are not gospel, and don't always represent the actual experience your kids will have at a given school (though they can be a good indicator).

The folks in my neighborhood seem generally pleased with the schools we have in our area, and I trust their firsthand experience more than I would a yearly report on test scores.

(We're zoned for Nickajack Elementary, Griffin Middle, and Campbell High)

For the curious, zone maps are here:

Cobb County School District Home Page

Let's give a shout out for Stoneybrooke! (Right?)