Harrison, Allatoona, Kennesaw or Hillgrove HS (Marietta, Acworth: for sale, new house, neighborhoods)

[kg23]

I think I posted this earlier today in the wrong forum.

Moving to the Marietta area this summer and we have 3 boys (1 yr old, 9 yr old & 17 yr old) so schools are an extremely important factor in our decision on where to live. We've decided to pass on the East Cobb area(too expensive), but still want to find good schools in the area. We think we'll like the Kennesaw / Acworth area and I've heard good things about Harrison and Kennesaw Mountain HS, but would really like to hear from someone familar with the new Allatoona & Hillgrove High Schools. They both sound like good options, but I'd like to hear someones firsthand impression now that those schools have been open for almost 1 school year.

Is there one school predominantly better between Allatoona, Kennesaw, Hillgrove and Harrison or a reason to select one over the other?

What about feeder schools for these high schools...are there any specific ones we should target or possibly avoid?

Also, any recommendations on subdivisions in the area...looks like there are several homes for sale in Camden Pointe...Is there a reason behind that or just the effects of todays economy?

Any help would be greatly appreciated as we will be househunting soon. There are so many options, we just want to narrow our choices.

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by kg23

I think I posted this earlier today in the wrong forum.

Moving to the Marietta area this summer and we have 3 boys (1 yr old, 9 yr old & 17 yr old) so schools are an extremely important factor in our decision on where to live. We've decided to pass on the East Cobb area(too expensive), but still want to find good schools in the area. We think we'll like the Kennesaw / Acworth area and I've heard good things about Harrison and Kennesaw Mountain HS, but would really like to hear from someone familar with the new Allatoona & Hillgrove High Schools. They both sound like good options, but I'd like to hear someones firsthand impression now that those schools have been open for almost 1 school year.

Is there one school predominantly better between Allatoona, Kennesaw, Hillgrove and Harrison or a reason to select one over the other?

What about feeder schools for these high schools...are there any specific ones we should target or possibly avoid?

Also, any recommendations on subdivisions in the area...looks like there are several homes for sale in Camden Pointe...Is there a reason behind that or just the effects of todays economy?

Any help would be greatly appreciated as we will be househunting soon. There are so many options, we just want to narrow our choices.

What is your housing price range? Where will you and/or your spouse be working? Do you want a brand-new house or resale or does it not matter? How long and how far are y'all willing to commute? Any neighborhood amenities or characteristics that you desire?

Important questions...depending on your housing price range and where you work, you may not have to pass on certain areas.

[kg23]

Office is located in Marietta. I know any of these schools will be within a reasonable drive time to/from work.

Housing could be new or a resale, no strong preference although we'd like something that has at least been kept somewhat up to date. Would like to spend no more than $250 if possible.

Definitely would like a community with some activities for kids...park, pool, playground etc...

Just ran across Echo Mill subdivision...seemed like some possibilities there. Any comments on the neighborhood?

[suprascooby22]

Originally Posted by kg23

I think I posted this earlier today in the wrong forum.

Moving to the Marietta area this summer and we have 3 boys (1 yr old, 9 yr old & 17 yr old) so schools are an extremely important factor in our decision on where to live. We've decided to pass on the East Cobb area(too expensive), but still want to find good schools in the area. We think we'll like the Kennesaw / Acworth area and I've heard good things about Harrison and Kennesaw Mountain HS, but would really like to hear from someone familar with the new Allatoona & Hillgrove High Schools. They both sound like good options, but I'd like to hear someones firsthand impression now that those schools have been open for almost 1 school year.

Is there one school predominantly better between Allatoona, Kennesaw, Hillgrove and Harrison or a reason to select one over the other?

What about feeder schools for these high schools...are there any specific ones we should target or possibly avoid?

Also, any recommendations on subdivisions in the area...looks like there are several homes for sale in Camden Pointe...Is there a reason behind that or just the effects of todays economy?

Any help would be greatly appreciated as we will be househunting soon. There are so many options, we just want to narrow our choices.

If your looking for diversity then Hillgrove will be your only option. The other schools are overwhelmingly white. My daughters go to Hillgrove and it is 25% black. Some of my neighbors are accepting to it but many are fearful that the numbers of minorities will increase and if that happens then here comes "white flight". Same thing has been going on for the last 5 years just a few miles south at Mceachern High school which was a majority white school and is now overwhelmingly black. Many people will tip-toe around such issues instead of being honest, hope this helps.

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by kg23

I think I posted this earlier today in the wrong forum.

Moving to the Marietta area this summer and we have 3 boys (1 yr old, 9 yr old & 17 yr old) so schools are an extremely important factor in our decision on where to live. We've decided to pass on the East Cobb area(too expensive), but still want to find good schools in the area. We think we'll like the Kennesaw / Acworth area and I've heard good things about Harrison and Kennesaw Mountain HS, but would really like to hear from someone familar with the new Allatoona & Hillgrove High Schools. They both sound like good options, but I'd like to hear someones firsthand impression now that those schools have been open for almost 1 school year.

Is there one school predominantly better between Allatoona, Kennesaw, Hillgrove and Harrison or a reason to select one over the other?

What about feeder schools for these high schools...are there any specific ones we should target or possibly avoid?

Also, any recommendations on subdivisions in the area...looks like there are several homes for sale in Camden Pointe...Is there a reason behind that or just the effects of todays economy?

Any help would be greatly appreciated as we will be househunting soon. There are so many options, we just want to narrow our choices.

All 4 high schools are good/great. Harrison is the richest and the whitest...it is actually becoming (or is) very similar to the East Cobb schools Pope, Lassiter, and Walton.

Allatoona is brand-new. Hillgrove is also very new, but not as new as Allatoona. Kennesaw Mountain has a good reputation and has a great Science+Magnet Program.

You really can't go wrong with either choice. All close to Marietta. All offer good neighborhoods. I recommend just going throughout the districts, find the house and neighborhood you like and go for it.

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by kg23

Office is located in Marietta. I know any of these schools will be within a reasonable drive time to/from work.

Housing could be new or a resale, no strong preference although we'd like something that has at least been kept somewhat up to date. Would like to spend no more than $250 if possible.

Definitely would like a community with some activities for kids...park, pool, playground etc...

Just ran across Echo Mill subdivision...seemed like some possibilities there. Any comments on the neighborhood?

Echo Mill is a nice neighborhood.

However, it was Psycho Mill during the McEachern/Hillgrove redistricting controversy (a decent amount of racists reside there...but there are also good people who didn't mind staying at McEachern).

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by suprascooby22

If your looking for diversity then Hillgrove will be your only option. The other schools are overwhelmingly white. My daughters go to Hillgrove and it is 25% black. Some of my neighbors are accepting to it but many are fearful that the numbers of minorities will increase and if that happens then here comes "white flight". Same thing has been going on for the last 5 years just a few miles south at Mceachern High school which was a majority white school and is now overwhelmingly black. Many people will tip-toe around such issues instead of being honest, hope this helps.

Kennesaw Mountain High School is pretty diverse as well.

[neil0311]

My daughter is a student at KMHS. Good school overall. Harrison HS might be slightly better if you compare test scores, but not by much at all. KMHS covers a little bit of the area over on the west side of Cobb Pkwy, so the demographics are a little different than Harrison but not that much different.

[vsmoove]

My subdivision feeds into Harrison High School... the kids in the neighborhood that I speak to all seem to love it and I know it's highly ranked... some lists that I've seen rank it only below Walton and maybe Lassiter in terms of Cobb High Schools. I know its not diverse... where I live is not diverse and it's a huge drawback; however, a babysitter of mine from the neighborhood that is Black was the class or school President so there's probably a decent amount of diversity.

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by vsmoove

My subdivision feeds into Harrison High School... the kids in the neighborhood that I speak to all seem to love it and I know it's highly ranked... some lists that I've seen rank it only below Walton and maybe Lassiter in terms of Cobb High Schools. I know its not diverse... where I live is not diverse and it's a huge drawback; however, a babysitter of mine from the neighborhood that is Black was the class or school President so there's probably a decent amount of diversity.

For Cobb School "rankings", it usually goes

1. Walton
2. Pope/Lassiter
3. Harrison/Wheeler...

...and so on.