HELP! School districts & neighborhoods around Atlanta

[GF72]

Originally Posted by lawmommy

The Cobb County school "trifecta" is Sope Creek Elementary, Dickerson Middle, and Walton High. However, there are several other elementary schools that feed into Dickerson and Walton that are also excellent, such as Timber Ridge and Mt. Bethel. Any of these three elementary schools is as good as a good private school.

Actually in terms of performance and current desirability for transplants I would say it's Mt. Bethel, Dickerson, and Walton. If you are going by number of nearby mansions and overall affluence, then Sope Creek would be it, but Mt. Bethel beats out Sope Creek in terms of performance and test scores. Then again, both of these schools are so highly rated it's basically nitpicking...

[lawmommy]

Originally Posted by terryellen

hope no one minds if I jump onto this thread (my thread didn't seem to go anywhere

My husband will be working in North Atlanta...zip 30339...on a street called The exchange...really trying to find out if the commute is reasonable from the areas that feed into the Walton and Pope high schools...we would like to keep his commute less than 20 minutes...some of the homes are 12 miles from work....no high way driving though since he will be coming from the east towards 75....is this going to be ok for us? We want the best schools possible and can spend up to about 650K
thanks...these threads are very helpful
Theresa

Yes, a commute from East Cobb would be very doable -- about 15 to 20 minutes max unless there's a major accident. And possibly much less depending on which part of East Cobb you live in. Where I live, it would be about a 10 minute drive.

You can buy in the Walton school district with that kind of money. In fact, if you have time to look and don't need a fancy Mcmansion, you can go a good bit lower, say $400,000 range. These will be older homes 70s and 80s (but with lots of trees and nice size lots).

[lawmommy]

Originally Posted by GF72

Actually in terms of performance and current desirability for transplants I would say it's Mt. Bethel, Dickerson, and Walton. If you are going by number of nearby mansions and overall affluence, then Sope Creek would be it, but Mt. Bethel beats out Sope Creek in terms of performance and test scores. Then again, both of these schools are so highly rated it's basically nitpicking...

I haven't tracked the latest test scores. My son is at Sope Creek and I'm very pleased. I have friends with children at both Mt. Bethel and Timber Ridge who also have very good things to say. In fact, I hear Timber Ridge may be the best of all three because it is so small.

[terryellen]

thanks lawnmommy
we are thinking of buying a older home precisely for the large lots and trees and then doing some remodeling...so we will look at a pretty big range of prices when we get there...it is a relief to know that the commute should be fine since we are so focused on that area

[terryellen]

also what are your thoughts on east side elementary...comments on another site lead me to believe that it is overcrowded and poorly run?

[lawmommy]

Originally Posted by terryellen

also what are your thoughts on east side elementary...comments on another site lead me to believe that it is overcrowded and poorly run?

It does not have the same reputation that other elementary schools in the area have. Home prices in that school district will be lower, but home values there won't rise as rapidly either. I would concentrate on Timber Ridge, Mt. Bethel and Sope Creek.

[terryellen]

thanks for confirming our thinking...we will concentrate on those elementary schools...gives us plenty to choose from and we are happy knowing that the schools are excellent
have a great weekend
Theresa

[lawmommy]

Originally Posted by terryellen

thanks for confirming our thinking...we will concentrate on those elementary schools...gives us plenty to choose from and we are happy knowing that the schools are excellent
have a great weekend
Theresa

Your welcome. Good luck house hunting.

[GF72]

Originally Posted by lawmommy

I haven't tracked the latest test scores. My son is at Sope Creek and I'm very pleased. I have friends with children at both Mt. Bethel and Timber Ridge who also have very good things to say. In fact, I hear Timber Ridge may be the best of all three because it is so small.

Yeah, Mt. Bethel has the highest test scores but Mt. Bethel is also the highest population of any elementary school in the entire county I believe... But Timber Ridge, Mt. Bethel, and Sope Creek are all really good.

East Side (the other walton elementary) is slightly less desirable than those three but still an excellent school.

[terryellen]

I found some interesting info on the schooldigger web site...it ranks all of the schools based on test scores, teacher ratio, etc...it is a pretty subjective ranking (aren't they all!!) but it is a good way to get a quick comparison...anyway here is how some of the schools in marietta stacked up in a statewide comparison
elementary(ranked in order)

Tritt 6
Shallowford 8
Mt Bethel 12
sope Creek 17
Davis 22
Murdock 30
Mt View 44

middle school
Dickerson 2
Hightower 4
Mabry 7
Dodgen 13

I havent heard anyone mention Tritt or Shallowford which are both smaller than many of the others and both feed into Hightower which also scores well...any thoughts on these schools...I know that they both feed into Pope which seems like it is quite good as well
thanks
Theresa