best school systems around B'ham (Birmingham, Hoover: homes, neighborhoods, college)

[sammiej]

Hi, we are likely moving to B'ham this summer. I'd love some input on some of the better public school systems in the area. I have heard that mountain brook is wonderful, but was wondering about vestavia hills and homewood. Particularly for elementary schools. Are there any in any of those three areas that are better than or worse than others ?

Thanks in advance.

[Twostep]

Go through the archives of the B'Ham paper. It had an actual chart on per student capita expenditure/accidents ... some time in January. Otherwise the school board should have a copy available.

[teachcal]

Vestavia Hills public schools have been the best in the state for several years. Homewood is just okay. If homes in Mnt. Brook or Vestavia (my mom lives there) are too high, look in Hoover.

Theresa

[Bbluefish]

I'm with teachcal....try Mountain Brook or Vestavia !
If homes are too high, try the Shelby County School System. The homes in North Shelby County are lovely & some as stately as those in Mountain Brook...but only 7 or 8 miles from Mountain Brook going east on Hwy.280.

North Shelby Co. has the best of all worlds...great schools, slightly lower housing prices than MB, & all of the amenities one could hope for!!

I believe all the elementary schools are on the same caliber in the Shelby County School System :-)

Good luck....You'll love Birmingham....I just moved from there after living in the area since 1992 (after college graduation).

[steveklein]

mountain brook and vestavia hills both have fantastic schools. both are pretty expensive cities.

homewood is also expensive, and is just a notch below them in terms of schools. still very good though.

hoover/spain park (hoover city schools) and oak mountain (shelby county) also have good school systems.

[jtla]

I know this is a late reply, but I hope you see it. In any city, the elementary schools show the most variance. You can have great as well as poor schools in the same city.

In Homewood (just as an example), Shades Cahaba is considered the best, with Edgewood running a close second. I don't believe Hall Kent is considered to be near as good as the other two. That's not to say it's a bad school -- just not as "desirable" as the other two.

Same thing for Vestavia. West, East and Liberty Park are considered to be the "better" schools with Cahaba Heights lagging behind. When Cahaba Heights Elementary was part of the Jefferson County system, they won an award from Redbook for being a great elementary school, but people don't consider it to be as "good" as the others now that it's part of Vestavia. Funny.

My kids go to one of these schools. I am friends with parents of kids attending every one of these schools. All of them are good schools.

[lbsing]

Trussville schools are also highly rated. If your kids are high school age and can get in to the Jefferson County IB School (JCIB), then you will have one of the top high schools in the nation. It was rated 1st and 2nd in the newsweek pool 2 years running. My sister's kids go there and she says it is outstanding! Elementary, I think that Hoover, Homewood, Vestavia, and Mt Brook are all good choices. I have also heard, but am not sure that the schools in Pelham?? might be good. (I think that is the name of it...the area out past the Galleria??) Go to great schools.net and look at the options with test scores etc.

[sally.white]

Greatschools.net, is the best source for finding out scores and ratings of any school in the country..I visit that sight often.

[GLENNEBRANDONJR]

Originally Posted by sammiej

Hi, we are likely moving to B'ham this summer. I'd love some input on some of the better public school systems in the area. I have heard that mountain brook is wonderful, but was wondering about vestavia hills and homewood. Particularly for elementary schools. Are there any in any of those three areas that are better than or worse than others ?

Thanks in advance.

MT BROOK ONE OF THE TOP IN THE US HANDS DOWN I SENT 2 THROUGH 1 GRADE TO 12TH I CANT SAY ENOUGH I HAD A GREAT EXPERENCE

[LUCKYME]

As someone who moved to the Birmingham area from Georgia I was very surprised to find that there are so many excellent public schools in the area. Each school system, Mountain Brook, Vestavia, Homewood, Hoover and Shelby County has a unique personality and feel. I have children enrolled in the Homewood system (for more than 10 years now) and could not imagine living, or educating, them any where else. This city is blessed with beautiful and diverse neighborhoods and this can be seen in our schools. I have found the dedication of the teachers, administrators and most importantly the parents to be keys to my childrens' continued success. You can't go wrong with any of these fine schools and I can only speak from my personal experiences. Come and spend a day here. I think you'll love it!