Moving to BOISE and wondering about schools (Eagle, Garden City: cliquey, crime)

[emilatt]

Hi, we're moving to Boise in the next few months. We're excited. We've been mainly looking in the Eagle area, but after reading some posts on Great Schools, I'm getting worried about eventually sending my kids to Eagle High School. Test scores aren't everything (but they do mean a lot), and I'm aware that BHS is ranked nationally in that area. We're a professional family, but do not want to get sucked into super duper cliquey areas. I don't care if you are whatever race, religion, whatever, I just want the best learning environment for my children, but not a super liberal one. I just want my kids to be around people who are sincerely nice and who want to learn and aren't so concerned about who's wearing what and who is driving which car. Anyone know anything about Rocky Mountain High School? I like Eagle's location as it is closer to my husband's work. Thanks in advance for any and all help. BTW, if you have info on school spirit, music programs, etc, from different high schools that would be great too. Thanks again!

[Deena160]

Originally Posted by emilatt

Hi, we're moving to Boise in the next few months. We're excited. We've been mainly looking in the Eagle area, but after reading some posts on Great Schools, I'm getting worried about eventually sending my kids to Eagle High School. Test scores aren't everything (but they do mean a lot), and I'm aware that BHS is ranked nationally in that area. We're a professional family, but do not want to get sucked into super duper cliquey areas. I don't care if you are whatever race, religion, whatever, I just want the best learning environment for my children, but not a super liberal one. I just want my kids to be around people who are sincerely nice and who want to learn and aren't so concerned about who's wearing what and who is driving which car. Anyone know anything about Rocky Mountain High School? I like Eagle's location as it is closer to my husband's work. Thanks in advance for any and all help. BTW, if you have info on school spirit, music programs, etc, from different high schools that would be great too. Thanks again!

DITTO, please! This forum hasn't been very opinionated about schools. Does that mean no one has any complaints? :~) D

[MrGrumpy]

Idaho schools are what they are. Safe but average quality education. Boise High ranks best partially because it has the most AP courses available. I wouldn't be too concerned about Eagle or Rocky Mountain being bad schools, in fact Eagle tends to be where a number of folks in the medical profession have their homes. To my knowledge the two most notoriously clique schools in the Boise area are: Centennial and Timberline. The interesting thing about Boise High is that you have people there from all walks of life and as a consequence the school is actually one of the least cliquish schools in the area (this coming from a Boise High graduate) Where is your husband working, just out of curiosity? Don't get me wrong, Eagle is a very nice little community but IMHO it's location is just terrible. The only two major roads connecting it to the rest of the treasure valley are W State Street which runs all the way to downtown Boise and has been having increasing congestion over the years and there is really no means for widening the road. Then you have Eagle Road, which is undeniably the worst traffic congestion in the treasure valley. The biggest problem IMHO is that this is your only real access to the freeway (Interstate 84). If you are content to just reside in Eagle and not venture outside of the community much then it's not that big of a deal but if you would like access to shopping, places to eat, access to the airport, travel, etc. then it definitely should be a factor. I really recommend coming out and visiting the area before you move so you can see for yourself and decide which communities you like best.

[Deena160]

We weren't that impressed with Eagle at all. There were some lovely homes, but when we drove in we had to go past some pretty skanky looking trailer home areas. I don't know if this was passing through Garden City to get to Eagle or what, but it was like one minute you were in the worst part of town and the next you were in the nicest. Maybe it would have been better farther in, but we weren't impressed enough to stay that long.

[MrGrumpy]

Garden City is actually further east and one street further south (area that surrounds Chinden Blvd.). I haven't really seen a whole lot of trailer homes in Eagle but then again I haven't spent tons of time there either. That being said Eagle has plenty of $500K and up homes.

[TreasureValley50]

I know exactly where you're talking about... Eagle, despite having the reputation of the highest per-capita income residents in Ada County, also has some of the lowest. The are on the east end of Eagle off of State/44 has some seriously run-down neighborhoods. Fortunately they are small, on the fringe of the city as it butts up to Garden City, and relatively inconsequential to Eagle's crime rate. The rest of the city is quite nice, if you can stand some of the wealthier-than-thou attitudes that are sometimes encountered.

[boiseguy]

Boise high school is one of the best if not the best in the state.. and is located near downtown in the more liberal northend area of town. Out in Eagle you're out in plastic fantastic land.. and everything that goes along with that. Not to be stereotypical or anything, but I do have friends that went to Eagle HS back in the day.. and they said it's very cliquey in regards to LDS...
Boise High on the other hand does not have this problem, but I'm sure with kids it exists in other ways..
It's the american high school experience I guess...
With all that said.. BHS is a great option, and is a historical building to boot.
best of luck

[stingraynm]

Stay away from Timberline HS (Southeast Boise area) if you dislike what cliquey rich kids do to an otherwise demographically balanced school. Like anywhere, it has exemplary students, some of whom I knew personally during my high school years in Boise, but the issue I've found is that all the good students had unanimous qualms about the social environment at Timberline.

[Alexia45]

Thank you. This is just what I was looking for.