Experiences with Boston/Cambridge PUBLIC elementary schools (Warren: how much, neighborhoods)

[florah23]

Hi everyone--

trying to figure out where we might send out kids to school if we move from Altanta to Boston. We really want to send them to a public school for a variety of reasons. We haven't ruled out other options but public is our first choice, if we can get them a good education in the system.

It would REALLY help to hear positive/negative recent experiences with public/charter elementary schools in Boston or Cambridge. We want our kids to have caring, invested teachers who challenge them, and we want the school to feel like a community. They are both very bright kids, but one is more motivated than the other. They are in the gifted program at their school now.

Info about the surrounding neighborhoods would be good. I understand that living in the zone can help with admission.

thank you all very much.

[Urban Peasant]

My alma mater is Boston Latin School, the oldest public school in the nation and founded by the Puritans in 1635. Although it is not as strict as it was in the 17th and 18th centuries anymore, it still is one of the best secondary schools in the nation, very rigorous, and highly competitive to get into. You will definitely meet trusting, caring teachers at that school, many of whom were graduates of the school themselves as is the current headmistress; if your child is motivated then h/she will be a stellar student, if your child needs motivation, h/she will definitely get it. Admission is by examination only, is quite competitive, and can your child can only enter in the 7th or 9th grades.

Boston Latin's sister school, Boston Latin Academy is just as rigorous but (in my opinion) not as strict and is more diverse with more Black and Latino students as opposed to White and Asian students (perhaps something to think about if you are Black or Hispanic). Again, entrance is by the same examination. The third exam school, John D' Obryant is also quite rigorous but does not teach Latin and is not centered around a classics curriculum like the other two.

There are several fine pilot and charter schools in Boston, among them Another Course to College (pilot), Renaissance School (charter), and Fenway Middle College (pilot). The English High School, the oldest public HIGH school in the nation and historic archrival to Boston Latin is currently a pilot school too. You might want to check that school. Pilot schools are public schools that don't have their own rules as opposed to regular public schools who have to follow union rules (a difference at times when it comes to how much time your child spends with his/her teacher). All high schools are city-wide and you do not have to live in any specific zone to send your child there.

I don't know too much about elementary schools except for a few good ones like Warren-Prescott in Charlestown. Elementary schools are zoned but our current superintendent is revising them, so I really can't tell you which neighborhood is which zone at the moment. Middle schools (there aren't too many left - most have been converted to K-8's) are also zoned but they allow more leeway.

I don't know too much about Cambridge Public Schools although I did have a friend that graduated from Cambridge Rindge and Latin School (their public high school) and went on to Oberlin College if that counts for anything. Check the school district websites, look up individual schools' statistics, and see what you like.

I hope this helps. Good luck in your search!