South Charlotte Schools - public or catholic? (Smithfield, Trinity: home, neighborhoods)

[charlotte09]

We are planning a move to South Charlotte and are investigating neighborhoods and schools. The schools we may be zoned for (based on the neighborhoods we like so far: Cameron Wood, Park Crossing, Quail Hollow Estates) are Smithfield, Quail Hollow and South Meck.

Any insight into these schools and/or neighborhoods? If we like that general area, should we try to buy a home which would put our kids at Beverly Woods Elementary instead?

We may also opt for Catholic schools - which are in that area? Any insight into those and how competitive are they? Waiting lists?

Thanks so much for any/all information you can provide!

[NCgirl]

Charlotte area Catholic schools (http://www.charlottediocese.org/charlottediocese.org/ourschools.html - broken link)

[taben]

The folks I know give Smithfield and Quail fair to low remarks. As for Catholic Schools, you are all set if you live in S. Charlotte. You'll have St. Matt's, St. Gabe's for elem. or farther in the city St. Ann's or ST. Pat's. All are good. St. Ann's is small and more diverse and a bit less elitist from what I know.
All feed to Holy Trinity MIddle SChool. There are ample buses that run from S. Charlotte to the middle school which is closer into the city.
As for High School, the ONE Catholic HS in the area will be in your backyard if you live in S. Charlotte.

HTH-
T

[tathems]

My kids go to Smithfield and we LOVE it. I think the negative remarks must come from people who see a diverse school and automatically think that means low quality of education. Nothing could be further from the truth! Our wonderful principal's philosophy is that every child's needs can and should be met at our school. Since he has been there since the school opened, the whole staff buys into this and you could not find a better group of hard-working, friendly, positive people. The result is a healthy mix of grouping by ability in separate classrooms during "Differentiated Work Time" and different work for different levels in the classroom itself. My highly gifted child has his needs met and so does my son who is just as smart but has a speech disability. Better yet, because we have kids who come from around the world, my kids have friends from places like Russia, Ecuador, Japan and Mexico. They are excited to know more about these places and envy the fact that their friends are bi-lingual.

I have neighbors whose kids go to Quail Hollow and South Meck. Their very smart, motivated kids are quite happy and their educational needs are absolutely being met. I would not hesitate to send my kids there.

I live in Cameron Wood and think one of the great advantages of my neighborhood is that all the schools my kids will go to are within walking distance. It makes it easy to be involved. Best of all, I get a great education for my kids and it is free!

Theresa