Moving to Cincinnati, need advice about schools, etc.!!!!! (Blue Ash, Seven Hills: section 8, spring break) - City-Data Forum

RelocatingMom2 · 09-20-2010, 04:43 PM

Hi, We just got back from a weekend in Cincinnati looking at houses and trying to find the best school district. So much information and feeling very overwhelmed. I did my research and before we went I thought we would look at the Indian Hills district but the real estate is very expensive. However we did find some affordable homes in that school district. I really liked the idea that in the Sycamore school district they have a middle school and a junior high school and we really like the neighborhoods in this school district. The reviews are very contradictory and there are so many elementary schools in the sycamore school district that I didn't know which one was the best. It's very confusing. What is the best school district between the two and which Elementary school is the best within the Sycamore school district?? Your thoughts would be most appreciated!!

Wilson513 · 09-20-2010, 05:11 PM

I think both are pretty good. Did you include Mariemont in your search? You might want to add that.

There are a lot of factors that go into school district rankings and disparate demographics can mess up the real situation pretty easily. Indian Hill has good schools, but is also the very richest demographic in the region and so students in IHSD have a lot of parent involvement and access to resources that other districts may not have. After all, if 10% of the students are getting private tutoring and academic camps, etc., the numbers will look great. I think that Sycamore has a more modest demographic and so the good numbers for Sycamore mean more to me.

cincyohguy · 09-20-2010, 06:50 PM

Both are affluent, very nice areas and IH and Sycamore are both excellent school districts. You really can't go wrong with either.

CincyExpert · 09-20-2010, 07:36 PM

Blue Ash Elementary and Montgomery Elementary are both rated 10 out of 10s on Greatschools.org, Maple Dale is rated a 9, while Symmes Elementary is rated an 8. You really can't go wrong with any of the Sycamore elementary schools although I know there is a slight (heavy emphasis on slight) problem with Section 8 apartments in the area near Symmes Elementary.

t45209 · 09-20-2010, 08:58 PM

Yeah, I was going to say, there's very little difference between any of the Sycamore schools. It's not like Cincinnati Public, where you have to really be careful about what the neighborhood school is.

jlawrence01 · 09-20-2010, 09:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RelocatingMom2

Hi, We just got back from a weekend in Cincinnati looking at houses and trying to find the best school district. So much information and feeling very overwhelmed.

If going to the BEST school possible is the priority, why not consider all of the various private schools that have lower student-teacher ratios ... like the Cincinnati Country Day School?

RelocatingMom2 · 09-21-2010, 05:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jlawrence01

If going to the BEST school possible is the priority, why not consider all of the various private schools that have lower student-teacher ratios ... like the Cincinnati Country Day School?

It's definitely a priority because I'm so nervous about having to pull my kids out of their school and away from their friends, etc. (one will be going into 4th and one will be going into 5th) but we have no choice.. We've never been able to afford private school before but it wasn't an issue, because we made sure we bought our house in a great school district. Coming from Maryland and having concerns over starting the kids in a new school I initially thought real estate would be much cheaper in Cincinnati (A definite misconception) and we would be able to afford private school and live in a nice community. Definitely not the case. We initially liked a house in Amberly but would need private school and could not do both. However as our search continued we found there to be very good school districts within communities that have houses comparable to the one we have now. We have a lot more choices finding a house in the Sycamore School district although we did find one we liked in Symmes Township within the Indian Hill school district. Most of the houses in Indian Hill that we like are way too expensive for us. I guess I was feeling an urgency to buy this house because of that. However some of the things I'm hearing are suggesting that Sycamore may be the better option. I really am appreciating all of the advice.

Wilson513 · 09-21-2010, 06:05 AM

I return to my comment above that the Sycamore Schools have composite numbers quite close to IH, 28 ranking vs. 20 and achieve that with a much more modest demographic. IH is not the place to live with the budget stretched and Country Day is the last place on earth you would want to send kids on a budget: "Mom, all the kids are going to Aspen for spring break, can I have $5,800 for my trip?" I'm not kidding. Country Day is a place where parents vie for obscene and gratuitous expenditures to make the point that they are in the big leagues. Many are charitable in nature (God bless them), but flamboyant in the end. At the fund raising auction a few years ago that I attended, several parents ostentatiously purchased parking spaces for their little darlings' BMW's in front of the school for $15,000 or so.

Do you really want to be part of that?

If one must join the stratospheric tuition game, Seven Hills is the place. But, like CD it will be $20,000/yr.

Your instincts are right. Get out the Sycamore School map and see where the kids will go from each place you are looking at. And, be comfortable that you are making the right choice.

kjbrill · 09-21-2010, 06:26 AM

Wilson1010... This has to be another time when I agree with you. The boundaries of the Sycamore school district encompass a large cross-section of living choices. And compared to the high cost private schools often mentioned here, it is a no-brainer unless you are in the real upper leagues. The OP didn't mention how many children are involved, but anything anticipated over 1 says Sycamore to me.

progmac · 09-21-2010, 06:41 AM

as someone else said, don't forget about mariemont. also, the wyoming city school district was ranked first in the state in '04-05 according to wiki. oak hills school district is also solid. how much are you looking to spend for a house? as you observed, cincinnati isn't that cheap. this is not a declining manufacturing city contrary to coastal beliefs. in the city limits, the hyde park neighborhood has a top-quality elementary school in Kilgour (k-6) and then for 7-12 they would likely head to citywide magnet walnut hills high school, ranked 38th in the country according to wikipedia.