Florence, KY or West Chester, OH? Advice please! (Cincinnati, Mason: homes, elementary schools)

[Cincy-Rise]

Originally Posted by aquila

YAY!! I finally got Cincy-Rise to choose West

Hey, Cincy-Rise....how are ya'?

lol, I'm doing good, what about you? Missed you man!

[aquila]

Originally Posted by Cincy-Rise

lol, I'm doing good, what about you? Missed you man!

I've had my moments lately...things could be better. But I try to muddle through.

I took a long absence from the boards. You missed me, huh? You missed me giving you hell!? LOL! I've had a change in attitude...striving to be a nicer me. I thought about you the other day, actually. Was starting to think you're probably right about living in the city. It could actually be nice to find a place downtown one of these days. (Shhh, don't tell anyone I said that. ) Anyway, I'll see you around the place.

[tessieg]

I appreciate all the feedback.

In response to some of the posts, I am well aware that my influence on my children will be extremely important and that is why I consider mothering them to be my full time job for now. I was a teacher in a inner city school previously so am also well aware that some children will thrive in any environment or situation.

At the same time, I do think most new residents to an area will want to locate themselves in the best district that they can and will want to choose one that they think may make the rough transition to a whole new world as comfortable and free of stress as possible for their children. Some of my questions may seem unimportant to you but things like having 5 or 6 schools to get through instead of the three we have everywhere here in my current state may be hard for my child to deal with. It may affect her ability to find friendship depending on the age in which she is joining a school system.

I would think you would be glad that a parent is very seriously considering all aspects of a new district and asking questions and gathering information. All of which is tough to do I might add via books, reports, and web data from across the country. So the condescension is unnecessary.

To those providing helpful points of view I am very grateful. We are looking now at Anderson Township, Loveland, and West Chester. It may be that the first area is out of our budget(that seems to be the case with Mariemont, Blue Ash, and Mason). I'd love any more info on these areas that you can offer.

[Daytonnatian]

^ As a product of Lakota Schools, I can honestly say that there are certain elementaries to avoid, and certain ones to go to if you have young children. Independence, Shawnee, and Hopewell all have a much worse rep than Van Gorden, Heritage, or Cherokee. Also probably want to go for the East side, since the old Freshman school (now only for West) is notoriously bad. So, I honestly suggest the Northeast corner of Liberty township would best fit your needs, despite the extra 10 min. on the commute.

However, I got out of Lakota before Jr. High/ High School, and moved to a small, quasi-rural school which I honestly found to be much nicer. You might want throw Mariemont or Maderia into the list of consideration if school size is a concern for you.

[Cincy-Rise]

Originally Posted by tessieg

I appreciate all the feedback.

In response to some of the posts, I am well aware that my influence on my children will be extremely important and that is why I consider mothering them to be my full time job for now. I was a teacher in a inner city school previously so am also well aware that some children will thrive in any environment or situation.

At the same time, I do think most new residents to an area will want to locate themselves in the best district that they can and will want to choose one that they think may make the rough transition to a whole new world as comfortable and free of stress as possible for their children. Some of my questions may seem unimportant to you but things like having 5 or 6 schools to get through instead of the three we have everywhere here in my current state may be hard for my child to deal with. It may affect her ability to find friendship depending on the age in which she is joining a school system.

I would think you would be glad that a parent is very seriously considering all aspects of a new district and asking questions and gathering information. All of which is tough to do I might add via books, reports, and web data from across the country. So the condescension is unnecessary.

To those providing helpful points of view I am very grateful. We are looking now at Anderson Township, Loveland, and West Chester. It may be that the first area is out of our budget(that seems to be the case with Mariemont, Blue Ash, and Mason). I'd love any more info on these areas that you can offer.

To the "best" schools, huh?

So, what's "best?" ... is it the school with the most white students? The schools with the highest SAT scores? The schools with the wealthiest families? The schools with the most diciplined students?

I don't think any of the above is a direct result without involving who the parents are ... and in that case, I'll repeat ... It starts at the kitchen table - so "best" is irrelevant in my humble opinion.

Forget the system, you be the system.

[aquila]

Originally Posted by tessieg

I appreciate all the feedback.

In response to some of the posts, I am well aware that my influence on my children will be extremely important and that is why I consider mothering them to be my full time job for now. I was a teacher in a inner city school previously so am also well aware that some children will thrive in any environment or situation.

At the same time, I do think most new residents to an area will want to locate themselves in the best district that they can and will want to choose one that they think may make the rough transition to a whole new world as comfortable and free of stress as possible for their children. Some of my questions may seem unimportant to you but things like having 5 or 6 schools to get through instead of the three we have everywhere here in my current state may be hard for my child to deal with. It may affect her ability to find friendship depending on the age in which she is joining a school system.

I would think you would be glad that a parent is very seriously considering all aspects of a new district and asking questions and gathering information. All of which is tough to do I might add via books, reports, and web data from across the country. So the condescension is unnecessary.

To those providing helpful points of view I am very grateful. We are looking now at Anderson Township, Loveland, and West Chester. It may be that the first area is out of our budget(that seems to be the case with Mariemont, Blue Ash, and Mason). I'd love any more info on these areas that you can offer.

What is your budget? (Not trying to be nosey, but it would help in guiding you to the right district.)

Oak Hills is a great district, too....it covers Delhi and Green Townships on the west side of Hamilton County. Housing over there, as a general rule, is more affordable than other areas in the region and you get a lot for your money. And they're nice homes in safe, quiet neighborhoods. I went to Oak Hills. Granted, we're talking 25+ years ago... ...so at that time I simply went to elementary school from 1st-6th grade, and then 7th-9th at the junior high, and on to the high school. (I went to kindergarten at a Cincinnati PS school before my family moved to Delhi.) Now Oak Hills has K-5 at the elementary level, then 6-8 at one of the middle schools, and 9-12 at the main high school campus. You should check out the Oak Hills district.

But if you're not wanting your kids to bebop around to different schools, then I would recommend NOT coming to the Lakota district here in West Chester/Liberty. You probably wouldn't be happy with it.

[tessieg]

I will dig around into Oak Hills and see what I see.

Cincy Rise, I do get your point, about being the system. For me, the best district is not the whitest(in fact I am worried about the loss of diversity from our very multi-cultured environment), and certainly it's not the richest--we're a one income family and can't afford designer labels to fit in with the "cool crowds." I want a safe, well disciplined setting with dedicated teachers who can actually teach because the kids know how to behave and are expected to do so and a community that supports and prioritizes the schools. That seems simple but isn't easy to achieve--not if there's not enough funding or if the schools are stuffed to the gills.

Our house budget is $250,000 max, which eliminates many areas as we must have 4 bedrooms and are not interested in a home much older than 20 years. So given all that I have told you, where would you recommend we look? We wouldn't be happy in a really rural setting as we are leaving a huge city and are used to lots of readily available shopping, malls, children's play areas, etc. Should we start relooking at Northern KY?

Thanks again for the feedback.

[kyranay]

I was raised on the West Side of Cincinnati, but we moved to N. Ky. when I was 15 (1993). Personally, I much prefer it in KY. The traffic is much better, there is easy access to all interstates, and the roads are just wider. You can easily find a 4 bedroom, 2 story home for 250K. You might want to try the Richwood/Union area, if you don't mind a 25 minute drive to Cincy. It's a nice area b/c it's out of the city and traffic, but within a 5-10 minute drive of shopping and restaurants. The schools are New Haven Elem, Grey Middle and Ryle HS (Boone County Schools). Boone County also has a nice library system and have recently built new libraries. That might be helpful if you plan to home school. Good luck with your search!!

[CincyExpert]

Originally Posted by tessieg

For me, the best district is not the whitest(in fact I am worried about the loss of diversity from our very multi-cultured environment), and certainly it's not the richest--we're a one income family and can't afford designer labels to fit in with the "cool crowds." I want a safe, well disciplined setting with dedicated teachers who can actually teach because the kids know how to behave and are expected to do so and a community that supports and prioritizes the schools. That seems simple but isn't easy to achieve--not if there's not enough funding or if the schools are stuffed to the gills.

In the area you can still find good schools without sacrificing diversity. Wyoming and Sycamore schools are both among the best performing districts in the area and are 20-30% minority with great community support as well.

Princeton schools could be considered the most diverse in all of Ohio and have some great programs, facilities and community support as well.

There are also some great elementary and high schools within the city of Cincinnati (Clark Montessori, Walnut Hills, School for Creative and Performing Arts) that would be accessible if you chose to live in one of the city's better neighborhoods.

[Crew Chief]

I'd give Mason schools an "A" for creativity! I mean, what other school district produces kids bright enough to disconnect school bus engine block heaters to produce a FOUR-day weekend! (Frankly, I'd worry about Warren Co.'s Prosecutor, Rachel Hutzel more...)

BOT; Both West Chester and Florence look nice from I-75. The only thing I know about in either place are the Meijer stores, sorry.