Moving to Grand Junction (Clifton: rental homes, house, neighborhood)

[LVto CO]

Hello all,
My family and I will be moving to Grand Junction in 2 weeks. We think we have found a house in the Pear Park area of Grand Junction (near 31 rd and D1/2 rd). Unfortunately, we will not be able to get to Grand Junction before we move there. According to the school district website my kids would be going to Chatfield Elementary. What can you tell me about this school? Also we have read a few of the threads on city data and gather that Clifton is not a desirable area. Is this house too close to Clifton? The immediate neighborhood looks nice, but how about the Pear Park area as a whole? Any information would be apprecited!

[delta07]

I was a teacher at Chatfield before I moved to Oregon. There are some great teachers there, but overall I wouldn't send my own children there if I had a choice. The school deals with a lot of problems, student behavior being a major one. It tends to get in the way of academics, IMHO. As a teacher there it was very tiring having to deal with families that didn't care about their children's education. The school overall didn't do well on testing, etc. because there weren't enough resources to go around, and you can only do so much in the classroom. When parents aren't supporting there kids at home it shows. I can only imagine with the economy the way it is, that it has become worse. Classrooms were not necessarily overcrowded, but because of the extreme behavior issues a teacher had to deal with in the classroom, it seemed more difficult than other schools I have worked at.

Pear Park and the Chatfield Elementary boundary area is not in the most "desireable" part of town. They were building several new subdivisions when I moved, with many of the homes much nicer than the surrounding area. Essentially 32 Road separates Clifton from GJ, but the boundary in terms of community is further to the west. The Pear Park area tends to be a little more run down, with rental homes, and people who work too much and don't have much time for anything else. Coming from LV it may seem like nothing to you. It just depends on your perspective. However, if you are at all concerned about the quality of education your children receive, I would encourage you to look into another area of GJ (north or west of town). I hope your not buying this house, and just looking for a rental. The cost of homes in that area in terms of rentals are a bit cheaper, but there is a price to pay. It would be well worth pay a little more rent to ensure your children get a better education.