Columbia neighborhoods/schools (Forest Acres, North, Summit: chapel, homes, safe neighborhood)

[ebsinwsc]

My family will be relocating to Columbia sometime in '08 and we're looking for insight about neighborhoods and public schools. My husband will be at the University so proximity to USC is important if we can find a place with good schools and safety in the city. Which city neighborhoods would fit this criteria?

We both grew up in the Northeast, but have lived all over the country in the last few years. I am also interested to know if there is a jewish population/influence in any area of the city. Are there parts of town that tend to be more liberal, and more diverse?

I'm looking for schools that do more than just think about test scores. I want a program that is actually about learning, not just performance. Are children placed in schools solely by the zone in which they live or are there magnets, lotteries, etc.?

[waccamatt]

I'm both Jewish and liberal so I will tackle these questions for you. The best in-town schools are in the Dreher High School feeder district. They have always had a good reputation. This would include AC Moore Elementary (and others), Hand Middle School and Dreher High School. I don't have any kids to know any details about the schools, but I'm sure someone else knows about them. The Shandon, Wales Garden, Wheeler Hill, Melrose Heights and Heathwood neighborhoods are in this area and they are close to USC, Five Points and Devine Street. The Shandon area is very liberal and it abuts the Devine Street corridor (shopping, restaurants) and Five Points (shopping, nightlife and restaurants). It is also not far from the Congaree Vista district of downtown (similar to Five Points, but a slightly older crowd).

The most heavily Jewish areas are in the Forest Acres area, which is where all three synagogues are located (and the JCC used to be) and in Northeast Columbia (Spring Valley, Summitt area), which is where the new JCC is located. The drive from Shandon to Forest Acres is only about 10 minutes, but to the SV/Summitt area is probably about 20-25 minutes. They're all very accessible to I-77. Most of the schools in that area are good (Richland District 2) so you should be able to find what you like from that standpoint.

All things considered, if I was making a similar choice I would choose Shandon (if I could afford it). I prefer to live in the city versus the suburbs and I like living close to work. Homes in the Shandon area probably range from about $250,000 to $600,000, but surrounding areas have homes that range from $150,000 (Melrose Heights) to over $1,000,000 in Heathwood and Wales Garden. Good luck with your move.

[waccamatt]

Here are some links for you:

Richland School District One (in-town and lower Richland Schools)

http://www.richlandone.org/index.htm

Richland School District Two (Northeast Columbia schools)

http://www.richland2.org/

Dreher High School

http://dreher.rcsd1.org/home.aspx?

Hand Middle School

http://hand.rcsd1.org/home.aspx

JCC

http://jewishcolumbia.org/

Five Points

http://www.fivepointscolumbia.com/

Devine Street corridor

http://www.doorsofdevine.net/

Congaree Vista

http://www.vistacolumbia.com/

[ebsinwsc]

Thank you so much, that was very helpful information. This is a common debate between my husband and I - he grew up in a city environment, and me in the suburbs. In the Dreher areas that you mentioned, is safety an issues? Will I feel safe walking around and having my kids play outside?

[waccamatt]

The area around Dreher is a safe neighborhood. As far as I'm concerned, if you're going to live in the suburbs it doesn't matter where you live, they're all alike. City living is much more fun.

[aruffin07]

As someone who has lived in Shandon my entire life (aside from college), and a Dreher alum (2003) it's a great area. USC is a short drive from Shandon, and you have easy access to shopping on Devine St. and 5 Points. I was within walking distance of all 3 schools I attended (Rosewood Elem, Hand Middle, Dreher).

Education wise, Dreher has a diverse student body because it pulls from Shandon and similar neighborhoods (upper-middle class) as well as some lower income areas. Safety was never an issue as far as I'm concerned. While I was at Dreher there were plenty of opportunities to take AP classes and I had some great teachers. I had several classmates who received full scholarships to USC and many others attend Duke, Wake Forest, UNC-Chapel Hill, Yale, etc. Dreher also has a brand new building that just opened up in August.

I know Forest Acres has been mentioned...it is also a good location to live with very similar schools (A.C. Flora HS - which has the International Bacclaureate program).

Attendance at these schools is based on zoning. I think Spring Valley HS is a math/science magnet school, but I'm not sure how they select students (it would be a long haul from Shandon though).

Hope that helps...