2 Lake Murray Elementary Schools??? (Lexington, Arial: to buy, to live, zoned)

[jessnboys]

So are there two Lake Murray Elementary Schools? Greatschools.net is showing one in Lexington District 1 and another one in Richland/Lexington 5. Both are rated well but when people speak so highly of LMES on this board, is it generally one over the other?

Thanks!

[LexingtonDad]

There is only 1 Lake Murray public school. The other one on the list you are looking at is a Montessori school. If you are thinking about elementary schools in that area do not overlook Midway. It is first class all the way.

[jessnboys]

Aha! That explains it! So which one is the public school...the one in Lexington 1? I did see Midway ES was rated very well as well as Lexington ES. Thanks for the recommendations! Pleasant Hill ES is too new (I guess?) to have much info on greatschools. Any thoughts on that one?

[LexingtonDad]

I am not familiar with Pleasant Hill at all so I can be of no help. When we were looking to buy we narrowed down the districts to Lake Murray and Midway and ultimately decided on MES. Another new school that just opened this year to help with the overflow from those 2 is Providence Elementary. I have heard that it is shaping up to be a nice school although we haven't seen any test results yet.

[jessnboys]

Hmmm, now I'm really confused! When I go to the website for Lexington District 1, they list a Lake Murray ES as one of their elem schools in Lexington. And when I check out the website for Lexington/Richland District 5 they too list a Lake Murray ES as one of their elem schools in Chapin. So is there a 3rd LMES that is the Montessori school you were mentioning? Thanks for clarifying!

[LexingtonDad]

I guess you confuse easy. Lake Murray is pretty big and divides the midlands of SC pretty well. If you take time to read the info you are looking at you will see the addresses and zip codes for both schools are different. They have different principals and different test scores.

Good bye.

[jessnboys]

What has confused me, Lexingtondad, is your assertion that only one of the Lake Murray Elem Schools is public. Since both district 1 and 5 are claiming a public LMES, can you clarify your statement that one is public and one is a private Montessori school??? Which do you feel is public and how do explain the other's status on the public district's website? THAT is what I'd like clarity on. Thank you.

[LexingtonDad]

Let me give you some info that might help you with your search. When you see under school "type" private as in:

Lake Murray Montessori School 3.5 private

It is not a public school.

The public schools are listed as:

Lake Murray Elementary School 3.0 public

I think it works that way in both districts too.

[jessnboys]

Ok, now check out this greatschool.net link and you'll see that in addition to the Lake Murray Montessori School in Lexington there are also 2 additional PUBLIC Lake Murray ELEMENTARY schools. One in Lexington and one in Chapin.

Greatschools.net Search: lake murray elementary school

The one in Chapin is a public elementary school in district 5 and the one in Lexington (not the Montessori) is also a public elementary school but in district 1.

Now, my original question is....when people on this board speak so highly of the public Lake Murray Elementary School, is it the one in Lexington (District 1) or the one in Chapin (District 5)?
Thanks.

[thechappells]

LAKE MURRAY ES - LEXINGTON-RICHLAND 5

LexingtonDad, have you been to the District 5 site? there are two PUBLIC LMESs. OP, it depends on where you want to live. LMES in lexington is highly regarded. i'm a lexington resident and we're zoned for LMES. i'm not sure about the one in chapin, but from reading the reviews on great schools, it seems highly regarded as well. it is funny that there are two LMESs, but that's how it is, i guess.

if you have any lexington town questions, i'm sure LexingtonDad and i could answer them. i can't speak from chapin. cheers!