Best Schools in Downtown Area? (Columbus, Upper Arlington: rental, townhomes, neighborhoods)

[ReloToOH]

Hello! My family and I are planning to relocate to Columbus this summer. Our child will be starting 8th grade in the fall. We are looking at townhomes to rent in the downtown area. I am having a hard time figuring out how to tell what schools are zoned for different areas. Also, I've seen a few threads on this forum discussing suburban schools, but are there any good city schools, particularly high schools that offer strong music/foreign language/technology programs? We are not interested in living in the suburbs at this time. I am not at all familiar with the area or which communities are actually considered to be in the downtown area, so any help or resources are greatly appreciated!

[Mom2Gymnasts]

What do you mean by "downtown". The schools in Short North/Arena District/Vic Village, etc are not where I would want to send a High schooler. Is private school an option?

There are a couple of neighborhoods that have a more urbanish feel that have good schools like Grandview Heights and Bexley. Kids walk to schools. In both you can walk to restaurants, coffee, library, pool, schools, bike shop, ice cream. Bex has an artsy movie theater. I'm very impressed with Bexley's music program. It's not urban, but a nice step up from suburban. Unfortunately there is not a huge amount of rental stock in either of those school districts.

Worthington is a little further from downtown but a lot of people like it. It felt less city-living-like to me but it is worth checking out.

[jbcmh81]

Downtown is Columbus schools, as are the immediate surrounding neighborhoods. They are not the best. A bit further out, but still close to Downtown would be Bexley, Grandview and Upper Arlington. All 3 have excellent schools and are very close to the urban center of the city. They are harder neighborhoods to buy into, though, just because they have a limited supply of housing.

[Toxic Toast]

Threads like this are usually best left to people who actually have experience sending kids to urban schools. Surely Columbus has some options for people who live in the city and don't want to live out in suburbia.

[CitySide]

Originally Posted by ReloToOH

Hello! My family and I are planning to relocate to Columbus this summer. Our child will be starting 8th grade in the fall. We are looking at townhomes to rent in the downtown area. I am having a hard time figuring out how to tell what schools are zoned for different areas. Also, I've seen a few threads on this forum discussing suburban schools, but are there any good city schools, particularly high schools that offer strong music/foreign language/technology programs? We are not interested in living in the suburbs at this time. I am not at all familiar with the area or which communities are actually considered to be in the downtown area, so any help or resources are greatly appreciated!

Fort Hayes- near the downtown area, has strong in emphasis in arts.

Columbus Alternative- 15-20 minutes north of downtown in the linden area, strong well rounded curriculum and is one of the best high schools in the city

Eastmoor Academy- east of downtown, good school

Columbus Downtown High school- Relatively new high school, offers specializations in tech, engineering, and other programs.

Only suburbanites knock public schools, particularly those in urban settings due to jealousy. I couldn't imagine being stuck in the suburbs surrounded by nothing and going to school with kids who all do the same things, have the same bland personality, live the same lifestyle...very boring.

[Mom2Gymnasts]

Columbus Alternative and Eastmoor academy are actually farther from downtown than either Bexley or Grandview Heights...

Neither of Bexley nor Grandview Heights neighborhoods are "stuck in the suburbs surrounded by nothing". They are both within an easy bike ride of downtown (my kids bike to COSI with their dad) and have restaurants/shops/etc and are walkable. I would not describe the character of either of those neighborhoods as "going to school with kids who all do the same things, have the same bland personality, live the same lifestyle".

Having a preference for living in urban, walkable communities, I actually spent quite a lot of time researching school and trying to find a balance between great schools and an urban feel when I moved here.

[ReloToOH]

Thank you so much for your responses! At this time, we would prefer public schools. I've heard good things about the Bexley and Grandview areas. I'll also have to look into the downtown schools mentioned. The zoning in OH seems to be a bit different than what we have in my current area - it can be hard to tell what areas are zoned for different schools.