New Lebanon School - Greenwich, CT Thoughts? (homes, school district)

Ciske · 09-25-2010, 09:13 PM

Hello, I am relocating to CT for my job from Chicago and I have a 5 year old girl in kindergarten. I am interested in learning peoples' thoughts about the New Lebanon School in Greenwich, CT. On greatschools.org, it has a rating of 5 out 10 based on standardized testing but most parents rate it very high. This is the lowest rated school in the Greenwich school district which is very odd.

I would be very interested in learning your experiences with the school. Your comments would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

JayCT · 09-26-2010, 12:03 PM

Why is this school being the lowest rated so odd? There has to be one school that is rated the lowest and this school is located in Byram which has more lower socio-economic families that the other sections of Greenwich. Just because it is rated the lowest does not mean the school is not good. Schools in Greenwich are considered excellent and I am sure the curiculum taught there is as good as any other school in town.

Personally I do not trust greatschools. I look at the scores on the Connecticut Mastery tests and class sizes. For some odd reason this school is not listed on the State Board of Education's Strategic school profiles (see links below) so I can not comment on it. If I were you I would visit the school and talk to other parents before passing complete judgement. Jay

Strategic School Profiles by District

Strategic School Profiles by District

jax12479 · 09-26-2010, 08:35 PM

I didn't go there personally, but I have a friend who did and she/her parents loved it. That was 15 yrs ago so not sure if much has changed, but at that time it was smaller than most of the other public elementary schools in town (smaller class sizes), and it had one of the best programs for children w/special needs (autism, etc.) Sometimes schools in the western part of town get a bad rap because of the middle school, but I've never heard anything negative about the elementary schools.

Kristin85 · 09-27-2010, 09:01 AM

I have heard nothing but good things about the New Lebanon School. A few blocks down the street is Armstrong Court, the one area of public housing in town, and all of the children living there would attend New Lebanon. Considering the environment children are living in at Armstrong Court (a complex with frequent drug busts and noise complaints), it is understandable that those kids may not have the best study habits or parental encouragement as other students in Greenwich. However, teachers at New Lebanon School have been applauded for their teaching skills and attention to students' needs.

jax12479 · 09-27-2010, 11:48 AM

Are you sure Armstrong Court kids go to New Leb? I thought they went to Hamilton Avenue...

Also, there are two other public housing areas in town (Wilbur Peck in central Greenwich & Adam's Garden in Riverside). Despite what people think, Greenwich is a large town comprised of people from all socio-economic groups. It's a good thing, I think

Kristin85 · 09-28-2010, 08:50 AM

You know, you may be right jax12479. The Ham. Ave. school is pretty close to Armstrong Court, too. It's anyone's guess which school those kids go to. I wouldn't quite understand why the New Lebanon School underperforms the Hamilton Ave. school if the New Lebanon School is comprised almost entirely of students from single-family homes and the Ham. Ave. school isn't. Anything is possible, though.