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Queen....yes, as fun and interesting talent development is my children think of it as a "chill out" period in their day. There really is very limited advanced learning in Appo at the elementary and middle school levels. Recently added into the middle schools during enrichment, is a program students with exceptional standardized test scores are placed in. It is in partnership with the SAT people and although students are graded for their work, it is not a grade included on their report card other than pass/fail.
My husband and I moved to Middletown a few weeks ago and do not have children yet, so take my response with a grain of salt. I am, however, a certified guidance counselor in NY state and I'm working on becoming certified in DE to be able to work here. It was important to me to live near a great school district that I can both work in and send my kids to one day (hopefully we get to stay here - we were moved bc of my husband's job in the first place). Appo is one of the best school districts in the state and I think a huge bonus is that Middletown and surrounding areas (Townsend and Odessa) are growing a lot right now. Appo is building several new schools and there will need to be a lot of funding put towards the growing young population.
Middletown is a little out of the way for some things - some of the bigger stores and the mall are about a 15 to 30 minute drive from here. We do have several good grocery stores, Kohl's, Home Depot, Lowe's, Walmart and lots of smaller every day needs. It is a small town feel here and people are very friendly. I think you would probably get more for your money here and being someone who would like to afford to stay home with my kids one day, you may have a better shot of doing this than in other areas. I hear Hockessin is very pricey. Side note - I grew up in CT, my husband grew up in NJ and we just moved from 10 years in NYC. We are very familiar with the tri-state area and given that you said you are coming from NJ, I feel I should mention that it looks very different to me here. Hockessin, Pike Creek and parts of North Wilmington looks more like the NJ area in my opinion (ie trees and hills and winding roads). Middletown is very flat, as it was once all farm land and there are not trees all over like there is in NJ or CT. I do miss the trees, but I honestly like it here. One other thing that is different to me - it seems a large chunk of homes are in housing developments. They mostly like quite nice and there are different characteristics to each, just something to note since you did mention wanting an acre of land. I haven't looked into buying a place yet because we chose to rent for the first year while we get to know the area, but I do think the smaller lots will be a change for me and possibly for you.
Honestly, come visit and drive around - it's the best thing to do to get a feel!
Really appreciate your posts...yes, we are seriously looking at Hockessin, although the Appo district has me very interested as well. I would also consider the Indian River - since it is closer to my parents, but I think my husband will need to be near Wilmington (at least a decent driving distance).
Over the summer, we did do several day trips down to Delaware taking advantage of visits to my parents who live in Rehoboth Beach. We went all over New Castle and Kent - but since we had so many towns on our list, our trips were superficial. From there I have been concentrating on the school districts hoping that could help narrow our search.
Now armed with more information thanks to everyone who posted on this forum, we are planning on a more in-depth visit.
Funny, how you mentioned the "mushroom smell" - a realtor we have been speaking with mentioned looking at Kennett Square PA (since it was just a few mins west of Hockessin). Great school district, but the taxes are almost equal to NJ - I was shocked to see that! $8-9K for a house on our price range - issshhhhh - it equals to Jersey prices!!!!!
I was hatched in Kennett, and lived there until I was 22 when I got married and moved to Claymont for 15 years, now I'm a big shot in North Wilmington, lol. I miss the smell of Kennett, my parents now live in West Grove and everytime we go through my wife and kids hold their noses cause I roll the windows down. Kennett's a decent school district although it has a much higher Hispanic population now than it did when I went there. They have had some gang problems with Avon Grove high school recently enough that the schools have been let out early on a couple of Fridays. Avon Grove gets its name from the towns of, West Grove and Avondale. If I could afford Unionville that would be my choice in Chester County, especially living off of route 82 near the schools, thats a beautiful area full of rolling hills and farmland. You know what though, West Chester is really nice as well with good schools. West Chester is like a big Kennett that is really clean.
Quote:
Originally Posted by momonthemove
Queen....yes, as fun and interesting talent development is my children think of it as a "chill out" period in their day. There really is very limited advanced learning in Appo at the elementary and middle school levels. Recently added into the middle schools during enrichment, is a program students with exceptional standardized test scores are placed in. It is in partnership with the SAT people and although students are graded for their work, it is not a grade included on their report card other than pass/fail.
Appo's downfall is that it has done so well academically as a school district it doesn't receive funding like other school districts. Race to the top funding for Appo is embarrassing compared to other districts, Brandywine, Red Clay, and Christina all received millions of dollars while Appo only got what $65 or 70 thousand dollars? While the districts up here continue to perform badly with the RTT funding, Appo will continue to flourish. Not to rant but it really pi$$e$ me off that a district like Brandywine will use some of the RTT funding to hire more administrators instead of putting money into the classroom, while as a state we get waivers for "No Child Left Behind" because we have to lower standards so kids can go on to another grade.
Its amazing when kids can surround themselves with friends that want to go to college or move on after high school with a specific goals compared to kids that have friends that don't give a crap. We had the opportunity to move to Middletown in 1997 and we didn't take it (wife). It was a mistake that she still regrets till this day, and we're in Brandywine School District which isn't all that bad.
Last edited by James420; 02-05-2012 at 10:54 AM..
Reason: c
Queen....yes, as fun and interesting talent development is my children think of it as a "chill out" period in their day. There really is very limited advanced learning in Appo at the elementary and middle school levels. Recently added into the middle schools during enrichment, is a program students with exceptional standardized test scores are placed in. It is in partnership with the SAT people and although students are graded for their work, it is not a grade included on their report card other than pass/fail.
Its amazing when kids can surround themselves with friends that want to go to college or move on after high school with a specific goals compared to kids that have friends that don't give a crap.
I absolutely agree with this. Having parents and friends who care make a big difference in a kid's education no matter which school or school district they attend.
And I have been thinking about where might be a good fit. What about Greenville, if you can afford it? I know parts of Greenville feed to Brandywine Springs. Do they feed to AI Dupont HS? If so, that could be a great spot.
It is interesting that certain people are allowed to posts links constantly and others not.
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It is interesting that certain people are allowed to posts links constantly and others not.
