Who has the better schools - Spartanburg or Greenville? (Taylors: 2009, homes)

[jctatom]

My husband is slated to manage a project in Cliffside, NC and we are looking at the Spartanburg or Greenville areas as potential areas for us to reside.

My main concern is the schools. I have done some research on them, but would love to know from someone familiar with both areas the difference between the schools in both areas. Is one area significantly better than the other in school quality? Both my kids are elementary school age.

Also - we are looking for a suburban way of life that allows close proximity to shopping, restaurants, entertainment, etc. Would one place offer a closer match to what we are looking for than the other?

Thanks in advance for your help!

[Oogax3Girl]

Spartanburg is divided into seven school districts, while Greenville is only one big school district.

Spartanburg 1-Chapman/Landrum High Schools (Inman, Landrum, Capobello, Gramling)
Really good school system... small schools... Nice people.
A plus is that if you live in this school district they tend to allow students to go to any school they would like. (So, say you're districted for Campobello-Gramling, but you want your child to go to Inman Elementary, then they will allow you to do so.)

Spartanburg 2- Boiling Springs/Chesnee
Boiling Springs is very BIG and is growing by a LOT. This would probably give you the best 'suburban' life style, but you could easily live in District 1 and easily access Boiling Springs.

Chesnee is a much more small-town feel and there in not really a suburban-type feel.

Spartanburg 3-Broome (Cowpens, Pacolet)
I went to school here and loved it. It has a bunch of small schools and they are all really good. They have a lot of arts programs and gifted programs, but they aren't very diverse. Cowpens is about 10 minutes outside of Spartanburg, so you could easily access Hillcrest and whatnot.

Spartanburg 4- I have no idea.

Spartanburg 5- Byrnes (I think)
I think they're known for their football? I don't honestly know much about this district.

Spartanburg 6- Dorman (Roebuck, Westside, Fairforest, Arcadia)
HUGE school district. Dorman is one of the largest high schools in the state. (I believe it's number 2, right behind Wando in Mt. Pleasant?) However, because it is so big... there are some very solid programs. However, it may be too competitive? There aer many schools that you want to stay away from with this district though. There are three 'sections'. One is the Fairforest area which is very Spanish-dominated, another is Dawkins, which is a fairly good school, but not such great elementary schools, and the last is Gable which is probably the 'shining star' of the bunch. Of course, you would have to look at the schools to decide for yourself.

Spartanburg 7- There is Pine Street and Jesse Boyd Elementary schools. Do not consider any other school. I've been there. The school district says that it allows school choice, but the reality is that it is very limited... and if you don't live in the Pine St district, you're not getting in... (Ex: This year... 32 requests were put in for transfer to Pine Street... only five were approved.) However, every one of Jesse Boyd's requests were approved. (link: School choice opening doors | Spartanburg, South Carolina | GoUpstate.com | Spartanburg Herald-Journal)

Also consider the Spartanburg Charter School. It doesn't matter where you live. They are state-supported. As long as you live in SC, you can apply for the school. Spartanburg Charter School - Home

They should still have spaces available for grades 2-5, and may even have spaces available for grades k and 1.

As far as Greenville schools go... I have no idea. But I hope I provided incite on the Spartanburg schools. =)

[myrc60]

You can compare each school's report card from the school's website. We thought we were going to Boiling Springs but got side tracked on Chapman. After sometime we decided Spartanburg was probably too small for us considering where we were coming from. After studying those reports my daughter decided Mauldin HS was the best choice for her and that is why we are where we are.

[grannynancy]

As much as I hate driving on it at certain times of day, anything near Woodruff road in Greenville County has all the shopping you could want and more.

My SIL and daughter chose to move to Greenville county - he is a teacher and he felt the schools were better in GC. [which is where he teaches] - but I don't know. I have not had school age kids for awhile.

[Spartanburgh]

If I were going to work in Cliffside NC, I would choose Boiling Springs SC or the west side of Spartanburg to live. Be cafeful because there is a Boiling Springs NC also. Boiling Springs SC has great schools, shopping, restaraunts and is convieniently located to Cliffside (20 minutes) and Spartanburg(15 minutes). Spartanburg's west side has everything you would want including great schools plus its not such a long drive to Cliffside. Greenville is long drive to Cliffside in my opinion for everyday, but it has great schools and shopping too. Boiling Springs is one of the fastest growing areas in the state and it has great demographics to go with the location making it my first choice, Spartanburg's westside would be second and Greenville would be a distant (literally) third choice. At any rate, which ever you choose welcome to South Carolina and I hope you love it here.

[Skyliner]

Originally Posted by jctatom

...Also - we are looking for a suburban way of life that allows close proximity to shopping, restaurants, entertainment, etc. Would one place offer a closer match to what we are looking for than the other?

What type of "entertainment" are you most interested in? Spartanburg is definitely closer to Cliffside, NC, if that is important to you. Greenville has a significant edge on the shopping, dining, and entertainment options, if that is important to you. In Greenville County, I would suggest reviewing schools on the Eastside of town (Taylors, Riverside, Mauldin, Pelham-Batesville, etc.). In Spartanburg County, I would suggest reviewing schools in the Boiling Springs area. It has a sprawling suburban strip along S.C. 9, anchored by a Wal-Mart Supercenter, if that is important to you.

[jctatom]

Thanks, everyone, for all the information!

We have found a subdivision in Spartanburg that we like (based on the information on the Internet only) and wanted to see if any of you had any knowledge of it.

The subdivision is called The Oaks at Rock Springs. The elementary school it is zoned to is West View Elementary School (in Spartanburg 6 district, I believe). Oogax3girl, any knowledge on this specific school? You had mentioned there were several schools to stay away from - is this one of them?

[Skyliner]

I know that subdivision well. It is fairly new and located in a decent area, near the Westside shopping and sports complex. It is one of those surprises that you don't expect because you are driving along what appears to be a rural country road and then turn onto another small road and there are hundreds of homes built closely into a community with one main entrance, etc. Actually it is not too uncommon in the South anymore, since our laws allow sprawling suburban neighborhoods to evolve in every direction.

[Oogax3Girl]

I don't know much about it, but it has fairly decent test scores. (Mostly above the state average by about 10%... a few times below... (Ex. Grade 5 social studies, was a 65% pass score whereas the state average was 66%; grade 5 science pass was a 54%... the state was 61%; grade 5 math pass 68% the state was 78%)

But my gandering with their test scores was that that was simply just not a high-scoring grade in general that year.
West View Elementary School Test Scores - Spartanburg, South Carolina - SC

Just a quick newspaper search...
West View Elementary celebrates big award | GoUpstate.com | Spartanburg Herald-Journal | Spartanburg SC
District 6 schools trying to stay ahead of the growth | GoUpstate.com | Spartanburg Herald-Journal | Spartanburg SC