Hi Scooterpilot,
Glad to be of any help possible. As a military family we totally understand what you're going through right now.
I'll try to answer as much as I can for you.
As for schools with a walking distance, that could prove difficult around here. Bethel Manor E.S. is located on the Bethel Manor housing. Just the children who live on that part of the base housing attend school there. Coventry E.S. is Walking distance for a good portion of the neighborhood. There are nice, wide sidewalks for walking, jogging, biking. The sidewalk does go beside a busy road though so you'd definatly want to have an adult walking with your child to school and back.
Tabb E.S. is a bit tricky, it is located between the Running Man and Woodlake/Meadowlake Farms neighobrhoods but none of the children in those neighborhoods can attend Tabb E.S. The way the zoning is set up those children attend Mt. Vernon E.S. which is about 1 1/2 miles away. The children in Yorkshire Downs, Woods of Tabb (which is actually right next to Poquoson), and several other neighborhoods off of Magruder and Victory blvd. attend Tabb E.S. Those students cannot walk to Tabb E.S. Mt. Vernon E.S. is set back into an older neighborhood close to the end of Magruder blvd/Hampton Hwy. almost to Rt. 17 (most of the homes are maybe late 70's or 80's but kept up nicely, its just not a neighborhood with any of the newer subdivision amenities) which of course those children who live there can walk to school.
I don't know much about the Kiln Creek E.S. since it is on the NN side of Kiln Creek neighborhood.
My daughter attended Tabb E.S. for 3rd through 5th when we lived in the Yorkshire Downs neighobrhood off of Magruder blvd. My personal opinion of the school is not very high. As a parent I did not get that welcomed feeling to come to the school, be involved in the classroom, see how the school operated on a day to day basis, etc. Every time I had to go into the school or the office for any reason I got this feeling from the staff like "Why are you here and what do you want?!?!?" . Yet when it came time for PTA they could never understand why they couldn't get parental participation. My daughter was there for three years and attending school functions was like being in a building full of strangers still.
We moved to a different neighorhood down Magruder when my daughter was in Middle school so my son attended Mt. Vernon when he got into Kindergarten. I will say it was like Night and Day to compare the two schools. Just walking into the Mt. Vernon school EVERYONE that we encountered was so friendly and welcoming. The Principal and V.P. came out to meet us and talk to my son. They talked TO him, not down at him. Even teachers that weren't my sons class or grade level were very welcoming and invited him into their classrooms to talk and look around. Everyone we passed in the halls would smile and say hello, stop to talk, introduce themselves, etc. Even the cafeteria workers were friendly and said hello. And it wasnt all just the begining of school, everythings sunshine and roses until school starts kind of lip service. Everyone was friendly the entire year. Parents are not only welcome at the school, they are highly encouraged to come! They love to have parental participation in the classrooms. They love for parents to come up at lunchtime and eat with their children and classmates. They love for parents to come observe how their children are doing at school. And you know what, Mt. Vernon has an over 100 % PTA participation. That should tell you something. Getting involved in school functions and PTA volunteer opportunities does not feel like getting your teeth pulled.
There are so many FAMILY activities that they plan such as Family Game Nights, Family Folk Dancing, Family Bingo Night, The school carnival, Dessert Theater, etc. They love for younger siblings to come up to the school because they know that they will be attending there soon and they welcome them to come in and get familiar with the school and teachers so that they look forward to attending when it's their time. My son has been there for two years and I feel like I know so many of the other parents not only in my childs grade level but in many of the higher grade levels as well.
Ok. I'll get off my soap box. I'm just really thrilled with the school if you can't tell. Oh, one more thing, Mt. Vernon has 5 Kindergarten classes. I believe the student counts were about 14-16 students in each classroom with a teacher and a para-educator (Teachers aid). That count went down from the previous year when there were only 4 K classes.
As for preschools, I HIGHLY reccomend Chestnut Memorial Preschool. It is in NN actually, but it's only about a 10 minute drive to the school. It doesn't advertise, they get students by word of mouth only. And that's all they need. The school fills up every year. We enrolled our son because of a referal to the preschool. He went there for two years before Kindergarten. We wish they had gone up to higher grades. Our son went part time. Three days a week in the afternoon class. They have morning class part time and they have five days a week morning or afternoon classes. Suprisingly its rather affordable as well. I believe our rate for part time afternoon class was $105 a month. That was two years ago though so I'm sure the rates could have changed. Chestnut has such a reputation around here that we are constantly running into people who say things like "My kids went to Chestnut and I went there when I was a kid too!". The staff welcomes you to come take a tour of the school and they'll show you around and take you into the classrooms and everything. They also love parental participation at Chestnut. And I cannot say enough about the teachers. LOVED THEM! My son did not want to miss a single day of school.
We have also heard great things about Betel Baptist preschool which is just up Big Bethel Road about a mile or so. I have several friends who's little ones just finished up at Bethel Baptist and will be starting K this coming year. Most of the kids we know have either gone to Chestnut or Bethel Baptist preschool.
As for your question which of the schools have the most family friendly neighborhoods around them. Well, I dont know much about the immediate neighborhood around Kiln Creek E.S. Kiln Creek is this master planned community that has all of these individual neighorhoods inside of it. You have areas that have duplex or quad style houses and then you have areas that have mega high dollar single family homes. So you're going to have kids attending the E.S. from all areas inside the community (on the NN side). There is a community pool, a decent playground, sports fields.
The Yorkshire Downs neighborhood is family friendly. Many families with kids ranging from the very young to teenagers. There is a community pool. You see alot of people out walking in the evenings. There are adjacent townhouses and an apartment complex that are in the same neighborhood.
There's a small strip shopping center right in front of the Yorkshire downs neighorhood.
Coventry is family friendly. Big community pool and soccer field. Walking paths. LOTS of younger children. Its kind of like a mini master planned community. You have some townhouses, quads, single family homes.
There's a little neighorhood I believe its called Edgewood or Edgehill or something like that. The main road into it is Autumn Way. Its just down from Woodlake and Meadowlake farms neighborhood. The edgewood/edgehill has a lot of nice AF families over there. They dont have a pool/clubhouse.
Woodlake is nice. It's getting a turnover from Empty Nester Families who's children have already grown up to alot of younger families with young children. Many military/retired military families. There's a big lake and a playground. The homes are in the 2300 Sqft. and up range, many with large yards. LOTS of trees. No sidewalks though which is strange. Meadowlake Farms is right next to Woodlake. It just kind of runs from one neighborhood to the other. Meadowlake Farms has a community pool that Woodlake residents can buy memberships to. Meadowlake has single family homes on the smaller square footage side.
Running man is a nice, but pricey neighorhood. Community pool/clubhouse. Swim team. Nice bike/jogging paths along the main roads. I believe its a family friendly neighorhood. Big sq footage homes. Big lots and backyards for a lot of the homes.
I've forgotten to mention a whole neighorhood on the other side of Magruder/Hampton Highway. It is Tabb Lakes. I don't know a whole lot about it. I dont believe they have any community ammenities such as a pool or playground. They might share ammenities with Coventry. Not sure. I wasn't too impressed with the neighorhood. The middle and H.S. students are not in our school district. They get bussed to Grafton schools which is further down Rt. 17. I believe the E.S students might go to Coventry. There is also a newer neighborhood called The Greenlands on that side of Magruder. Very pricey homes. Same school districts as Tabb Lakes I believe.
I haven't mentioned Poquoson mainly because I'd been down there and seen alot of the flood damage from Hurricane Isabel. Not all of the homes are in the flood zone, but many that are for sale are.
One of my biggest fears (and justifiably so) is black mold. I'd be leary of any house that had flood damage and didn't get a total gutting and redo. That's just my opinion, but it comes from someone that lived in a military home that had prior storm damage and I suffered with black mold and illness for two years. Many of the housing on Langley AFB and on Bethel Manor have had flood damage and you know only too well the military just douses it with bleach and slaps up a new coat of paint.
Also, I have several friends in Poquoson and something to be aware of is that there are alot of mosquitos once you get back there with all the water, marsh, etc. So if you enjoy outdoor entertaining/living that is something else to consider. If at all possible find a house with a screened in back porch or living area.
Ok. This has gotten much longer than I thought it would so I better find an ending point. Feel free to direct message me if you have any questions.
~Cindy "It's Cin".
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Thanks again It's Cin!
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