Schools in Madison (Huntsville, Blue Ridge: work, housing, theater)

[dramamama]

Hi all:
Gettng ready to move to Alabama/Huntsville and soooo torn about where to settle. We've narrowed it down to 3 school districts for our rising 9th grade daughter who is super into theater and graphic arts.

Bob Jones/Grissom/Huntsville High

Pros for BJHS area: more selection for houses and easy community building
Cons: 9th grade in MS and my girl is not happy about that/no theater program in 9th grade other than drama class

Grisson:
Well, it's the "best"
But the housing is old
But the mountains are high
But they do have a 4 year program for HS

Huntsville
MMMM... hearing some not positive stuff about demographics
Pro: great theater program/great is a 4 year program
Con: commute over the mountains


Help!
We're coming down at the end of the month...

Christine

[Reactionary]

I'm not clear on your objections to Grissom (mountains are high) or Huntsville (commute over the mountain). Grissom, for the most part, is not mountainous (except for neighborhood on Green Mountain). Huntsville requires a commute 'over' the mountain only if you live in Hampton Cove; 'down' the mountain if you live on Monte Sano.

Grissom and Bob Jones are two of the best public schools in the State. Huntsville HS does have distinct differences in student scores, based on demographics, but the higher scoring kids still score as high as Grissom.

I'm not much help ("soooo torn"), because you've narrowed it down to good choices.

BTW, Lee HS offers a magnet for Arts, but I wouldn't risk it...

[Southlander]

Those aren't really mountains! They're hills! Compare them to the Smokies, or the Blue Ridge Mountains...Monte Sano et al are just bumps!

[dramamama]

My husband told me that in order to buy a newer home in the Grissom area that we have to go UP the hills/mountains (he might have exaggerated, but I do know waht the smokies are like having lived in Knoxville for 14 years). Otherwise we'll have to buy an older home and (quite a bit older) and the houses sell quick.

Hamptom Cove is where we'd probably look and he again objected to that as it means a longer commute (over that "mountain"). I guess I am dealing with his perceptions and as I haven't been in person, it's hard to understand why he is not pro that area either.

Bob Jones HS, Grissom and HHS all look really good. And your replies have solidified that these should be our top choices for schools when we get down there.

I guess I'll have a better, working picture about the way the communities run and their vitality when I get down in a few weeks.

Thanks for the input!
Christine

[Charles]

I found these videos very positive. All the kids looked wholesome and engaged. (Couldn't find videos from BJHS but I swam with their swim team a few months ago and played basketball next to their basketball team both at Dublin Park and these kids just looked great.)

Go to

Huntsville City Schools

for all the schools' videos.

Grissom High
http://www.hsv.k12.al.us/dept/etv/Sc...os/Grissom.wmv

Huntsville High
http://www.hsv.k12.al.us/dept/etv/Sc...ville_High.wmv

Hampton Cove Middle
http://www.hsv.k12.al.us/dept/etv/Sc...on_Cove_MD.wmv

Hampton Cove Elementary
http://www.hsv.k12.al.us/dept/etv/Sc...on_Cove_EL.wmv

[autobahn]

I would add Sparkman HS to the list, but you can not go wrong with any of the schools you have listed. We chose to live in Madison to be in the Bob Jones school district.

At the time, Hampton Cove did not have the retailers it has now and was very isolated. We also feared dealing with ice on the mountain getting to work, if we ever had a bad winter.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by autobahn

We chose to live in Madison to be in the Bob Jones school district.

At the time, Hampton Cove did not have the retailers it has now and was very isolated..

We've researched both communities too. It seems like a family couldn't go wrong in either place. (Single people might find both boring.)

If you were moving today would the addition of the added retail have made HC more desirable than it was then?
What is still missing (from your perspective)?
Is there still an isolation problem?

Where (location) do you work? Does Madison provide significant commuting advantages?

[clamoore]

I'm interested in hearing about the "not positive stuff" about the demographics of Huntsville High. I would like to have an opportunity to address your concerns about this issue.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by clamoore

I'm interested in hearing about the "not positive stuff" about the demographics of Huntsville High. I would like to have an opportunity to address your concerns about this issue.

I would like to know about this stuff too. Did HHS previously have a more negative reputation and has it recently improved? It is on a long term improvement trend? Or, is it the reverse; Did it used to have a premier reputation but over the past X years the reputation has degraded?

[Reactionary]

IMO, the HHS "not positive stuff" is that it has 'two-tier' test results. The school does OK overall on testing, but there are sharp differences between demographic groups: rich kids do better than poor kids. HHS zone includes wealthy areas and projects. Also, the City built a new facility and it was overcrowded from the start - bad planning.

clamoore - don't tease us saying you "would like to have an opportunity" to speak out - just do it