Hampton Cove (Huntsville, Madison, Taylor: apartments, rental, HOA fees)

[ebinca]

We are planning to relocate to Huntsville. I am looking for any info on the Hampton Cove area. This area has sparked an interest because of the schools. I have two little ones just entering elementary and a good education is top priority. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[lisamm]

Originally Posted by ebinca

We are planning to relocate to Huntsville. I am looking for any info on the Hampton Cove area. This area has sparked an interest because of the schools. I have two little ones just entering elementary and a good education is top priority. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Oh you will love hamton cove area. I wanted to move there myself. It's beautiful with new homes going up everyday. The homes there are large and more expensive that in huntsville. They just build a huge super walmart in the Cove. Very family oriented and a great location. Your just like 10 mins from the city Huntsville. If you don't find anything in Hamton Cove the schools in South east hunstville are wonderful. I did lots of researach about the schools in huntsville. I can give you the names of the best elementary schools there and middle. They are ahead of most schools in Alabama. My first concern are always the school first. I lived in Huntsville and drove down hamton cove several times while they were building it up slowly and it's just beautiful. I have a friend that lives there in a beautiful home. Hamton Cove is a fairly new town their building up so many people might not know about it. It's right next to the south east area of huntsville. Good luck.

[ebinca]

Thanks Lisa. Hampton cove does look nice. I would really appreciate the names of the top elementaries. We are looking in the SE area, but will go where the best shools are. Thanks again.

[naz]

Hello. My Husband And Our Two Children (elementary Age) Will Be Relocating To The Huntsville/athens/madison Area In A Few Weeks,and I Would Also Like The Names Of These Schools.the Best Schools Will Be The Deciding Factor On Where To Live.also, Are There Very Many Rental Houses??? We Will Not Be Ready To Buy A House There And Apartments Are Not Quite What We're Looking For. What Is In The Area For Children To Do ???thanks For Any Feedback..

[kash96]

We moved here and picked the Hampton Cove area because of the schools. You can go to GreatSchools.net to check it out. Anyhow, we've been here for about 7 months and I couldn't be happier. I love the schools, I love the people, I love how safe I feel, there's nothing bad I can even begin to think to say about Hampton Cove. We actually live on the "other side" of 431, so not in the Hampton Cove subdivision, but our kids to go the Hampton Cove schools, and we do our recreation, etc with those in the Hampton Cove subdivision. The difference is you get much more house for the money on the other side of 431 and the yearly HOA fees are much less. The houses are newer here, too. THe only downside is you don't have access to Hampton House, which I would love to have, but there were no houses that met my requirements when we bought (I have a large family and need a larger home). They're also going to be building a brand new elementary school in 2-3 years on our side of the tracks (just across the street from my subdivision actually). Hope this helps!

[Reactionary]

Madison County (including HSV and Madison) Elementary School scores (better scores generally mean better neighborhoods):

http://www.city-data.com/forum/hunts...grade-sat.html

[zenjenn]

I live in the Hampton Cove area and like it. The elementary school is overcrowded, but a good school. They are building a new school off Taylor Road.. I hear rumors it should be done in 3 years. For high school, kids go to Huntsville High.

I honestly think those test scores are only marginally useful at best.

[jmuoto]

Some fun things to do with kids in Hsv....the Early Works Museum, the Sci Quest Museum, the Hsv. Train Depot, Southerland Station (a really neat toy/hobby store with a huge model train layout), the Botanical Gardens, plus your typical parks.

[Reactionary]

zenjenn - the test scores provide objective data.

I don't know of a better source / method to evaluate schools. Were schools a big factor in your housing decision? What methodology / criteria / data sources did you use for choosing a school?

Note that the above comment is made with lots of respect; it seems to read harshly to me, but I hope that you know it's not meant to be confrontational

And I really am interested in the decision-making process you used to choose your home / neighborhood...

[zenjenn]

Here's the thing with test scores;

a) There are a schools out there that really cater their curriculum to getting high scores. I am sometimes wary of schools with abnormally high scores, because this often have a tendency to "teach to the test". This method leaves little less time for things I personally value in my child's education such as time for the arts, creative learning, physical education, socialization, and so on.

b) Test scores often reflect a demographic more than they reflect the school's performance. That is, if you have the children of well-educated, well-off families, the scores are going to be higher even if the schools themselves are abysmal.

Both of these things make test scores only a marginally useful (but not useless) tool in assessing a school. I have family members with plenty of experience in the education field who would agree. My experience has been that test scores are useful for telling you whether a school is basically up to par or not.

For example, if both school A and school B have scores that are "up there", is all that matters to me. Just because school A scores slightly better than school B, doesn't mean school A is fundamentally better. However, if school C has ****-poor scores, then I'd avoid it. Hampton Cove Elementary does not have ****-poor scores.

I personally think a good rule of thumb is to visit the schools, and talk to parents who have children attending those schools. I've visited Hampton Cove Elementary, and spoken to parents there. Beyond being overcrowded and the stresses that come along with that, it appears to be an excellent, well-managed school with excellent facilities.


When it comes down to it though, I think the biggest determining factor as to how good an education a child will receive comes down to the individual child and the family they come from. You only get out of an education as much as you put into it. As long as the school is safe, clean, functional, with competent staff, your child can get a good education. It's not going to be intrinsically better because X school score 10% higher on their scores. Those scores are only a reflection on how *other* kids perform on a standardized test, not how *my* child will perform when it comes to a meaningful learning experience.

In terms of where I want to live in terms of my home/neighborhood, there are a lot of factors. A safe, clean, functional school is certainly one of them. But that's it - beyond the schools obligation to provide the basic materials, environment, and personnel, my child's education is my own responsibility. I am not under the delusion that my child is going to be a 10% more educated child because they go to a school with 10% better 3rd grade SAT scores. So beyond a school that meets those basics, my choice was based on - commute time for my husband's work, vicinity to our place of worship, number of young families in the neighborhood, cost and quality of the house itself, and how safe and community-oriented the neighborhood is, etc.