[SFtoLV]

Hi,
My mom and little brother (8 years old) and stepdad are migrating to LV, and their budget is under 100K because theyre paying cash for it. They found a decent place in the 89108 zip code, near the "childrens memorial park" that looks like a nice neighborhood. I dont know why its in "level orange" on the crime map. We talked to neighbors and drove around, it seems nice, clean, and quiet. Anyway, we looked up the zoned public elementary school of the house theyre gonna buy, and its rating is 3 out of 10 (very low! Tobler elementary) The test scores from the school is in the 33% range which sounds pretty horrible. It has 5 stars from parent's ratings, but then again, the comments from those parents were full of typos and basic spelling errors, so its hard to gauge if thats really a parent typing or not.

I tried looking for a cheap private school (Below 7K/year) but only found 1, called St. Francis de Sale, and it has a 28:1 student teacher ratio! I dont know if thats any better than the Tobler elementary. They dont post test scores online for private schools, do they?

This is horrible news, beacuse they just put an offer on the house and forgot to check the school system (which we did for all other houses we tried to offer on, but things got hectic). Any advice? I've heard of a MAGNET school where you can apply, but it says it will go into lottery if more people qualify than there are seats available. My kid bro is very smart in all subjects (math, science, reading) and is consistently in the top 1 or 2 of his 2nd grade class. He will probably pass/qualify whatever test he has to take. He likes baseball and will probably join little league or whatever the school has. Is a MAGNET school a school for advanced kids?

Thanks for any advice on what to do as far as school is concerned

[olecapt]

Originally Posted by SFtoLV

Hi,
My mom and little brother (8 years old) and stepdad are migrating to LV, and their budget is under 100K because theyre paying cash for it. They found a decent place in the 89108 zip code, near the "childrens memorial park" that looks like a nice neighborhood. I dont know why its in "level orange" on the crime map. We talked to neighbors and drove around, it seems nice, clean, and quiet. Anyway, we looked up the zoned public elementary school of the house theyre gonna buy, and its rating is 3 out of 10 (very low! Tobler elementary) The test scores from the school is in the 33% range which sounds pretty horrible. It has 5 stars from parent's ratings, but then again, the comments from those parents were full of typos and basic spelling errors, so its hard to gauge if thats really a parent typing or not.

I tried looking for a cheap private school (Below 7K/year) but only found 1, called St. Francis de Sale, and it has a 28:1 student teacher ratio! I dont know if thats any better than the Tobler elementary. They dont post test scores online for private schools, do they?

This is horrible news, beacuse they just put an offer on the house and forgot to check the school system (which we did for all other houses we tried to offer on, but things got hectic). Any advice? I've heard of a MAGNET school where you can apply, but it says it will go into lottery if more people qualify than there are seats available. My kid bro is very smart in all subjects (math, science, reading) and is consistently in the top 1 or 2 of his 2nd grade class. He will probably pass/qualify whatever test he has to take. He likes baseball and will probably join little league or whatever the school has. Is a MAGNET school a school for advanced kids?

Thanks for any advice on what to do as far as school is concerned

First off the grade schools for an 8 yo is not that big a problem. Tobler still has 10% or more of its kids performing above grade level. He just needs to be in that set. Note though that eventually he will go to middle school which may prove more of a problem . So if you expect to be there for a few years check that out. If he is doing well he can probably get into Hyde Park...which is central city but a top 5 middle school.

Also that $7,000 is $500+ a month that will move you from 100k to 160K on the house if you spend it on house payment rather than a school. That would get you a nice shiny home in one of the top 50 schools.

St Francis de Sales is a strong school. Would be in the top quarter if a public school.

[SFtoLV]

thanks for the info olecapt!

The problem is no financing available (bad credit) so the house has to be purchased in cash.

Their plan is to stay for a year first, then see what happens. I guess 1 year is not bad, but my mom would just feel bad getting a house when the zoned school is only at 33 percentile in test scores

Thats good news about St Francis. anyone else have insight on St Francis?

Thanks

[olecapt]

Originally Posted by SFtoLV

thanks for the info olecapt!

The problem is no financing available (bad credit) so the house has to be purchased in cash.

Their plan is to stay for a year first, then see what happens. I guess 1 year is not bad, but my mom would just feel bad getting a house when the zoned school is only at 33 percentile in test scores

Thats good news about St Francis. anyone else have insight on St Francis?

Thanks

Drop a DM to 5kingsinvegas. She is a public school teacher with kids in the parochial schools. She will have an informed view.

[teach1234]

Homeschool

[nwlv]

Poor selection. You could have gotten way farther West on the same budget.

[photobuff42]

Tobler has been a school in transition for a few years now as the neighborhood has been changing. It's kind of a middle of the road school. My friend's kids attend St. Francis. The curriculum is not as strong as it should be but the kids are safe.

Have you thought about requesting a zone variance to another elementary school? There are several stronger ones not too far away that you could consider. Marc Kahre is a good school with a stable staff and a strong principal. I don't know what middle school you are zoned for but if it is Brinley that's when you really should consider something else.

[SFtoLV]

NWLV- farther west, where? Couldnt find a decent place in the "farther west" area on that budget, they are mostly newer houses that are in the low 100's over there. some are 90's but with multiple offers.

photobuff- good idea, i'll research into the variance.

Thanks!

[Rebecca40]

We are moving to LV this summer and are looking for a rental in an area zoned for decent schools. I have an issue with my kids performing above grade level coming from a strong, advanced curriculum school system in Ohio. I was freaking out about them being bored, not having appropriate gifted classes and not wanting to pay the high tuituion of a private school. I have reevaluated the situation and decided to go with the flow - enjoy the positives of whatever school we end up in and then supplement like heck with appropriate after school activities like academic clubs, music lessons, team sports, and girl/boy scouts as well as taking them to museums, nature centers (which are fun family activities anyway), and looking into enrichment camps during school breaks. I won't over schedule to the point that they won't have fun, but I will pick up the ball where I see a shortfall in their education. This also allows me to kind of control who they hang out with rather than just let that fall to whatever kids they meet at school who may or may not be academically inclined or into things I don't want my kids involved with. At the elementary level and even early middle school, I still have a good measure of control - so if you take a similar outlook with your 8 year old, you will probably be ok - good luck to you and your family.

[airics]

Originally Posted by SFtoLV

thanks for the info olecapt!

The problem is no financing available (bad credit) so the house has to be purchased in cash.

Their plan is to stay for a year first, then see what happens. I guess 1 year is not bad, but my mom would just feel bad getting a house when the zoned school is only at 33 percentile in test scores

Thats good news about St Francis. anyone else have insight on St Francis?

Thanks

so a bank won't lend if you put 80% down? seems stupid to me