Parkland vs. East Penn School District (Allentown, Bethlehem: best towns, how much, buying a house)

[iamcoko]

Hi:

Soon I will be moving to the Lehigh Valley area and buying a house. I have heard great things about both Parkland and East Penn School Districts.

I was hoping for some inside information/personal experiences about either district. What is the local reputation for each? Does one seems to be higher rated than the other? Does anyone have children who go there? What about working there (I'm a teacher)? I have already gone onto schoolmatters.com, but still finding it very difficult to decide!

All advice is greatly appreciated!

Thanks

[KristyLiz]

We are moving to the Lehigh Valley at the end of this month, so over the summer I had the very same question in terms of Parkland vs. East Penn. In the end, we bought a house in the East Penn school district because the actual schools are closer.

Both districts are huge, but the Parkland SD is much more spread out since it encompasses more rural towns, and that means my kids would be riding the bus for a lot longer each day - and with after school activities, etc., I didn't like that idea.

Also, I went to actually see the elementary school my boys would be attending and it was in an industrial park area with tractor trailors whizzing by all day - no good.

I hear a lot about the East Penn HS (Emmaus HS) being overcrowded, but with my boys only 6,4 & 2 I am hoping that that issue will have sorted itself out by the time they get there (or we will have moved again ) Also, they are building another new elementary school (Willow), so that will help in terms of the area's rapid growth.

Pulte (the builder we used) has developments going up in both school districts, and the same model was actually less money in the Parkland SD, but we still went with East Penn because of the schools being closer to where we would live.

I'd be happy to answer any other questions you might have since I just went through the same process. Best of luck!

[graysmom8]

Well I taught in Parkland (before becoming a SAHM) and my husband graduated from EP. We chose to live in EP and raise our family here. Both schools are very equal when you look at test scores, sports, extracurriculars, etc. I personally feel that the students in Parkland were a little more snotty. Also, EP is mainly located in and around Emmaus, which was recently named one of the 100 best towns to live in. Parkland is made up more of little villages and housing developments, so they don't really have many town wide events like Emmaus does (Halloween parade, Christmas caroling, etc) that help to foster a sense of community.

[iamcoko]

Thank you both for your input. I really appreciate the advice!

My husband and I are nervous about the move. We are going to be buying our first house, so we want everything to be as "prefect" as possible. We plan to stay in that house for a very long time!

Please keep the advice coming!

[karen_s]

If you have high schoolers and are considering Emmaus, here is an interesting article from today's Morning Call: Wanna Dance? First Sell -- themorningcall.com

It stands to reason that the prom is not the only issue with overcrowding with the recent population boom. I am interested to see when the new school will be decided upon and how much it will cost.

[KristyLiz]

Originally Posted by iamcoko

We are going to be buying our first house,

This is a good time since prices have come done considerably and bilders are ready to deal.

Good luck!

[toobusytoday]

Iamcoko,
I would suggest you do what Kristy did and visit a school in each district. However, ask potential neighbors what school that will be. We've found that realtors sometimes don't have the most up-to-date info about elementary schools. Sometimes the closest school to a neighborhood is not the one the children attend. Also, check out the middle and high schools.

You have to figure out your own priorities, as I see it the positives for East Penn are 1) lots of new people so it will be easier to make friends 2) Nice towns of Macungie and Emmaus so there are plenty of small town events. The negatives are 1) lots of new people - overcrowded school, 2.) Infrastructure has not kept up - roads and shopping are very basic.

For Parkland 1) Less new people and development, schools are not overcrowded 2) Even though things are more spread out, it's easy to get around. 3) I think the schools are slightly better then East Penn. The negatives 1) Not any real towns to center things around.

As far as getting a job that depends on how transferrable your skills are. If you are a secondary math or science teacher then you have a good chance of getting hired. If you are K-6 teacher, it would be helpful if you knew someone in the administration. There are hundreds of teachers that apply for each position - and this is true for all the schools surrounding Allentown and Bethlehem. In my school district all of the aides have ed degrees, hoping to get hired full time. If you are willing to work in one of the city schools, your chances of getting hired are much better.

[KRESLEYFAMILY]

First off, welcome to the Lehigh Valley. I think you will be happy whether you choose East Penn or Parkland. Compared to other schools in the area, they are the better options. I have taught at Parkland as a student teacher and graduated from Emmaus so I do have some insight but ulitimately your design should suit your own personal needs.
Parkland:
Extremely