Nazareth

[NickD224]

I have lived in Nazareth for 19 years now. For the most part it is a quite, quaint town. There are no more or less issues than any other town, but for Nazareth that is a move down. There was no such thing as teen crimes and locked doors, but I think that is the change in society as a whole. Also, if you are looking for a place to raise children, Nazareth still has one of the most sought after school district in the Lehigh Valley.

Just my 2 cents

[toobusytoday]

Nazareth is a great town, but I think it's stretching it to say that there school district is one of the "most sought after" If you compare the districts here, SchoolMatters you'll see that it's better then Pen Argyl, but not as good as East Penn. It's certainly better then Pen Argyl and Bangor but I don't think people choose Nazareth over East Penn and Parkland because they think their schools are better.

Here's the comparison with Pen Argyl, Bangor and Nazareth - SchoolMatters

And Saucon Valley's numbers - Saucon Valley Senior High School - Hellertown, Pennsylvania Schools | Schoolmatters.com

[jeffvivian]

Actually from a Real Estate point of view....Nazareth is a very requested school district. It gives residents quick access to both central and northern NJ for a commute. Much more so then East Penn....So when you evaluate school districts sometimes location plays more of a part then test scores.

[toobusytoday]

Good point Jeff. Location is key. When we were looking for a house, we never looked further north then East Penn and no further South then Souderton because my husband's job was (still is) in Quakertown. So our search didn't encompass Parkland or Nazareth. Similarly, the OP's house search is going to focus on area's on the Eastern section of Lehigh county and western end of Northampton.

[kellyi]

As is the same with our search...we cannot really move as far as the East Penn SD would take us for commuting reasons. I do know that these schools rate higher, but I had to base our decision on what the best school was at the distance we could allow ourselves and Nazareth ranked very high in Northampton County - actually #2 right below Saucon SD. I looked in Hellertown and it looks as though we cannot quite afford to be there - so Nazareth it is....that is, until it is confirmed that the KKK will be surrounding us!!!!! LOL - *You will know what I am talking about if you read my new thread....*

[pennsynative]

While considering the school district when choosing where to live, I do not believe it should be the only criteria considered. Each SD has their good and bad and those "statistics" that are offered up do not take into account the socio-economic differences of students. That often can make a huge difference. Some schools also may have larger special education departments that accept students from other districts too. While a smaller school may seem to score better than some larger schools, it also cannot offer some of the wonderful classes that a larger one may offer. For instance, a larger school may offer four years of Japanese. A school is what the student chooses to make of it and many students from schools with "lesser" scores have done very well for themselves and plenty of students from "the best" schools have done nothing.

[toobusytoday]

Originally Posted by pennsynative

While considering the school district when choosing where to live, I do not believe it should be the only criteria considered. Each SD has their good and bad and those "statistics" that are offered up do not take into account the socio-economic differences of students. That often can make a huge difference. Some schools also may have larger special education departments that accept students from other districts too. While a smaller school may seem to score better than some larger schools, it also cannot offer some of the wonderful classes that a larger one may offer. For instance, a larger school may offer four years of Japanese. A school is what the student chooses to make of it and many students from schools with "lesser" scores have done very well for themselves and plenty of students from "the best" schools have done nothing.

I don't think anyone has said that numbers are everything, especially test scores. It's become common practice for schools to take quite a bit of time prepping them for the state tests to the detriment of the students. I'm in the process of doing a College search with my youngest son and "fit" means much more then where he can get in and what we can afford. I think families should go through a similar thought process when looking at School Districts, in the end though, if you have a good student, and you are involved in their education, they will do well.