relocating to Lexington (Louisville, Berea, Versailles: home, neighborhood, school districts)

[tntborden]

My husband and I are relocating back to Kentucky after six dreadfully long and dangerous years in the Memphis area. We lived outside Louisville before but are more interested in Lexington areas this time. Our main concern is finding the best public school districts, and finding out which ones to avoid like the plague. We are willing to live a little further out if necessary. Does anyone have any sugggestions?

[tntborden]

...is this a polite way of letting us know that we are out of luck? How far out should we be looking? Berea?

[Wildcat]

If you want to stay in Lexington (Fayette County), the better areas of town for schools is from the southwest to the southeastern portion of Fayette County. Due to an increase in new housing for that area, the schools are more modern. Personally, I would avoid the northern part of Lexington since those are the oldest schools in town. A couple of them are going through renovation but if you want to be closer to the better shopping areas of town plus a large selection of restaurants, the southern portion of the county is for you.

As a reference, when you talk about Lexington it's not a bad idea to think in terms of the county as opposed to the city. Lexington has grown so much over the past 15-20 years, it's unreal. It couldn't expand to the north or northeast due to the horse farms. It has grown to the east, south and southwest. The western part of the county is all horse farms and the airport so there's nowhere to expand in that area.

If you look at a recent map of Lexington, you'll see Man O War Blvd. Most of the growth has happened in that area from Versailles Road to I-75. That's why they had to build new schools to accommodate all the new housing which has sprung up in the past few years.

[tntborden]

Thanks Wildcat, I really appreciate the info. We're driving up to the area next weekend just to take a look around. Although we are somewhat familar with Louisville, Lexington and its surrounding areas are totally unknown to us and it's nice to get a heads up from someone.

[goldenmom7500]

Hi,

There are a couple of websites you can check:

GreatSchools.net

and

Schooldigger.com -- Search and compare elementary, middle, and high schools. (or .com?)

There have been a lot of discussions of the schools here if you want to search for those. What you want is to make sure that all three of the schools (elementary, middle, and high) are good in your neighborhood. For example, the so-called "best" elementary school doesn't link with a good middle or high school. My neighborhood doesn't have one of the very best elementary schools, but then it feeds into really good middle and high schools (and the elementary school is OK), etc. We just moved here and arrived late, ended up at an elementary school not our own, that doesn't look so good on paper (and, ahem, I've had my moments), but it's turning into a really interesting and valuable experience.

[There are some wonderful members here who know a lot more than I do, but I didn't want to run out the door without giving you a little info]

[teebird1012]

Are you looking into elementary, middle, or high schools? I can give you info on middle and high schools. For middle schools, Beaumont and Morton are probably the two best districts in town and for high schools Henry Clay and Dunbar are the two best public high schools in the area (Morton feeds into Henry Clay and Beaumont feeds into Dunbar). M/HC district is located mostly in zip code 40502 (SE/central-ish LEX) while B/D district is pretty much zip code 40513 (SW LEX).

Here is a link to Fayette County's public schools' website:
Fayette County Public Schools | Lexington, Kentucky | It's About Kids!

Henry Clay HS: Henry Clay High School
Dunbar HS: PLD Home
Beaumont MS: Welcome To Beaumont Middle School: Home of the Colts!
Morton MS: Morton Middle School, Lexington, KY

[goldenmom7500]

teebird, don't you think Jessie Clark is also a good middle school? Everyone seems to think Morton is the best.

PS fyi - We're in zip 40513 - Beaumont, Dunbar

[teebird1012]

Originally Posted by goldenmom7500

teebird, don't you think Jessie Clark is also a good middle school? Everyone seems to think Morton is the best.

Sure Jessie Clark is a pretty good school, but Morton and Beaumont tend to dominate in testing scores overall. Also I'm in 40502- M/HC. Goldenmom, just out curiosity, you said you relatively new in town, when did you move here?

[goldenmom7500]

Hi, mid-August, almost 3 months ... It seems like a lot longer, mainly in a good way, but sooo much has happened.

[teebird1012]

Such as what? If you need any more information on schools or anything around town, just let me know.