best schools / areas within 30 minutes of Shepherdsville (Louisville, Fort Knox: for sale, real estate)

[tlfman]

I may be relocating to the Shepherdsville area. I am married with 2 kids starting high school / middle school and coming from an area with very good public schools and rated near the top in the country as far as overall quality of life. I do not mind commuting around 30 to 40 minutes and spending 400 - 550K for a house. Possibly more if necessary. What are the best areas for me to search for homes in.

[missymomof3]

Hmmm, I believe that Mt Washington has the best schools in Bullitt but I am not for sure. Hopefully you'll find what you need.

[tlfman]

Last night I did several hours of research (map quest, homes for sale and read about 1000 posts on Louisville) and developed a very novice and not ever been to the area opinion. It looks like Mt Washington with a 15 minute drive to my potential work site in Shepherdsville vs a 30 - 35 minute drive from Crestwood in Oldham County (mostly highway miles going against the traffic). The nod for home value and work commute goes to Mt. Washington, the nod for schools and nearby shopping goes to Crestwood. Please someone tell me if I am going in the right direction or if my novice opinion is way off base. Also, which middle and high scool zones in those areas should I target.

Thank you for any info or insight you can possibly give......

[missymomof3]

Oldham county has some of the best schools in KY.

[tomocox]

I agree with missymom. If you are used to good public schools, you will have to come to Oldham, or possibly go south to Hardin County. There is no question about living in Briar Hill (your price range and driving distance.) I just had the priviledge of showing some people some of Oldham County's best developments.

[tlfman]

What is your opinion of North Oldham high school? It is newly built (5 yrs. old) and seems to have very good test scores. Are the towns of Harmony Lake / Landing / Village, River Bluff, Belknap Beach and Oldham Acres in that school district. If so, what are your opinions of them?

[tomocox]

Superior in every way. Great place to live too

[wolfeyes]

My Family And I Are Relocating To The Louisville/Fort Knox Area (from North Carolina) in a year to year in half..maybe sooner.--- I Read All The Info Given On Louisville- And noticed lots of posting on here that say Oldham is best schools in KY. What makes Oldham have the best schools?
Is Fort Knox in or near Oldham County? We have been looking at homes within a 30-40 mile radius of Louisville KY.. in KY and IN..We have noticed they are building lots of new homes in the Taylorsville and Shepardsville areas. Are these areas good too? We have 9 year old daughter and a GOOD School is a MUST! One other most important question is...(not trying to sound to racist but)..What is the hispanic population in these areas? Thanks for any info. you can provide.

[tomocox]

While I believe you are entitled to an answer about the cultural make-up of an area, as a real estate licensee, I am prohibited by law from answering that question.

I can answer all your other questions, however. Ft. Knox is about a 60-75 minute drive from Oldham County. Without question, Oldham County is at the top of every ranking in all schools public, private, or parochial in Kentucky and on top of many of our nation's lists, and you may find the education worth the drive. Make it an economic decision. Private and parochial schools are upper 4, lower 5 figures per child not including transportation to and from the school to your home. Gasoline and automotive wear and tear must be calculated too. Jefferson County has some great educational opportunities, but the system faces many challenges, especially in light of the recent Supreme Court ruling. If your child is exceptional and fits into JCPS advanced programs, she will do just fine in select JCPS schools especially the "traditional" schools, but beware, in saving your commute time, you might make her commute.

[stx12499]

Originally Posted by tomocox

While I believe you are entitled to an answer about the cultural make-up of an area, as a real estate licensee, I am prohibited by law from answering that question.

I can answer all your other questions, however. Ft. Knox is about a 60-75 minute drive from Oldham County. Without question, Oldham County is at the top of every ranking in all schools public, private, or parochial in Kentucky and on top of many of our nation's lists, and you may find the education worth the drive. Make it an economic decision. Private and parochial schools are upper 4, lower 5 figures per child not including transportation to and from the school to your home. Gasoline and automotive wear and tear must be calculated too. Jefferson County has some great educational opportunities, but the system faces many challenges, especially in light of the recent Supreme Court ruling. If your child is exceptional and fits into JCPS advanced programs, she will do just fine in select JCPS schools especially the "traditional" schools, but beware, in saving your commute time, you might make her commute.

Tom, what private schools in Oldham can compete with KCD, Collegiate, Trinity, Saint Xavier, Christian Academy, Sacred Heart, and Assumption??? I will go ahead and answer and say there are none. Also, where are you getting this idea that Oldham schools are among the best in the nation? I have only seen one objective source compare national schools, and it was US News which looked at high schools. In those rankings, two Oldham schools were ranked in the top 1200, but none were ranked anywhere as high as the three public schools from Louisville that got ranked.

The only objective way I have found to compare elementary schools in the metro area is with CATS scores. As a whole, Oldham schools are better than Louisville schools overall. However, the best schools with regards to CATS scores are STILL in Louisville. So, let me present once and for all the best 2007 CATS scores for elementary schools on the KY side of the metro area:

1: Greathouse/Shyrock 114 (Louisville)
2: Anchorage Independent 112 (independent school district located in Louisville)
3: Goshen 107.5 (Oldham)
4: Schaffner Traditional 105.9 (Louisville)
5: Liberty 104.4 (Oldham)
6: Audubon Traditional 102.8 (Louisville)
7: Norton 102.2 (Louisville)
8: Wilder 101.2 (Louisville)
8: Lowe 101.2 (Louisville)
10: Buckner 101.0 (Oldham)

Cats Index description: All Kentucky schools are evaluated each year by the Commonwealth Accountability Testing System. The CATS index is based mostly on student scores on the Kentucky Core Content Tests in math, science, reading, and other subjects. A small part of the CATS index is dervied from a school's attendance, retention, and dropout rates. A Cats index of 100 would indicate that the schools has reached the state's goal of overall proficiency.

So, it's easy to see that 70% of the highest scoring elementary schools ( the ones with CATS index's above 100) are STILL in Jefferson County. Louisville has some very bad schools; but the best schools are the BEST in the region--at every level. And to answer the OP's question, there are no schools in Bullit with a Cats over 100, but there are some fine schools with Cats in the 90's, just like there are in Oldham and Jefferson.

Source: Louisville magazine November 2007 issue