Schools of Western MA (Springfield, Salem: house, construction, middle schools)

[njmovetoma]

Hi everyone!,
I'm new to this site and had a question for anyone. My family is moving to Western MA as soon as our house in NJ sells. We have two small children who are not in school yet, but we don't want to have to move twice. Which schools systems are good and which should we stay away from. My husband will be working in Holyoke so we are planning to live in about a 20 mile radius of the office. All suggestions would be great, thanks.

[willdufauve]

If you don't want to move twice, then go once to the Amherst area.

Amherst elementary schools and Amherst Regional H.S. and the surrounding Hampshire County towns.

All the town elementary systems in Hampshire County are also very good...so you could live in Leverett, Shutesbury, Wendell/New Salem, Hatfield, Hadley, even Easthampton for elementary.

Holyoke is very urban and the schools are under-performing, but there's a lot of excellent people there, too. Springfield is a big city with big problems, but their schools are leaders in innovative programming and teacher development. These are both Hamden County.

The new Sanderson elem in Ashfield is good. Their kids go to Mohawk Regional H.S.

I definitely would avoid Greenfield H.S., Franklin County Tech School, Gill-Montague and any schools in that Franklin County area unless you want schools labeled "under-performing" and "dropout factory" or have issues with bullying, etc., except Mohawk Regional which is only okay. Wendell-New Salem elem kids go to Mahar in Orange for H.S. I would avoid that too.

If you can afford to live in Leverett or Shutes for elem your kids would go to ARHS...the best of both worlds. There's also PVPA (pioneer valley performing arts charter high school) if your kids are alternative/non-sports oriented.

[wheelmannn]

I believe whately is ranked as the third highest public school in ma.I would try there hatfield or deerfield.I would avoid amherst because of the bridge traffic and the other three towns i mentioned have better school sytems.

[willdufauve]

Traffic on the Coolidge bridge isn't nearly as bad now that the construction is mostly done.

[houstoner]

Originally Posted by willdufauve

All the town elementary systems in Hampshire County are also very good...so you could live in Leverett, Shutesbury, Wendell/New Salem, Hatfield, Hadley, even Easthampton for elementary.

Does this include Northampton? Jackson Street and Bridge Street, the two public elementary schools there, plus the three others in nearby Florence and Leeds, don't seem to be rated all that highly on greatschools.net, but other resources I found and comments I've been reading here seem to indicate they are great schools. Is this simply a reflection of the racial and socioeconomic diversity of the schools, and not indicative of their being actual low-performing schools? If so, that is understandable. I'm worried because there seem to be a number of private schools in the area and here if that's the case, it means most of the public schools aren't very good, or the parents couldn't get their kids into the desirable magnets, or schools of choice. Do most Northampton parents put their kids in private school?

[Masshiker]

I would definitely avoid Springfield public schools. I can only think of one high school that is safe to go to, and that is Central. Commerce is the worst.

However, you have smaller children. The problem is that even the junior high and middle schools are getting bad here. Gang fights, disruptive kids, and parents who dont care. If you can get your kids into SABIS..which is like a cross between a charter school and a public school, that is your best bet. Your child can go there from kindergarten on. The school is much more under control, kids are better behaved, they have uniforms and take more pride in themselves, and more parents who care that their child is doing well.

I should add that this doesnt mean that every public school in Springfield is going to hell. There are lots of kids who ARE doing well in the schools. However, Springfield schools have a good deal of the BAD element in the schools, which interfer with the other kids. Best just to avoid it if you can.

Im speaking from inside knowledge.

[celli]

Originally Posted by wheelmannn

I would avoid amherst because of the bridge traffic and the other three towns i mentioned have better school sytems.

My son attended school in Amherst for K through 4th grade. We had a wonderful experience, with school and extracurricular activities.

If you want to avoid bridge traffic, take Rt. 116 to Holyoke.

[willdufauve]

Originally Posted by Masshiker

I would definitely avoid Springfield public schools. I can only think of one high school that is safe to go to, and that is Central. Commerce is the worst.

However, you have smaller children. The problem is that even the junior high and middle schools are getting bad here. Gang fights, disruptive kids, and parents who dont care. If you can get your kids into SABIS..which is like a cross between a charter school and a public school, that is your best bet. Your child can go there from kindergarten on. The school is much more under control, kids are better behaved, they have uniforms and take more pride in themselves, and more parents who care that their child is doing well.

I should add that this doesnt mean that every public school in Springfield is going to hell. There are lots of kids who ARE doing well in the schools. However, Springfield schools have a good deal of the BAD element in the schools, which interfer with the other kids. Best just to avoid it if you can.

Im speaking from inside knowledge.

Springfield is a big city with big city issues, true. On the other hand, my spouse is a H.S. teacher in Springfield, works there every day, feels safe, and really enjoys the kids. It's not so black and white as you say.

[willdufauve]

Originally Posted by houstoner

Does this include Northampton? Jackson Street and Bridge Street, the two public elementary schools there, plus the three others in nearby Florence and Leeds, don't seem to be rated all that highly on greatschools.net, but other resources I found and comments I've been reading here seem to indicate they are great schools. schools of choice. Do most Northampton parents put their kids in private school?

The Noho elementary schools are just fine and have strong community support. Most parents send their kids to public school, but some do send to private school or Mass charter schools like PVPA (which are public).

It's Franklin County you want to avoid.

[wheelmannn]

Hey Will you might want to look at the schools in Sunderland, Conway, Whately and Deerfield they are ranked pretty high and in franklin county- just say in.