Franklin Township/Somerset Public Schools (mortgage, buying a house, buying)

[marc777]

darylnb, I agree with you, and you just don't know how school systems and towns will evolve. In the 1980's, Union Township was the model system in NJ, now it is no better than Franklin, so I've seen school systems go "the other way".

I know that Franklin (Somerset) was very undesirable (can I use the word "ghetto"?) in the 1980's, but 20 years later, I think it's fine. I love this town, and it's one of the few towns left in central NJ where you can actually get a nice property for your money, and it's great for commuting.

What will happen in the next 10-15 years? I think it's only natural that people are paying good prices for houses in this town because housing in the surrounding "good schools" towns like Bridgewater, Basking Ridge, etc. has gotten completely ridiculous, and that is a fact.

Sounds like you and I will be investing in Franklin together. I hope I don't have to leave town in the future, because everything about this town is absolutely perfect, except for the schools. If the schools improved just a little bit in the future, I would be very happy.

[mimipin]

darlynb: I am not sure I know where my kids will attend Middle/High School. My older son is in 2nd grade (2 more years before lower Middle School).

But I think Franklin school system will get better. To your point (and marc777), active parental patnership with all school activities is key!

Specifically to Franklin, we have new superintendent that I think will shake things up. There are more parents demanding for accountability from BOE. And just today, there is publication of how the new County Superintendents will streamline and consolidate school services from township to county-level - since we are part of Somerset County, I think we will benefit positively from this.

Franklin HS has many successful graduates. I am optimistic that if my kids stay in the public school system, they will be successful; and if things get worse, I will be be ready to move.

The sharp increase of tuition in private schools also keep more kids in the public school and their "activist" parents to put pressure on public school teachers and BOE staff.

[darylnb]

Absolutely, there are good recreational areas in Franklin/Somerset and crime rate is not actually as bad as what other say. Somerset is rated 1 ( which is lowest) in violent/property crime (based on Sperling). Franklin township as a whole is 2 in both categories. Average in NJ is 3. So, overall I think it's pretty good.

Home prices in town are not so cheap either, just reasonable and a lot of newly built, nice houses which attract younger couples that could generate more property taxes-- more budget for schools.. let's hope for the best .

I've decided to put my son on public school system for kindergarten.

[marc777]

Well good luck for you and your children, I think you are making the right choice. In my opinion, private schools are totally overrated; you pay tons on money, and your children get their education from non-certified educators for the most part.

Have some faith in the public school system, and good things will follow.

[darylnb]

We just moved last week to Franklin in quailbrook. We love the neighborhood.. very nice and quiet. Commute to NYC is not bad too. I went to the new Shoprite store by elizabeth ave.. very nice.

Also received a newsletter from BOE in the mail with the school budget (very significant increases!) and improvement plans from the new super. I have to say, I'm pretty excited about the future as the plans look god as well as funding.

mimipin, thanks for the recommendation for ped. We have appointment with them next week.

[AnthonyB]

Just thought I'd chime in. I have 1 kid in Kindergarten and one about to enter Pre-K in Franklin Park School. So far I have had nothing but good experiences. My daughters teachers are great and the curriculum appears to be just as if not more demanding than nearby "top" districts, at least at this level. School facilities are good and there are lots of affordable afterschool, sports and summer programs.
The population of Franklin has grown a great deal over the past 10 years, and the influx is mostly better off and educated families. Yes there is a poorer population too, but I actually like the diversity, both ethnic and economic as it means my kids are exposed to a lot more than just a very narrow group of people. It is also a lot less snobby and designer wear conscious than other districts which I am already finding takes a lot of pressure off. Nothing worse than feeling you have to spend a fortune to help your kids fit in.

Good luck to those of you moving here. My only regret is that the recent building has taken away much of the rural aspect of parts of the town, but that is progress I suppose.

[darylnb]

AnthonyB, how are the class sizes in Franklin for Kindergarten? thanks.

Btw, I know what you mean by less snobby. I could actually notice the difference just by my train ride alone. We moved to Franklin from Ramsey in Bergen County-- very upscale million dollar homes town and while it is a great town, we certainly felt that we didn't belong to that socioeconomic level. And we didn't find it reasonable to buy a 3 bedroom fixer upper house there for half a million dollars.

[AnthonyB]

Originally Posted by darylnb

AnthonyB, how are the class sizes in Franklin for Kindergarten? thanks.

Btw, I know what you mean by less snobby. I could actually notice the difference just by my train ride alone. We moved to Franklin from Ramsey in Bergen County-- very upscale million dollar homes town and while it is a great town, we certainly felt that we didn't belong to that socioeconomic level. And we didn't find it reasonable to buy a 3 bedroom fixer upper house there for half a million dollars.

My daughters class has 22 kids, 2 teachers and an assistant. She is a "model kid" for a class that is integrated with some with learning disabilities. The norm is around 20 kids with a teacher and 1 or 2 assistants. Pre-K they have 1 teacher plus an assistant with around 12 -16 kids. I can definitely recommend the early grades, the teachers are very committed and they have some great programs. Friends with older kids have said that the Middle School is the worst behaviourly - all the kids there are going through puberty and they don't seem to have a handle on it. As someone mentioned above, there are kids that do very well - go on to Yale, Princeton etc and of course some that don't. Parental involvement seems to be key.

As for the less snobby issue - Franklin has some VERY wealthy residents (they live along Canal and River Road mostly) and funnily, most of them send their kids to the public schools. The town just doesn't attract people who are all about show and pretention and bragging rights. Plenty of parents at my PTO are highly educated, PHd's, M.D.'s, lots of business owners, they just seem to be less flashy. I like it. A friend in a snotty district said that parents waiting for kids outside of her son's school separate by socio-economic class, which just sounds sad.

[TMAC2008]

My child has been in the FranklinTownship school system since
[SIZE=3]Kindergarten, she is now a 5th grader at SGS. I have to say, I've been very pleased with the involvement of all her teachers. They have made themselves available to me, when I had questions or concerns. I make it a habit each school year to send the teacher an email introducing myself to her/him and providing my contact number if they should ever need to reach me. I believe that you have to work in conjunction with the teachers to ensure the success of your child. I have noticed that in the Intermediate school, there is some bullying on the bus. Unfortunately I had to contact the Vice Principle on 3 separate occasions. The VP jumped right in and resolved the issues. You definitely have to stay on top of things and be aware of what's going on with your kids at school. I like to volunteer for a couple of things, so I can see how the kids interact with each other. I hope this little bit of information helped . [/SIZE][SIZE=3][/SIZE]

[star18]

I wanted to thank everyone for their comments on franklin. I am a NY attorney and strongly leaning toward buying in franklin. I don't have any kids but may adopt in the near future so I too am concerned about the local schools. I am an AA so I'm glad to see their is diversity there and based on some of the posters from franklin, it seems like the town is made up of nice people.