Best upscale town for a family near NYC...advice please! (Summit: homes, schools)

[momma said no]

Westchester NY is a far easier commute to NYC.
Both Westchester and the aforementioned NJ towns have insane taxes. Both have great schools.

If the wife is doing the commute 5 days a week, 50 weeks a year - then the westchester rivertowns (hastings, Dobbs ferry) are the easiest commute.
When you have to drive your not faced with the GW bridge or Tunnels.
Trains run very well and you will avoid the once a month NJ transit debacle (rain, flooding, snow, - it all causes problems).

[njhomesearch]

Originally Posted by SanDiegoTeen

Hi, I am doing some basic research for some good family friends of ours. Unfortunately, they are moving to the east coast because the wife got a very good job offer in NYC. I will miss them dearly....but you have to do what's best for your family!

Anyway, I told them I would help them find some communities to look at around the Tri-State area. I'm from San Diego and am not familiar with New Jersey at all. My grandma and aunt live in Darien, CT, so I have already told them of that great town. That's where I would choose, but I'm biased.

I post here because I have heard great things from my college friends about New Jersey. They are looking for an upscale, residential town that is within a reasonable distance to NYC...like under an hour. The family enjoys sports and outdoor activities (although I don't know how much they'll spend outside in New England winters! ). They aren't really into shopping and the whole country club/golf club scene, so that doesn't matter. They're looking for a safe town with great schools, a great atmosphere that is family focused with activities for kids (two boys, 8 & 11).

I don't think housing prices are an issue. I would bet they're spending 5M and up.

So, what do you suggest?

If pricing is not an issue I suggest they look in Princeton..

[JerseyGirl08]

Saddle River and Alpine are very nice but I don't know much about their communities. Franklin Lakes has tons of programs for kids and the schools are good too. Old Tappan and Mahwah are both towns like that as well. A bit farther from the city but still fits what they seem to be looking for is Montville.

[ru848789]

If you have $5MM to burn, why not just live in Manhattan? Really short commute, lol, and great schools, if you have the money (and the kids get in).

[chrismaya]

Fairfield. Easy bus access to NYC in about 30 mins. Oh, and low taxes. I grew up there and my dad still lives there.

[Giantwon]

Originally Posted by mtoneil

I definitely second Westfield. Schools are one of the best in the state, the downtown is really nice, and overall an upscale nice town. 5 mil in Westfield can you buy you any house in town:
Westfield Real Estate & Westfield Homes For Sale — Trulia.com

Maybe but why go to "one of the best",........go to the best in the state and the country......Millburn/Short Hills has the best public education in the state and country.

[tiggywink]

Originally Posted by Giantwon

Maybe but why go to "one of the best",........go to the best in the state and the country......Millburn/Short Hills has the best public education in the state and country.

yes they do if you count standardized test scores as a measure of the best education. I am not knocking the schools there, which are excellent...I am a teacher with 20 years experience and PhD in curriculum. I have friends who teach at Millburn MS/HS...The environment there is very intense and sometimes too much for all but the most exceptionally academically strong children.

[Giantwon]

Originally Posted by tiggywink

yes they do if you count standardized test scores as a measure of the best education. I am not knocking the schools there, which are excellent...I am a teacher with 20 years experience and PhD in curriculum. I have friends who teach at Millburn MS/HS...The environment there is very intense and sometimes too much for all but the most exceptionally academically strong children.

Better luck next time.No it's not done by standardized test scores......and a real teacher would know that.The "enviroment" ...your word not mine is great for kids of any level to learn in.Millburn is above the levels of the leading privet schools in the area....Oak Knoll, Delbarton, Pingry and Newark Academy, etc




http://njmonthly.com/articles/towns_...thodology.html

[Giantwon]

To just add to the above ...................like I said it's just not test scores!


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Top New Jersey High Schools 2008: Methodology


Posted August 6, 2008


How the rankings are compiled
Data for New Jersey Monthly’s biennial ranking of the state’s public high schools were obtained from the state Department of Education’s most recent New Jersey School Report Card (covering the 2006-2007 school year). Special-education, vocational-technical schools, and schools lacking report card data were excluded (see note, next page).

Monmouth University’s Polling Institute analyzed the data by first standardizing individual indicator scores so that small differences did not have a disproportionate impact on the ranking but that large differences were not minimized in the relative scores. These indicators were grouped into three categories. The summary scores for each category were added together to arrive at the final overall score and ranking.

Here are the categories and indicators used in the ranking:

1. School Environment: The sum of the standardized rank scores for average class size; student-to-faculty ratio; student-to-computer ratio; percentage of faculty with advanced degrees; and number of advanced placement (AP) tests offered (calculated as a ratio of total junior and senior enrollment to not penalize smaller schools).

2. Student Performance: The sum of the standardized rank scores for average combined SAT score; percentage of students showing advanced proficiency on HSPA; and students scoring a 3 or higher on AP tests as a percentage of total juniors and seniors.

3. Student Outcomes: A single combined score of graduation rate multiplied by the percentage of graduates going on to post-secondary education. Those going on to a four-year college were given a weight of 1.5; those going to a two-year college were given a weight of 1; and those going to other colleges or post-secondary schools were given a weight of .67.

[tiggywink]

I'm not here to argue, just offering the point of view that top schools can be stressful for the kids who aren't academically strong. I've worked at schools like this--average kids struggle. Most of the criteria that was pasted above is directly related to academics, and at least for me, as both a teacher and a parent, I look for more than academics to make a school good. For instance--drama, creativity, music, the Arts, parent involvement, sense of community, school spirit, motivated happy students, well-qualified enthusiastic and caring teachers...these things aren't taken into account by these rankings, and are of huge importance.

I'm not saying not to look at test scores or rankings, because they are important and indicative of a good school system, but it's not the only thing to look at.

I'm also not saying that Millburn is bad, one of my former students who was extremely high-achieving in my class (at a private school in London), came back to visit me years later when he was at Millburn. He was doing great, and loved it, but was complaining about the homework and not having time to hang out with his friends. His mother told me privately that she was happy with the school but worried about her son burning out. This is *one* example. but there are more like that.

And as for the "real teacher" comment. Nice touch!