can't pick which school district (Allentown, Emmaus: rental, mortgages, mobile home)

[sherwin125]

I can't decide whick school district to got to, i've hearde of parkland and saucon valley and i really need to get out of allentown(it stinks) i need your opinion on which ones better, plus any good communities there would help too but i've senn parkland homes and their prices are pretty nasty and saucon valley is worse having homes up to like 10 MILLION. please help.

[Lehigh Valley Native]

Originally Posted by sherwin125

I can't decide whick school district to got to, i've hearde of parkland and saucon valley and i really need to get out of allentown(it stinks) i need your opinion on which ones better, plus any good communities there would help too but i've senn parkland homes and their prices are pretty nasty and saucon valley is worse having homes up to like 10 MILLION. please help.

Hi. We just moved out of Parkland, (due to family circumstances) and I have to say it is one of the best school districts. The faculty are caring, and very good at what they do. Parkland can hire the best, because it is one of the best districts to work in, and teachers line up to apply. Parkland is consistently ranked in the top 25 districts in the state for PSSA and SAT scores. If you take out private schools they make the top 15.

Saucon Valley is good as well, my daughter went there for a few years. But they don't come close to Parkland in the state rankings. Top 100 last year, if memory serves me correctly.
The only downfall to both of these school districts is, it aint cheap to live there. Property taxes, mortgages or rent are all extremly high. I know one family who is living in a mobile home park in the Parkland school district and they pay 650.00 a month JUST for the lot rent. On our home, our property and school taxes amounted to 340.00 a month.
If money is an issue, I would suggest East Penn. It is a very good district and you can live in areas like Emmaus, Trexlertown,or Macungie at a far more reasonable cost.
If you do decide to move into Parkland, I suggest you look into the west end of Allentown for either a rental or a purchase. Much of west end Allentown is Parkland and the price is a bit cheaper because you are in the city.
Hope this helps.

[karen_s]

Originally Posted by Lehigh Valley Native

If money is an issue, I would suggest East Penn. It is a very good district and you can live in areas like Emmaus, Trexlertown,or Macungie at a far more reasonable cost.
If you do decide to move into Parkland, I suggest you look into the west end of Allentown for either a rental or a purchase. Much of west end Allentown is Parkland and the price is a bit cheaper because you are in the city.
Hope this helps.

These are very good suggestions! I was just going to post something like this. Parkland is a great school - the only negative I have ever heard is that they aren't as good with special education students as they are with mainstream students (my friend who stated this has 2 boys on the autism spectrum).

[Lehigh Valley Native]

Originally Posted by karen_s

These are very good suggestions! I was just going to post something like this. Parkland is a great school - the only negative I have ever heard is that they aren't as good with special education students as they are with mainstream students (my friend who stated this has 2 boys on the autism spectrum).

If is funny you bring that up.......For two reasons, one, my wife is a TSS and works with autistic kids, and second, because my son has an IEP because of learning difficulties.
Let me takle the autism issue first. The majority of parents with autistic kids have some sort of wrap around service, in home service and OT are a few. Parkland gets a bum wrap because they do not allow outside services in the school. Therapuetic staff can't attend school with the child, as is the case in other schools. Many providers of services and the staff of those companies throw Parkland under the bus. In many instances they complain about Parkland because that is a lot of hours those companies can't bill the state for, and yes, the state pays for that, no matter the income of the parents. In reality, Parkland has its own staff that handles those services, and in the opinion of my wife, they do a fine job.

With other special ed needs, I will admit, it took a lot of hard work and time to get our son evaluated for an IEP. Once it happened though, the services they provided were awesome. They always had someone in class with him helping him in the subjects where he needed it. To compare, the district we are in now, merely asks the kids to go to the resource room if they are having problems.
Wow, that was rather long winded, sorry.

[karen_s]

Originally Posted by Lehigh Valley Native

If is funny you bring that up.......For two reasons, one, my wife is a TSS and works with autistic kids, and second, because my son has an IEP because of learning difficulties.
Let me takle the autism issue first. The majority of parents with autistic kids have some sort of wrap around service, in home service and OT are a few. Parkland gets a bum wrap because they do not allow outside services in the school. Therapuetic staff can't attend school with the child, as is the case in other schools. Many providers of services and the staff of those companies throw Parkland under the bus. In many instances they complain about Parkland because that is a lot of hours those companies can't bill the state for, and yes, the state pays for that, no matter the income of the parents. In reality, Parkland has its own staff that handles those services, and in the opinion of my wife, they do a fine job.

With other special ed needs, I will admit, it took a lot of hard work and time to get our son evaluated for an IEP. Once it happened though, the services they provided were awesome. They always had someone in class with him helping him in the subjects where he needed it. To compare, the district we are in now, merely asks the kids to go to the resource room if they are having problems.
Wow, that was rather long winded, sorry.

I'm glad you provided such a good explanation! Part of the problem is that they moved from a town in NJ which had exceptional services, so everything will pale in comparison to that. I just wanted other special needs parents to be aware in case they were making a move. In addition, I do know of one local district up here (Pleasant Valley) where the general students are happy, but they seem to miss the mark in special education for some reason.

[sherwin125]

thanks for the info