Scranton HS vs West Scranton? Please help! (school districts, taxes)

[sheena12]

Thanks again for the advice! I am avoiding South Side, and you confirmed what I already thought about that area. Even if I did send the kids to private schools it sounds like a bad investment to say the least. Too bad because there are a lot of nice homes there and I'm sure there are good people but the trends in that area and it's rep, rule it out for me.

What are the street demarcations of the area that would go to West? Also the names of some of the areas if anyone knows. I am guessing that Hyde Park would go to West but I could be wrong.

R.E.agents are not especially forthcoming about this type of info and I attempted to get a map from the district just to get an idea but they do not give those out because "districting is always changing"

I am not ruling out Scranton HS, but I am curious about what areas go to West
Any one? Any one?

[AbbeysMom]

All of West Scranton including Hyde Park go to West Scranton, I believe that the residents of North Scranton also have the option of going to West High and West Int. if they choose to, at least it was that way in the very recent past.

[go phillies]

Originally Posted by AbbeysMom

All of West Scranton including Hyde Park go to West Scranton, I believe that the residents of North Scranton also have the option of going to West High and West Int. if they choose to, at least it was that way in the very recent past.

I think as of now, West HS and West Int are only West Side, but I hear that what you say may happen again in the near future, since Scranton HS is overcrowded. And to think, our genius school board originally wanted to close West and send all the kids to Scranton. What would they be doing now?? (Well, I know what they'd be doing, they'd be telling us we need to build yet another new high school and would be handing contracts for the design and construction to political cronies).

[go phillies]

Originally Posted by sheena12

I am not ruling out Scranton HS, but I am curious about what areas go to West
Any one? Any one?

Basically all of West Scranton....from the North Scranton Expressway (US 11) south to the city line at Taylor, and from West Mountain (around Keyser Ave) east to the Lackawanna River.

[penybryn]

My daughter goes to Scranton High (junior) and my son will be there next year.

Scranton High may be large but its diversity, commitment to its students and safety far exceed West Scranton.

My daughter originally thought of going to Bishop Hannon High School (now closed, now Holy Cross in Dunmore) but there was no diversity, which she likes.

We live on East Mountain. Country living in the city. One block from beautiful Lake Scranton. Only drawback is there is no transportation for students after 8th grade so if you aren't able to drop your kids at school, try to find somewhere that is easily accessible for walking. I am lucky enough to be able to drop them before work in the morning and they walk to my office afterwards and hang out for a half hour until we go home.

[ScranBarre]

Originally Posted by penybryn

My daughter goes to Scranton High (junior) and my son will be there next year.

Scranton High may be large but its diversity, commitment to its students and safety far exceed West Scranton.

My daughter originally thought of going to Bishop Hannon High School (now closed, now Holy Cross in Dunmore) but there was no diversity, which she likes.

We live on East Mountain. Country living in the city. One block from beautiful Lake Scranton. Only drawback is there is no transportation for students after 8th grade so if you aren't able to drop your kids at school, try to find somewhere that is easily accessible for walking. I am lucky enough to be able to drop them before work in the morning and they walk to my office afterwards and hang out for a half hour until we go home.

As far as diversity is concerned I will concur that there is honestly NO contest between West Scranton High and Scranton High. As go phillies referenced earlier, the latter draws its students from a variety of neighborhoods of varying socioeconomic and racial backgrounds, so your children will have the opportunity of being exposed to differences in others. I'd have to hazard a guess that given West Scranton's predominantly Irish/Italian-American ancestry that the racial composition would be similar to my own suburban alma mater---99% Caucasian, non-Hispanic. Some people will proclaim that it IS "diversity" to have students who are derived from various Anglo-Saxon backgrounds, and to an extent they are correct---I love learning about Europe. HOWEVER, I would have felt as if my high school (and now even college) experiences would have been more fulfilling if I could have befriended individuals from MANY diverse backgrounds---African-American, Hispanic, LGBT, Buddhist, Muslim, etc. Scranton may still be "vanilla" in relation to the rest of the nation, but in terms of NEPA Scranton is like a melting pot.

One drawback to Scranton High over West Scranton High though would be quite honestly class size. I graduated with a class of approximately 280 at Pittston Area, and even though I wasn't the most popular kid around I knew approximately 75% of my class and still keep in touch with about 30% of them. Here at King's I'll be graduating with a class of around 500 (or in that ball park at least), and I probably know about 250 and will likely keep in contact with about 10%-15% of those. When you attend a much larger campus, whether it be high school or collegiate level, you tend to be "lost in the crowd." I appreciate here at King's that faculty I haven't had since Freshman year (I'm about to graduate now) still know me on a first-name basis and are legitimately concerned about my future. I was floored a few years ago when I was at a Pittston salon and bumped into my fourth-grade teacher, who still remembered my first name after approximately eight or nine years since having her. You can't put a price tag upon that sense of community that I feel West Scranton would afford to you over Scranton.

[go phillies]

Originally Posted by ScranBarre

As far as diversity is concerned I will concur that there is honestly NO contest between West Scranton High and Scranton High. As go phillies referenced earlier, the latter draws its students from a variety of neighborhoods of varying socioeconomic and racial backgrounds, so your children will have the opportunity of being exposed to differences in others. I'd have to hazard a guess that given West Scranton's predominantly Irish/Italian-American ancestry that the racial composition would be similar to my own suburban alma mater---99% Caucasian, non-Hispanic. Some people will proclaim that it IS "diversity" to have students who are derived from various Anglo-Saxon backgrounds, and to an extent they are correct---I love learning about Europe. HOWEVER, I would have felt as if my high school (and now even college) experiences would have been more fulfilling if I could have befriended individuals from MANY diverse backgrounds---African-American, Hispanic, LGBT, Buddhist, Muslim, etc. Scranton may still be "vanilla" in relation to the rest of the nation, but in terms of NEPA Scranton is like a melting pot.

One drawback to Scranton High over West Scranton High though would be quite honestly class size. I graduated with a class of approximately 280 at Pittston Area, and even though I wasn't the most popular kid around I knew approximately 75% of my class and still keep in touch with about 30% of them. Here at King's I'll be graduating with a class of around 500 (or in that ball park at least), and I probably know about 250 and will likely keep in contact with about 10%-15% of those. When you attend a much larger campus, whether it be high school or collegiate level, you tend to be "lost in the crowd." I appreciate here at King's that faculty I haven't had since Freshman year (I'm about to graduate now) still know me on a first-name basis and are legitimately concerned about my future. I was floored a few years ago when I was at a Pittston salon and bumped into my fourth-grade teacher, who still remembered my first name after approximately eight or nine years since having her. You can't put a price tag upon that sense of community that I feel West Scranton would afford to you over Scranton.

Now I wouldn't say that West Side schools are like some of the 99% white suburban schools....when I went to Valley View, there were very few racial minorities, to the point that, one year, when there was a new kid who was black, he was stared at as if he just landed from Mars. I would say the schools in West Side don't have as many minorities as say, South Side or the Hill, but definitely more than the suburban schools. I think my son's class, out of 20-something students, has maybe 2 black kids and 2 hispanic kids.

You're right on about the sense of community. I still think Scranton should have stayed with 3 high schools. When they closed Central in the early 90's, they said they didn't need all the space. Not a couple of years later, they were saying that the new Scranton High is overcrowded. And I don't buy the story that Central High School was old and inadequate. It works just fine as a college, and is one of the nicer buildings in Scranton, in my opinion.

[go phillies]

Originally Posted by penybryn

My daughter goes to Scranton High (junior) and my son will be there next year.

Scranton High may be large but its diversity, commitment to its students and safety far exceed West Scranton.

How does the commitment to students and safety exceed West Scranton? Do you have stats to back this up? I would say they are equal academically, but West with its smaller size, is more conducive to a better education and being a part of sports and activities.

[ScranBarre]

go phillies, can students attending West Scranton High School participate in extra-curricular activities at Scranton High School, and vice-versa? The reason I ask this is because sheena can then have the best of both worlds. She can enjoy the smaller class sizes and "cozier" atmosphere of West Scranton while her children can participate in some of the larger arts/cultural programs offered at Scranton High that aren't offered at West Scranton High. One would assume that since homeowners throughout the city UNIVERSALLY pay taxes to support both high schools that students SHOULD be able to partake in different activities/programs at each school. It's not like the two high schools are very far apart, either.

[go phillies]

Originally Posted by ScranBarre

go phillies, can students attending West Scranton High School participate in extra-curricular activities at Scranton High School, and vice-versa? .

Not that I know of, but then again, I'm not sure SHS offers anything really different from WSHS.... Although my kids are still in elementary school, so I'm not sure.