Is Quakertown Community School District that bad? (Philadelphia, Doylestown: crime, transfer)

[1orangetabbycat]

I'm trying to make a decision about Quakertown SD. I see that the actual city of Quakertown is probably not the finest. However, what city really is? I looked up the data on school matters and greatschools.net and it looks pretty good. The elementary schools are all 8's and 9's. the middle schools are 9's and the high school is an 8. What really is the problem with this district? I've read from several posts to avoid it.

[toobusytoday]

I would not want to live in Quakertown but my experience is not based on the schools, it's mostly from shopping there. If you visit the Quakertown Farmers Market, you'll see many people that you probably don't want your kids to go to school with. However, the pay scale for teachers is higher then nearby Lehigh County and some of our more popular teachers have transferred there. In fact, the superintendant of schools used to be the Principal of the MS in Southern Lehigh when my daughter attended it. The town of Quakertown is also not that appealing to me, but I think this is all personal preference so if it looks good to you, then go for it.

[1orangetabbycat]

Can you be more specific about about what kind of kids you wouldn't want your kids going to school with? Also, I wasn't planning on living in Quakertown proper, just in the district. I guess I just need more specific information.

[toobusytoday]

Hmm, I guess people that are content with just getting by and not doing better. People that don't speak proper English and are not very friendly or kind. People that don't vote because it's too much trouble. This is all very subjective and more of a vibe I feel then any kind of facts. I shop in Q-town all the time at Kohls, Target and Staples but we crossed Q-town school district off our list very quickly even though it's the closest one to where my husband works.

I know there's another poster that lives in the Quakertown area that has a much more positive feeling about the area and hopefully she/he will post to offer a better view.

[FLhereIcome]

Originally Posted by 1orangetabbycat

I'm trying to make a decision about Quakertown SD. I see that the actual city of Quakertown is probably not the finest. However, what city really is? I looked up the data on school matters and greatschools.net and it looks pretty good. The elementary schools are all 8's and 9's. the middle schools are 9's and the high school is an 8. What really is the problem with this district? I've read from several posts to avoid it.

I live in Quakertown, and have 2 children that have gone to Quakertown schools since 1st grade; one has graduated, the other is in high school. I have no complaints about the school district at all. Any concerns I have had were always addressed and I have received the help needed to make sure my children succeed. We chose Quakertown because we owned a business in town and for that reason it was important to be a part of this community. We don't live in the Borough of Quakertown and chose not to. We live on the outskirts of town in the more rural area. I like that shopping is just minutes from my house, I'm close to the turnpike entrance, but I don't live near 309. As for the kids in town, remember growing up and you have kids from "either side of the tracks"? That's Quakertown, just like any other town. Are there people in town who chose not to better themselves, don't speak English, aren't friendly, yes. But show me a town that doesn't have that. In this town everybody knows everybody. If there's a troublemaker in town, everybody knows who it is. My kids have always chosen their friends based on common interest. As for the QMart.... It's a cheap farmers market. It's not an upscale shopping center, so you're more likely to see beat up pickup trucks than a new SUV sitting in the parking lot. What I like about living here is the schools are good, there is a new library and pool, the community has events throughout the year (parades, festivals, etc.) where friends and the community get together and have a good time, I love walking through downtown in the summer to get some water ice and it's safe.

[1orangetabbycat]

Sounds kind of like the town I grew up in. When you say, they don't speak English... what exactly are they speaking (just trying to get a handle)... like poor English or another language? Also, what about gangs, deviant behavior and drugs? More/less/average?

[toobusytoday]

I'm not talking about a foreign language, I'm talking about proper english. Like,"I don't know nothing 'bout what your talking about" cursing, stuff like that.

I don't know anything about gangs, drugs, etc. It's kind of funny but there is no newspaper or tv station that covers both Q-town and Coopersburg, I guess because they are in different counties. So, we never hear about police reports in Q-town unless it's a big deal and makes the Philadelphia newspapers/tv stations. Lehigh Valley papers and TV stations just don't go that extra few minutes south. I've noticed that the Philadelphia media mentions weather and crime in the Lehigh Valley but that's about it.

[FLhereIcome]

Originally Posted by 1orangetabbycat

Sounds kind of like the town I grew up in. When you say, they don't speak English... what exactly are they speaking (just trying to get a handle)... like poor English or another language? Also, what about gangs, deviant behavior and drugs? More/less/average?

The language they are talking is what my girls refer to as "wanna be gangster", lol. Most of these kids speak English perfectly well, but when they're with their friends and in their "wanna be" mode they talk that way to look cool. If they're not with their friends, they're average kids. I'm not aware of any organized gangs in town. The most deviant behavior I remember is a few years ago when some kids got caught shooting car windows with BB guns or a theft from Walmart. There are no drug dealers on every corner, but the people who do use drugs know who to call to get them. My girls have never been approached by anyone offering drugs, but again it's a small town and everyone knows who the users are, so you just don't associate with them.

[RatherBGolfing]

All these postings about Qtown schools, I just had to comment. They are GOOD. VERY GOOD. People in the area just get so obsessed with Doylestown or other reputations that they forget Qtown holds its own in the rankings, not to mention that parents seem quite pleased here. If you are thinking of moving to the area, you need to view Qtown as a whole (as we did, moving here a few years ago). It's a good place to get a little more for your money house-wise than other locations around Phila. It's got many main roads (309 access, turnpike, etc) for commuting. You have grocery, pharmacy, restaurants, and retail choices with "malls" less than a half hour north or south. And you have parks, trails, and other recreation.......AND good schools. Maybe not the highest ranked in all of PA. But you have to think of everything that matters to you and your family as a whole and find a balance.
The only specific advice I can offer is to keep in mind that part of Quakertown is Richland Township and part is Milford Township. Each has different elementary schools, for example, and you may want to keep this in mind and compare. I'm biased - we live on the Milford side (west of 309, closer to turnpike exit) and really love it. It feels a little quieter and less congested over here. It removes you from the Farmers Market & downtown chaos mentioned in these other posts. And all our neighbors with young kids have been very satisfied with Pfaff.
So don't anyone write off Qtown! And remember even within the 2 townships you have some options and priorities to consider. Good luck and best wishes to all!

[Devon381]

i am 25 yrs old and i grew up in quakertown. it is not a bad town to live in nor to go to school in. there is a low drug problem and there are no gangs around that i have ever seen, or heard of. i was 9 to 10 years old and my parents use to let me walk around town either with friends or with my sister and cousins and we never once had a problem with anyone bothering us. the only problem that i see with quakertown is that they are building way to many developements and then they don't have big enough schools for students. i have two daughters who will be going to kindergarten this year, and i think that they will have no problem becoming friends with other kids. i do agree about the speech thing. there are alot of people here that do need to have better english. i hate going to the q-mart because of some of the people that go there, they seem to be very dirty and uneducated and whacky, but you cannot base living here or going to school here off of that, because you have people like that in any town that you live in. i think quakertown is a good place to live and to go to school and it offers alot of great things for family's to do. no town is better then another. i think that they are all the same in some things. so if people want to move here, great and if not, then that is there choice. but this is my prospective on quakertown.