School Districts.. (Philadelphia, Springfield, Plymouth: transfer, college, statistics)

[newmrs]

Hello all, my husband is in the process of transfering to the PA area and I am looking for a good school district for our daughter. I think I've narrowed it down to four in the Montgomery County area and would love some feedback on them.

Colonial
Upper Dublin
Abington
Springfield

I'd appreciate any feedback possible. I'm hoping to find a school with a good mixture of diversity. I don't want her to be the only one in her class.. Any feedback is greatly appreciated..

[maf763]

Springfield is the smallest of the four, and either Abington or Colonial are the biggest. Upper Dublin probably has the reputation as the highest achieving, though I think you could get a good education in any of them. I would guess that Abington has the most diversity, but I'm sure you can find statistics that will confirm that or not. There is a large Asian population in Upper Dublin.

Springfield is a little different in that its high school is actually grades 8-12; Abington HS is grades 10-12, with grades 7-9 in the junior high. In Upper Dublin, there are plans to begin work on a new high school, which will be a huge undertaking and there will be a lot of bumps along the way. In Abington, most of the elementary schools have been rebuilt over the last 6-7 years, not sure if they will be updating the junior high or high school. I know that Abington and Upper Dublin have active parent groups - Springfield and Colonial may, but I'm not as familiar with them. As in most school districts, the middle school/junior high tends to be the weakest link in their chain.

[rainrock]

Originally Posted by newmrs

Hello all, my husband is in the process of transfering to the PA area and I am looking for a good school district for our daughter. I think I've narrowed it down to four in the Montgomery County area and would love some feedback on them.

Colonial
Upper Dublin
Abington
Springfield

Colonial(Plymouth Whitemarsh HS)

1500 students
84%- Took SATS
527-Math SAT score-
504- Verbal
57% -attend 4 year college

Upper Dublin

1500 students
90%-Took Sat's
582-Math
551-Verbal
84%-attend college

Abington

2000 students
82%-Took Sat's
540-Math
505-Verbal
64%- College

Springfield

835 students
88%- Took sat's
534 Math
536-Verbal
70%-college

Good luck

[newmrs]

thank you all so much!! we drove down today and i really liked abington and colonial.. didn't have time to look at springfield. I'm going to call on Monday and make appointments to tour the buildings..

[southfan123]

Rainrock, can you tell me where those stats came from? I've had no luck finding SAT scores.

[rainrock]

Philadelphia Inquirer School report. Hope it helps.

Philadelphia Inquirer | School Report Card

[phillytoaustin]

I just wanted to mention Wissahickon school district since I went there and there was a lot of diversity. If you are looking to move to Blue Bell area that is Wissahickon district. I also had friends who went to Upper Dublin and they said they liked it there. HOpe that helps.

[mofromcheboygankalamazoo]

Originally Posted by newmrs

thank you all so much!! we drove down today and i really liked abington and colonial.. didn't have time to look at springfield. I'm going to call on Monday and make appointments to tour the buildings..

hey i'm new to the area as well and I am a teacher. I have been subbing in Cheltenham and Springfield twp School districts. I am hoping soon to be interviewed by Springfield twp because I love the district so much! For it being so small, it is very diverse! I also appreciate that the district still lets teachers plan some fun activities to go along with academics! I taught in Maryland for a couple years and it was forbidden to to plan many fun activities!