Is George Washington High School as bad it seems? (Middletown: real estate, townhouse)

[FarNEMove]

My family is looking to move and we found a house right on the border with Bucks county that is larger than our NJ townhouse and in our budget. We’re not opposed to living in the city limits and are familiar with the Far NE and its communities (we are Eastern European). The only thing that’s giving me pause is we have a teenager starting high school in the fall. Our current town’s schools are middle of the pack as far as NJ goes and on the decline, but our teen is in honors classes and mostly insulated from disruptive behavior. It seems too late to go the magnet route and the zoned high school, George Washington, is terribly ranked. It also doesn’t seem to match the socioeconomic makeup of the zoned geographic area. Neighboring Bensalem has similar demographics and while its high school is not great, it seems to be in much better shape compared to George Washington. What’s going on here? Are most neighborhood kids going to magnet schools or in private schools?

[ElijahAstin]

Originally Posted by FarNEMove

My family is looking to move and we found a house right on the border with Bucks county that is larger than our NJ townhouse and in our budget. We’re not opposed to living in the city limits and are familiar with the Far NE and its communities (we are Eastern European). The only thing that’s giving me pause is we have a teenager starting high school in the fall. Our current town’s schools are middle of the pack as far as NJ goes and on the decline, but our teen is in honors classes and mostly insulated from disruptive behavior. It seems too late to go the magnet route and the zoned high school, George Washington, is terribly ranked. It also doesn’t seem to match the socioeconomic makeup of the zoned geographic area. Neighboring Bensalem has similar demographics and while its high school is not great, it seems to be in much better shape compared to George Washington. What’s going on here? Are most neighborhood kids going to magnet schools or in private schools?

Broadly speaking, it sounds like your son “should” get into Central—the second-most coveted magnet after Masterman. And I say “should” because it’s ultimately a crapshoot, and plenty of students who are qualified for Central do not end up getting into Central.

My cousin graduated from Washington 20 years ago. Even then, it was rough, but the high-achieving students were largely insulated from this by virtue of the school’s honors program, and as a result the school was not dangerous or unpleasant for said students. A lot can change in 20 years, and in Washington’s case, I don’t suspect it’s for the better, but I defer to others with more in-depth and up-to-date knowledge and expertise. You are correct that students zoned to Washington disproportionately attend magnet or private high schools. Greenberg, which is probably your prospective neighborhood’s K-8 feeder school, is still fairly well-regarded.

I would not suggest Bensalem over Washington, and also steer clear from William Tennent (Upper Southampton and Warminster Townships plus Ivyland Borough).

Neshaminy High School, which has a fairly large post/Soviet immigrant population (by virtue of Feasterville/Lower Southampton Township), may be the answer. Middletown Township and Langhorne/Langhorne Manor/Penndel/Hulmeville boroughs are also zoned to the high school. It’s a large and very middling suburban school district, but is much better/regarded than William Tennent and Bensalem and should have sufficient resources for a bright and motivated student to succeed. Real estate is also fairly affordable—much more so than the municipalities that feed into Council Rock schools, which is another popular suburban post/Soviet immigrant destination.