School Districts in Montgomery and Bucks Counties (Horsham, Doylestown: houses, best school districts)

[jwsjws]

Hi everyone,

We are relocating from Northern NJ to either Montgomery County/Bucks County. My husband will be working in North Wales. We would like to live within approx 30 min drive.

I have been told that Central Bucks and Upper Dublin are the best school districts in the area. However, we have not found a lot of houses that we like, and are considering other districts.

Any opinions on the following districts (good or bad?):

Hatboro-Horsham
Wissahickon
Abington
Jenkintown
Cheltenham

Thanks!!!

[maf763]

Of the 5 you have listed: Jenkintown is by far the smallest, one elementary, one middle, one hs, no busing everyone is within walking distance) - some people like the smaller size but that has drawbacks especially if you want more learning and social options. It's also harder finding a home in Jenkintown because of the limited stock. The other four are more similar - HH has block scheduling in the hs, Abington schools run K-6, then the junior high is 7-9 and the senior high is 10-12, Cheltenham has K-4, then 5-6 in the middle school, 7-8 in the junior high and 9-12 in hs - that's a lot of transitions. There are lots of factors that come into play, but I'd probably rank Cheltenham just a little behind the others, mainly because the junior high has traditionally had a pretty poor reputation, though it's been a few years since I knew somebody there.

[bambiying]

I would also recommend looking into Upper Moreland and Lower Moreland schools as well if you are into that area. Just as close to North Wales and both are good.

[ooodsie]

Have you looked at houses in Buckingham/Doylestown?

[JasmineFlower]

I would focus on Abington and Wissahickon SDs in addition to Upper Dublin, all good and on par with each other.

[thesixth]

None of the school districts would be considered "bad" schools. Just some differences in operations (as pointed out above) and socioeconomics. Cheltenham would be classifed as the most diverse racially and probably economically.
But, ultimately, I think they can all be good choices.