I nned to find a district other than Pittsburgh Public for my daughter (Bellevue: fit in)

[sz89128]

I currently reside in the city with my wife and daughter and my daughter attends Pittsburgh Public. I am also a teacher with Pittsburgh Public. To make things short, I am very unhappy with my work environment and my daughter's education (or lack thereof). I was assaulted last week by a female students and then punched breaking up a fight between 2 male students. That is just a snippet of what I go through.

I am hoping to transfer schools, but I need to focus on my daughter who is in elementary right now.

I'd like to hear from parents about their opinions on their school districts. I am looking north of the city because that will facilitate my commute into work. School districts like Shaler, North Hills, North Allegheny, Fox Chapel, etc.

I work on a teacher's salary and currently rent. I am also looking for an affordable apartment and in the future affordable housing.

I'd like to get some input from parents

[Scientist Mom]

Didn't you ask the same question 2 weeks ago? If you didn't get the feedback you were looking for then, perhaps you should search for threads with info on the northern school districts and PM people who had interesting things to say for further info.

[Pitt Chick]

Here's the post and answers from 2/5/11...

I highly doubt much has changed in the past two weeks....

Best school districts in the suburbs?

[rhondee]

I was talking to a paralegal who works for a very reputable law firm just the other day and she has a child who goes to Avalon Elementary which is in the Northgate School District. She is very happy with the school and the teachers. I live in the district but no longer have any children attending any of the schools so I'm sorry I'm unable to give you more current experience with the schools.

Northgate School District is not ranked as high as North Hills and Avonworth Districts that are nearby but that doesn't necessarily make it a bad district, either. It's still ranked in the top 1/3 of all the school districts in the state of PA. It's definitely a step up from Pittsburgh Public.The area is pretty affordable too.

[greg42]

It's interesting to see someone happy with Northgate schools. We tend to steer clear of that one still when pointing out places for folks looking around there. Sounds like perhaps at least in some ways it has improved along with the rest of the Bellevue and Avalon area.

[rhondee]

I never heard many complaints about the elementary schools in Northgate so I would confidently recommend them. Perhaps by the time OP's daughter reached high school age OP will be in a better financial situation and afford to relocate to one of the other districts.At any rate, NG is still a step up from PPS.

I can't imagine being a teacher and trying to manage that type of violent disruption that the OP faced while conducting a classroom. Those offending students need taken out of PPS and placed in a boot camp.

My niece graduated from NG and has been doing very well at Carlow U and is almost finished, but she has always been a conscientious student anyway.

[heartchya]

No way to Northgate. I lived in Bellevue for the majority of my life at this point and went to Lincoln Elementary ( now called Bellevue). I went to high school at Northgate. You should also note that grades 7-12 all go to one school and they are not separate buildings. I am 27 now with a 2 year old and would never ever send her to Northgate. The people I talk with who I went to school with that also have young kids agree they would never send their kids there. The education is sub-par, the activities and sports are limited. The sports they have do not usually do very well. Bellevue is on a down swing---not an upswing. Most people who lived there when I was a child have long ago moved out. I would say the majority of the very beautiful old homes have been converted into apartments....as many apartments as you can fit in seems to be the trend.

Bellevue is a totally different place then when I grew up there. The elementary schools are okay but the high school is still not good. Based on the areas the OP asked about I would suggest North Hills. You can find some affordable houses in the North Hills district. I am in the Shaler district right now which is okay too but I would prefer North Hills.


Also you should note that the taxes in Bellevue are very high. Shaler's taxes are high too.

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by sz89128

I'd like to hear from parents about their opinions on their school districts. I am looking north of the city because that will facilitate my commute into work. School districts like Shaler, North Hills, North Allegheny, Fox Chapel, etc.

I'm very familiar with most of these school districts.

I raised my children in Hampton. I grew up in Fox Chapel.

Which part of the city do you need to commute to? The East End?

I'd seriously consider North Hills. It's an excellent school district that is often over looked because it's not one of the wealthier areas. It's a solid middle class to upper middle class school district. Ross Elementary school ranks third in the county. The high school ranks 7th in the county---ahead of Fox Chapel and North Allegheny.

You might want to add Hampton to your list. It's a very small school district. As a result, the class sizes are smaller. There's a lot more control over what happens in the schools compared to the bigger schools. The high school ranks higher than all the others mentioned. The education is top quality. The atmosphere is more cozy.

If you think your daughter might have a learning disability, go with North Allegheny. (It's a great school district but I'd only do the longer commute if there is a disability.) Avoid Shaler like the plague if you think your child might have a disability. Shaler is well known for doing everything possible to avoid providing special education. Otherwise, Shaler is better that what your'e dealing with now for regular education.

Fox Chapel is a very good district but you have to weigh the wealth factor.

Originally Posted by Scientist Mom

Didn't you ask the same question 2 weeks ago? If you didn't get the feedback you were looking for then, perhaps you should search for threads with info on the northern school districts and PM people who had interesting things to say for further info.

This thread is different. The OP has specified specific school districts. There's nothing wrong with starting a new thread with narrowed down criteria.

[gg]

Originally Posted by Hopes

Ross Elementary school ranks third in the county. The high school ranks 7th in the county---ahead of Fox Chapel and North Allegheny.

Fox Chapel is a very good district but you have to weigh the wealth factor.


This thread is different. The OP has specified specific school districts. There's nothing wrong with starting a new thread with narrowed down criteria.

When looking at ratings, you need to not worry about a few placings. They are averaged and most times mean nothing. What classes are offered is more important. I was looking at my son's course choices in Fox Chapel, and believe me it reads like a college not a high school. There are kids that he knows going to Ivy League schools and kids that are in Pre Calculus in 9th grade and can be in math classes as seniors that will prepare them for the highest education in the world. Do the average test scores matter that much when you are talking about the top 15-20? I don't think so. Look at what is offered if you have a child that is moving fast through school. Fox Chapel district has a ton of money. RIDC park is in the district. Not exactly pennies coming out of there. The teachers make the most of any district. You can live in Sharpsburg and go to the district. You can pay $500 a month in rent there. Sharpsburg doesn't help the averaging in test scores much of the time, but that would only be a generalization. It depends what kids want and I know there are plenty of honor students from that little town. Blawnox is another place to be if you want less expensive, but it is going to be more than Sharpsburg. Aspinwall is not cheap in anyway. There is a little section of O'Hara that is right next to Sharpsburg that is also inexpensive and in the district. It is the area around Kittanning Pike and there is a little park there called Meadow Park.

I can't speak about the other districts, because I don't have a children there. FC has a nice pool, an observatory and every amenity that one can imagine. If they don't have it, some Fox Chapel resident will donate it. FC has by far the highest average income in Allegheny County. Much higher than Sewickley Heights and if you look it up you will see a huge gap. They have more clubs than I even knew existed. From Chess to dance to acting to so many, I didn't even know a list like that was possible. There are lots of one income families in the area and I think that helps because parents that are not in formal jobs donate time for the kids. That kind of stuff is priceless.

At the end of the day, all the schools you mentioned are no doubt VERY good. I am sure any child that wants to learn would excel in any of them. It is a shame there isn't a city school that can compare, but there isn't. I hope one day that changes. Imagine if Shadyside, North of Forbes and Squirrel Hill had their own school. Home values would be even higher and it would pull up the city school rankings leaps and bounds. Unfortunately, those parents send their kids to places like Shadyside Academy and Kiski Prep. I personally believe kids should be able to go to a public school with peers and not shoved into a school with a very different group than what their home lives are like. JMHO though.

[rhondee]

Originally Posted by heartchya

Bellevue is on a down swing---not an upswing.

Down swing compared to what area? According to Sperling's Best Places website, the data for 2010 showed that Bellevue has sustained a population loss of about -9% but so has West View( -8%), Shaler Twn ( -7%) and Ross Twn ( -7%). Bellevue's pop. loss is only slightly larger than the other areas.


The rate of violent crime in Bellevue is the same as West View (3/10) and and Ross Twn ( 3/10) but was actually higher in Shaler Twn(5/10)
Property crime was rated lowest in Bellevue at ( 1/10), West View(3/10), Shaler ( 5/10), and Ross ( 4/10)

I maintain that parents are somewhat happy with the elementary schools in NG . In fact the Greatschools rating for Bellevue Elementary was an 8 which is higher than both West View and Shaler Elementary Schools who rated 6. Avalon Elementary was also rated at 6.

I agree with you, as I have said in my previous post, that NG High School is not as recommended as Shaler- especially North Hills District who is doing a fantastic job with their high school. NG is just way too small to have as many choices and decent offerings as both Shaler and NH districts which are much larger districts.You're right about choosing NH over Shaler.