Seneca Valley Schools (Pittsburgh, Ross Township, Shaler Township: for sale, houses, buy)

[Books]

I recently posted about relocating South of Pittsburgh. However, my husband's job is in Cranberry (Warrendale) three days a week and North Versailles (soon to be moved to Monroeville) 2 days a week. We are currently in New Castle, PA.

We are considering moving to Cranberry, this way he is only commuting a distance 2 days per week. Also we are sick of living in New Castle (small town with nothing). I am a nurse and my home health office is based in Mars (although I kind of work out of my home).

My main concern is the culture of Seneca Valley schools. I have 2 school aged children (will be 4th and 6th). I know the test scores are high and the education is good. I guess what I want to know is first hand experience on the culture of the school. Are there alot of middle class people or is there alot of wealth in Cranberry? Will my kids be surrounded by "rich kids" ? I know there will be some but is it the majority? I would prefer more of a middle class environment. The school we are leaving graduates 60 kids a year, there is little oppurtunity and it's like living in a small bubble. Great for little kids...not so great for high school.

I have heard Seneca has a "drug problem" but drugs are everywhere and to be honest New Castle in general has 15 housing projects and a huge drug problem.

Any advice or info is greatly appreciated

[Hopes]

Seneca has children from all income brackets, but there is a significant amount of wealth. You'd run into a greater percentage of affluence in Pine Richland School District.

If you want more middle class and upper middle class, why not move to Mars? It's a nice, small school district, It has wealth, but it's not overwhelmed with wealth. There are lots of middle class families in Mars. I hear there are more and more wealthy developments being built though. And with the road system from east to west not being updated for the increased population, traffic from Mars to Cranberry can take about as long as commuting from a place farther away.

[Hopes]

Here are a couple of other ideas for solid middle class school districts

Ross Township (North Hills School District). It's a 23 minute commute to Cranberry and a 32 minute commute to Monroeville.

Shaler Township (Shaler Area School District). It's 30 minute commute to both Cranberry and Monroeville.

Both are about 10 to 15 minutes from the city so you'll have easy access to all the city has to offer.

[robrobrob]

You could also move along the turnpike to Cheswick in the Allegheny Valley School District. Or move to Plum which can be very close to Monroeville and the turnpike.

[Books]

Thanks for the replies! Looking closely at North Hills and thinking it could possibly be a better fit. Going to research some more and talk to my husband.

[Retiredcoach]

Given your circumstances, I believe that your best bet for a school district would be Mars. It is smaller than Seneca Valley, and its academic standing is steadily improving . Being smaller, affords your children more opportunities to participate in the extracurricular activities, but yet, large enough to offer a more rigorous and challenging curriculum. Another plus, and another reason it is becoming the place to relocate- taxes are about 50% lower than those schools in Allegheny County. It is in very close proximity to routes 19 & 79, plus the turnpike.

[Books]

Originally Posted by Retiredcoach

Given your circumstances, I believe that your best bet for a school district would be Mars. It is smaller than Seneca Valley, and its academic standing is steadily improving . Being smaller, affords your children more opportunities to participate in the extracurricular activities, but yet, large enough to offer a more rigorous and challenging curriculum. Another plus, and another reason it is becoming the place to relocate- taxes are about 50% lower than those schools in Allegheny County. It is in very close proximity to routes 19 & 79, plus the turnpike.

Thank you. Will look at Mars also. Any idea how many they graduate on average?

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by Books

Thanks for the replies! Looking closely at North Hills and thinking it could possibly be a better fit. Going to research some more and talk to my husband.

It's a great school district. It's ranked very high in the region. Because it's middle class, it doesn't get the recognition it deserves. The location is awesome.

Mars also doesn't get the recognition it deserves. I do like that it's such a small school district. The location isn't as good. He'll have a 15 minute commute to Cranberry (without traffic congestion) but over 45 minute commute to Monroeville, and it's not as close to the city as Ross.

Ross has higher property taxes than Mars because it's in Allegheny County, but you can buy more house for your money in Ross and there is a larger selection of houses for sale. Mars has lower property taxes, but the housing selection is limited and it is more rural and you were hoping to get away from small town feel.

Just tossing out the pros and cons between the two.

[Retiredcoach]

Originally Posted by Books

Thank you. Will look at Mars also. Any idea how many they graduate on average?

Mars generally has (+/- ) 250 students graduating each year. North Hills class of 2012 graduated 370 students.


If you decide to relocate to the North Hills School District, there are the positives of being closer to Monroeville, but there are also the negatives. You will be forced to travel on one of the most archaic roadways in all of PA- route 376- "the parkway". One cannot appreciate how generally miserable this daily ride can be, even though technically, you would be supposedly going against traffic for much of the trek. The Squirrel Hill tunnels are in the midst of your daily commute- and the source of most back-ups. I made that trek for a few years myself..... no thanks.

There are the inherent advantages of one of the parents being close to the school in the event of an emergency- just something you might want to consider. Also, the need for that second car may not be as pronounced when one of you is closer to the workplace. If these are not issues for you, I concur with the previous poster suggesting Cheswick as a possible middle ground. Housing is very reasonably priced, the commute would be by turnpike , and the school district is smaller. Just a few thinks to consider; I hope this helps!

[Hopes]

I would never take the route you describe to Monroeville. People who live in the inner northern suburbs know many other ways.

I agree Cheswick is another viable option.