School Help Needed--Comparing Franklin Regional, Penn Trafford, Plum (Pittsburgh: property taxes, showing)

[WHsucks]

Hi,

Can anyone provide any info on these schools in the areas of teacher quality, school culture, technology, or facility quality?

Used greatschools.net and the Pittsburgh Business Times list for the PSSA comparison but need help picking a district without knowing anyone in these districts.

Not a lot of homes in the FR district in our price range or we'd probably pick that since it's the highest ranked.

Any help is appreciated!

[Seaharbour]

Greatschools is prolly going to be the best route to go, you could also look up the schools in Wikipedia and also town stastics on demcgraphics too...sorry I could not help you more!

[Hemingway]

Maybe I can be of a little help. I am familiar with Franklin Regional (Murrysville), and Plum...I have limited knowledge of Penn-Trafford. I live in Plum, moved here in July of 04. I WOULD have definitely chosen FR over Plum, and Plum over P-T.

Murrysville has a Middle to Upper Middle class demographic...Their schools are indisputably the best of the three. Plum has a broader demographic, their Elementary and Middle school are very good, but the High School needs some improving...as I have said in previous posts...nothing horrible, just a 'lazy' attitude by the administration, which hopefully can be changed! Penn-Trafford I have heard is not as 'well viewed' as either Plum or FR. Hopefully someone else can weigh in on that.

I do NOT want to slam any of them...but if you are asking which is viewed as the BEST of the three? Franklin Regional....the problem will be affordable housing...but then again- Murrysville is in Westmoreland County, so you would be paying lower property taxes. HTH

If you have specific questions...I will try to answer!

[guylocke]

I live in Plum, moved here in July of 04. I WOULD have definitely chosen FR over Plum, and Plum over P-T.

I would say this is perfectly right. Franklin Regional is unequivocally the superior choice. Hemingway nailed Franklin Regional and Plum.

Penn-Trafford (also in Westmoreland County, btw) also has a broader demographic. I would say maybe right now, or recently, it would have been my third choice, but P-T is heading up in the world, not down. Penn Township is the fastest growing area in Westmoreland County and there is enormous wealth heading into the area. I imagine the same thing will happen to P-T as it did with Peter's.

Murrysville/Franklin Regional would easily be my first pick, though.

[JSAC318]

I moved from monroeville to Penn-Trafford in December of 2006. My main reason for moving was to be in the Penn-Trafford School District when my oldest daughter started kindergarten in August 2007.

Plum was never a consideration, as it is widely known that the district is deteriorating rapidly. I have spoken with many parents and even some teachers in the district who are very troubled by its direction. The only advantage of Plum would be its much wider demographic. Stay away from Plum.

I agree that Franklin Regional would be at the top of most people's list, since it acheives higher test scores and has nicer facilities than both PT and Plum. However, there were several reasons why I chose PT instead of FR.

1) FR has a very large disparity between upper and middle income students, with the latter being the minority. Being in the middle income group, I felt that my kids would fit in better at PT, which is more evenly distributed between middle and upper income students.

2) I think most would agree that the most important attribute of a school district is teaching quality. PT acheives the highest test scores per revenue received than any other district in the area by far. To me this equates to good teaching.

3) Several school teachers recommended PT for its quality of teaching and parent involvement.

4) I was warned by many people, including some students, about a major drug problem at FR.

5) PT has a more warm and country-like atmosphere than FR, which appealed to both my wife and I.

After living here for over a year now, I am very pleased with the area and school district. My daughter has done very well in kindergarten and is reading chapter books. We have made freinds with several of the other parents and my daughter has play dates on a regular basis with her schoolmates. We have gone to two family nights at McCullough Elementary School for a Polar Express showing at Christmas and a magic show last month, and these events were packed with students and their parents. My daughter also was in the science fair last month, which also had a tremendous showing. I think this is a testament to the parental involvement in the district. In my opinion, PT is the best school district in the eastern suburbs, which is the reason it is the fastest growing area in Westmoreland County.

[guylocke]

I would say Franklin Regional is easily the best choice, however, Penn Township is a very fast and wealthy growing region, I imagine the school district will reflect this in no time.