Fox Chapel Schools: Good or Bad? (Aspinwall, Blawnox: home, neighborhoods, school districts)

[S_Daddy]

Are there any non wealthy areas in Hampton? Seems like an interesting school district.

[Retiredcoach]

Originally Posted by Copanut

The downside to a school with a larger class is participation in sports, plays, and anything competitive. I was in a class of 630, just riding the pine on the b-ball team was tough. Plus, I attended one of the reunions and met 5 fellow graduates for the first time.

I totally get what you are saying. A number of years ago, when I was still "wet behind the ears" as a coach, I was interviewed to be the ninth grade boys' basketball coach at North Allegheny. When the AD called me to say that I did not get the job, he was very upfront and direct. He told me that the job was going to a person, who may not have had my BB background, but had been a grizzled veteran coach, who would be unfazed by the emotions and disappointments of the cuts needing to be made. He told me that he did not view me as being experienced enough to emotionally detach myself from the process of dwindling a list of 40+ former middle school BB athletes down to just 12 (the roster number set by the varsity coach). Looking back, I know that he was right....

Long story short, Copanut, if you played BB for North Allegheny and "rode the pine", you must have still been a very good player !

[okaydorothy]

Here is my two cents worth


When we were moving here almost 4 years ago, we toured four schools as our boys were 12 and 13 at the time. They came with us. The schools were ; Fox Chapel, Hampton, Quaker Valley and South Fayette. Hampton was number one at the time. Our boys were coming from a very small parochial school in NY.


Their rankings were as follows ;
1. South Fayette.
2. Quaker Valley
3. Fox Chapel.
4. Hampton.


They hated Hampton. They felt right at home in South Fayette and have thrived there. Now they are in high school and really love it. They have about 200 in their classes and they do have AP classes.


South Fayette passed out Hampton last year in rankings.

[robrobrob]

I think before you pick a school district you have to decide how much house you want. I say this because 180,000 does not get you much in O'Hara. Quickly, there are 15 houses there under 200,000. None of them are all that great and half are on busy roads. Only 4 feed to O'Hara. Most of the rest feed to Kerr Elementary. Forget about Fox Chapel. Aspinwall, the cheapest house is 199,000. You have some options in Indiana Township. Again, none are that great. Frankly, these days 300,000 doesn't get you all that much in the part of O'Hara that feeds to O'Hara Elementary.

Friends had a 200,000 budget 3 years ago and bought in Shaler. They had a tough time finding a home. They were not happy with what 200,000 got them in the Fox Chapel Area School District and Hampton. However, they had some options in the nice part of Shaler ... Burchfield.

[robrobrob]

Originally Posted by Retiredcoach

I totally get what you are saying. A number of years ago, when I was still "wet behind the ears" as a coach, I was interviewed to be the ninth grade boys' basketball coach at North Allegheny. When the AD called me to say that I did not get the job, he was very upfront and direct. He told me that the job was going to a person, who may not have had my BB background, but had been a grizzled veteran coach, who would be unfazed by the emotions and disappointments of the cuts needing to be made. He told me that he did not view me as being experienced enough to emotionally detach myself from the process of dwindling a list of 40+ former middle school BB athletes down to just 12 (the roster number set by the varsity coach). Looking back, I know that he was right....

Long story short, Copanut, if you played BB for North Allegheny and "rode the pine", you must have still been a very good player !

We know people that bought in Ben Avon which is the Avonworth School District for this very reason. They really wanted their future kids to have a reasonable opportunity to play school sports.

I have a 4 cousins that went NA. All turned out fine. Half played in the band. One was a great athlete and could make any sports team he wanted. His brother wasn't so lucky.

I think these days at most of the bigger schools making a team is pretty impressive. Some sports are easier to make than others and it does vary by school.

[S_Daddy]

House size isn't really a big issue in my opinion. Looking on Zillow, there are a lot of big expensive homes in wealthy neighborhoods in Hampton, but there are also plenty of homes in Hampton that are of similar $ value or less. If this is the case, do I really have to worry about my kid feeling like he is the poorest in his class later on?

[erieguy]

I don't think anyone that can afford $180k for a home is going to have to be concerned with being poor or the poorest.

[S_Daddy]

Originally Posted by erieguy

I don't think anyone that can afford $180k for a home is going to have to be concerned with being poor or the poorest.

But from what I hear, Hampton is a pretty affluent area, so will my son be one of the only kids who lives in that kind of home and has that type of socioeconomic status? There are a lot of homes that are in the 100Ks there but do families with children typically live in them?

[erieguy]

Originally Posted by S_Daddy

But from what I hear, Hampton is a pretty affluent area, so will my son be one of the only kids who lives in that kind of home and has that type of socioeconomic status? There are a lot of homes that are in the 100Ks there but do families with children typically live in them?

Don't know. A lot of it really comes down to the child and the family. Lots of kids with a lower economic status are popular with those of a higher economic status.

[captainmidnight]

Originally Posted by S_Daddy

But from what I hear, Hampton is a pretty affluent area, so will my son be one of the only kids who lives in that kind of home and has that type of socioeconomic status? There are a lot of homes that are in the 100Ks there but do families with children typically live in them?

Are you concerned about your son fitting in? Not sure if that is a big deal there but with your budget you might be better off in the Shaler or North Hills districts. Nothing wrong with those schools and your son should fit in there.