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North allegheny school is the largest with class sizes around 700. The county itself does not really have a good average to go off. of the areas mentioned, Avonworth would be the smallest with class sizes of around 150 students.
the other schools in the area are all between those two.
I had not had a chance to check back into this thread until now, and appreciate all of the responses. I like the laughs.
Politically, I knew I was going to be an outsider in this area. It's a worry -- just in a more global sense to me of values, making friends, etc. But I don't know how to even begin to address that one.
If it helps, this forum is not a good barometer of the region in terms of politics on many levels; I've found most people here keep their political opinions to themselves & likewise don't bother others about theirs so long as you keep yours to yourself. A general mind your own business in regards to politics & religion mindset (Yes there are always some exceptions.) Personally I don't have a clue how my neighbors lean on political issues & that's fine with me; we get along great.
I had not had a chance to check back into this thread until now, and appreciate all of the responses. I like the laughs.
Politically, I knew I was going to be an outsider in this area. It's a worry -- just in a more global sense to me of values, making friends, etc. But I don't know how to even begin to address that one.
We came across Infinity Builders -- any feedback? They have lots at Venango Trails and a community named Franklin Crossing which is in Butler. Any feedback about Seneca Valley school district/Butler specifically? We've learned that the amount of taxes we'd have to pay on a house are supposedly much lower in Butler than in Allegheny County.
I need to find a really good printable map of the area -- I'm still confused about what is a township, what is not but is still on the map (Wexford I'm looking at you) and where the hell the boundaries are between this that and the other.
Random school questions -- what is the normal class size in Allegheny County? Are any other counties much different? One complaint we have had about MCPS is that the schools are very very crowded and classes are big. Also, I've seen schools that are labeled as intermediate high schools or something? What grades are in each school? In MCPS we have k-5 in elementary, 6-8 in middle school, and 9-12 in high school. Finally, are all K classes in the area half day? Do any counties do full day Kindergarten?
Thanks for continuing to answer questions and make me smile. I know I will have a lot mo re. Moving stinks.
If you are looking at Wexford, move your eyes a little north to cranberry or Mars. The tax savings will be worth the extra commute. There are ALOT of suburb haters on this board with a high hatred of cranberry. My brothers children go to Mars area schools, the school district is very good and the class sizes are small. Sorry I don't have exact information for you and I have no idea how my brother voted if that matters.
I had not had a chance to check back into this thread until now, and appreciate all of the responses. I like the laughs.
Politically, I knew I was going to be an outsider in this area. It's a worry -- just in a more global sense to me of values, making friends, etc. But I don't know how to even begin to address that one.
We came across Infinity Builders -- any feedback? They have lots at Venango Trails and a community named Franklin Crossing which is in Butler. Any feedback about Seneca Valley school district/Butler specifically? We've learned that the amount of taxes we'd have to pay on a house are supposedly much lower in Butler than in Allegheny County.
I need to find a really good printable map of the area -- I'm still confused about what is a township, what is not but is still on the map (Wexford I'm looking at you) and where the hell the boundaries are between this that and the other.
Random school questions -- what is the normal class size in Allegheny County? Are any other counties much different? One complaint we have had about MCPS is that the schools are very very crowded and classes are big. Also, I've seen schools that are labeled as intermediate high schools or something? What grades are in each school? In MCPS we have k-5 in elementary, 6-8 in middle school, and 9-12 in high school. Finally, are all K classes in the area half day? Do any counties do full day Kindergarten?
Thanks for continuing to answer questions and make me smile. I know I will have a lot more. Moving stinks.
Agreed with the other posters who said that political opinions are not shoved down your throat. Aside from that map, I have no idea how my neighbors or people in my township voted. It wasn't discussed or brought up and I'm fine with that. There are many people on this forum that will criticize you for wanting to move into a suburban area instead of the beloved city. Ignore that, it's not common in person here. Nobody in "real life" cares.
I'm not familiar enough with Infinity to give you a personal review, but I have heard good things about Venango Trails, which is in North Allegheny School District. I find it easier to relate things by school district, rather than township since mailing addresses are weird here. You can always search by school district on home websites like Howard Hanna and Pittsburgh Moves. However, to paint a picture, Venango Trails is in Marshall Township. Homes there probably carry a Wexford address (essentially that is all Wexford is - an address, not a true municipality).
Seneca Valley is a fine school district - very large in terms of size and areas covered. Cranberry Township (Butler County) would be the "main" base for Seneca Valley. Cranberry is a suburb with lots of newer homes and sprawling retail and restaurants. Convenient to I-79 and I-76, making it an easy drive into the city, with lower taxes than neighboring suburbs in Allegheny County. Have you tried Google Maps? It may be helpful in terms of checking out locations, distances, and amenities.
North Allegheny has an intermediate high school, and I think Seneca Valley does, too. That is grades 9-10 in one building. The Senior High School would house grades 11-12. Not sure why this is. Other areas are broken up as you described with a high school in 9-12. A lot of schools have switched to full day kindergarten, but you would have to check with the individual elementary school to know for sure.
I had not had a chance to check back into this thread until now, and appreciate all of the responses. I like the laughs.
Politically, I knew I was going to be an outsider in this area. It's a worry -- just in a more global sense to me of values, making friends, etc. But I don't know how to even begin to address that one.
We came across Infinity Builders -- any feedback? They have lots at Venango Trails and a community named Franklin Crossing which is in Butler. Any feedback about Seneca Valley school district/Butler specifically? We've learned that the amount of taxes we'd have to pay on a house are supposedly much lower in Butler than in Allegheny County.
I need to find a really good printable map of the area -- I'm still confused about what is a township, what is not but is still on the map (Wexford I'm looking at you) and where the hell the boundaries are between this that and the other.
Random school questions -- what is the normal class size in Allegheny County? Are any other counties much different? One complaint we have had about MCPS is that the schools are very very crowded and classes are big. Also, I've seen schools that are labeled as intermediate high schools or something? What grades are in each school? In MCPS we have k-5 in elementary, 6-8 in middle school, and 9-12 in high school. Finally, are all K classes in the area half day? Do any counties do full day Kindergarten?
Thanks for continuing to answer questions and make me smile. I know I will have a lot more. Moving stinks.
First of all, pay zero attention to the political/diversity responses. Some think everyone should live as they do and I'll wager they've never visited the areas they speak of.
I've never heard anything bad about Infinity but they've recently finished building a plan of homes http://buildinfinityhomes.com/find-y...-hill-estates/ and there might even be 1 or 2 left that you might be able to check out. I know the rest went very fast.
Can't help you on schooling but I live in Cranberry and it's a very nice and convenient area. You get a lot of home for the money and the taxes once you across the Butler County line are much less. I previously lived in Wexford and while it's also very nice I like Cranberry much better.
I had not had a chance to check back into this thread until now, and appreciate all of the responses. I like the laughs.
Politically, I knew I was going to be an outsider in this area. It's a worry -- just in a more global sense to me of values, making friends, etc. But I don't know how to even begin to address that one.
We came across Infinity Builders -- any feedback? They have lots at Venango Trails and a community named Franklin Crossing which is in Butler. Any feedback about Seneca Valley school district/Butler specifically? We've learned that the amount of taxes we'd have to pay on a house are supposedly much lower in Butler than in Allegheny County.
I need to find a really good printable map of the area -- I'm still confused about what is a township, what is not but is still on the map (Wexford I'm looking at you) and where the hell the boundaries are between this that and the other.
Random school questions -- what is the normal class size in Allegheny County? Are any other counties much different? One complaint we have had about MCPS is that the schools are very very crowded and classes are big. Also, I've seen schools that are labeled as intermediate high schools or something? What grades are in each school? In MCPS we have k-5 in elementary, 6-8 in middle school, and 9-12 in high school. Finally, are all K classes in the area half day? Do any counties do full day Kindergarten?
Thanks for continuing to answer questions and make me smile. I know I will have a lot more. Moving stinks.
Allegheny county has 43 different school district. Any tiny borough can create its own district, so there's no sort of consistency. Imagine Bethesda, Silver Spring and Takoma Park each having their own district and school board. The effect is that some districts appear to be high-performing because they only have 2000 students, all of whom hail from upper-middle class families. Some townships and boroughs form combined school districts.
As others have alluded, there is no municipality called Wexford nor is there a Wexford school district.
How about Sewickley? They have the price range to life there and it is a really quaint little place and the commute would be quite easy. I would love to live in Sewickley or "the Heights". Great place.
I had not had a chance to check back into this thread until now, and appreciate all of the responses. I like the laughs.
Politically, I knew I was going to be an outsider in this area. It's a worry -- just in a more global sense to me of values, making friends, etc. But I don't know how to even begin to address that one.
We came across Infinity Builders -- any feedback? They have lots at Venango Trails and a community named Franklin Crossing which is in Butler. Any feedback about Seneca Valley school district/Butler specifically? We've learned that the amount of taxes we'd have to pay on a house are supposedly much lower in Butler than in Allegheny County.
I need to find a really good printable map of the area -- I'm still confused about what is a township, what is not but is still on the map (Wexford I'm looking at you) and where the hell the boundaries are between this that and the other.
Random school questions -- what is the normal class size in Allegheny County? Are any other counties much different? One complaint we have had about MCPS is that the schools are very very crowded and classes are big. Also, I've seen schools that are labeled as intermediate high schools or something? What grades are in each school? In MCPS we have k-5 in elementary, 6-8 in middle school, and 9-12 in high school. Finally, are all K classes in the area half day? Do any counties do full day Kindergarten?
Thanks for continuing to answer questions and make me smile. I know I will have a lot more. Moving stinks.
I can't help you with the builders, but I can with the school districts. The political organization of this area is something of a mess, and your confusion is very understandable.
Pennsylvania is organized into counties, like most states, with counties consisting of cities, townships and boroughs. It is these lower-level municipalities which provide functions such as police and fire services, road maintenance, snow removal, etc. Schools, however, are operated by school districts, which 'overlay' one or more municipalities and are operated by their own elected school boards. For example, North Hills School District serves Ross Township and the Borough of West View, North Allegheny serves Marshall and McCandless Townships and Bradford Woods and Franklin Park Boroughs, and Seneca Valley serves five townships and five boroughs.
Wexford is a geographic location and has its own ZIP code, but otherwise does not exist -- it has no government body of any sort, and I believe that most of it is in Franklin Park. Ditto neighboring Warrendale, which is another non-existent entity () which is primarily in Marshall Township.
Most of the school districts are jealously guarded empires which have the authority to run their schools pretty much however they want, which explains why they are all so different. Even the various grade levels differ. North Allegheny has elementary K-5, middle 6-8, intermediate high 9-10 and senior high 11-12. Seneca Valley has elementary K-4, middle 5-6, middle 7-8, intermediate high 9-10 and senior high 11-12. North Hills has K-6 elementary, 7-8 middle and 9-12 high school, and Hampton has elementary K-5, middle 6-8 and high 9-12.
Most of the northern school districts have half-day Kindergarten; the two exceptions I am aware of with full day are Avonworth and North Hills.
The northern regions, particularly in Butler County are the fastest growing in the area, but they are still not growing that fast, so crowding is generally not an issue. I would expect low 20s in elementary school classes, increasing to high 20s in high school. This can change quickly between schools (even in the same district) and grades, so you would need to look at a specific school and grade to be certain.
As for taxes, you will certainly get more bang for your buck in Butler County, and Seneca Valley and Mars (not to be confused with Moon, which is out by the airport) are solid school districts. Depending on the time and where you live, it would only add 10-15 minutes or so to a commute into Ross.
Finally, North Allegheny probably has the best reputation of all of these schools. That said, they are all very good schools, and the primary constraint will be on your focus and your childrens' ability -- none of these schools are lacking in resources.
Last edited by punctus_contra_punctum; 11-22-2016 at 10:51 PM..
Politically, I knew I was going to be an outsider in this area. It's a worry -- just in a more global sense to me of values, making friends, etc.
Global? Move to the Fox Chapel School District. Can't get more global than that area. It is very international and that is why I chose it. I have an international family and many languages are spoken here. Fox Chapel is chosen because it is close to CMU and PITT. PITT has teaching hospitals that attract international families and they move to Fox Chapel because of how close it is and how international it is. The further north you go the more isolated you are from a global way of thinking IMHO. I do think Sewickley is another option however, but the school won't be as international. Diversity in a racial sense isn't important of course if you are looking for a quality education. Good luck.
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) which is primarily in Marshall Township.
