Best areas for public Elementary/Middle schools (Portland, Beaverton: how much, neighborhoods)

[kaibosh]

Hello all!

My 3 children and I will be moving to Portland from Corvallis at the end of August and I would like to get some input about the public schools in Portland. I am a single mom and part time student.

I have been focusing on living north of Hwy 26 in the Oak Hills area (or even south of the 26 below the Oak Hills area) and any points East towards Portland, west of I-5.

I have done as much research as I can about schools in the area, and it seems the Beaverton School district has some really good schools, but I haven't heard as much good things about the Portland school district.

I would love to live closer in to the city, but think the Beaverton school district would be the better way to go. I have a 5 year old and a 10 year old, so I am looking at elementary and middle schools.

So my questions are these - is the area of Beaverton I am looking at close enough to Portland to feel like it's quick drive to the city? (I know Hwy 26 can be hell with traffic, but haven't lived it) Are there any opinions about Beaverton schools in that area?

Also, what are thoughts or experiences about public schools in Portland? I love the idea of living close to the city with my kids, but I haven't had any experience with my kids going to school in a bigger city. What are the decent public schools in Portland, and what are they like? Nice kids, or hoodlums? Too many kids for it to feel like they know you?

I would love to live in an area close to the city that feels like a suburb, but with the city a block or so away - but I don't know if the school system in the city is worth it. I would rather live on the outskirts if the school district is better there.

Thank you for any input you can give me!

[oldtintype]

The issue with Portland Public Schools is that the schools vary so much in terms of quality (or at least the numbers associated with quality). There are some great, excellent, good, poor and terrible schools within PPS. You can judge for yourself by reading reports, etc. on the PPS website. My child attends PPS and I've been happy with it as are many other people I know. However, if I was forced to send my child to some of the schools in the district that I didn't like, I'd probably be unhappy. So sending your kids to school in PPS doesn't have to be a bad thing, you just need to pay closer attention to what your neighborhood school will be. The "top" schools tend to be in the pricier neighborhoods but not exclusively and there are many good schools in more average neighborhoods as well. There are also charter schools, a lottery system, etc. My child is attending a "strong" (as opposed to "excellent" rating) school that is a special focus school and I think it's great. I think sometimes people get stuck on the rating system--thinking that unless the school gets an excellent rating, then it's bad. There are a lot of schools with a strong rating that are very good as well.

[TechmanOR]

PPS is interesting. It has one of the best and the worst state in the school. Jefferson High School, which got a state rating of Low to Unacceptable over eight years in a row and Lincoln HS which gets Strong/Exceptional consistently. They're both in the same district.

In Hillsboro SD, Jackson and Patterson Elementary is supposed to be really good and if you're in the "good part", you'll end up in Liberty or Glencoe. In bad parts, Hil-hi or Century.

[PDXmom]

Originally Posted by TechmanOR

PPS is interesting. It has one of the best and the worst state in the school. Jefferson High School, which got a state rating of Low to Unacceptable over eight years in a row and Lincoln HS which gets Strong/Exceptional consistently. They're both in the same district.

This can be explained by socio-economics. Lincoln has many more parents whom are college graduates. Test scores increase when your parents have money and are college graduates. Not as many Jefferson students have this luxury. There is only so much any district can do to make up for social inequalities. This is not unique to PPS. You will find this all over the country.

My oldest was at an elementary school in PPS (Llewellyn) before we moved to NC. We loved our PPS school and teachers. I hated how the state dealt w/ funding schools or lack there of. But our school community was amazing. There are many vocal, active parents involved in schools everyday in the PPS district. You just need to find the one that is the right fit for you. Also, keep in mind since Portland tends to be more expensive than Beaverton, schools in Portland are not experiencing the growth issues that Beaverton School District is. Having moved from an elementary school of 300 to an elementary school of 900, size can matter. Bigger is not always better.

If you do look at Llewellyn, the middle school is Sellwood. It's a good school too. Both feed into Cleveland High School, which I felt better about sending my kids to than our current high school in NC who always makes those US Top Rated High Schools reports.

Good luck finding a good fit for your family. Portland is a great city to raise a child in.

[kaibosh]

Thank you everyone for all of your input, I appreciate it so much.

I guess the difficult part is not knowing what each school is really like until you are in it, no matter how much research I do. I just hope that the school I end up choosing is one where my kids will feel comfortable, have good friends - and hopefully there will be art and music.

Thanks again all

[oldtintype]

If you want art and music check out Buckman and DaVinci Arts. Buckman is a neighborhood and a lottery school, Davinci is lottery only (it's a middle school, Buckman is an elementary).

[TechmanOR]

Another thing you can do is figure out what the school is for the place you contemplate moving to, then phone up the district office and get statistics of percentage of students on subsidized meal. It will get you a pretty good idea on demographics.

[PeacePlease]

By the way. From today's Oregonian, the new scores are out for OR schools..

Federal "No Child Left Behind" ratings 2008 - Oregon Schools Guide - The Oregonian - OregonLive.com

[kaibosh]

Thank you, great ideas and info - I hadn't see the Oregonian school info, it looks a bit sad for all of the middle schools for Beaverton!

[oldtintype]

Originally Posted by TechmanOR

Another thing you can do is figure out what the school is for the place you contemplate moving to, then phone up the district office and get statistics of percentage of students on subsidized meal. It will get you a pretty good idea on demographics.

I don't know about the other school districts but all of that info is on the PPS website school by school.