Webster or Brighton (Rochester, Penfield, Monroe: houses, buy, best schools)

[mommytomay]

We are looking to purchase a home (have it narrowed down to a couple houses), most likely in Webster (Elementary-Plank Rd South, Middle-Spry, High-Schroeder) or Brighton. Our daughter is an infant but I would like to get some opinions on both school systems. I know about the test score based rankings, I'm looking for the opinions of people that have kids in these schools and what they think. Thank you in advance for any advice!!!

[Rock City]

*sigh* I don't know the state of things over at Plank South these days, but in the '90s, the bullying and snottiness of that school was completely out of hand. My guess is its location near the Penfield border. My mother told me, though, she heard a rumor that the current principal doesn't play that. But who knows. Otherwise, Webster schools are awesome, especially if your kid will be into music, art or sports. It's got all those things in droves.

I have no idea what it's actually like to attend or even be inside Brighton schools, but they easily beat any public school district in Monroe county and probably much of NY state. As a town, I know it's more urban, but in a very nice, upscale sort of way. There is a very large Jewish presence, if you care about that sort of thing. They offer Russian as a language. That's about as much as I know. My thinking is getting a house in Brighton will be quite a lot more money than Webster, unless you're going for one of those fancier tracks in Penfield near the border. Of course those houses will be much larger, though.

[NYMD67]

My family lives in Webster (on that "border" ) spoken of above.... their children go to Plank South and have nothing but positives to say about the school...
I went to school in Webster, not elementary though, can't speak about the "bullying" which is really not tolerated anywhere these days, or as you are probably aware, certainly there is more being done to try to put an end to that....

Webster has grown a lot over the years and yes,there are probably more of those "McMansion" developments, but overall, it is a nice place to live!

[robynkf]

Brighton has better schools than Webster; Webster has better sports teams. Webster is further out and it can be difficult to get anywhere without a big traffic jam (which is frequently the case on 104 and Empire Blvds, both of which are the main routes from Webster to the rest of Rochester). Pittsford has the best schools in the area; Brighton's not far behind. You'll get more land for the money in Webster. Brighton is more cospolitan and attracts an upscale multicultural population primarily due to its proximity to Strong Hospital and the University of Rochester. Really just depends on what your priorities are.

[dtronol]

Brighton schools are better than Webster, but both are great. Thomas is better than Schroeder, so look into that too.

You will find more newer homes in Webster, and will get more for your money. The property taxes are also slightly less in Webster. There is great shopping and lots of things to do in the community as well.

Brighton is definitely known as a well-off area in Greater Rochester. You can also buy a house in certain parts of Rochester and still be in the Brighton SD. As a previous poster said, there is a high Jewish concentration in this town. It is very hard to find a home less than 10-15 years old in Brighton.