Want to move from Renton to Issaquah schools- do it now or wait? (Seattle: sale, 2009)

[seamama]

We currently live in Renton and our 5 yr. old starts Kindergarten in the Fall at Bryn Mawr. Everyone I talk to has great things to say about it but the school's WASL scores are horrible. I know that #s aren't everything but I'm not feeling great about it. Plus, unless boundary lines get redrawn, it also puts us at Dimmit and Renton High down the road (also not great, as far as I can tell). So now we're talking about moving. Of course no one can predict the future but we're just trying to evaluate whether we should try and sell our house now and buy something in a part of Renton that's in the Issaquah school district or wait a few more years? Would love to live in Issaquah itself but I think we'd barely make enough off the sale of the current house to eek into something in Renton that's in Issaquah schools. As it is, we've already agreed we're willing to accept we'll have to live in an older house (we're currently in new construction) and probably on septic (as are most homes in the Briarwood area)... I guess I'm just looking for (1) personal experiences w/ Bryn Mawr (not just info about their reputation but first-hand knowledge of what it's like there), and (2) opinions on whether it's better to move now or wait until house prices go up and we can get more for the sale of our house, figuring that the Renton Elemetary schools aren't THAT bad and we can just plan to move by Middle School... Thanks.

[70Ford]

Bill Gates thinks we are due for a recovery in 4 years. If that makes any difference. Incidently, that rhymes with my own assessment of when I'm gonna buy...in 2012.

BBC NEWS | Special Reports | Davos World Economic Forum 2009 | Gates: Four years till recovery

Issaquah does have great schools. <--- I live there. I have grade school age kids. My rent is 1460 a month.

[seamama]

Thanks for your post. Yeah, I'm really torn. Issaquah schools look good on paper but a teacher friend of mine was giving me a hard time for writing-off Renton schools just b/c of their WASL scores. I guess I'm just not sure if I should be trying to sell a house and buy another one now or wait... if we wait, we'll get more on the sale of this house but then the ones we want to buy will cost more too... At least if we do it now, we can maybe get a really good rate. I have this feeling like maybe Congress is going to do something more (besides that $7,500 tax credit, which we wouldn't qualify for since we own a home already right now) to make buying even more attractive for folks...

[drewba]

We have a son in elementary school in the Kent school district and another two years away and we're in much the same boat. While our experience hasn't been bad, the educational activities don't compare to what friends in the Tahoma or Issaquah school districts experience. Commute time is a factor, but the quality of the schools is the main reason that we're even considering moving to Issaquah.

One thing that really works in the favor of moving now is that your child hasn't made friends and gotten settled into Bryn Mawr; they are going to a new school in the fall no matter what. Our elder son is putting up significant resistance to the idea of moving because he has all his friends and knows his school. If moving is best for the family, we'll do it anyway, but the kids not wanting to move certainly makes things harder.

[Ira500]

I've heard great things about the Bryn Mawr Elementary school, and not such good things about Dimmitt...I live down the hill from Dimmitt on the other side of Renton Ave....Right now house prices in our area are especially low compared to other neighborhoods, probably because everything near Skyway has that " taint", but there's a lot of recent neighborhood/community activity to improve the area and that should help...
So, what would I do? I'd probably have my child go to Bryn Mawr. I know parents of Bryn Mawr kids who are happy there and claim that there is a fair amount of parental involvement, and that test scores don't always tell the whole story...But,
In a few years, you might want to find something else in Renton either in the Issaquah school district or the Tahoma ( Maple Valley) district, as there are parts of Renton in that district and that's a school district at least as good as Issaquah's...

[newcastle12]

I would say do it now. It will just be more of a headache to move when your kids have already completed a year or two. I’m 21 now, and my family lived in Renton before we moved to Issaquah for the same reasons. Though it was a long time ago, I’m glad my parents made the switch. We moved from Renton hill back in 1990 to South Issaquah (May valley area). I went to Maple Hills Elementary, Maywood Middle and Liberty for high school. I couldn't have asked for a better education. Maple hills is a very, VERY, community driven school....I absolutley loved every part of my childhood education. The building is so inviting, and has a lot of tradition and history. I know that they are planning on Rebuilding Briarwood Elementary by 2012...with a brand new school. Newcastle elementary is brand new as well. Maywood will be recieving a remodel beginning next year, as well as Liberty...so Your kids will have new facilites. I also know that Issaquah High School and Skyline are also recieving major renovations. Liberty high school is what you make of it...and Liberty can offer your kids the best. Last year, the school won 1st place in the most spirited high school in washington. In 1999, it recieved the national blue ribbon award, and its WASL scores are far and above neighboring areas. You can find some new construction that is a bit cheaper in the east Renton highlands....that is still in the Issaquah SD. If you look at Wikipedia, there is a list of neighborhoods that are in the Liberty attendance area, see here... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberty_Senior_High_School and here is a specific map, http://www.issaquah.wednet.edu/docum...ps/Liberty.pdf I would be cautious though of where you buy within the district. Depending on what kind of school you like. There are places within each high school of the ISD that believe they are far and above everyone else. From my experience, it becomes a bit of annoyance, so choose your neighborhood wisely.

[CoastieTX]

Can I suggest something, even if I have to use some anecdotes?

When my three siblings and I were being raised, my family moved four times. Sometimes, we moved to a better school district, sometimes, we didn't. Tucson's schools were terrible, Spokane's (Mead, where I graduated) were decent.

All four of us hold at least a Bachelor's degree, are drug free, never been arrested, and are self sufficient and doing very well for ourselves. This was accomplished despite the fact we attended some seriously awful schools for quite a while. I'd go so far as to say it toughened us up and we learned to handle adversity.

I have to give credit where it's due - my parents did a wonderful job raising us. Do not underestimate your role as a parent in your child's education - the schooling aspect itself won't determine your child's successfulness. Plenty of top-notch schools produce their fair share of duds.

I'm not suggesting you're a bad parent or trying to tell you how to raise your kids. It just seems to me that you're risking quite a lot with this potential move for the sole purpose of living in a better school district and you may have high expectations that this will guarantee your child's success. If the district you're already in is deficient in some way, do you think better and more involved parenting can make up for it? I do.

My little sister began her teaching career at a very highly regarded school in Raleigh - a school into which people couldn't enroll their kids fast enough. Well, you should hear what she has to say about that school and what a joke its politics, administrators and ratings were. To this day, she shakes her head in disbelief when she talks about it.

[seamama]

I just wrote a long reply but hadn't logged in and the system didn't keep it- ugh! This post will consequently be shorter... sorry! Thanks to everyone for your thoughtful comments. drewba and Ira500- We've been thinking both of these things... that it's easier to just move now if we're going to move but also that it wouldn't be harmful to start at Bryn Mawr and then switch before middle school. Also, b/c the Skyway area is changing, maybe Dimmit will be better by then? In any case, at least if we moved now, we could get a good interest rate! newcastle12- Thanks for those links. I've been feeling like a detective trying to figure out which addresses put you in which schools so I appreciate that. Would also love to hear more about your comment relating to some high schools being more snobby...? CoastieTX- Yes, this is just what my hubby's been saying. That our kids will be fine no matter where they go b/c we'll be involved. And a teacher friend has been saying that even schools that look good on paper may not actually be so great behind the scenes. It's so hard to get these kind of details before you actually get there. Thanks everyone, please feel free to keep the comments coming!

[texastrigirl]

There are no guarantees for your child's success no matter how good the school district is. But I personally feel like the ODDS for success may be higher in a proven school district...so we tried to find the best schools we could afford in our price range. We based that on test scores (only because that is easily disseminated information) and word of mouth from people we trusted who grew up in the Seattle area and could say that the school district we chose (Issaquah) was highly regarded and gave students a good foundation to go on to a higher education. There are others rated higher than Issaquah (Mercer, Bellevue, Bainbridge) but we feel Issaquah has been a great district so far in our limited experience.

[Heiwos]

seamama, one possibility: sell now at a market price (low, but higher than it likely will become), rent near Lake Kathleen / Maple Hills Elementary, if there is anything to rent there, and then buy there later. I've spent some time in that neighborhood and think it's a great value relative to other places. IMHO an older house (1970s or earlier) is worth 2 of new construction.