Marshfield, Mount Vernon, or Willard (Springfield, Joplin: for sale, how much, new home)

[kiwiroad]

My family of 5 is considering a move to the Springfield area. My husband would be working in the north part of Springfield just off I44 at the BNSF rail yard. We would like to live in a small town within 30 minutes of his work. Finding a quality school is a top priority. We are coming from Colorado where Tabor has crippled school budgets and CSAP testing has dominated school curriculums. We are looking at Marshfield, Willard, and Mount Vernon. Any information about these school districts would be greatly appreciated. Do they have a broad curriculums with science, math, social studies, art, PE, etc.? Is per pupil spending adequate? Are advanced and below average students getting appropriate educations? Do the school boards approach MAP testing in a balanced way? Is enrollment declining?

Thanks

[MoMark]

Originally Posted by kiwiroad

My family of 5 is considering a move to the Springfield area. My husband would be working in the north part of Springfield just off I44 at the BNSF rail yard. We would like to live in a small town within 30 minutes of his work. Finding a quality school is a top priority. We are coming from Colorado where Tabor has crippled school budgets and CSAP testing has dominated school curriculums. We are looking at Marshfield, Willard, and Mount Vernon. Any information about these school districts would be greatly appreciated. Do they have a broad curriculums with science, math, social studies, art, PE, etc.? Is per pupil spending adequate? Are advanced and below average students getting appropriate educations? Do the school boards approach MAP testing in a balanced way? Is enrollment declining?

Thanks

Willard is the closest to Springfield and very easy to get to the yards. Marshfield has gorgeous land north of I-44, just beautiful rolling green hills with nice homes, but it's an 18 mile (if I remember correctly) drive which might get old after awhile, plus, I-44 is the major trucking and commerce route for southern Missouri, so traffic can be a booger.
I think Mt. Vernon is too far myself, but you never know!

[Jcoon]

Well, I have kids who attend Marshfield, honestly, I dont like the system here. I think its clickish, see how much time you can get off and send home a "sales" sheet with your kids every other month. I really have alot of negative feelings towards it but I'd rather not elaborate. Schools of choice from what I have seen who have programs that promote and have a staff of good teachers are the south side schools of Springfield, Willard and Republic.
As MoMark suggested, Willard is a good choice of small town...Mt. Vernon I say is way out their and mostly a Truck Stop Town. My house is up for sale in Marshfield....moving to Springfield.

[kiwiroad]

Thanks so much for the advise on schools, properties, and traffic. It will help me narrow my search. I checked on Willard's MAP test scores on greatschools.net and noticed a huge jump. Have they made resent changes to the district that would account for this?

Also noticed on another thread that Republic and Rogersville are good areas? Would commuting to the rail yards on I44 from either place be difficult?

Thanks Again

DeeLyn

[Ozarks21]

Republic would be an easy commute to the rail yards. Rogersville would be a little bit more of a drive, but still less than 30 minutes I would think.

[razzy]

Willard has great schools, and is the closest to Springfield. Thats probably your best bet, and its really not that close between the three towns.

[ae234]

Look into Strafford, located between Springfield and Marshfield. School funding seems strong, and class sizes are great.

[csb]

I can honestly say I believe Willard has a Fantastic School! I moved to Willard 24 years ago because of the school and I believe they work hard at keeping a quality education! But you can always look at the DESE Webite at http://dese.mo.gov/ to check out test scores, class sizes, and other valuable information. I would suggest visiting the 3 schools or at least contacting the counselor to set up a visit.

[kiwiroad]

Thanks all. I am utilizing all recomended web sites. Willard, Strafford,and Republic will be the first places we visit this summer .

I keep reading about Willard's music program. Is it as good as I read? If we buy a house in Willard should we try to live near a particular elementary school?

[msgolliver]

I am here to tell anyone who is looking to move to Mount Vernon, it is not mostly a Truck Stop town. It is a nice community to raise your children in or retire in. Many families have moved to Mount Vernon who comute to Springfield and Joplin. The schools are great. The High School is fairly new and they are building a new Middle School. The County Courthouse is in Mount Vernon for Lawrence County, and a new Judicial Center is being constructed starting in July 2007. The truck stop exit is soon to be revamped with a new exchange. There has been many new homes being built over the last few years. New restaurants and businesses opening all the time. So check it out. We moved here in 1999 from Oklahoma and checked out Springfield, Willard, Republic, Aurora and last but not least Mount Vernon.