Which schools in Saint Charles area are the best? (St. Louis: houses, school districts)

[bmk95]

We are going to be relocating to the St. Louis area soon and have children in elementary school right now so schools are very important to us. My husband is going to be working in Bridgeton and we are trying to find an affordable place to live close to his work. So far for our price range (180's - 200's) Saint Charles area has more house for the price. Or from what I can tell so far.... I will also be looking for a job once we are there and if I have to commute to the city, I don't want a long drive. So I have been told that the best place in Saint Charles to live would be in Francis Howell or Fort Zumwalt area (because of hopping on I-70 or Page extension) but I'm not sure which school district is better then the other. And if one is better then the other, which elementary schools are top notch then..... Or if anyone knows of other areas that have good school districts with an easy commute, let me know. I know nothing about Missouri or the STL area at all but we want a safe, affordable area with lots of sports activities for our young boys, good schools and good re-sell if we move again. Thanks!

[aragx6]

Well here's the deal with the schools. There is no bad school in Zumwalt, Francis Howell or St. Charles, but there are varying degrees of good.

Typically speaking St. Charles schools are the least desirable of the three districts, but they would be the easiest on a commute to Bridgeton because of easy access to 70. St. Charles West and its feeder schools are more desirable than St. Charles, though just a couple of years ago St. Charles did a very nice renovation to their high school.

Francis Howell is typically considered to be the most desirable of the three districts (and property values there typically show that), though the test score differences between FH and Fort Zumwalt are pretty negligible for the most part.

Francis Howell North and FH Central are the most desirable, Francis Howell (the oldest) is somewhat less desirable (though in recent years the biggest and most expensive houses have been built out that way, so there is a dualism to the socioeconomic groups there these days)

Francis Howell as a district 10-20 years ago was growing by leaps and bounds (and as such taxes went up and a new school was built seemingly every year to deal with massive overcrowding) but they have since settled down and this has allowed to focus more on actually educating kids!

It seems these days Fort Zumwalt is where FH was back then- growing and stretched a bit thin. Their test scores are good but I wouldn't be surprised to see your kids get tossed around a bit as boundaries change and new schools are built- taxes may continue to increase as well, though I don't know enough about that to say that for sure.

I would think that, for the money, you can get more in FZ than FH, but the commute would certainly grow longer the farther west you move.

I grew up in the area and can answer anything else you are wondering about.

[Valerie C]

It's been a few years since I've livee in St. Charles County, and correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't Francis Howell a year-round/cycle district, while Fort Zumwalt is a traditional Fall ---> Spring school year? A logistical nightmare that I chose not to attempt in our short MO stay, but looking back on it, it makes alot of sense.....

If I knew then what I know now, I would probably have chosen to live in St. Peters instead of O'Fallon (Dardenne Prairie) where we lived. St. Peters (if I'm remembering correctly) is Fort Zumwalt, and has a GREAT Rec Plex (St. Peters, Missouri: REC-PLEX/Recreation) Now I'm back in New England, and sure do wish there was something like this in the area.

Anyway, enjoy your stay in Missouri Visit the wineries when you get a chance, cycle the "Katy Trail". Visit the Meremec Caverns--great fun the first few times. Visit the St. Louis City Museum many times, along with the Zoo, & the science museum. The Arch/museum, again, fun the first few times. While I'm happy to be back in New England where I belong there are a great many things about Missouri that I do miss!

[aragx6]

Francis Howell's elementary schools are year round (nine weeks on, three weeks off) but the middle and high schools run on a normal schedule - it would be hard to make the upper grades work on the schedule because of after school activities and sports.

I adored it as an elementary school student there - those little breaks were marvelous.

St. Peters is split between FZ and FH - the older parts of St. Peters along much of Hwy 94 is all FH.