Newer suburban life with subdivisions, chain restaurants, etc? (St. Louis, Chesterfield: apartment, homes)

[TGS]

I do agree with the idea that you seem to be suited to the outer suburbs. However, I would like to point you towards some resources you may not be aware of.

You mentioned that the city Catholic schools are behind the times in dealing with kids with special needs. That is true of some schools and not with others. My child's city Catholic school has a number of kids with special needs. Some have transferred from county school districts where they were struggling, and seem to be doing better. They are probably never going to be A students, but they aren't bullied and and can get help from the learning consultants and Title 1 classes. The school also does a good job with gifted students, which is not true of many Catholic schools.

The Archdiocese also has special classrooms in some schools for kids with learning disabilities where mainstreaming all day isn't the best course of action. The kids are mainstreamed for part of the day and in a special classroom for the rest of the day. I don't anyone who has used those programs, but they are there.

There is also one school, Annunziata in Ladue, that is only for kids with learning disabilities. Some older siblings of one of my daughter's friends transferred there, and they made remarkable improvements after struggling in private and public schools. It is an ungraded environment with a low teacher/student ratio. I have heard nothing but positive reviews of this school.

You are certainly better of trying a public school first, because private schools can get expensive. However, keep Annunziata in mind if they don't work out. Since public schools have a very difficult time kicking kids out, there are sometimes some problems with kids in special needs programs being abusive to the other students and there isn't much the school can do to remove the troublemaker.

Also, you mentioned St. Louis Hills. I know a lot of families in that neighborhood. Their kids are always out playing in Francis Park and riding their bikes, usually unsupervised. My kid was out there with one of her friends this weekend, in fact. Drive around the park any evening in the spring/summer around 6 p.m. and you will see a lot of kids out playing. I live in Tower Grove South, and our neighbors often block off the alley and the little kids will ride their bikes up and down the alley while the older kids are supervising and shooting hoops on the numerous basketball nets set up along the alleyway. Living in an urban area certainly don't preclude having kids be kids and playing outside. You just need to pick an area with a lot of young families, like St. Louis Hills or Southampton.

Good luck!

[CellarBelle]

Originally Posted by finzup2

... We need to be able to have a strong system in place that we can work with. ...

Do check out the Illinois side if you are willing to commute. I live in Edwardsville, and our schools are great. I love the community, and there is a nice mix of older and many newer subdivisions. My kids ride in the cul-de-sac with their friends, and we have a large backyard where they all play baseball (when we don't have this crazy weather ). I have a lot of posts about Ed/Glen Carbon out here, so just look them up. You will find I'm a big fan.

On the Missouri side, I love Chesterfield and St. Peters. They are quite a bit busier than over here, but lots of nice areas.

Good Luck!

[jlawrence01]

Originally Posted by CellarBelle

Do check out the Illinois side if you are willing to commute. I live in Edwardsville, and our schools are great. I love the community, and there is a nice mix of older and many newer subdivisions. My kids ride in the cul-de-sac with their friends, and we have a large backyard where they all play baseball (when we don't have this crazy weather ). I have a lot of posts about Ed/Glen Carbon out here, so just look them up. You will find I'm a big fan. !

I was never all that impressed with the Illinois side of the metro area as most of my work was in East St. Louis. However, once I started taking a summer class at SIUE, I really developed an interest in Edwardsville as a place to live. It is really a great place and the campus provides a lot of cultural opportunities.

[Fishtacos]

Originally Posted by jlawrence01

I was never all that impressed with the Illinois side of the metro area as most of my work was in East St. Louis. However, once I started taking a summer class at SIUE, I really developed an interest in Edwardsville as a place to live. It is really a great place and the campus provides a lot of cultural opportunities.

It's unfortunate you labeled a lot of areas based on your opinion of one.

[AJohnston_STL]

Originally Posted by jlawrence01

Why such hostility? Doesn't the OP have the same right to choose where they want to live?

As much as I like "urban" and lived in the city for years, there is no way in heck that I would raise small children in the city, largely due to a mediocre public school system.

Apparntly you missed the part where I said "URBAN SUBURB." Kirkwood, Webstr Groves, Affton, Maplewood, Clayton, Richmond Heights...should I go on or is that good enough for you?

Sorry, but I think the OP expected to elicit some level of response like this when he/she wrote "I like chain restaurants, big box stores and SUVs."

I probably should have just hung up the ol' "Do not feed the troll" sign

[AJohnston_STL]

I was at DeMun park not quite but almost at Clayton Rd/DeMun in Clayton the other day and thought..."How could anyone actually prefer living so far out in one of the surrounding counties?"

I can totally understand wanting to be suburban, especially because of the schooling issue. I'm no longer the city snob I used to be. But O'Fallon MO or Chesterfield? Barf.

[MoNative34]

Nothing irritates a hipster more than the word "suburb"...

[finzup2]

Originally Posted by AJohnston_STL

Apparntly you missed the part where I said "URBAN SUBURB." Kirkwood, Webstr Groves, Affton, Maplewood, Clayton, Richmond Heights...should I go on or is that good enough for you?

Sorry, but I think the OP expected to elicit some level of response like this when he/she wrote "I like chain restaurants, big box stores and SUVs."

I probably should have just hung up the ol' "Do not feed the troll" sign

Gosh, sorry... didn't know that admitting I like modern lifestyles would have me labeled a troll.

Obviously, given the rise of suburban life, including chains (Cheesecake Factory..yummy!, Target, and SUVs, I"m not alone!). Sorry if that doesn't gel with your reality. I have kids and like suburban life for them. In my single or childless days, I would have made different choices. If that makes me a troll, I guess your just a judgmental jerk!

[finzup2]

Originally Posted by TGS

I do agree with the idea that you seem to be suited to the outer suburbs. However, I would like to point you towards some resources you may not be aware of.

You mentioned that the city Catholic schools are behind the times in dealing with kids with special needs. That is true of some schools and not with others. My child's city Catholic school has a number of kids with special needs. Some have transferred from county school districts where they were struggling, and seem to be doing better. They are probably never going to be A students, but they aren't bullied and and can get help from the learning consultants and Title 1 classes. The school also does a good job with gifted students, which is not true of many Catholic schools.

The Archdiocese also has special classrooms in some schools for kids with learning disabilities where mainstreaming all day isn't the best course of action. The kids are mainstreamed for part of the day and in a special classroom for the rest of the day. I don't anyone who has used those programs, but they are there.

There is also one school, Annunziata in Ladue, that is only for kids with learning disabilities. Some older siblings of one of my daughter's friends transferred there, and they made remarkable improvements after struggling in private and public schools. It is an ungraded environment with a low teacher/student ratio. I have heard nothing but positive reviews of this school.

You are certainly better of trying a public school first, because private schools can get expensive. However, keep Annunziata in mind if they don't work out. Since public schools have a very difficult time kicking kids out, there are sometimes some problems with kids in special needs programs being abusive to the other students and there isn't much the school can do to remove the troublemaker.

Also, you mentioned St. Louis Hills. I know a lot of families in that neighborhood. Their kids are always out playing in Francis Park and riding their bikes, usually unsupervised. My kid was out there with one of her friends this weekend, in fact. Drive around the park any evening in the spring/summer around 6 p.m. and you will see a lot of kids out playing. I live in Tower Grove South, and our neighbors often block off the alley and the little kids will ride their bikes up and down the alley while the older kids are supervising and shooting hoops on the numerous basketball nets set up along the alleyway. Living in an urban area certainly don't preclude having kids be kids and playing outside. You just need to pick an area with a lot of young families, like St. Louis Hills or Southampton.

Good luck!

Thanks, can you pm me the name of the inclusive Catholic school? Separate special education doesn't work for my kiddo :-). We need full inclusion with accommodations. I will certainly check out TGS and SLH when we visit next month. In my head, they just seem like Wrigleyville to me... but I"ll certainly look! Thank you

[loki03xlh]

Originally Posted by jlawrence01

I was never all that impressed with the Illinois side of the metro area as most of my work was in East St. Louis. However, once I started taking a summer class at SIUE, I really developed an interest in Edwardsville as a place to live. It is really a great place and the campus provides a lot of cultural opportunities.

Equating Illinois to East St. Louis is like saying all of Missouri is like north St. Louis city.