Utah County high school (Provo, Orem: house, neighborhoods, high schools)

[snomom2000]

Okay, so I don't care about LDS/non-LDS population here. I'm concerned with academics.

If you had a choice, which one would you choose?

Pleasant Grove HS
Lehi HS
American Fork HS

Have I forgotten one within 30 minutes of Micron?

Thanks

[coolcats]

You might consider some of the schools in the Granite or Jordan districts, as well as the Orem or Provo schools, which could be within your 30 minute limit. My kids are not of that age, so I don't know much about high schools yet.

[snomom2000]

Thanks. Maybe a better question is-are there any high schools with really bad reputations for poor academics, drugs, gangs, etc.?

I really don't think anything is going to be worse than where we are coming from, but I'd feel like an idiot if I didn't at least check into it!
Thanks!

[coolcats]

West High and Granger High in Salt Lake Valley have the worst reputations I know of. Those are probably out of your commuting range anyway. Don't know about Utah Valley.

[snomom2000]

Thanks. Salt Lake isn't an option for us anyway. We're small town people;get claustrophobic in the city!

[coolcats]

Well just so you know -- the whole area around Lehi is booming. I wouldn't consider it a small town.

[snomom2000]

Thanks. There is a horse property near Spanish Fork that we're going to look at when we get there. Any input on that area?

[coolcats]

I work with a guy who commutes to downtown SLC from Payson, which is adjacent to Spanish Fork. He likes it there so much that he is willing to drive 60 miles one way to stay at his out. He is always complaining about the traffic though, which seems bad down there from what I hear on the radio. Other than that, I am not too familiar with that area.

[chazcrew]

Pleasant Grove and American Fork high schools both have good reputations. American Fork has one of the best marching bands in the state, if that's your thing. Excellent music program. There is also Lone Peak High School, in Highland (takes some kids from Highland, Cedar Hills, Alpine, and I think some from American Fork). It's a very good school. I don't know much about Lehi HS. In the past it's been known as the small town cowboy school, but Lehi has exploded since then, and I suspect the school is just as good as any other in the area. I will say one thing, if you're thinking of looking south around Spanish Fork: I have heard a lot of bad things (drugs being a main one) about Springville HS, both from my nieces/nephews who went there, and from my neighbor who used to teach there. I'm sure it has its good and bad like anywhere else, but I'd be a little wary of Springville for that reason. I don't know about Spanish Fork HS. If you're in the Orem/Provo area, Timpanogos and Timpview are both excellent schools. Mountain View and Orem high schools are a mixed bag. Provo HS has lots of problems, not the least of them being gangs. But it also turns out some good kids, so take all this with a grain of salt.

The drive from Spanish Fork could be yucky, since one of the most congested stretches of freeway in the entire state is a stretch of I-15 that you would be traveling to get to Lehi for work. But Spanish also has slightly better housing prices, and still has a bit of a rural feel, which sounds like something you'd like. It's growing a lot, but it's still somewhat untouched.

If I had to choose a high school...well I did choose one. I chose Lone Peak, because it's a good school and the house we found was in its boundaries. But I would have been equally happy with Pleasant Grove or American Fork.

[shanenlori]

I grew up outside of Payson at the base of the mountain, on 5 acres. It was nice to not have neighbors in your back yard. It was very quite too. We had deer that would come down every night and graze in our yard.

Spanish Fork is about 15 minutes north of Payson. Spanis Fork is very windy because it is at the bottom of the canyon. Living at that end of the valley you just get used to commuting. The commute time to Lehi would be about 30 minutes non-rush hr and about an hour at rush hour, give or take. Outside of the neighborhoods, on horse property, it can feel very rural. If you can handle the commute that go for it. I think Spanish Fork HS is OK, but I havn't been around for a while to know what is going on and the extent of the drug problem another poster mentioned.