We are moving to the Walla Walla, Wa area and need info please! (Olympia: renting, high crime)

[thehelferfamily]

Hello all,

I've been searching the forums for a few days for info about Walla Walla. My husband is FINALLY retiring from the military after 20 years and we are moving to Walla Walla. He has accepted a job offer, but I'm starting to get nervous about the local schools. We are in MI right now and our girls attend an AWESOME charter Montessori school. There are no Montessori schools in WW that I can find, so we are thinking we may have to do private school. Can anyone share any thoughts on WW public schools, specifically elementary? We will have 3rd, 2nd, and PK students. Also any specific areas in WW to steer clear of as far as renting a home. My husband was born and raised in WW, however he's been gone for 20 years so I'm sure things have changed quite a bit. Thanks in advance for your help!

Heather

[j_k_k]

Wally's probably gotten quainter since your husband's Blue Devil days. I don't know of any areas one would consider bad; it's just not that big a place, nor does it have high crime. It has the largest collection of criminals in Washington outside Olympia, of course, including a functional gallows to hang them with, but the state really does try very hard to keep all those locked up.

[509]

Originally Posted by thehelferfamily

Hello all,

I've been searching the forums for a few days for info about Walla Walla. My husband is FINALLY retiring from the military after 20 years and we are moving to Walla Walla. He has accepted a job offer, but I'm starting to get nervous about the local schools. We are in MI right now and our girls attend an AWESOME charter Montessori school. There are no Montessori schools in WW that I can find, so we are thinking we may have to do private school. Can anyone share any thoughts on WW public schools, specifically elementary? We will have 3rd, 2nd, and PK students. Also any specific areas in WW to steer clear of as far as renting a home. My husband was born and raised in WW, however he's been gone for 20 years so I'm sure things have changed quite a bit. Thanks in advance for your help!

Heather

My daughter swam against the Blue Devils. She said they were a class act. I went to Walla Walla on business and it was on my short list on places to retire.

It is a great community.

Remember that private schools operate when public schools fail. I don't know, but maybe Walla Walla is not there.

Don't hold it against your husband that he was born lucky!

[thehelferfamily]

Thanks so much for the replies and humor My husband is VERY excited about returning to his home town. I'm a city girl so I know there will be adjustments, but we are in a smaller town right now in MI. I've read several posts that say to stay away from Blue Ridge Elementary, but haven't heard any negative about the others. Any additional feedback regarding the schools would be great.

[j_k_k]

All I can say about schools there is this. My life experience is that schools tend to reflect their communities. If your community is full of stupid lumberjacks and their families who worship ignorance, for example, you will get a high school like mine where the ignorance is reflected. If your community is deeply religious, the schools will in some way reflect that as well. If it's violent, for example ridden with gang problems, so will the schools be also.

Therefore: I am guessing that the worst school in Wally is probably kind of like the worst player on the varsity--that same player still made the varsity to begin with. I have never heard of anything in Walla Walla that would make any of its schools equate to any of the problems really bad schools in very large and very small towns have. While it's right and good for you to care about your child's schooling, I don't think you'll find any disaster areas to avoid. Maybe some a notch above, some a notch below.

[509]

Originally Posted by thehelferfamily

Thanks so much for the replies and humor My husband is VERY excited about returning to his home town. I'm a city girl so I know there will be adjustments, but we are in a smaller town right now in MI. I've read several posts that say to stay away from Blue Ridge Elementary, but haven't heard any negative about the others. Any additional feedback regarding the schools would be great.

Washington State Report Card

The above is the summary for Walla Walla school district. Look at the district site and check their WASL scores. That was a tough test...so tough the state dropped the requirement.

Call and talk to the principals now.

Then visit the schools when you get there. If you are willing to drive your kid you can send them to another school if there is room.

[marlisk]

My family and I are also moving to Walla Walla in the next few months, so I have been combing this site for some time now, ever since my husband applied for the job he was just offered a few days ago. We have a 10yo and a 1.5 yo. Our 10yo is in a private school in the very small town where we currently live. In addition to the fact that I teach music there, we love it and he loves it, so it's hard to leave. In all the research I've done on Walla Walla, I must say that most people I talk to say the public schools are even better than the private schools. It's true that if you visit greatschools.com, they are quite average in their scores, but that is greatly based on standardized testing, something in which I personally don't place ALL of my faith as a reliable evaluator in and of itself. Most importantly, during our visit there I was quite impressed with what seems like the large amount of money the community places in its schools. It seemed most of them had undergone multi-million$ renovations, and I think this reflects well on the community. However, I too would be most interested in hearing from locals as to more specifics. Though it is a small town, I am coming from an even smaller town, on an island no less, and would love to hear some more of the inside scoop as to neighborhoods and specific schools. We are VERY excited about moving to Walla Walla. Some on this site have expressed that it is cliquish there, but on our visits people have been so very friendly!

[Todd.LA]

I went to college in Walla Walla, and I definitely got the impression that the best schools in town were the public schools. All of the professors I knew sent their kids to the public schools--and not because they could not afford the private schools. All of the private schools are religiously affiliated (Catholic, Seventh Day Adventist, or evangelical Christian), so unless you have a strong preference for a religiously affiliated school, you're probably better off going public.

[thehelferfamily]

Just posted a reply but it must have been lost Thanks for all of the info so far. We are excited about heading out west and are looking forward to milder winters. I appreciated the info about the public schools. I think we have narrowed down our choice to the Prospect Point elementary school area. We've heard great things about this school from locals and parents. Any other info about Walla Walla in general would also be great! Thanks!

[marlisk]

We are headed over in the next few weeks to look for homes. I would love to know what you learned about the public schools in your research with localks, particularly Prospect Point. Good luck to you!