schools north westchester comparison Yorktown heights somers, katonah lewisboro (Scarsdale: new house, buying)
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Hi thanks for your reply
I lived in Florida ..it was super easy to get A's as what they taught in 5th grade is what is taught in 3rd grade in London or even NY then I moved to NJ here 8th grade projects are what other schools don't do till high school. My friend in Trenton...I saw what they do in math in 6th grade and it is honestly what Princeton covered in 4th grade.
Because we move so much I guess I see the differences.
It sounds like Yorktown is teaching to a high standard. That is all I need
Here in Pinceton there there is a huge disparity. Parents that pressure kids at home (mostly indian /asian descent) have super high scores. Kids that simply follow what the school is teaching without supplemented education have super low scores.
Our school district is rated super high, the school is not doing a great job teaching but the parents ARE.
Your replies really really help though
Seems like if your kids work hard and smart in Yorktown they will get good grades.
In some of the Florida schools you can be the smartest kid in class but they just don't teach to a very high level, there I did move my kids to private school and it was a game changer.
NY and NJ in general seem to have a great education level.
Thank you!!
Well, the only part of your post I think I can comment on is
"Parents that pressure kids at home (mostly indian /asian descent) have super high scores. Kids that simply follow what the school is teaching without supplemented education have super low scores."
this is true in the most expensive private school and the best rated public school. It is 100% up to the kids. Certainly kids have limits, but plenty of incredibly smart kids are content to get Bs, and plenty of driven kids work their ass off to get Bs. While in elementary school you can control your kids, if you think you can control your kids in high school, boy do I have a bridge to sell you. If you think pressure on a high school kid in NY is going to have any impact, please do not. It simply will have no impact whatsoever. I tend to think that kids develop work habits mostly on their own and we parents have little to no impact on it, but that is just me. Plenty think parents have a huge impact on drive and ambition. Good luck to you. For the record, I would personally put Yorktown below Somers and Lakeland school districts in terms of where I would want to actually live, but that is just my opinion. I think the schools are honestly about equal.
Well, the only part of your post I think I can comment on is
"Parents that pressure kids at home (mostly indian /asian descent) have super high scores. Kids that simply follow what the school is teaching without supplemented education have super low scores."
this is true in the most expensive private school and the best rated public school. It is 100% up to the kids. Certainly kids have limits, but plenty of incredibly smart kids are content to get Bs, and plenty of driven kids work their ass off to get Bs. While in elementary school you can control your kids, if you think you can control your kids in high school, boy do I have a bridge to sell you. If you think pressure on a high school kid in NY is going to have any impact, please do not. It simply will have no impact whatsoever. I tend to think that kids develop work habits mostly on their own and we parents have little to no impact on it, but that is just me. Plenty think parents have a huge impact on drive and ambition. Good luck to you. For the record, I would personally put Yorktown below Somers and Lakeland school districts in terms of where I would want to actually live, but that is just my opinion. I think the schools are honestly about equal.
yeah that makes sense
Maybe its the demographic that drives the pressure on the kids.
I just want them to have the opportunity that is all.
So are you in Yorktown in terms of school district then?
Thanks for that ranking.
I take it over a parent anytime than from greatschools or US news
Here in Pinceton there there is a huge disparity. Parents that pressure kids at home (mostly indian /asian descent) have super high scores. Kids that simply follow what the school is teaching without supplemented education have super low scores.
Our school district is rated super high, the school is not doing a great job teaching but the parents ARE.
It's the same everywhere. In Westchester, the valedictorians are Asian. Additionally, the wealthy parents outspend middle class parents on tutoring, enrichment programs and summer camps. Unfortunately, I think the kids that simply follow the school without supplemented education will have a harder time anywhere.
I supplemented my kids' education with a focus on liberal arts (English & History). It was not the math tutoring that Asian/Indian families do, but it was pretty darn focused.
The difference between NY & NJ are the NY Regent Exams. Regardless of location, Buffalo, Staten Island or Chappaqua NY, every student takes the same Regents exams. In some regards, teachers focus/teach to the exam. It produces a more even outcome between schools.
Somers might be better, Yorktown & Lakeland are about the same. OTOH, Somers, Yorktown & Lakeland are sporty schools. A lot of focus on Lacrosse and other team sports. If your kids are smart and sporty, it's great. If your kids have average grade, but are sporty - they will do fine. A non-sporty kid might feel out of place.
So much of a successful education is out of your control. I moved into a great school system in Massachusetts. Unfortunately, the grammar school principal retired and his awful replacement affected the level of education. As a result, I moved my kids to the local parochial school. In second grade, my daughter's teacher died within the first month. After a couple of substitute teachers, the school hired a teacher. Without warning, she left the job. The entire class was hysterical. There were more substitute teachers. In terms of education, it was a wasted year. You can try to choose wisely, but you really don't have control.
Last edited by YorktownGal; 11-27-2022 at 12:00 PM..
It's the same everywhere. In Westchester, the valedictorians are Asian. Additionally, the wealthy parents outspend middle class parents on tutoring, enrichment programs and summer camps. Unfortunately, I think the kids that simply follow the school without supplemented education will have a harder time anywhere.
I supplemented my kids' education with a focus on liberal arts (English & History). It was not the math tutoring that Asian/Indian families do, but it was pretty darn focused.
The difference between NY & NJ are the NY Regent Exams. Regardless of location, Buffalo, Staten Island or Chappaqua NY, every student takes the same Regents exams. In some regards, teachers focus/teach to the exam. It produces a more even outcome between schools.
Somers, Yorktown & Lakeland are sporty schools. A lot of focus on Lacrosse and other team sports. If your kids are smart and sporty, it's great. If your kid has average grade, but is sporty - they will do fine. A non-sporty kid might feel out of place.
My younger one is in to sports and really good grades. older one is not great in sports she has a heart condition...thats strange that just because you are not in to sports you would feel out of place.
Schools seem lovely in most north Westchester towns so maybe we will just have the special ed placements and a nice house decide in the end.
Thanks
Oh by the way i have a 10 year old autistic child too
Great thank you
How is Katonah different?
Better education, more pressure? Less diverse?
Could you shed some light on it please?
Somers traditionally had a more mixed blue collar italian American conservative backbone compared to the surrounding towns of Katonah, Bedford, north salem, pound ridge, chappaqua etc. As mentioned earlier sports was really emphasized almost to the point where it was more valued over educational achievement. Katonah school district traditionally has had a much more “gentleman farmer†feel to it.
My younger one is in to sports and really good grades. older one is not great in sports she has a heart condition...thats strange that just because you are not in to sports you would feel out of place.
Schools seem lovely in most north Westchester towns so maybe we will just have the special ed placements and a nice house decide in the end.
Thanks
Oh by the way i have a 10 year old autistic child too
The pressure on sports is harder for boys than girls.
If you are commuting to NYC, a big factor will be your distance from a train station. The road from Croton-Harmon to downtown Yorktown is dark and winding. It's not a road to travel in bad weather. It was easier to use the Katonah station with less scheduled than Croton-Harmon.
From what I understand, the taxes are lower in Somers. The taxes are all over the place for Yorktown. A friend's house was larger than mine but her taxes were half of mine. I think it depends on when the house was built. I don't know how often houses are reaccessed. Dr. Strangelove might have more info on this.
I looked at US News Best High Schools (which is entertaining when your kids are grown and schools are no longer an issue). Yorktown is rated higher, Lakeland is next, Somers is rated much lower. https://www.usnews.com/education/bes...-york/rankings
Look into Croton-on-Hudson too. Millwood has a lower priced houses from time to time & parts are zoned for Chappagua schools.
From someone who's exposure to these schools is limited to opponents on the field vs my kids, and just generally being in the area my entire life, I am of the opinion that Lakeland, Somers and Yorktown are virtually identical. If you are coming in from the outside, just throw a dart on a map .... which means choose a home based on costs and commute, and finding a property you like. As someone else stated, John Jay (Lewisboro-Katonah) has more of a horse farm, rural upper class vibe. Lakeland, Somers, and Yorktown are much more generic suburban areas, and far less Westchester-y - meaning they are no different than Long Island, Rockland, NJ, not to mention suburban Boston, Philly, Chicago ....
Regarding the comment about being "sporty", it is true everywhere in the world - if you are a teenager and you are good at team sports you will have a much greater chance of being liked and accepted by your peers, and will have a much easier time making friends. This is true at basically every HS in America absent maybe a handful of STEM/nerd schools where admission is selective. You are not avoiding this dynamic, so don't even try.
yeah that makes sense
Maybe its the demographic that drives the pressure on the kids.
I just want them to have the opportunity that is all.
So are you in Yorktown in terms of school district then?
Thanks for that ranking.
I take it over a parent anytime than from greatschools or US news
I am in Lakeland. I just know all three districts pretty well.
My younger one is in to sports and really good grades. older one is not great in sports she has a heart condition...thats strange that just because you are not in to sports you would feel out of place.
I respectfully disagree with that, at least in Lakeland. I would say I agree with it 100% in Yorktown and I have heard the same for Yorktown. One of those little differences.
My daughter was and still is a big soccer player, recruited to college. Her social life was heavily into the sport she played. My son was not an athlete, but still played some recreational athletics, but also did math league, some STEM contests. He will not get any college sports scholarship offers. But he is far more social with a wider group of friends than my daughter who was a big athletic type.
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