New Rochelle vs White Plains question (Scarsdale, Rose: buying a home, neighborhood, buying)

[Furrygoat]

I am thinking of buying a home in either of these two areas. I have a young son, and elementary schools are a concern. It seems to me that all of the elementary schools in White plains are average at best. Conversely, i have read that the George Davis school in New Rochelle is excellent.

1st - Is this true?

2nd - I know a very small area in New Rochelle is bad. How far does this are reach. A few homes i am looking at are in these areas. how would u describe them?

a low address on Pinebrook Road

an address in the 50's on rockland place

and in the 300's on grand blvd.

i know the last is a scarsdale P.O.

Hpw do these area compare with the Rosedale areas of white plains? Is the difference in the elementary schools enough to justify the choice of New Rochelle? Is the difference real? Are these New Rochelle areas nice? they seem to be.

Thanks for the help.

[havoc315]

Personally, I would perfer a nice White Plains neighborhood. But its a matter of personal preference.

White Plains schools rate more poorly, partially just because it is truly urban. And, due to socio-economic diversity, how many truly urban schools will ever rate as highly as a suburban school?

But it's telling that the Middle Schools rate just about equally between White Plains and New Rochelle.

In other words, for an urban school district, White Plains is pretty good. And while elementary test scores may lag a bit below New Rochelle, long term achievement is similar. For 2007, average SAT scores were actually higher in White Plains than in New Rochelle. (thought is most prior years, New Rochelle was about 100 points better).

The key to me, is that White Plains has the feeling of a very diverse school district, ranging from rich to poor, with the bulk being middle class.
On the other hand, New Rochelle often feels like two bi-polar extremes... Wealthy, who just weren't wealthy enough for Scarsdale, and poor.

None of these comments are from first hand experience. I don't reside in either town. I'm going more with general reputation and the vibe I get. I do know people who have resided in White Plains, I don't personally know anyone sending kids to school in New Rochelle. So take my comments with a big grain of salt.

[tommya]

I live in White Plains, but don't have kids. WP schools offer a program where parents get to pick the elementry school that their kids attend regardless of where they live in the district. From what I've heard, this seems like a much appreciated feature. Not sure if this changes anything, but it will give you the option of cherry-picking the WP school that you think is best for your family. Not sure if NewRo offers something similar, but I doubt it.