old neighborhoods/good schools ? (Atlanta, Roswell: houses, middle schools, college)

[terryellen]

hi everyone
we thought we were focused on marietta (probably still are) but just wondering if there are any family friendly neighborhoods in north atlanta where the schools are excellent through middle school but the homes are much older (say at least 80 yrs old) has a cool neighborhood, walk to village and shops etc (like a great neck on long island if you know the area)
haven't come across anything like this in my searches and wondering if anyone could direct me to a zip code that fills these requirements
thanks
theresa

[sweettea1]

Not much of what you're talking about exists here. It's a shame...don't get me started. Have you looked into historic Roswell? This may be your answer tho I can't speak too much of the schools there. Lastminutemom may have more info on this!

[GF72]

Atlanta isn't really like that... it's a far newer city that new york, the only cool places with ancient houses and nearby shops and stuff are various in-town neighborhoods like Virginia Highlands but they aren't really family areas...

In Atlanta the general rule is that Suburbia = Good Schools

Unless you want to go with private schools...


About the other person's post... All three of the high schools near Historic Roswell are good. Roswell High school is about 3 miles away and Centennial High and Walton High are both 6 miles away. All three are good (from best to worst it would be Walton, Roswell, Centennial but "worst" in this case is still very good").

However, I don't think that historic Roswell is what you're looking for. You certainly won't be walking anywhere in Roswell, unless you want to go for a morning jog down the riverside along Azalea Drive with a bunch of old people who don't wear shirts...

[lastminutemom]

Alot depends on what you mean by good schools. If you are looking for schools, where every family equally values education, almost every child is headed for college, where almost every child has mastered English and where there is so much parental involvement it is frightening, then the suburbs for k-12 are really your only choice.

However....

Morningside Elementary is beloved and very overcrowded -- forcing kindergarten into a satellite location. Unfortunately, I don't really know much about Inman Middle, but I do know that the magnet program at Grady High is very good.

You may be able to find an older home in Peachtree Battle and I think that school over there is Morris Brandon, but what you will be walking to is Starbucks and Moes not anything unique and original.

As I have said before, I think DeKalb is one of the weakest school systems in the metro area, but Fernbank Elementary is well respected -- though I am not sure there is shopping and stuff to easily walk to, there are many older gorgeous homes there (but frankly, they may be out of your price range, many are a milion dollars and up).

Last week, I ate at the square in Roswell, and I thought it was cute, but I did notice that almost everything there closes at 5 -- many of the restaurants (but not all) are lunch spots. They do have one Thursday a month where they all stay open late and I think they will do more of this eventually.

Finally, your price range gives you lots of choices in the burbs, but fewer in the city of Atlanta limits.

We tear almost everything down in Atlanta, among oldtimers we joke that what Sherman didn't get, the developers will... with the government's permission.

[sumiller2000]

Decatur isn't north, but it has a fantastic school system and a freakish amount of parental involvement. The zip is 30030. Several historic areas. You have to be in the city limits though to be in the city school system. It's separate from DeKalb County.

[lastminutemom]

Opps, forgot Decatur and your price range would serve you well there.

Sumiller, Do people like Renfroe Middle? Do a big percentage of families only use the elementary schools in Decatur?

[sumiller2000]

I would say that between 5th and 6th grade... out of a class of 170, we lose about 10-15 to private schools. That is a bit of a guess b/c we also gain a bunch coming in from private elementary schools.

To be honest I have never heard a parent in any district say that their middle school is great. Anywhere that you take several hundred kids who are at or around 13 years old and put them in a building you are going to have a less than stellar environment.

Renfroe is coming out of a difficult phase. Decatur schools got a new superintendent about four or five years ago. I think she is great, although some people are still irritated with her and the school board for reconfiguring the elementary schools a few years back.

High achieving kids have always done well at Renfroe, but the school has struggled with an achievement gap. There has also been some difficulty with kids from different backgrounds getting along.

In Decatur, all the kids in the city now come together in 4th grade at Glennwood rather than at 6th grade in middle school. I don't quite have a middle schooler yet, but my understanding is that getting all the kids together at a younger age (before hormones set in) is helping the culture at the middle school.

They also have a new principal at Renfroe after a string of principals that came and went literally on a yearly basis. The new guy has been a middle school principal for decades and is dedicated to that age group and is more or less an expert on middle schoolers. Unlike a lot of middle school principals, he is not there just to hang out until he gets promoted. He has done a fantastic job in his first year and is very committed to staying at Renfroe. Parents that I have talked to like him a lot. He apparently has sense of humor which helps when you are dealing with that age group. He is stricter than I would like to see with the 6th graders, but he says that they really need a lot of structure to be successful in the transition to middle school. The kids get more freedom in 7th and 8th grade.

So, in a nutshell, I have heard parents gripe about Renfroe, but no more than any other middle school. The test scores are great in comparison to other middle schools, and they have a high gifted ID'd population to they are able to provide some relatively good programs for gifted and high achieving kids. Renfroe has about 450 or so kids so it's hard for any kid go get lost in the crowd. Most of the serious complaining that I have heard about Renfroe has come from parents of kids with behavioral, social or learning issues. I have heard that there is not as much support as there needs to be for these kids.

I plan to send my kids to Renfroe so we will see when we get there.

[terryellen]

thanks for taking the time to respond and I will check into the few areas mentioned

[moncherie27]

Hi
Recently moved her from NY hear and read that dekalb county schools are one of the worse and i happen to live in decatur. I am looking to move possibly about 30-45 mins away from the airport and would love to know what schools you guys recommend (SP) elementary and Middle.
Thanks