Any communities fit this description in Johns Creek, Alpharetta or Suwanee (Atlanta: hair salon, condo)

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by Bearwithme

Thank you EVERYONE for your wealth of input. I decided to concentrate on the schools near Johns Creek/Alpharetta side as we frequent Target, Whole Foods & Lifetime Fitness. From what I gather it sounds like McGinnis Ferry Rd is a nightmare at various times of the day, which would make me & hubby very frustrated. I also believe the schools on this side (west) would be a better fit than the Suwanee area. I'd rather go east for occasional entertainment rather than west for daily necessities. Who knows I could be wrong. This is solely based on what I've read. Seeing it may be another story. Your thoughts?

So, here's my list in order:

Top 4:
1) State Bridge Crossing elementary
2) Wilson Creek elementary
3) Findley Oaks elementary
4) Shakerag elementary

Bottom 3:
5) Settles Bridge elementary
6) Sharon elementary
7) Johns Creek elementary

Looking at the school rankings, you're probably wondering why a chose certain schools over higher ranking ones. The answer is: diversity. It's important for our children to attend a school that has at least 7% Black/African American, 15% Asian & 5% Hispanic populations. Just wish the hispanic pop, for #2-#4 had more. Academics are not only important, but interacting with others of varied ethnicities is also a priority. We as parents also want this interaction. It's wonderful that we even have the option!

So, I'll be concentrating our housing (rental) searches primarily surrounding the schools in my top 4 list. This I'm sure, may change once I visit the schools, but the numbers initially look great to us. Those who know the area is our budget realistic? $1800-2100 for SFH.

Just to be sure, can anyone verify the High schools along with my top 4 list of elementary schools? If you know middle schools, that would also be great!

Keep the ideas coming. Looking forward to my visit after the Xmas holidays! Hubby just started sorting through some of boxes we hadn't even opened. This move is starting to seem real. Never thought I'd be this excited. Having children changes everything.

Oh, my ITP friends are already trying to change our minds suggesting Springdale Park, Morningside & City of Decatur schools. Sure, I'd consider it, but can I get at least 2000 sq ft w/garage & yard for our budget... without the thought of someone potentially coming in while hubby is away? My guard will still be up, but I think we'd have a better peace of mind. No thanks.

I have an idea. We'll keep the condo in City of Decatur so if we want to move back in town, we have the option after the kids are off to school/out of the house!

Cheers!

Here is some helpful information:


http://www.fultonschools.org/redistricting/bethany/MAP_bethany_FinalRec_plotter_050911.pdf (broken link)

http://portal.fultonschools.org/depa...feeder1112.pdf

http://portal.fultonschools.org/depa...SS_ES_1112.pdf

http://portal.fultonschools.org/depa...SS_MS_1112.pdf

http://portal.fultonschools.org/depa...SS_HS_1112.pdf

Attendance Zone Maps

[Bearwithme]

@Northwinds, no I'm not making this up and the schools in my top 4 are STILL considered good & not THAT vastly different. In this case, I don't think we'd be sacrificing education just for a little diversity. They're all considered good schools, or am I wrong? Is there something I may be missing in the 4 I selected?

I do admit that I'm going to research the differences between Chattahoochee HS & Northview HS; not just in terms of academics/AP courses offered/languages/SAT scores), but also sports/extracurricular activities. Our kids are toddlers so I have a little time. Right now since we'll be renting, we're focusing on elementary schools..Anyone want to chime in..feel free.

I understand in North Fulton that my values/attitudes do not reflect the majority peer group and we're o.k. with that. If I did, I'd return to Dakalb County. No thanks. I don't think there is anything wrong with wanting a school environment other than 1%-2% AA. I'm not talking socioeconomic diversity, but ethnicity. There's a difference.

@Aries, thank you for the helpful links.

Bearwithme

[ATLTJL]

I agree with Northwinds, you're being totally silly not going for the best possible school you can find.

If you're that interested in diversity and are active parents, the area has tons of diversity. You can always enroll them in extracurricular activities that have diversity and send them to area camps in the summer where they can meet a diverse cross-section of kids. These are often the environments where children form longer lasting social bonds, anyway.

Just go for the best education. If it happens to be the most diverse one, that's great. But I wouldn't purposely sacrifice my child's education just for the sake of diversity when you can easily provide that via different avenues. You won't be doing your children any favors by sending them to a lesser school just so they can have more diversity. Especially because demographics here change so rapidly anyway. If you buy a house and the school becomes less diverse over time, are you going to move?

[Bearwithme]

@ATLTJL I AM NOT sacrificing my children's education for diversity. Like I said, the schools I selected are STILL good! Do you think there is a VAST difference between the schools I selected...so different that their outcome academically will be affected?

'If you're that interested in diversity and are active parents, the area has tons of diversity. You can always enroll them in extracurricular activities that have diversity and send them to area camps in the summer where they can meet a diverse cross-section of kids. These are often the environments where children form longer lasting social bonds, anyway.' I agree, we are active and already plan to.

'But I wouldn't purposely sacrifice my child's education just for the sake of diversity when you can easily provide that via different avenues. I'm not.
You won't be doing your children any favors by sending them to a lesser school just so they can have more diversity. I disagree when the schools are very similar. Why not purposefully choose the diverse one? I don't think there is a vast difference between a school ranked #19 as opposed to #2

'Especially because demographics here change so rapidly anyway. If you buy a house and the school becomes less diverse over time, are you going to move? No, that would be silly, but if rankings dramatically changed, I would. There's nothing with initially making the choice. I also said I'm renting first. There's and undertone that I don't value education or that I'm totally foregoing it over demographics and I'm not.

Sometimes I think people want to read what they want. There's a difference if I chose a school like #127 Walnut Grove elementary 18% AA (no offense to anyone) over one like #7 Shakerag 7% AA. I wouldn't do it.

I'm tired of defending myself. We obviously have different values and you're reading into this more than you should.

Bearwithme

[FromGA]

Bearwithme, the ones you selected are any way the top schools. So yes, you have hit both (diversity and good schools) with one stone. You just need to understand the attendance maps, subdivisions, etc.

Having said that, you could do the following: understand the difference between Chattahoochee and Northview. Choose one. Then choose the best elementarty in that high that meets your needs.

FYI - a large number of apartments are coming up close to Northview (one is almost done at Abbotts and Medlock, and I read another zoning change was approved in JC Tech park.). Chattahoochee might offer the best blend of stable environment, not hyper competitive while still top notch, etc. There may be other "high school issues" to learn about. So I think you could choose between the 2 high schools, and then chose an elementary school within that. I dont know the specific differences between the 2 schools.

[lastminutemom]

I think unless your children are close to high school age (plus she is renting anyway, not buying) it is silly to obsess on that too much in that area. Redistricting is a reality especially if you are more than a few years out.

[tamlym]

Originally Posted by Bearwithme

From what I gather it sounds like McGinnis Ferry Rd is a nightmare at various times of the day, which would make me & hubby very frustrated.

Actually, EVERYWHERE is a nightmare during peak commute times!! Most main thoroughfares are single lanes each direction, kwim? It took us 20 minutes to drive 5 miles to Chattahoochee High SChool at 5:30 pm...

McGinnis is bad heading toward Alpharetta in the am, and toward Suwanee in the pm. If you're commuting in the opposite direction, it's not bad at all! If you can miss the peak commute window, you won't have ANY problems at all. I'm a SAHM, so I get to work my schedule around the traffic here and haven't been impacted at all. Kids gets bussed to school, so there is no reason for me to leave the house any earlier than 9am ~ hee .

My two cents for location.....you might want to live closer to the Windward area (or anywhere closer to the 400) due to easier access to the 400 and/or the MARTA Park n Ride. What may seem a short distance from your home to the 400 may actually take forever to travel during rush hour....so you are right in heading away from the Suwanee area. Anyhow, you're planning on renting (great idea) first, so you have some time to poke around the area before making any final decisions.

We moved here last year from California, and I can say that this area is definitely not "diverse" as CA.....but more that we had originally figured . We also love it here!

[tamlym]

Oh, and if you're like us and go shopping and eating out on the weekends, you can easily access Asian markets and foods from the Johns Creek area. It's about a 20ish minute drive towards Duluth (for the Pleasant Hill Rd (sp?) drag, and about the same if you want to hit Norcross or Doraville instead....

Asian restaurants and HMart in JC is ok in a pinch, but better markets and foods are in the other areas imho.

[oakhurstlauren]

Originally Posted by Bearwithme

I'm not sure why everyone is flocking to City of Decatur schools. The rankings on Schooldigger.com are not good at all!

Only two school are ranked, Renfroe Middle and Decatur High. 4/5 stars according to Schooldigger whatever that means. The schools are great here. You can disagree, but you don't have to make up stuff.

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by lastminutemom

I think unless your children are close to high school age (plus she is renting anyway, not buying) it is silly to obsess on that too much in that area. Redistricting is a reality especially if you are more than a few years out.

Not only that, but demographics can change in only a few years. I know someone who taught in Gwinnett public schools, and the school she was in changed radically in only a few years.