School Ratings Thread - READ FIRST for school inquiries. (Atlanta: neighborhood, elementary schools)

[kswartz]

Does anyone have kids in Sycamore Elementary in Sugar Hill? I found out all sorts of things on GreatSchools.net, except that it's next to a landfill, which I found out by accident. Anyone have any experience with this area?

Thanks.

[saralbrown]

Why compile your own list. Schools are measured and ranked already....

Georgia Public Policy Foundation - www.gppf.org (http://www.gppf.org/default.asp?pt=doc&doc=reportcard - broken link)

GreatSchools.net

[PMOSS]

Idea guy,

I'll save you the trouble. Schools in North Fulton, East Cobb, West Duluth, one tiny area in Norcross, South Forsyth = Good. Your kid will do okay and probably come home without extra ventilation through their thoracic cavity.

Skip the rest.

Does that help?

Originally Posted by atlantagreg30127

I've noticed that it seems the Atlanta thread gets much more "where are the neighborhoods with good schools" type of questions than many if not most other city threads. At times it seems like 40% of the inquiries are along the lines of, "I'm moving to Atlanta - where are the best neighborhoods and schools at?".

Perhaps those who are more web savy could compile a list of sites that rate the schools throughout the metro area, give test scores, and even show incidences of violence, as well as all the pluses. We could then compose a thread and just keep it at the top of the board titled, "Good schools thread - READ THIS FIRST". It would eliminate or reduce the repeats, and give folks a one-stop message with all the links they would need to get vital info.

Just an idea.

[PMOSS]

Elementary is fine. Eventually your kid goes to North Gwinnett and then you are in trouble....send them to Buford, they will be better off....besides, the football is legendary....amazing what talent you can get if you have a tuition based system....heh heh heh....

Originally Posted by kswartz

Does anyone have kids in Sycamore Elementary in Sugar Hill? I found out all sorts of things on GreatSchools.net, except that it's next to a landfill, which I found out by accident. Anyone have any experience with this area?

Thanks.

[charolastra00]

South Forsyth used to be practically legendary in the foreign language and math fields because the block schedule allowed students to "double up" to high levels (I graduated having taken Spanish 7 and there were several girls in my class who were juniors planning to go on to Spanish 8 and 9). It will be interesting to see how it changes now they reverted back to the standard 7 classes a day. Not a good move for the school system, IMO, except to cut back on worthwhile programs.

[bgnzsavnh]

County:
Bleckley Burke Chatham Dekalb Hall Jenkins Muscogee Richmond Screven Telfair Tift Toombs Ware Washington Whitfield Wilkes
Top rated High schools are mostly South of Metro Atlanta
Davidson Magnet School: Best High Schools - USNews.com (http://www.usnews.com/listings/high-schools/georgia/davidson_magnet_school - broken link)

Best High Schools Search - US News and World Report

Best High Schools Search - US News and World Report

[we2]

I am considering moving to the Atlanta area. I need to be fairly close to the airport. What cities are considered the best and the safest?
Thanx

[plessthanpointohfive]

I live in the Candler Park neighborhood, which is 3 miles from downtown Atlanta and has it's own MARTA rail station. The schools are Mary Lin ES, Inman MS, and Grady HS. Mary Lin and Inman are excellent schools. Grady is an inner city high school with an award winning journalism program. As typical of inner city high schools it has it's problems but it generally boasts good SAT scores, etc. Many parents who send their kids to Mary Lin and Inman DO send their kids to Grady while a few go private.

For a city neighborhood is has relatively no violent crime, just smash and grab type robberies in cars and homes. There is a really great park, and walking access to 2 commercial centers (Little 5 Points and the Candler Park Merchant Strip at the intersection of McLendon Ave and Clifton Rd). The neighborhood is full of families and young children and people are always outside enjoying the neighborhood. You will see dogwalkers and joggers every day of the year...

Now, the homes here are generally small and generally a bit higher priced and generally old. My house is a 1925 craftsman duplex (I own both apartments and rent out one), each apartment is 2 bedroom/1 bath and I paid $391K for it. The home next to mine is a nicely remodeled late Victorian 3 bedroom/2 bath that recently sold for $535K.

Middle class folks like myself do what I am doing...buy a duplex, rent out half, and when your incomes allows you convert the place into a larger single family home and see a huge increase in home value. However, you have to be able to tolerate small living quarters for an indefinite amount of time...

I know I sound like a real estate advertisement but I really like living here and think other people would, too. There is pretty much no new construction so the population size of the neighborhood stays around 3K people.

Good luck finding a home in Atlanta!

[rhuffman]

I know this sounds harsh, but it is true. The best GA public school is below average in Maryland, NY, CT, MA, and other northern cities. I hate to say it b/c I was born in South Carolina and attended public schools there. Even the best SC public schools are not that good.

Now this doesn't mean that your child can't get a good education at GA public school or that your child will get a good education at a private school. There are a lot of factors that go into how well a child learns and does in school - most of which involve parental involvement in their children's learning and school activities.

However, the percentages are more in your favor if you opt for a private school in GA versus a public school.

If you are considering a move to GA from another state with much better public schools, you should factor in the additional cost of putting your child (or children) into private school.

[kaday]

I have to disagree. My children attended school in a stellar Massachusetts school system. The East Cobb elementary here is far more advanced and offers so much more. I am sure there are some school systems here that are academically weak but not all of them. If you move here do your research.