Gwinnett County - need to relocate to better cluster (Atlanta: for sale, apartment complexes)

[MsSuzKelly]

Hello to all that read this and thank you. Hoping to get some positive feedback.

Moved to GA last July from Michigan. New job for DH. Everything happened so fast we didn't really have to time to breathe. We wound up renting a house in the Berkmar cluster. So after being here for a while and talking to people - that wasn't the best move. I have a 2nd grader and a 4th grader. I need to move when this school year is over.

I REALLY want to get into a smaller school. This was a huge shock to me coming to Gwinnett from an elementary school with an enrollment of about 400. Just yesterday I was talking to someone that recommended Archer or Grayson. So, I just wanted some more feedback....how are those areas and what is your opinion of those clusters???

Thanks!!

Suzy

[peachstatehomegal]

Archer is a relatively new school, and not that far from Archer. A lot of students from other/'lesser' schools transferred there when it first opened. Honestly, I'd give it a couple of years to see what it'll settle into.

I would suggest looking into the Brookwood or Parkview clusters, as far as the southern Gwinnett area is concerned.

www.gwinnett.k12.ga.us can provide more info in regards to the school systems.

Glad you rented first! There are plenty of homes for sale in Gwinnett, in all areas, so find yourself a good agent and do some looking.

[GRS86]

I have a friend who's daughter ended up getting transferred to Archer because of the AYP issues at Berkmar. So far, so good for her.

[MsSuzKelly]

@Peachstatehomegal - did you mean to say that Archer isn't far from Berkmar?? On the map it looks further away than Brookwood and Parkview. I am so confused

@GRS86 - AYP issues??

thanks for the replies

[GRS86]

Originally Posted by MsSuzKelly

@Peachstatehomegal - did you mean to say that Archer isn't far from Berkmar?? On the map it looks further away than Brookwood and Parkview. I am so confused

@GRS86 - AYP issues??

thanks for the replies

Not 100% sure if it was AYP, but there was something that happened at Berkmar that triggered students being able to transfer to better performing schools. I'll have to ask my friend exactly what happened.

[MsSuzKelly]

Originally Posted by GRS86

Not 100% sure if it was AYP, but there was something that happened at Berkmar that triggered students being able to transfer to better performing schools. I'll have to ask my friend exactly what happened.

Ahh ok - actually I didn't know what AYP stood for, but I found it on the Gwinnett site - I understand now. Thanks.

[cwkimbro]

Gwinnett County Public Schools Cluster Boundaries

This is a link to the GCPS school cluster map... Berkmar is marked on there as #2.
If you like the general area and don't want to move further out of town... the better places will be Parkview and Brookwood (#15 and #3)...Archer is much further out of town (#1) and is much newer. Grayson is also pretty good (#8), newer, and slightly further out of town.

You will notice those 4 school districts form a strip leading out of Atlanta. What is unique about them compared to their counterparts closer to I-85 is relatively few apartment complexes. Generally, that makes the area and the schools more desirable and almost entirely single-family homes.

The area's west of I-85 (Norcross, Duluth, and [somewhat Peachtree Ridge as well]) are somewhat different in that you will hear various and often conflicting opinions about those schools. Basically, it is the same effect as seen east of I-85. People want to be located in nicer areas with mostly single family neighborhoods further from I-85 and the area near North Fulton County is highly desirable, but unlike east of I-85 they each share the same high school clusters as they span all of the way from I-85 to the western edge of the county line. Some people like it as long as their kids go to certain elementary and middle schools within the clusters, while others are skiddish about it. The high school's in Gwinnett have really strong honors and gifted classes. If your child learned their foundations well early and end up in mostly honors and gifted classes they will be fine in most high schools in Gwinnett, even if half the district isn't as desirable as the other half.


When you get further from Atlanta more people don't mind living near I-85 as the area is much newer, but there is more traffic to put up with. Sometimes you will hear people say good things about the Collins Hill, Peachtree Ridge, Mill Creek and Mountain View clusters for those reason.

Many of the schools in this county are fairly large. This county grew really quickly over the last few decades and spent a great portion of that time always trying to catch up with school demand and sometimes having way too many classes in trailers. Many of the schools are larger just because it was more efficient to get more kids inside proper classrooms faster.

As far as elementary school size goes... sometimes the bigger ones happen to be better. I'm not saying this is always the case though, but it is more often important to look at the ratings and neighborhoods around each school.

The enrollment numbers for the elementary schools for Archer and Grayson range from the 800s to the 1100s. In the Brookwood cluster Head Elem. has 586. In the Parkview Cluster Mountain park Elem. has about 550 and Knight Elem. has 700 enrolled. The other elementary schools in the Parkview and Brookwood clusters are closer to 1000-1100.

Generally speaking... I think the smaller elementary schools are in older schools in older areas of the county. (As example in the Parkview and Brookwood clusters, but not in the Archer/Grayson clusters)

Head, Mountain Park, and Knight were founded in the 60s and 70s, while most of the elementary schools in Gwinnett were founded in the 80s until today when the county grew from 160,000 thousand people in 1980 to over 800,000 today.

Personally, in the Parkview cluster I think Camp Creek Elem is the clear winner of those elementary schools despite it's larger size. My sisters and I went to Knight and it was nice (even smaller than it is now actually). My niece also went to Knight and then moved and is now going to Camp Creek and has liked it more (although they are obsessed with the AR reading program too much in some of the grades).

AYP - is the No Child Left Behind Act. There is a page on the GCPS website about it.

There is also something written about it for Berkmar High school on the thid page of their annual accountability report.

Apparently they had to offer school choice... They made AYP for one year, but they need to make it for a second year in a row to not be a school that "needs improvement."

[MsSuzKelly]

@cwkimbro - thank so much for your very detailed reply. Helping to make more sense of things. I actually do want to move - I am not attached to the area and never let myself get attached since I knew we would be moving.

I have been to the website and have looked at the enrollment numbers - and was sort of going to base a decision on the smaller numbers - but that could change to. I am starting to lean towards Dacula...

Thanks again.

Suzy

[mrdkb]

Archer is great as are the elementary schools!!!!

[mrdkb]

Originally Posted by cwkimbro

Gwinnett County Public Schools Cluster Boundaries

This is a link to the GCPS school cluster map... Berkmar is marked on there as #2.
If you like the general area and don't want to move further out of town... the better places will be Parkview and Brookwood (#15 and #3)...Archer is much further out of town (#1) and is much newer. Grayson is also pretty good (#8), newer, and slightly further out of town.

You will notice those 4 school districts form a strip leading out of Atlanta. What is unique about them compared to their counterparts closer to I-85 is relatively few apartment complexes. Generally, that makes the area and the schools more desirable and almost entirely single-family homes.

The area's west of I-85 (Norcross, Duluth, and [somewhat Peachtree Ridge as well]) are somewhat different in that you will hear various and often conflicting opinions about those schools. Basically, it is the same effect as seen east of I-85. People want to be located in nicer areas with mostly single family neighborhoods further from I-85 and the area near North Fulton County is highly desirable, but unlike east of I-85 they each share the same high school clusters as they span all of the way from I-85 to the western edge of the county line. Some people like it as long as their kids go to certain elementary and middle schools within the clusters, while others are skiddish about it. The high school's in Gwinnett have really strong honors and gifted classes. If your child learned their foundations well early and end up in mostly honors and gifted classes they will be fine in most high schools in Gwinnett, even if half the district isn't as desirable as the other half.


When you get further from Atlanta more people don't mind living near I-85 as the area is much newer, but there is more traffic to put up with. Sometimes you will hear people say good things about the Collins Hill, Peachtree Ridge, Mill Creek and Mountain View clusters for those reason.

Many of the schools in this county are fairly large. This county grew really quickly over the last few decades and spent a great portion of that time always trying to catch up with school demand and sometimes having way too many classes in trailers. Many of the schools are larger just because it was more efficient to get more kids inside proper classrooms faster.

As far as elementary school size goes... sometimes the bigger ones happen to be better. I'm not saying this is always the case though, but it is more often important to look at the ratings and neighborhoods around each school.

The enrollment numbers for the elementary schools for Archer and Grayson range from the 800s to the 1100s. In the Brookwood cluster Head Elem. has 586. In the Parkview Cluster Mountain park Elem. has about 550 and Knight Elem. has 700 enrolled. The other elementary schools in the Parkview and Brookwood clusters are closer to 1000-1100.

Generally speaking... I think the smaller elementary schools are in older schools in older areas of the county. (As example in the Parkview and Brookwood clusters, but not in the Archer/Grayson clusters)

Head, Mountain Park, and Knight were founded in the 60s and 70s, while most of the elementary schools in Gwinnett were founded in the 80s until today when the county grew from 160,000 thousand people in 1980 to over 800,000 today.

Personally, in the Parkview cluster I think Camp Creek Elem is the clear winner of those elementary schools despite it's larger size. My sisters and I went to Knight and it was nice (even smaller than it is now actually). My niece also went to Knight and then moved and is now going to Camp Creek and has liked it more (although they are obsessed with the AR reading program too much in some of the grades).

AYP - is the No Child Left Behind Act. There is a page on the GCPS website about it.

There is also something written about it for Berkmar High school on the thid page of their annual accountability report.

Apparently they had to offer school choice... They made AYP for one year, but they need to make it for a second year in a row to not be a school that "needs improvement."

Archer Cluster elementary schools are small - NO TRAILERS!!!