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Old 04-09-2010, 09:00 AM
 
69 posts, read 177,271 times
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I have a question and would love an honest answer! I have moved a lot and I have found that many times you can tell a really good school system by the strength of it's middle school. I believe middle school is a very difficult time for most kids. Most posts on this board list City Schools of Decatur as being somewhat better than the Grady cluster. However, when you go to Greatschools.net (all I really have to go by) Grady and Decatur High are both a score of 8; basically equal. But, when you look at Inman vs Renfroe, Inman is a 10 and Renfroe an 8. I would conclude that the Grady cluster is stronger due to the strength of Inman Middle school. I might be moving and my son is in 7th grade. So, the Middle School is extremely important to me at this point. Any thoughts would be great. (I also like the housing options better in Inman park and VaHi.) My child's current middle school is rated a 9 on greatschools, FYI.
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Old 04-09-2010, 09:12 AM
Status: "Pickleball-Free American" (set 5 days ago)
 
Location: St Simons Island, GA
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I don't think that there is a 'wrong' answer here. Both schools are good. I would personally give a bit of an edge to Inman, however.
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Old 04-09-2010, 09:58 AM
 
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Yes, I would say Inman is stronger than Renfroe as well...but Renfroe is still good/decent!


And the Decatur and Grady clusters (both!) are excellent.
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Old 04-09-2010, 09:53 PM
 
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I live in Decatur and think Renfroe is generally great (I have a kid there). However, Decatur has this weird thing going on with the administration where they are endlessly "innovating." All this constant change prevents the school system from really taking off like it could if they were to quit trying to have the "next great thing" and spend a little time just supporting plain old teaching. Not every fad and brand name is worth taking on.

Again, City of Decatur schools are great.. but I'm afraid that with middle school... Inman has Renfroe beat b/c they are focused on students rather than fads and teaching rather than administrators' resumes.
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Old 04-09-2010, 11:04 PM
 
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I live in Candler Park (next door to Inman Park) and my son is in the Grady cluster. Like you, I anticipate middle school being...problematic. IMO, it's more about the age of the kids (hormones! preteens!) than anything. When I was growing up I went to a K-12 school so my parents are completely helpless in this situation (when I ask how they dealed).

OK, so with my son headed to Inman....what's my opinion? Honestly? The degrees of separation are so small that I'd say you shouldn't worry about it. Lump City of Decatur and Grady Cluster into your pool of possibilities and just find the best house, etc, for you. You'll be fine. Your son will be fine, too. My son is going to Inman/Grady but I'd be just as happy to have him in City of Decatur Schools.

Best of luck!
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Old 04-10-2010, 06:34 AM
 
Location: East Cobb
2,206 posts, read 6,892,884 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by plessthanpointohfive View Post
Like you, I anticipate middle school being...problematic. IMO, it's more about the age of the kids (hormones! preteens!) than anything.
I couldn't agree more. It amazes me that some people seem to think that middle school problems could be eliminated by just folding the middle grades back into elementary schools. Since my child went through middle school in recent years (she's now a high school sophomore), I can report that the 11-14 age bracket is a difficult transitional time of life when most people are not at their best.

Anyway, this is a bit off topic. Sounds like there are no bad choices in the schools the OP is considering.
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Old 04-10-2010, 06:37 AM
 
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Through all my years, I have met no one that really loves their children's middle school, heck most parents have a hard time even loving their midddle schoolers!

At this age, test scores only tell part of the picture. School climate is extremely important. I suspect both these schools are fine, but you might want to visit to make sure.

Many years ago, I had a friend who had an only child. When he was in preschool, she was trying to decide whether to go public or private. Her husband, after seeing what a rat race the whole admissions thing was, declared that if it was private, it had to be a k-12 school. My friend said you would go to the open house and the admission officials would talk about elementary and brag about their high school. She would then get in car and realized no on mentioned middle school.

It is a difficult age. I happen to think it is a flawed model, but it is what we have right now.
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Old 04-10-2010, 06:48 AM
 
69 posts, read 177,271 times
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Thanks for all the replies! Yes, I think Middle School is a flawed model as well. And, yes, it is the most difficult time for kids. That is why I always look to the middle school in a system to see how they handle that age group. Inman must be doing something right! (I personally think middle schools are just too large. Maybe we should have smaller middle schools in a system like we have elementary schools. Or, smaller schools within the middle schools.) Again, thanks for the advice!
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Old 04-10-2010, 09:07 AM
 
Location: Atlanta/Decatur/Emory area
1,320 posts, read 4,275,872 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by painter62 View Post
Thanks for all the replies! Yes, I think Middle School is a flawed model as well. And, yes, it is the most difficult time for kids. That is why I always look to the middle school in a system to see how they handle that age group. Inman must be doing something right! (I personally think middle schools are just too large. Maybe we should have smaller middle schools in a system like we have elementary schools. Or, smaller schools within the middle schools.) Again, thanks for the advice!
Inman is an ENORMOUS school. Renfroe serves the entire public middle school population of the City of Decatur but is still significantly smaller than Inman (according to figures I found online Inman = 730, Renfroe = 499). I suggest you visit both schools and see which one feels like the best fit for your family.
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Old 04-11-2010, 10:59 AM
 
102 posts, read 389,431 times
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I ditto Intown... didn't mean to gripe on Renfroe, it's really one of the best middle schools in the state... I just get a little tired of "innovation" after years and years of it. The Decatur system is small which is a huge benefit. Everyone knows everyone, and the system is nimble so it can adapt quickly as things around it change. They are also riding out this recession in much better shape than their surrounding systems. They can also innovate easily... another a good thing so long as they don't get carried away.

One thing I can say is that Decatur High is overall a much better high school experience overall than Grady. Grady is good in some areas, but it's relatively big and you have to be very sure that you are tracked right.

I'd definitely tour both schools. They have very different feels.
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