new to Boise - Ustick Elementary and decent Boise grade schools (Meridian: houses, neighborhoods)

[Counselo1]

Hello all !

My family and I have moved from Texas to Boise. Wife is currently there now and I am moving next week.
I telecommute from home for work. We have a 2 yo son and 1 on the way. Very very excited to be in the area!

We are in the process of looking at homes in Boise/East Meridian in the 200k range.
Problem is that many of the newer and upgraded homes I like are in the Ustick Elementary school zone or in the west valley, which I have come to understand is among the worst elementary schools in the area? Can anyone shed any light to this? Does anyone have any resources to share on school ratings and reviews? Great schools website rated Ustick as 1 of 10 (poor) but there were many positive reviews posted so I was confused on how they arrived at their rating.

We both want to live within 10 min of downtown to take advantage of the events it has to offer, but many of the homes very close to downtown that we could afford either seem to need a lot of updating or are in areas that seem to have elevated crime. My wife would prefer to stay north of the Connector and east of Eagle Rd.

Thanks and nice to meet everyone -

Kevin D

[TohobitPeak]

Check this out thanks to the Albertsons Foundation. This site has stats for every school in the state.


Idaho Ed Trends

[IdaD]

https://apps.sde.idaho.gov/Accountability/ReportCard

About

Here are a couple of other links to check out where you can research individual schools.

Ustick is a lower rated school, but it isn't all bad. Part of why it's lower rated is it's one of the schools in the district where a lot of immigrant kids get sent. That means it's going to have lower test scores and ratings on paper due to language barriers and whatnot, but it could also be a good cultural experience for your kids. A good example of how school ratings and statistics can be helpful, but they don't provide a complete picture.

You might also check the neighborhoods on either side of Eagle just south of the freeway. That part of Meridian will have your fastest access downtown due to good freeway access. You could also check out the Bench as it's close to downtown but has relatively lower prices. The only thing with the Bench is I'd make sure to check out the houses in person because the neighborhoods can be a little hit or miss.

Congratulations on the move - you have made a massive upgrade in location compared to Texas.