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Difficult to comment on all the schools in each area, but we have a son who just graduated from LNHS and loved it. Had a nice group of friends and did better at this school than he would ever have done in UK. It's a big school, but very orderly and clean. Didn't have that much to do with the staff etc as we had no need to- we're not precious parents though. We never had any reason to really. Lakeshore elementary, Woodland Heights elementary,Brawley Middle, Lakeshore Middle and LNHS all get good scores on the Greatschools site.
Husband commutes to Charlotte every day (currently nr the airport temporarily, but normally Morehead St) and leaves home (3 miles from new I77 exit 35) no later than 6.40 and his commute time is 35-40 mins. Worst traffic on I-77 is from exit 19 to 28 ish.
What sort of area do you want to live in (ie SD with pool etc, lake access, larger lot) and what's your price range? Have you visited the area at all?
I also wanted to mention to the OP that bullying is "generational". Meaning that a school could have a bullying situation but it's limited to the specific bully him or herself and their buddies. Depending on what grade you enter, you won't even encounter that group.
As for the bolded, I don't see them as precious, just different. Some parents choose to be part of the PTA and others don't. One isn't right and the other isn't wrong. It's just different. I will say though that it does make a difference if there is a strong PTA as they provide many extras that the school can't otherwise afford. And great news is you can be involved with simply your donation or with your time. There is a wide range to be "involved" and none of it is precious.
Thanks everyone for the input.
Whatsthenews was asking about our preference and budget. We would love to be waterfront, in a neighborhood with great schools and in a house that has a contemporary style. Based on our initial assessment of homes around Huntersville/Cornelius/Davidson, we probably will look at homes in the $800-1.2M range.
Our first trip to visit the area in person won't probably happen until Nov.
Any additional suggestions on narrowing down our search to specific neighborhoods?
Sounds like the Peninsula would be nice, but we are not golfers and don't want to spend big bucks on HOA if we don't have to.
Thanks.
I also wanted to mention to the OP that bullying is "generational". Meaning that a school could have a bullying situation but it's limited to the specific bully him or herself and their buddies. Depending on what grade you enter, you won't even encounter that group.
As for the bolded, I don't see them as precious, just different. Some parents choose to be part of the PTA and others don't. One isn't right and the other isn't wrong. It's just different. I will say though that it does make a difference if there is a strong PTA as they provide many extras that the school can't otherwise afford. And great news is you can be involved with simply your donation or with your time. There is a wide range to be "involved" and none of it is precious.
Wasn't talking about PTA - I meant that we weren't the sort of parents who were on the phone or up to the school about everything, unlike some parents. To us (who are both professionals) there's too much emphasis on the importance of high school education and college at this age.
Thanks everyone for the input.
Whatsthenews was asking about our preference and budget. We would love to be waterfront, in a neighborhood with great schools and in a house that has a contemporary style. Based on our initial assessment of homes around Huntersville/Cornelius/Davidson, we probably will look at homes in the $800-1.2M range.
Our first trip to visit the area in person won't probably happen until Nov.
Any additional suggestions on narrowing down our search to specific neighborhoods?
Sounds like the Peninsula would be nice, but we are not golfers and don't want to spend big bucks on HOA if we don't have to.
Thanks.
So you want a neighborhood with HOAs and community facilities then?
Sorry- I don't really know any of the waterfront neighborhoods very well in Cornelius or Huntersville, and Davidson doesn't have any W/F homes on Lake Norman, only on Lake Davidson which is land locked.
If you don't want to look at Mooresville then I think you will have more choice of w/f homes in Cornelius than Huntersville.
Good Luck finding (what I would call ) a contemporary home on the lake for your price range. Most are very traditional, or mock "castles" etc. Very few contemporary homes. Buy a w/f lot and build your own if that'd what you really want. Good Luck in your move and search.
Pennisula is your best bet close in but there are a few smaller subdivisions that have nice homes on the water - just harder to find something for sale as they tend to not be on the market much. Davidson is my favorite area but again most are not on the water.
I would take the comments with a grain of salt. Bullying is everywhere and principals tend to be blamed for everything. I would focus on the test scores, number of incidents and make the appointment for a tour of the school. If you are a parent that will be involved with the PTA, check out their page too.
I disagree with the "focus on the test scores." The teachers do not appreciate testing the students all the time. This was recently discussed in the media. Teachers want to teach children.
I would suggest checking out the size of classrooms. Then I would check to see how the teachers are permitted to grade and flunk students. Too many students in Brevard were passed, and when they graduated they were unable to read at 7th grade level.
Principals and superintendents need to leave the teaching up to the teachers. And students that score at 60% in a particular class need to be flunked. It is utterly ridiculous that students cannot read, write or do anything without the computer or calculator. I know that they are required in classes. But the students NEED to be able to do things manually. One does not know when a complete glitch will shut down computers and calculators. It would be nice if the cell phones were not allowed in the schools. But that is another saga.
I disagree with the "focus on the test scores." The teachers do not appreciate testing the students all the time. This was recently discussed in the media. Teachers want to teach children.
I would suggest checking out the size of classrooms. Then I would check to see how the teachers are permitted to grade and flunk students. Too many students in Brevard were passed, and when they graduated they were unable to read at 7th grade level.
Principals and superintendents need to leave the teaching up to the teachers. And students that score at 60% in a particular class need to be flunked. It is utterly ridiculous that students cannot read, write or do anything without the computer or calculator. I know that they are required in classes. But the students NEED to be able to do things manually. One does not know when a complete glitch will shut down computers and calculators. It would be nice if the cell phones were not allowed in the schools. But that is another saga.
I agree that the schools do way too many benchmark testing all throughout the year. However I'm a fan of the end of grade testing to ensure they did learn and retained from that grade. Ideally I think it should be twice a year even to split it up. That's the test scores listed on the schools report card and it's a sign to me how the school is.
What is there to understand.? In the mornings "millions" of non county resident day workers jam up all of the roads coming into Charlotte to work and in the PM the same thing happens going the other way....Avoid it if you can.
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