Is Berwyn truly integrated, or are we experiencing white flight? (Chicago: upper-class, for sale)

[RogerMarrino]

Originally Posted by BRU67

Give it 10 years. I bet you if somebody proposes borderless integrated schools at that point, many voters will be pretty receptive to the idea. That's because the demographics in this country are shifting rapidly towards low income. The numbers will be there to get something like this actually set up. Hopefully by then it's not too late.

That's an overly optimistic forecast. One thing is for certain, though: if something isn't done by the time the Baby Boomers are gone and whites are a minority in America, Yuppieville is going to have to surround itself with barbed wire and guard towers.

[JTW2013]

Originally Posted by ToriaT

How do borderless integrated schools differ from charter schools. Most people prefer neighborhood schools which is what you get in most of the burbs. Of course if the schools go south in a place people will put up with the lottery and busing schemes of Chicago.

We now live in AZ which mandates open enrollment for all public schools in the state. I've been told that the number of AZ children who take advantage of open enrollment is small and that most children still attend their neighborhood schools. Also you have access to school transportation only at the neighborhood schools. Open enrollment probably does little to benefit AZ's low income students.

[destination-unknown]

Originally Posted by RogerMarrino

That's an overly optimistic forecast. One thing is for certain, though: if something isn't done by the time the Baby Boomers are gone and whites are a minority in America, Yuppieville is going to have to surround itself with barbed wire and guard towers.

You crack me up. Always taking it to the extreme

[destination-unknown]

Originally Posted by JTW2013

We now live in AZ which mandates open enrollment for all public schools in the state. I've been told that the number of AZ children who take advantage of open enrollment is small and that most children still attend their neighborhood schools. Also you have access to school transportation only at the neighborhood schools. Open enrollment probably does little to benefit AZ's low income students.

I have also heard from friends that moved to Mesa that the public school system in Arizona is pretty bad

[ToriaT]

So open enrollment means you can get your kids into any public school if you can find a way to get there there?

[Drover]

Originally Posted by JTW2013

We now live in AZ which mandates open enrollment for all public schools in the state. I've been told that the number of AZ children who take advantage of open enrollment is small and that most children still attend their neighborhood schools. Also you have access to school transportation only at the neighborhood schools. Open enrollment probably does little to benefit AZ's low income students.

OK, so what if there's way more demand for a particular school than there's room?

[JTW2013]

Originally Posted by Drover

OK, so what if there's way more demand for a particular school than there's room?

They only have to admit out of district students if there is space. There is a lot of competition to get into certain schools including some of the charter schools. They award spots based on a lottery.

If every kid in AZ took advantage of open enrollment there would probably not be enough space at the good schools but right now, anyone who wants an alternative to their neighborhood schools and has the means to transport their child to and from school everyday can find a space somewhere.

Just like everywhere else, the best bet is to live in a neighborhood with good schools so you don't need to go through open enrollment to find decent education for your kids.

WRT Mesa from above, Mesa schools are pretty bad. Overall AZ schools are much worse than the schools in IL. When we moved here, we only considered 2 school districts. The big difference here is that there is affordable housing in the best school districts. You could easily find a house for $200K with property taxes less than $1,500 a year in our school district which is probably the best district in AZ.

[destination-unknown]

Originally Posted by JTW2013

They only have to admit out of district students if there is space. There is a lot of competition to get into certain schools including some of the charter schools. They award spots based on a lottery.

If every kid in AZ took advantage of open enrollment there would probably not be enough space at the good schools but right now, anyone who wants an alternative to their neighborhood schools and has the means to transport their child to and from school everyday can find a space somewhere.

Just like everywhere else, the best bet is to live in a neighborhood with good schools so you don't need to go through open enrollment to find decent education for your kids.

WRT Mesa from above, Mesa schools are pretty bad. Overall AZ schools are much worse than the schools in IL. When we moved here, we only considered 2 school districts. The big difference here is that there is affordable housing in the best school districts. You could easily find a house for $200K with property taxes less than $1,500 a year in our school district which is probably the best district in AZ.

Maybe things have changed but when they moved there 3 years ago they said the market was hot and they ended up in a decent home but in a less than average school district for $240k.

[JTW2013]

Originally Posted by destination-unknown

Maybe things have changed but when they moved there 3 years ago they said the market was hot and they ended up in a decent home but in a less than average school district for $240k.

I don't know what kind of a house your friends were looking for but 3 years ago was about the bottom of the market. The $200K house of today might have sold for $150K 3 years ago. The height of the market was around 2005 to 2006. The $200K house of today might have sold for $300K in 2005.

[destination-unknown]

Originally Posted by JTW2013

I don't know what kind of a house your friends were looking for but 3 years ago was about the bottom of the market. The $200K house of today might have sold for $150K 3 years ago. The height of the market was around 2005 to 2006. The $200K house of today might have sold for $300K in 2005.

Yea I was actually surprised how much it cost them for the house they purchased. We went out to visit a little over two years ago and we weren't very impressed considering we had been hearing how much cheaper arizona real estate was.