Looking for good schools in area with older housing. Assistance appreciated. (Cincinnati: best neighborhood, new home)

[fiskkm]

From an outsider's perspective, I don't understand why people are so hard on Hyde Park Schools. I understand the area is within CPS, which is historically terrible. But, if you live within the area that attends Kilgour Elementary and your child can test into Walnut Hills, they will attend a 9/10 elementary school and a 10/10, and nationally ranked, high school. Those schools seem as good, and likely better, than any other combo in the area.

So, can someone please explain the downside of Hyde Park schools? The only risk I see is that your child does not do well on the exam and does not get selected for Walnut Hills. Then you would face an expensive (private school) or terrible (other CPS) school decision. But, from what I gather, the exam is not THAT selective, meaning your child has to be smart but not an absolute genius. Can anyone speak to this?

Also, based on some comments here and my research on the web, it appears Pleasant Ridge Montessori could be headed to the same type of distinction currently seen in Kilgour. If so, will Pleasant Ridge be another island within CPS where kids can still get a GREAT education?

I am not trying to argue here. I just want to understand. We haven't visited schools yet and I don't understand the negative view of Hyde Park Schools when they are clearly rated high.

[Wilson513]

I can see Kilgour School from my front door. And I attended CPS as a child myself and raised two sons one of whom attended CPS (Sands Mont and then WHHS).

The courts got hold of CPS decades ago (ego-maniacal federal judge) and ran it like a menace of political correctness, ever trying to balance racial makeup by busing little kids all over town until all of the white students (90% probably) opted out of the system. Lower income families just voted with their feet and moved. Upper income switched to private schools. Hence CPS today.

It is true that if you send a kid to Kilgour and then to WHHS he will get an decent education. WHHS is the best but they have multiple tracks for lower performers and so there is quite a mix of kids there. WWHS is not for every kid. It is a very permissive environment. I was a parent there for six (6) years. A really independent, self starting kid will do fine at WHHS.

Several posts above, I told you Mariemont and didn't want to have to explain all of this. And, still Mariemont it is.

If you had expressed strong willingness for private schools, there is no better place to live than Hyde Park. But other than Catholic Schools which you did not mention I don't think, private schools for high school are ~$20,000 per kid per year. No. 2 son had six years of private non-catholic, and 4 years of Catholic (McNick) and I could not be happier with that.

As for Hyde Park, its not even close within the city limits and taking the whole region it is still in everyone's list of the top three places. No thinking person would ever live (by choice) elsewhere except to take advantage of superior schools. I can tell you that living in Hyde Park is a luxury that most can actually afford. Maybe its not fair to have so much of the good stuff packed in here. Too bad. Life's not always fair. This is about as tolerant, inclusive, diverse place and one is going to find, and with amenities all for free. Personally, I almost moved to Mariemont for the schools. Again, personally, glad I didn't.

[Sarah Perry]

[quote=wilson1010;18039857]...No thinking person would ever live (by choice) elsewhere except to take advantage of superior schools. I can tell you that living in Hyde Park is a luxury that most can actually afford. Maybe its not fair to have so much of the good stuff packed in here. Too bad. Life's not always fair. This is about as tolerant, inclusive, diverse place and one is going to find, and with amenities all for free...

I know we've had this conversation before, but for the benefit of the OP I'm just going to observe that among other things the density and age of the housing stock is not for everyone. I'll say this: it's a neighborhood every newcomer to the area should take a look at. Saying that no thinking person would choose to live elsewhere is kind of overstating things, IMO.

As I've said before, 10 years in my husband and I are happy we chose our West Side neighborhood over the homes we seriously considered in Hyde Park. And this is not because we're some kind of white trash who wouldn't fit in with the people who live there. We prefer our newer home and acre of woods, all of which is slightly closer to downtown than HP is.

[sandasene]

The house you have shown in Glendale is the Wm. Mercer Allen House and looks like it's eligible for "Landmark Structure" status:
Glendale's Historic Landmarks

[progmac]

i don't think people are hard on Hyde Park schools. In fact, I think they are recognized as just about the best in the area.

We hope Pleasant Ridge is heading the same way. The community backing at this point is pretty remarkable. If the momentum keeps going and the families in the district don't defect to the private schools, things will be looking very very good. Although I think the quality of education will be similar in no time, the actual test scores may lag for some time simply because there are more of low income kids in the neighborhood district compared with Hyde Park.

And there are lots of good magnet schools in the district as well. So there are bright spots in CPS, despite so many of the schools still being terrible.

[kjbrill]

I recognize there are some extremely attractive streets in Pleasant Ridge, have been for years. My question is whether this regeneration of the neighborhood, support of schools, can take over as a whole. Pleasant Ridge and the adjacent Kennedy Heights have a lot to like. They also have a lot to dislike, specifically the decline of the business districts along the Montgomery Rd corridor.

[t45209]

Originally Posted by kjbrill

I recognize there are some extremely attractive streets in Pleasant Ridge, have been for years. My question is whether this regeneration of the neighborhood, support of schools, can take over as a whole. Pleasant Ridge and the adjacent Kennedy Heights have a lot to like. They also have a lot to dislike, specifically the decline of the business districts along the Montgomery Rd corridor.

I've been in three of the four houses on the OP, and agree that Orchard is a very nice street, but I do think these houses are overpriced for P. Ridge. I think they could be sitting on the market for awhile. There's just something about that neighborhood that never allows it to get over the hump.

The P. Ridge business district has really struggled, despite having some quality anchors like the Gaslight, Everybody's Records, and Molly Malone's. Maybe the one thing that bugs me most about P. Ridge is that it can't support it's own grocery store. Going to Norwood, or all the way to Oakley seems like a pain.

[progmac]

Originally Posted by t45209

I've been in three of the four houses on the OP, and agree that Orchard is a very nice street, but I do think these houses are overpriced for P. Ridge. I think they could be sitting on the market for awhile. There's just something about that neighborhood that never allows it to get over the hump.

The P. Ridge business district has really struggled, despite having some quality anchors like the Gaslight, Everybody's Records, and Molly Malone's. Maybe the one thing that bugs me most about P. Ridge is that it can't support it's own grocery store. Going to Norwood, or all the way to Oakley seems like a pain.

i think part of the struggle has to do with Bigg's and now Aldi being less than a mile away on Ridge but in Columbia township. Plus the trader joe's in kenwood is about six minutes from P Ridge. Nobody drives to oakley or norwood for groceries with these three places being very close. I admit I like the convenience of having these grocers so close, but something in the business district would be nice.

[t45209]

Originally Posted by progmac

i think part of the struggle has to do with Bigg's and now Aldi being less than a mile away on Ridge but in Columbia township. Plus the trader joe's in kenwood is about six minutes from P Ridge. Nobody drives to oakley or norwood for groceries with these three places being very close. I admit I like the convenience of having these grocers so close, but something in the business district would be nice.

Never been a fan of biggs (especially the one at Ridge & Highland) or Aldi's. Trader Joe's isn't the kind of place I would go for staples. Feel the same way about Wild Oats and Fresh Market in Norwood and Oakley, respectively. It was a real loss for P. Ridge when the IGA broke camp. I imagine Clifton is going through the same difficulty now.

[progmac]

Originally Posted by t45209

Never been a fan of biggs (especially the one at Ridge & Highland) or Aldi's. Trader Joe's isn't the kind of place I would go for staples. Feel the same way about Wild Oats and Fresh Market in Norwood and Oakley, respectively. It was a real loss for P. Ridge when the IGA broke camp. I imagine Clifton is going through the same difficulty now.

FWIW, Trader Joe's is a lot cheaper than Fresh Market and Wild Oats. It isn't a high / high business model like those two are. Most things are less expensive than Kroger.

But yeah, there is no Kroger or IGA, but when you have three grocery stores within 5-10 minutes it is hard to complain too loudly. Certainly those three competitors are precisely why IGA left - meaning there are too many grocery stores in the area, not too few.

I am the first to admit the Pleasant Ridge business district has serious issues. But the lack of an IGA is not one of them. A specialty food / health food kind of place is a much better fit for the district with so many other general grocery options within a mile or two.