Relocation to CO Springs, making the most of a short visit (Denver: appointed, chapel)

[calocr]

Part of me really likes the appeal of living in a more historic home in a downtown area. That's the style of home I prefer, it's just the size and layout that sometimes doesn't work for us. However, I'm definitely interested in driving through all the neighborhoods to get a feel for them. I'm definitely not going to rule out living downtown. Thanks for the tip.

[Westbound and Down]

Originally Posted by calocr

Part of me really likes the appeal of living in a more historic home in a downtown area. That's the style of home I prefer, it's just the size and layout that sometimes doesn't work for us. However, I'm definitely interested in driving through all the neighborhoods to get a feel for them. I'm definitely not going to rule out living downtown. Thanks for the tip.

Your $400k budget would not buy you much in the Old North End, if anything suitable for a family. For grins, we recently went to an open house for a small home there, and it had 3 BR and one bath upstairs, and on the main level it had a couple of small parlors and a bizarrely located bath with shower accessed from the kitchen, but no bedroom or room on the main level that could realistically made into a BR...house needed lots of updating, no A/C, very dated kitchen, and no garage or off street parking...price was around $500k IIRC...that is on the low end of prices in the ONE...and there are crime issues in the area that you have to be aware of.

I live in a rental in the Rockrimmon area, and you can get a decent house for $400k, but as with anything, more budget would yield a nicer home.

[DrDog]

Originally Posted by calocr

Property taxes are much lower in CO Springs than Cedar Rapids. Our property taxes were over $7000 last year on a $340,000 home. That does give us more wiggle room in our house search, so we could increase our budget for the right home. However, part of the appeal of this area is the proximity to all kinds of other great areas in Colorado, so I'm imagining a lot more weekend trips! Also, great suggestions for where to go on our visit. That's exactly the kind of thing I'm looking for-- I also agree that checking out the malls and shopping districts say a lot about the area haha.

Property taxes may be considerably higher in a new development.

[hollyt00]

I'd also try to figure out what data you're looking for when looking at technology/tablets. I recently left a school that had laptops for all students in their computer-based classes (computer based being english, social studies). However, it was a pilot program that often left the students to "work at their own pace"... which in theory sounds great but in practice meant the kids would work at their own pace- five hours of youtube and ten minutes working on homework. I'd walk by the plate-glass windows of the technology classrooms (really great looking aesthetically) and could count on one hand which of the 80+ students in the classroom space were actually working on content for the class.

I'm currently in a school that has no real technology for the students. Very old-school. Students learn much faster, better, and there aren't as much distractions or headaches from staring at screens all day.

Most elementaries around do a pretty decent job. As a high school teacher, I try to remind people that looking at the high schools and middle schools are really important and need to be looked at. While many people are willing to move their kid away from neighborhood schools (I did; I had my daughter at Midland ES (IB+French), Stratton ES (GT), North MS- only school that was "neighborhood" for me was North, and then she moved to a neighborhood catholic school) some aren't. So while the elementaries may be good, the middle school may be far less than desired and the high schools even worse- would your kid want to move to a different school than their friends? Would you be willing to drive your child to a school twenty/thirty minutes away?

Look at things like counselors- how many counselors in the high school for students? Is there a dedicated college counselor? What is the AP pass rate? IB pass rate? Does there seem to be a ton of teacher turnover? How many "new" programs are instituted year after year- "here's a new program we're doing this year!" raises red flags for me. Personally I find the counselors really important. I taught too many students who didn't get proper counseling (not because of poor counselors, but because the counselors watched over 400 students) and they either didn't get into colleges, didn't apply to certain colleges, didn't get scholarships, missing out on all that they deserved and more because of a lack of counseling.

[Mike from back east]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Holly gives real insights from a real parent and a real teacher; parents take note.

[unbeliever]

Originally Posted by otowi

We have a great library system with Pikes Peak Library District..

NO, we have a terrible library system. We moved down to Monument from Broomfield, and we really struggle with the libraries in El Paso County. My daughter's a bookworm, and I end up taking her to the Denver Public Library every week or two. The biggest libraries in the Springs have tiny book collections and lots of places to hang out. We have a couple dozen books on hold at a given time, and we still struggle. I never thought I'd miss Broomfield, but..

[calocr]

Originally Posted by unbeliever

NO, we have a terrible library system. We moved down to Monument from Broomfield, and we really struggle with the libraries in El Paso County. My daughter's a bookworm, and I end up taking her to the Denver Public Library every week or two. The biggest libraries in the Springs have tiny book collections and lots of places to hang out. We have a couple dozen books on hold at a given time, and we still struggle. I never thought I'd miss Broomfield, but..

What I'm primary looking for in a library is one that has really strong programming for kids. We have three city libraries that are would consider really great in the Cedar Rapids area, not because they necessarily have a variety of books or are large, but simply because they have fantastic programs geared towards babies, toddlers, and pre-schoolers. We usually go to a specific program at least once a week, and then we go to read books and play at the library another day of the week (they usually have legos, puppets, train tables, all the make-believe stuff...). I only clarify that because I think my needs in a library might be different than a lot of others unless they are also a stay at home parent of young kids!

[calocr]

Originally Posted by hollyt00

I'd also try to figure out what data you're looking for when looking at technology/tablets. I recently left a school that had laptops for all students in their computer-based classes (computer based being english, social studies). However, it was a pilot program that often left the students to "work at their own pace"... which in theory sounds great but in practice meant the kids would work at their own pace- five hours of youtube and ten minutes working on homework. I'd walk by the plate-glass windows of the technology classrooms (really great looking aesthetically) and could count on one hand which of the 80+ students in the classroom space were actually working on content for the class.

I'm currently in a school that has no real technology for the students. Very old-school. Students learn much faster, better, and there aren't as much distractions or headaches from staring at screens all day.

Most elementaries around do a pretty decent job. As a high school teacher, I try to remind people that looking at the high schools and middle schools are really important and need to be looked at. While many people are willing to move their kid away from neighborhood schools (I did; I had my daughter at Midland ES (IB+French), Stratton ES (GT), North MS- only school that was "neighborhood" for me was North, and then she moved to a neighborhood catholic school) some aren't. So while the elementaries may be good, the middle school may be far less than desired and the high schools even worse- would your kid want to move to a different school than their friends? Would you be willing to drive your child to a school twenty/thirty minutes away?

Look at things like counselors- how many counselors in the high school for students? Is there a dedicated college counselor? What is the AP pass rate? IB pass rate? Does there seem to be a ton of teacher turnover? How many "new" programs are instituted year after year- "here's a new program we're doing this year!" raises red flags for me. Personally I find the counselors really important. I taught too many students who didn't get proper counseling (not because of poor counselors, but because the counselors watched over 400 students) and they either didn't get into colleges, didn't apply to certain colleges, didn't get scholarships, missing out on all that they deserved and more because of a lack of counseling.

These are some really great tips! I definitely agree that even though I have children that aren't yet in kindergarten, it's important to think about the schooling they will have all the way until they graduate high school. The number of counselors to students is something I hadn't thought of before, but I totally agree with you on that. As far as technology in the classroom, I think a lot of it depends on the teachers. It can be done really well and effectively, or it can be done really poorly. Before I became a stay at home parent, I worked with students with significant disabilities in middle school. I saw a lot of the positives of technology because it allowed a lot of my students to find a way to socialize and engage with their general education peers, but I also saw a lot of kids just searching youtube and messaging friends when they were supposed to be working on modules or researching, so I get what you are saying. It's kind of a mixed bag, but I think a school that keeps up with technology and keeps their students up to date with using technology has a good, forward-thinking mindset. But, like many things, it's not always put to practice the way it's intended.

[otowi]

Originally Posted by unbeliever

NO, we have a terrible library system. We moved down to Monument from Broomfield, and we really struggle with the libraries in El Paso County. My daughter's a bookworm, and I end up taking her to the Denver Public Library every week or two. The biggest libraries in the Springs have tiny book collections and lots of places to hang out. We have a couple dozen books on hold at a given time, and we still struggle. I never thought I'd miss Broomfield, but..

Have you not used Interlibrary Loan? It is great!

[Mike from back east]

Pikes Peak Library District

Check it out.