[MtnLaura]

I am relocating to the area from the Philly suburbs and "everyone" is telling me Glastonbury schools are the "best". However, I think the town of Portland more suits my family. Can someone give me an idea of what the Portland schools are like? Even if they are not as good as Glastonbury, the research I've done seems to indicate they're still a great school district, but I'm having a hard time getting a straight answer from the people I've met up here!

Thank you!

[JayCT]

Portland schools perform above the state averages on the Connecticut Mastery and Connecticut Academic Performance Tests and appear to have reasonable class sizes. I would say they are considered to be good to very good. Only you can decide if they are good for your children. You can find more information on the website below. Jay

State Department of Education - CEDaR

[mels]

People on these boards would have you thinking your child will be years behind if they aren't going to school in Avon or Glastonbury. Puh-leeze. Most suburbs in CT have good public schools. Very few non-urban areas have poorly performing schools (they exist but aren't the norm).

[mlassoff]

I asked my brother, who did his student teaching in Portland. He said the schools are quite good.

[MtnLaura]

Originally Posted by mels

People on these boards would have you thinking your child will be years behind if they aren't going to school in Avon or Glastonbury. Puh-leeze. Most suburbs in CT have good public schools. Very few non-urban areas have poorly performing schools (they exist but aren't the norm).

Thanks, Mels! I kind of felt that way, too, and that's another reason I think a town like Portland would be a much better fit for me and my family. It looked like an excellent school district to me!

[JViello]

One thing you might want to know, is that the only access over the river from Portland is via the Arragoni (sp?) bridge unless you go all the way up to Hartford or down to East Haddam. The bridge is 4 lanes, but will be reduced to two lanes for I think several years for bridge repair. Expect traffic to be a nightmare as it's already not great with 4 lanes.

If you have no need to get to Middletown or West of the river on a daily basis you'll be fine, but I at least wanted to let you know that.

[MtnLaura]

Originally Posted by JViello

One thing you might want to know, is that the only access over the river from Portland is via the Arragoni (sp?) bridge unless you go all the way up to Hartford or down to East Haddam. The bridge is 4 lanes, but will be reduced to two lanes for I think several years for bridge repair. Expect traffic to be a nightmare as it's already not great with 4 lanes.

If you have no need to get to Middletown or West of the river on a daily basis you'll be fine, but I at least wanted to let you know that.

I appreciate the heads up and was aware of the bridge repair. My husband's office will be in Manchester and he will also have to get to New Haven fairly often. We were looking at the area of Portland just outside of South Glastonbury so I *think* we're okay for awhile, but who knows? I learn something new about Connecticut every day. Sometimes good, sometimes bad.

[mels]

Originally Posted by MtnLaura

I appreciate the heads up and was aware of the bridge repair. My husband's office will be in Manchester and he will also have to get to New Haven fairly often. We were looking at the area of Portland just outside of South Glastonbury so I *think* we're okay for awhile, but who knows? I learn something new about Connecticut every day. Sometimes good, sometimes bad.

From that area it will be a relatively easy commute up Rt. 17 to Rt. 2 on the days he is going to Manchester.

[JViello]

Originally Posted by mels

From that area it will be a relatively easy commute up Rt. 17 to Rt. 2 on the days he is going to Manchester.

Yep or even a nice drive along RT83 through S Glastonbury. 20 minutes tops.