[sjs100]

Hi everyone,

I know there have been tons of threads on this topic. However, I am looking to hear honest, accurate information on Stamford schools from those who live there or know someone who lives there, not just information on test scores. We are looking to buy a home with a budget up to $625,000 and have been looking in Westchester. The high taxes have led us to consider CT. My husband would need to commute to Manhattan so looking much further away than Stamford does not seem realistic. We do not yet have kids but will hopefully be having them soon. Schools are important to us but we don't necessarily want to be in a competitive, cut-throat district. We just want our kids to get a good education. Any thoughts would be helpful, or considerations for other towns we could consider.

Thanks!

[Stylo]

The people I know who had/have kids in the Stamford school system have no complaints. I'd rather my kids go to a more well rounded school like in Stamford vs. a high pressure, sheltered environment in one of the more affluent districts.

That budget prices you out of a lot of the other NYC-commutable towns for a decent SFH in CT. Fairfield would be another option, or even Stratford or Milford. But we're talking about a 70-80 minute train ride. I would not consider Norwalk or Bridgeport unless you're open to private schooling, and even then - I can't recommend Bridgeport due to the high taxes. Might as well be in Westchester at that point.

[dec38]

We’re trying to make a similar decision about Stamford schools. We live in Stamford now and are very happy here. Both my husband and I live about 10 minutes from our jobs, which means more time together as a family. We have a 2 year old, so I’ve been starting to give some thought to whether we need to start considering a move or not. Right now, we’re planning to stay, and to research the public schools some more, with Catholic schools as another realistic possibility. I know people have different tolerances for commute, but a rush hour commute from Fairfield just to Stamford could easily be an hour, which would really impact quality of life, in my view.

People I work with who sent their kids to public schools here (at least for elementary school), have been happy (at least with the elementary schools). From what I’ve heard, Westover has the reputation as the best elementary school, so if you’re looking at houses, you might check out the area districted to Westover school. (Note, however, that Stamford redistricted after we bought our house, so redistricting is always a possibility). I’ve heard some more negative things about middle schools.

As for test scores, I think the overall CMT results can be somewhat misleading, given the diversity in Stamford schools. The website at http://solutions1.emetric.net/cmtpublic/Index.aspx allows you to filter by subgroup, which I find to be helpful. For example, when I looked at the 2011 Connecticut Mastery Test scores for 4th graders, and sorted for students who were not economically disadvantaged (that is, not eligible for free or reduced lunch), I found results that far exceeded the overall state scores, and essentially matched the state non-economically disadvantaged scores. The results were also close enough to Fairfield’s scores to at least lead me to not write off Stamford schools quite so easily, without researching the schools much more thoroughly.

See below results for the 2011 4th Grade CMT Scores (I focused on the percentage of students at or above "goal" level):

At/Above Goal in Math:

State: 67.3
Fairfield: 82.3
Stamford: 60.7
Stamford/Non-economically disadvantaged: 80.3
State/Non-economically disadvantaged: 80.0

At/Above Goal in Reading:

State: 62.5
Fairfield: 80.6
Stamford: 54.2
Stamford/Non-economically disadvantaged: 75.9
State/Non-economically disadvantaged: 75.9

At/Above Goal in Writing:

State: 65.5
Fairfield: 81.9
Stamford: 57.6
Stamford/Non-economically disadvantaged: 75.7
State/Non-economically disadvantaged: 77.9

[Stratford, Ct. Resident]

Originally Posted by mkiv808

The people I know who had/have kids in the Stamford school system have no complaints. I'd rather my kids go to a more well rounded school like in Stamford vs. a high pressure, sheltered environment in one of the more affluent districts.

If you can get into the more suburban elementary schools(i.e.: Newfield/Springdale/Davenport/etc.), it probably wouldn't be bad at all. The choices get a little more difficult when you get to the middle school level. And it gets significantly more difficult(safety) at the high school level. I would consider sending a child to Stamford schools, but only through 5th grade to a suburban school.

[andthentherewere3]

I have friends who have sent their kids to Stamford schools, some of the kids are still there. They are all in north Stamford. I'd say the opinions are mixed; some of the families are happy with the schools, others not so happy. It's the middle and high schools that seem to have the issues. Whether or not to move to Stamford is a personal issue; it is a city and the schools do have issues you'd typically find in an urban environment, but some people are fine with that.

[Stylo]

Originally Posted by dec38

I know people have different tolerances for commute, but a rush hour commute from Fairfield just to Stamford could easily be an hour, which would really impact quality of life, in my view.

It could easily be more than an hour on some days. Why drive? The train from Fairfield to Stamford is only 25 minutes. Many offices offer shuttles to/from the Stamford train station, or there's always the taxi option.

If you're not willing to take the train, I would stay put in Stamford as that commute would be incredibly frustrating to do every day.

[AntonioR]

Would it not be better to make a sticky thread about the schools and their quality and all that information?

I don't know how some of the guys here don't get tired of answering the same questions over and over again. Often times its not as if the old threads are really old, they simply went over onto the other pages of the forum and newbies seem to miss it.

With a sticky, maybe we can stop seeing the same questions being asked week after week after week.

This, btw, is not a criticism at the original poster of this thread.

[sjs100]

I understand that there are a lot of posts on Stamford schools. I went back to many old posts in reading them. However, many people who post on schools do not actually live in that town. I was specifically hoping to hear from people who had first hand information. Thanks for those who have posted thus far and I look forward to hearing more replies.

[7 Wishes]

As I have subbed in the Stamford schools, I know a lot about them. Some thoughts:

1) Westover is a MAGNET school you apply too, so it doesn't matter what part of town you live in. In fact, it actually is in a "so-so" part of town, but is a good school.

2) Stamford (and Norwalk) don't really zone schools by neighborhood and bus like crazy so the neighborhood a school is in has almost nothing to do with performance, etc. I know schools in the richest parts of Stamford that are "blah" and ones in marginal areas that are "good".


I guess to sum it up best is what one poster said, "I'd rather my kids go to a more well rounded school like in Stamford vs. a high pressure, sheltered environment in one of the more affluent districts."

[dec38]

I may be mistaken but my understanding is that although a magnet school, there are parts of Stamford that are in fact districted for Westover elementary. I am districted for the Hart school, for example, even though Hart is also a magnet school.

I agree that the area of town the school is located in does not necessarily predict the quality of the school. Stamford does not follow a strict "neighborhood" school pattern. Kids living in poorer areas of Stamford may be districted to schools in North Stamford, for example.