[sungoddessCT]

Can someone who actually lives in Stonington please give me the scoop on the local schools? I am looking for feedback on Mystic Middle School & Stonington High School. Were you happy with the teachers, students, athletics? I know that these schools have lower test scores than Guilford, Madison or East Lyme (all towns that I am also considering moving to). I realize that test scores do not tell the whole story and I am looking to hear from people who have had actual first hand experience with these schools. I have done my research on the strategic school profiles so I am aware of all the data and I do not want to choose a town based only on SAT or CAPT results. Also, do you think that living in Stonington is overall a good place to live and raise a family? Thanks!

[NewJeffCT]

I don't really know a lot about Stonington schools. However, I'd recommend Guilford or Madison over East Lyme, Old Lyme or Stonington in terms of school results. (I live in East Lyme and the schools seem good overall, but I think Madison or Guilford might be better)

[Zuzu85]

Sorry I can't help you either... but did you try looking at greatschools.org? Often former students, as well as parents post reviews about the schools. Of course, take it all with a grain of salt. You will never really know how your own child's experience will be at a particular school until they go through it (when of course it is too late to make a different decision lol).

[JayCT]

I do not trust greatschools.com. Their criteria gives some schools higher ratings to schools most people would not consider are that good and schools that are considered to be very good are lower. I recommend you review the Connecticut Mastery and Connecticut Academic Performance Tests. These tests are given to all students and will at least give you an idea of how they compare. You can find the results of these tests for each school in Connecticut on the link below.

State Department of Education - CEDaR

In looking at Stonington schools, they perform well above the state averages on these tests which to me means they are good schools. The schools you are comparing them to are also good but I feel Guilford and Madison are kind of far from Stonington and East Lyme. I am not sure where you work but I do not think it would be worth a long commute to live in any of these towns since there are great towns near all major employment centers. Jay

[NewJeffCT]

I agree with Jay in that I don't entirely trust greatschools, either. Also, keep in mind that Connecticut is usually one of the better states in terms of overall quality for public education, so even an average school in Connecticut is above average nationally.

I think schooldigger will consolidate the CMT and CAPT scores on their website, whereas I had to go to each section of the CMT and CAPT test to get information on the state website.

It's also tough to even speak with locals, as most people that live in a town think their own schools are good. Just like how polls always show the public wants to boot out everybody in Congress - except that they like their local representative.

so, the best advice is to do a little bit of everything - compare test scores, get greatschools ratings, talk to a few locals, get some input here, etc - and make your own call based on your work location.

[mrgmrg]

Re: Stonington schools: I don't look at test scores and the like (they're basically useless). First of all, you've already done that research, and second of all, it tells you a very limited story. That being said, I would recommend Stonington. The public high school is MUCH smaller than those you are comparing it to--like, 5-600 students or so. (Half the size of Guilford and EL, 1/3 smaller than Madison.) Facilities are newer than EL and Guilford, though Guilford is building a new high school. I know many people who have attended Stonington and they all had great results. Madison and Guilford's high schools are likely better due to their dramatically higher median incomes, since they are suburbs of New Haven, and Stonington is not a suburb of anything.

Though this point has been seriously contentious in other forums here, I have to say that I personally would not invest in EL right now. The primary reason for EL outperforming other school systems that exceed it in factors generally correlated with performance (well, one factor: income) is that Pfizer placed most of its mid-level employees there. Pfizer is pulling out of the area and with it go the students driving EL's success. The long-term prognosis is, in my opinion, questionable.

In terms of living in Stonington generally--I cannot recommend it enough. First of all, it is a beautiful, beautiful town. Tons of gorgeous antique homes, stunning water views, a very nice country club, and access to the restaurants and shopping of downtown Mystic and Stonington Borough. If you enjoy boating, it far exceeds any of the towns you listed (and it is 15 minutes from excellent Rhode Island beaches). It has a wide range of housing stock--from ultra-high-end waterfront properties in the Borough, Wamphassuc Point, and Mason's Island, to relatively affordable houses in the Village, in Mystic, in Pawcatuck, or in the backcountry, to beach cottages on Lord's Point. There are a few new developments, but they are relatively high-end and unobtrusive.

Unlike the other towns on your list, Stonington is an old-money town. Some area people consider it snobby, but I find it more palatable than the gauche showiness of Madison. Depending on where you want to buy, your dollar will go much further in Stonington, too.

You couldn't pay me to live in Madison. It is the definition of new money, and I frankly don't think there's anything special about it to justify the cost. It's also an absolute zoo in the summer months. Guilford is a lovely little town, though I don't know it that well. East Lyme is, to me, on the couldn't-pay-me-to-live-there list: housing stock is primarily post-1995 builder-grade subdivisions, there is not much to do there, and the beaches look out on a nuclear reactor. It certainly has its defenders here, however.

May I ask where you will be commuting to/from? Stonington is quite a distance from the other towns you've listed.

[Stylo]

Stonington is really nice and the schools are good. Nothing to worry about. I'm also curious why you're comparing to towns that are pretty far away?

[NewJeffCT]

If somebody is working near the base of Route 9 (Old Saybrook, Old Lyme, East Lyme, Essex, etc), both Mystic and Guilford are not bad commutes. I live in East Lyme and can make it to Mystic in 15-20 minutes and Branford (one town past Guilford) in under 30 minutes. Of course, if you live in north Guilford, north Madison, or up in the northern part of North Stonington, you can easily add 10-15 minutes to that time, and more in the summer.

[NewJeffCT]

It also depends on what you want in a school - North Stonington is a smaller school system with only about 250 students in the high school, so will offer fewer choices in terms of things like world languages (only Spanish & French), AP classes, advanced math and science, and special education, if needed. However, the small school atmosphere could allow some kids to blossom and not get lost in the mix.

Towns like Guilford, Madison and East Lyme all have more robust language programs (EL offers Spanish, French, German, Latin and is rolling out Chinese, Madison offers Chinese, Latin, Spanish & French, Guilford offers Spanish, French, Arabic and Latin) and also offer more AP classes (in math, NS offers one AP class in Calculus, while Madison offers AP Calculus 1 and 2, AP Statistics, and others) and probably can more easily accommodate different types of special education needs. But, in a larger school system like those towns, some kids can get lost in the mix.

However, schools in Connecticut, in general, tend to be smaller than a lot of schools in other states, so size can be relative, as even a bigger high school like Madison can look small compared to some high schools that have 3,000, 4,000 or more students in it like some states have. (Heck, Greenwich HS in Connecticut has almost 2,700 students in it and dwarfs Madison)

[sungoddessCT]

Thanks for the replies! Commute is not an issue since I work from home. I think my family could easily fit into any of these towns. Tough to narrow it down as they are all so nice! My top two would be either Stonington or Madison. I realize that the schools & athletic teams in Madison perform much better, but in terms of housing, my money will go further in Stonington.