[clairu28]

Hi everyone!

My husband and I are considering moving to New Milford, CT with our two young children. Our oldest will be entering Kindergarten next fall. We are originally New Yorkers and have been renting in CT for the past few years hoping to narrow down the best town for us before we buy. We are limited by budget and my husbands commute to Danbury, and to be honest, my indecisive nature! We have looked in both Bethel and New Milford, and while I love Bethel, New Milford seems to have more available in our price range. My concern now is the quality of the schools in New Milford. Does anyone here have any recent experience with the schools? In looking at the GreatSchools website it seems they get a grade of only 6 or 7/10 and another site had them rated as C's and C minus I believe (as compared to Bethel which was all A's or A minus). I don't want to put too much stock in the ratings as I know they don't reflect every child's experience, however it is important to us that our kids be challenged and stimulated in school. And we don't want to move again. Another factor is that I have been hoping to find a town with at least a bit of diversity (my husband is Dominican, I am white) and I have always preferred living in places where there are people of different backgrounds, and I assume my children will too. What do you think, good people of New Milford? Could my little family be happy there?

Any advice would be appreciated!!

[NewJeffCT]

In terms of high school SAT scores (not always the best judge), New Milford HS has performed above the state average for each of the last three years for public schools. However, that's certainly not the be all to end all.

In terms of diversity, for the area, New Milford is not bad. But, you'll find a lot of towns in Connecticut lack much in the way of diversity. Many smaller towns are 90-95% white, whereas New Milford is "only" 85% white and nearby Brookfield is 80% white. That said, while there can be the occasional jerk just about anywhere, most people in Connecticut are pretty tolerant of mixed race couples and their children.

[Lalalally]

Originally Posted by NewJeffCT

Many smaller towns are 90-95% white, whereas New Milford is "only" 85% white and nearby Brookfield is 80% white.

I'm fairly certain Brookfield is significantly less diverse than New Milford is, and is definitely more than 80% white. That said, neither town is particularly diverse. In the Greater Danbury area, Danbury itself is obviously the most, and then I would think New Milford and Bethel follow in that order. Brookfield, New Fairfield, Newtown -- not so much at all. P.S., I looked at the stats on City Data, but immediately determined I'm not going to put a lot of stock in them or cite them here -- they have New Milford's population listed at a little more than 6,000. I think it's probably closer to 5x that amount!

[kidyankee764]

How much do you want to spend on a home? What kind of town do you like ---- rural, suburban, walkable and urban?

[NewJeffCT]

Originally Posted by Lalalally

I'm fairly certain Brookfield is significantly less diverse than New Milford is, and is definitely more than 80% white. That said, neither town is particularly diverse. In the Greater Danbury area, Danbury itself is obviously the most, and then I would think New Milford and Bethel follow in that order. Brookfield, New Fairfield, Newtown -- not so much at all. P.S., I looked at the stats on City Data, but immediately determined I'm not going to put a lot of stock in them or cite them here -- they have New Milford's population listed at a little more than 6,000. I think it's probably closer to 5x that amount!

My mistake - it was Bethel that was more diverse, not Brookfield.

[hvexpatinct]

The primary grades are fine. There is talk of redistricting and/or closing some schools, but I don't think that is an unusual conversation in many towns in CT.

The high school has a history of overcrowding.

The town isn't super diverse ethnically, but there is a fair amount of economic diversity.

[Stylo]

Yeah, I had to do a double take on Brookfield as I grew up in the area. It is 93.6% white.

Bethel is a great option for a little more diversity, very good schools, and reasonable prices (although more than NM).

[FutureTown]

New Milford and Bethel are both great towns with great schools. If I HAD to pick one over the other, I would pick Bethel. New Milford is a BIG town. I hope you realize! Bethel's quite tiny in area, and there's more of a feeling of crowdedness in it. Not much, but comparatively to New Milford, yes.

You can't use ratings to gauge 100% on how good the schools are. I'm a somewhat fairly recent graduate from Newtown and I know several people from Bethel and New Milford district. I can assure you your child is in good hands with both school districts. Honestly, from my experience, the biggest bottleneck in your child's education is your child, them self. It all comes down to how much your kid wants to invest, reap the opportunities the school provides, etc.

Bethel is more diverse for sure. It benefits greatly from sitting right next to Danbury's border. New Milford is definitely more white, but honestly, the people here are extremely nice. I'm a minority myself, and other than a few comments here and there by students, I NEVER experienced an issue. And even the comments were brought to justice cause the teachers overheard. CT, especially this part, is very intolerant to racism. And honestly, as every passing year, these towns are becoming more diverse. I've seen so in Newtown, which is probably the whitest town outta the lot.

Good luck! Welcome to Connecticut. It's a great place to raise kids, until they're teenagers.

[clairu28]

Thank you FutureTown, your message is reassuring. (Except the last part. But I've got ten years before I have to worry about that!)

[FutureTown]

Most welcome, clairu! =)