[CTartist]

Originally Posted by WestRiverTraveler

Superior? Based on what? Niche? I want my kids in a great school system. My district is #8, but that's not why I chose my town. My decision to be in Madison vs Branford had NOTHING to do with the school. I would have been happy with Branford.

Honestly, top third in CT is superior to almost anyplace else.

You know the one thing that makes a difference in best Westport vs Branford? The peer group. .

All f your statements seem more like emotion than actual statistics. I grew up in Stamford surrounded by superior school districts. I had cousins that went to those school districts.

Some things are just superior. I will probably retire to Branford. I personally like the vibe better than but that does not mean I can't see that the schools are better in Madison, Guilford (and yes Westport is FAR superior). And I have been told that by realtors many times. I think the realtors up there know their business.

I looked through the best school districts IN THE COUNTRY for 2024. I went through the top 250. I will look at other websites later and I am sure it will be around the same.
https://www.niche.com/k12/search/bes...ricts/?page=10


#20 Westport CT (just think about all the wealth in the country and Westport is 20)
#48 New Canaan CT
#65 Wilton CT
#99 Darien CT
#126 Greenwich
#133 Ridgefield CT
#141 Glastonbury CT (way go Glastonbury)

I have never look up the top school districts in the country before. But it is what I have been saying. The FFC Gold Coast have superior schools.

I grew up in Stamford and have cousins and now have friends in all of these towns. I have known these schools are superior since I was a teenager.

I go by the math. It doesn't have emotions. I love math.

[SteveM85]

Originally Posted by ct1615

Well that's the issue, rich parents. I have a number of friends from HS who aren't qualified to be the night manager at a rest stop subway yet daddy set them up for early retirement with one phone call or they joined his practice. Kids with average grades from state schools being picked over kids with Ivy League educations. You find more rich parents in rich school districts and rich people will help out other rich people to stay rich. So maybe 90% of kids with secondary educations from shelton, milford, bethel become regional sales managers at paper plants in PA but the the number at richer towns may be 80% due to family and prestigious giving them a leg up for a slightly better school and a better job.

One more time guys -

99% of kids with secondary educations, no matter where from, will end up side by side in corporate American cube farms doing menial corporate tasks, whether they went to a superior A-list school or Bridgeport.
For average/normal intelligence, Corp America is their max peak potential. Westport schools will not get you past Corp America if you are in this group of personnel.

The other 1% will go to the highly selectives like Stanford and MIT and of course Ivies if you have woke activism under your belt along with higher intelligence.

The superior schools that surround Stamford will not turn kids into Rob Oppenheimer.

The OPs kids future professional careers will not hinge on Westport vs West Hartford or Avon schools.

[reslinal]

Originally Posted by CTartist

All f your statements seem more like emotion than actual statistics. I grew up in Stamford surrounded by superior school districts. I had cousins that went to those school districts.

Some things are just superior. I will probably retire to Branford. I personally like the vibe better than but that does not mean I can't see that the schools are better in Madison, Guilford (and yes Westport is FAR superior). And I have been told that by realtors many times. I think the realtors up there know their business.

I looked through the best school districts IN THE COUNTRY for 2024. I went through the top 250. I will look at other websites later and I am sure it will be around the same.
https://www.niche.com/k12/search/bes...ricts/?page=10


#20 Westport CT (just think about all the wealth in the country and Westport is 20)
#48 New Canaan CT
#65 Wilton CT
#99 Darien CT
#126 Greenwich
#133 Ridgefield CT
#141 Glastonbury CT (way go Glastonbury)

I have never look up the top school districts in the country before. But it is what I have been saying. The FFC Gold Coast have superior schools.

I grew up in Stamford and have cousins and now have friends in all of these towns. I have known these schools are superior since I was a teenager.

I go by the math. It doesn't have emotions. I love math.

Thanks for the information. We didn't realize how highly ranked Westport is in the country! Our decision on moving to Avon/WH is really based on that we will get (with the same or even better financials):

1. Bigger and nicer house and
2. Hopefully better education due to going private for high school is now more affordable
3. Shorter commute for me (two times a week to WH area) but longer commute for my wife (one time a Month to NYC).

I do wonder now though if the private high school close to Avon/WH area are indeed better than Westport or not.

[reslinal]

Originally Posted by ct1615

I can only go by my experience and it's been a while since I was in school.

I went to grammar & middle school in a good town where most people were middle class to well off. Both schools are currently rated A- in niche. Most of the students were your typically just get by students. B&C's were the norm with several students being really smart that could excel anywhere and a number of students going nowhere fast (probably home life issues but I was too young to truly understand).



We then moved to a very rich town in a A+ school district but I had already committed to going to HS at a "A" rated private school. A large number of kids from my old town also went to this school. I found the school to be slightly difficult from my previous school district but they constantly told us how special we were for getting into the school which I found to be a joke. Yes there were smart students there but also a number of kids there because they could pay full tuition and there was a decent amount of kids there because mommy and daddy wanted them to get away from "problem" school districts without realizing their kid was the problem. I left after one year.


I entered the A+ rated HS in the rich town and holly crap, it was 1) more competitive than the private school. 2) the amount of homework these kids did was shocking to me. It was a bigger jump from middle school to private school for me. They also had guidance councilors focused on college entry from sophomore year, computer labs that put my college computer labs to shame, and programs that used to cost money now the district picks up the tab as well as special needs programs (I had only seen gifted programs in previous schools).



The biggest difference for me was not the smart kids, you had smart kids everywhere. I was more a B+ student but I took honors and AP classes. The kids that just wanted to get by were the majority in my grammar & middle school but were the minority in the rich A+ town. The kids themselves were not "smarter" but they were far more dedicated to learning and "book smarter". Many were getting into schools they probably could not have gotten into without their HS education. Now, I don't think it's 100% like that anymore as colleges have gotten better at selections since the 80's and 90"s but I'm sure kids still get a leg up coming from these schools.

Thanks for sharing your experience, this is very interesting. We always assumed that private schools in New England area will be better than even Westport high school, it seems it may not be the case? Was the town you moved to more similar to Westport or more like Avon in terms of wealth?

[reslinal]

Originally Posted by SteveM85

One more time guys -

99% of kids with secondary educations, no matter where from, will end up side by side in corporate American cube farms doing menial corporate tasks, whether they went to a superior A-list school or Bridgeport.
For average/normal intelligence, Corp America is their max peak potential. Westport schools will not get you past Corp America if you are in this group of personnel.

The other 1% will go to the highly selectives like Stanford and MIT and of course Ivies if you have woke activism under your belt along with higher intelligence.

The superior schools that surround Stamford will not turn kids into Rob Oppenheimer.

The OPs kids future professional careers will not hinge on Westport vs West Hartford or Avon schools.

This does not seem to be the case at least based on our personal experience and the experience of our friends. As long as the kids are decently smart (which there are plenty, don't have to be super intelligent), the focus on education from the school and the parents/kids themselves do seem to make a difference on what career the kids will have in the future.

[SteveM85]

Originally Posted by reslinal

As long as the kids are decently smart (which there are plenty, don't have to be super intelligent), the focus on education from the school and the parents/kids themselves do seem to make a difference on what career the kids will have in the future.

Of course, maybe a kid does really well in math and a Westport teacher or counselor steered them towards a career in accounting and finance, or another kid in Avon enjoys the visual arts and was guided to a career in marketing or design. Maybe a Bridgeport kid loves coding and a teacher suggested they should pursue a computer science degree program later on. All normal, you are absolutely correct.

[davwve]

Originally Posted by reslinal

We always assumed that private schools in New England area will be better than even Westport high school, it seems it may not be the case?

Why do you think that a private school will offer a better educational experience than some of the top public schools in the State? Don't think I saw you mention any specific private schools. As like public schools the quality of education and resources varies across the options for private schools.

[SteveM85]

Originally Posted by ct1615

Better school districts can if used properly get you into better colleges. Better colleges can if used properly get you into better job interviews. All of these are up to the individual person that they can equally take advantage of or screw up.

What's a "better" college? I understand Stanford, Duke, Vandy and Harvard are "better" colleges but normal kids don't get in those.

Again, what you say there is all fine,you did a really tremendous job, but a New Haven extrovert might ace an interview while a Weston introvert might nervously fumble through it and bomb. You never know.
You keep skirting the bottom line though, which is, at the end of the day, after all the interviews have been completed, they all end up in the same place - clicking mice in Corporate America.

The OPs kids will get into colleges regardless whether they come from Westport or Avon or West Hartford.
I wish them nothing but the very best in their decision.

[reslinal]

Originally Posted by ct1615

1) Out of curiosity why do you need a bigger and nicer house? I've lived in very large homes and smaller homes. There are pros and cons to each.
2) What do your children want? Sending the to private school away from their friends and away from routines in which they are doing well in may backfire on you. Then again I have friends with kids who struggled in public school and did well in private but in each scenario it has to do with the child themselves.
3) Westport to NYC is doable, a number of Wesport/Weston commuters going down to the city but if your wife's job all the sudden calls everyone back she may want to look for something else if you are that far out.

1. We just got a very large family (4 to 5 kids etc) recently, usually needs a living-in helper, and have occasional in-law visits that do extended stays, so we are looking for a large house to accommodate so many people comfortably.

2. Our kids are very young, the oldest just entered public school, so we are not concerned about their demands yet

3. My wife doesn't think she can tolerate commuting 3 or 4 days a week to NYC even from Westport. So if her job nature ever changes to requiring more frequent office time, she will need to get a place in NYC to stay couple days regardless if we live in Westport or Avon. Her previous job was in a location more convenient to commute to from Westport.

[JayCT]

Please stop the off topic debate and return to the topic of the OP. JayCT, Moderator