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Our daughter turns five this November and we are looking for a family friendly neighborhood to move to next summer before she starts Kindergarten.
The reports say Novi has the best school district in Michigan.
Has anyone had an experience with that school system?
Does having all of the 5th and 6th grade students in one school a part of their success.
If Novi is not all it is cracked up to be, what is a better school system?
Can your child survive life without going to the absolute best school in the state?
From what I have heard, the Birmingham, Bloomfield, Troy, Rochester, Northville, Plymouth-Canton, Saline, Ann Arbor, and the Grosse Pointe districts are the best school districts in Southeastern Michigan. Other pretty good school districts are West Bloomfield, Chippewa Valley, South Lyon, Berkley, Grosse Isle, Woodhaven, and even Farmington Hills.
You are setting your child up for great success with any one of these school districts.
Last edited by usroute10; 07-05-2020 at 06:07 PM..
Our daughter turns five this November and we are looking for a family friendly neighborhood to move to next summer before she starts Kindergarten.
The reports say Novi has the best school district in Michigan.
Has anyone had an experience with that school system?
Does having all of the 5th and 6th grade students in one school a part of their success.
If Novi is not all it is cracked up to be, what is a better school system?
Has anyone had an experience with that school system?
I have a child in the upper elementary school that has attended Novi schools since he was in Kindergarten. Our experience has been excellent.
Does having all of the 5th and 6th grade students in one school a part of their success.
Not from what I can tell. The school system has great teachers and administrators. Our son has loved every single one of his teachers and we had great experiences with them as well. Lots of personalized instruction that addresses both the high achievers and kids who struggle. I've been very surprised at how much attention is paid to kids who struggle given the high academic achievement of the district.
If you're looking for a great school district in a family oriented community you can do worse than Novi. Not sure what your price range is, but houses here go quick unless you are building new. Lots of bidding wars. The majority of homes here are no more than a 5 minute drive to downtown Northville and the city of Novi has a lot of family events. People come from all over for the big Christmas party and tree lighting at the civic center complex.
Northville and Rochester schools are on the same tier with Novi, but I can't speak to what the school experience is actually like. I know a lot of people with kids in Northville, but homes there are even tougher to get (and more expensive) than Novi. South Lyon and Plymouth Canton are supposed to be pretty good, but I have heard the latter depends on where you live within the district.
Every top school has various reports or studies saying they are the best int he state in one way or another. Any of the better schools are going to be the same for your child form an academic perspective. You need to look for a school that fits the specific needs of your child. Is your child a top performed (or do you jsut want them to be)? If they ar enot a top performer, they may not do all that well in a super competitive school where you get As or you are worthless. ALso some schools are desperately focused on maintaining the metrics that allow them to claim top school status instead of being focused on the well-being of the students.
Some schools are hypercometitive. Parents compete with each other through their children. the kids are stressed out and neurotic, but many of them perform extremely well academically. If that is what you are looking for, then these schools are for you. Some schools are huge factories turning out conforming student machines. That may fit well for your children. Thos schools tend ot offer a lot of different advanced programs. Smaller schools may not offer as many different programs or fewer AP classes, but they allow greater personalization. That is better for some children. Some children thrive best in an atmosphere that is less competitive. They need to stand out quickly in order to stay motivated. Other children thrive in a more competitive atmosphere and are driven to excellence by intense peers.
Then you need to consider your kid's talent base. Are they musically oriented? Sports? Which sports? Robotics? What interests them and will keep their interest?
What are you looking for as far as diversity? How much do test scores matter to you? Are your kids going to be in the top 10% of their class? If not, how do kids in the middle tend to fare? Do your kids have special needs? Are they non-conforming types? How does that particular school handle students with special needs or students who are deemed "weird"?
really you just need to pick where you want to live and make hte schools work. schools change, and there is no one size fits all school that will be better for all kids.
I can use our example. three of our five kids were musically inclined. The high school where we moved had an excellent music program run by a PhD. After the first year, the school board in their infinite wisdom decided the classical based music program was too boring for them (even though the school was producing a number of professional musicians in all styles of music). So they forced PhD guy to retire and hired a young lady who was more "peppy" She was also under-qualified and a complete flake. She flirted with the male jocks and took them out for ice cream in the middle of the school day. At concerts solos were given to the rich girls who loaned her a really expensive dress so she could sing her own solo for the audience. At performances, many of the students went outside during intermission and got high and came back to try to sing completely stoned. Halfway through the first semester of her third year, she quit without notice and went to be a roadie for her boyfriend's band which was touring Europe (because they were getting nowhere in the USA). Needless to say, the vocal music program went to hell.
The band program was huge about 25% of the high school was in marching band. the instructor was a good instructor, and made band fun. The jazz band got to go play with professional musicians once a year. It was a phenomenal program. then band director had a baby. the demands of family and maintaining the awesome band program were too much and he switched to the middle school or the elementary school (I forget which). The new guy was good, and tries hard, but he is not the band dynamo that his predecessor was. As a result, the band program became kind of average or maybe a bit above average.
the school system here is high performing and very competitive. Many of the kids are flat out amazing during high school and after. Their graduating accolades often include starting a charity, or developing an invention or a business during high school as well as participating in and excelling at various sports, clubs, and of course superb academic performance. Some of our kids thrived in this atmosphere, others stumbled and/or hated it.
One of our kids was not involved in much of anything. She hung out with the fringe kids (Emo, Punkers, gender confused, and people more interested in being weird to others than in mainstream performance. The highly academically charged super involved student body at our school was terrible for her. It made her feel substandard.
One of our kids was a math wizard at a young age. The very competitive academic atmosphere seemed ideal for him. In fifth grade they told us that he should start taking math in highs school. Then he started getting in trouble, his grades faltered, he was hanging out with a rough bunch. Math skills not longer amazed his teachers. He was quite fat, had no self esteem, would not help around the house or do much of any physical activity. Then by chance he joined the rowing team. He was their worst rower, but the team encouraged him and the coach pushed him. He gradually got more and more fit and became one of their best rowers. His grades improved and he got a scholarship to engineering school. He was on a state champion rowing team in high school and then won multiple national gold medals during summers in college. Pretty soon he was gunning for the Olympic team. (he ended up dropping out of college and became a rowing coach. He struggled with Calc. 3 and discovered he hated academic pursuits. Rowing was the only time in his life he was not miserable. now he is broke, happy, and changing kids lives.) It was jsut by chance that our school had a good rowing program. We certainly were not looking for a rowing program. I had never heard of "Crew" as a sport.
The point is, school selection is not your answer to a good life for your kids. You might get lucky or you might get unlucky. The school will change and your kids will change. their interests and aptitudes may not turn out to be what you think they are or want them to be.
So why is it considered so critical to get your kids into the "best" schools? Because realtors want you to believe that is the answer to good parenting. this keeps real estate values high in areas where the schools produce high test scores. However that is honestly a terrible way to choose where you will live. You do not see it now because your want to provide your kids the best of every thing. Best schools, best vacation experiences, pest family time, best, best best. But that is not what they need. They need an upbringing customized to them by someone who gets to know and understand them. This you will realize after you raise them. After you make your mistakes and try to put them into a conforming role in the "best" school. Your kids are not going to turn out as you expect. they are not going to respond to the "best" of everything in the ways you think you want them to. Your particular kids may do better in a mid-level school, or even a 'bad" school. Or they may do better in a small school where they get personalized attention. The scary thing is yu have no idea where it will turn out to be best for them and if you have more than one, they may each thrive in very different schools/atmospheres. sorry, there is no answer.
So why is it considered so critical to get your kids into the "best" schools? Because realtors want you to believe that is the answer to good parenting. this keeps real estate values high in areas where the schools produce high test scores. However that is honestly a terrible way to choose where you will live. You do not see it now because your want to provide your kids the best of every thing. Best schools, best vacation experiences, pest family time, best, best best. But that is not what they need. They need an upbringing customized to them by someone who gets to know and understand them. This you will realize after you raise them. After you make your mistakes and try to put them into a conforming role in the "best" school. Your kids are not going to turn out as you expect. they are not going to respond to the "best" of everything in the ways you think you want them to. Your particular kids may do better in a mid-level school, or even a 'bad" school. Or they may do better in a small school where they get personalized attention. The scary thing is yu have no idea where it will turn out to be best for them and if you have more than one, they may each thrive in very different schools/atmospheres. sorry, there is no answer.
You are making a lot of assumptions and seem to be projecting your own parenting mistakes and failures onto others. I don't know anyone who put their kids in a highly rated school and expected the school to do all the work. Of course it is incumbent on parents to do most of the heavy lifting.
As was mentioned above, the highest performing districts tend to be in the more expensive neighborhoods. Depends on your budget. There are many very good districts in areas where the prices aren't as high. We did very well with Farmington Schools, which are more diverse (Black and Brown students) than some of the top-rated districts. My son, who is the most recent graduate (2016) said that the experiences of getting to know students of color were invaluable to him. He had largely great years in the schools, as did my other three older children. Lots of opportunities.
Every top school has various reports or studies saying they are the best int he state in one way or another. Any of the better schools are going to be the same for your child form an academic perspective. You need to look for a school that fits the specific needs of your child. Is your child a top performed (or do you jsut want them to be)? If they ar enot a top performer, they may not do all that well in a super competitive school where you get As or you are worthless. ALso some schools are desperately focused on maintaining the metrics that allow them to claim top school status instead of being focused on the well-being of the students.
Some schools are hypercometitive. Parents compete with each other through their children. the kids are stressed out and neurotic, but many of them perform extremely well academically. If that is what you are looking for, then these schools are for you. Some schools are huge factories turning out conforming student machines. That may fit well for your children. Thos schools tend ot offer a lot of different advanced programs. Smaller schools may not offer as many different programs or fewer AP classes, but they allow greater personalization. That is better for some children. Some children thrive best in an atmosphere that is less competitive. They need to stand out quickly in order to stay motivated. Other children thrive in a more competitive atmosphere and are driven to excellence by intense peers.
Then you need to consider your kid's talent base. Are they musically oriented? Sports? Which sports? Robotics? What interests them and will keep their interest?
What are you looking for as far as diversity? How much do test scores matter to you? Are your kids going to be in the top 10% of their class? If not, how do kids in the middle tend to fare? Do your kids have special needs? Are they non-conforming types? How does that particular school handle students with special needs or students who are deemed "weird"?
really you just need to pick where you want to live and make hte schools work. schools change, and there is no one size fits all school that will be better for all kids.
I can use our example. three of our five kids were musically inclined. The high school where we moved had an excellent music program run by a PhD. After the first year, the school board in their infinite wisdom decided the classical based music program was too boring for them (even though the school was producing a number of professional musicians in all styles of music). So they forced PhD guy to retire and hired a young lady who was more "peppy" She was also under-qualified and a complete flake. She flirted with the male jocks and took them out for ice cream in the middle of the school day. At concerts solos were given to the rich girls who loaned her a really expensive dress so she could sing her own solo for the audience. At performances, many of the students went outside during intermission and got high and came back to try to sing completely stoned. Halfway through the first semester of her third year, she quit without notice and went to be a roadie for her boyfriend's band which was touring Europe (because they were getting nowhere in the USA). Needless to say, the vocal music program went to hell.
The band program was huge about 25% of the high school was in marching band. the instructor was a good instructor, and made band fun. The jazz band got to go play with professional musicians once a year. It was a phenomenal program. then band director had a baby. the demands of family and maintaining the awesome band program were too much and he switched to the middle school or the elementary school (I forget which). The new guy was good, and tries hard, but he is not the band dynamo that his predecessor was. As a result, the band program became kind of average or maybe a bit above average.
the school system here is high performing and very competitive. Many of the kids are flat out amazing during high school and after. Their graduating accolades often include starting a charity, or developing an invention or a business during high school as well as participating in and excelling at various sports, clubs, and of course superb academic performance. Some of our kids thrived in this atmosphere, others stumbled and/or hated it.
One of our kids was not involved in much of anything. She hung out with the fringe kids (Emo, Punkers, gender confused, and people more interested in being weird to others than in mainstream performance. The highly academically charged super involved student body at our school was terrible for her. It made her feel substandard.
One of our kids was a math wizard at a young age. The very competitive academic atmosphere seemed ideal for him. In fifth grade they told us that he should start taking math in highs school. Then he started getting in trouble, his grades faltered, he was hanging out with a rough bunch. Math skills not longer amazed his teachers. He was quite fat, had no self esteem, would not help around the house or do much of any physical activity. Then by chance he joined the rowing team. He was their worst rower, but the team encouraged him and the coach pushed him. He gradually got more and more fit and became one of their best rowers. His grades improved and he got a scholarship to engineering school. He was on a state champion rowing team in high school and then won multiple national gold medals during summers in college. Pretty soon he was gunning for the Olympic team. (he ended up dropping out of college and became a rowing coach. He struggled with Calc. 3 and discovered he hated academic pursuits. Rowing was the only time in his life he was not miserable. now he is broke, happy, and changing kids lives.) It was jsut by chance that our school had a good rowing program. We certainly were not looking for a rowing program. I had never heard of "Crew" as a sport.
The point is, school selection is not your answer to a good life for your kids. You might get lucky or you might get unlucky. The school will change and your kids will change. their interests and aptitudes may not turn out to be what you think they are or want them to be.
So why is it considered so critical to get your kids into the "best" schools? Because realtors want you to believe that is the answer to good parenting. this keeps real estate values high in areas where the schools produce high test scores. However that is honestly a terrible way to choose where you will live. You do not see it now because your want to provide your kids the best of every thing. Best schools, best vacation experiences, pest family time, best, best best. But that is not what they need. They need an upbringing customized to them by someone who gets to know and understand them. This you will realize after you raise them. After you make your mistakes and try to put them into a conforming role in the "best" school. Your kids are not going to turn out as you expect. they are not going to respond to the "best" of everything in the ways you think you want them to. Your particular kids may do better in a mid-level school, or even a 'bad" school. Or they may do better in a small school where they get personalized attention. The scary thing is yu have no idea where it will turn out to be best for them and if you have more than one, they may each thrive in very different schools/atmospheres. sorry, there is no answer.
That is a dissertation. What school district did your 5 kids go through? I am a product of Ann Arbor Schools so I can relate to the situations you described. I don't know what my Daughter will be into. She is only 4. I just want to have a family-friendly community where she can explore various interests.
As was mentioned above, the highest performing districts tend to be in the more expensive neighborhoods. Depends on your budget. There are many very good districts in areas where the prices aren't as high. We did very well with Farmington Schools, which are more diverse (Black and Brown students) than some of the top-rated districts. My son, who is the most recent graduate (2016) said that the experiences of getting to know students of color were invaluable to him. He had largely great years in the schools, as did my other three older children. Lots of opportunities.
The diversity thing is important too. We are black and we want an environment that will be inviting to her.
The point is, school selection is not your answer to a good life for your kids. You might get lucky or you might get unlucky. The school will change and your kids will change. their interests and aptitudes may not turn out to be what you think they are or want them to be.
.
This was an excellent post & I experienced several emotion reading your post. The journey of parenthood is an emotional roller-coaster. I thought you had the answer to choosing the perfect school & then you ended with the comment above, no way to figure that out. especially if someone has multiple kids, they can't possible cater school to each of their kids need.
Maybe aiming for average school, middle of the road is best. It should have the most options, catering to kids in both spectrum without focusing on any.
I do not know the answer. No one does. All you need do is watch a few hundred kifs get raised by different families and you will understand. Anyone who claims they do know the answer is simply lacking in experience, naive or deluded. There is no formula that will produce your ideal of an ideal kid. They will be different at different times. If you ned them to your will and produce the kid you think you should, they will end up resentful and secretly hating you. Or they will hit a breaking point in later life and go bonkers
We did the best we could. Our kids are great people, some are "successful" by conforming standards, some are not. Some are successful by other standards. None went as we expected. The jock was the scariest one to me. I hated jocks in school - how did I end up raising one? How come I always liked and admired him so much? Nothing makes any sense when it comes to parenting.
Do the best you can and love the results.
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