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Our family (me - currently stay-at-home-parent, husband, 4-year-old, 1-year-old) might be moving to Las Vegas for my husband's job. We're originally from Germany but have been living in Columbus Ohio for the past 8 or so years and really like it, but need to consider all options in a pretty narrow job field after a previous job ended. I'm mainly wondering:
A. How bad is the education situation in Las Vegas for the kids?
After some research on this board and elsewhere, this seems so bleak that this might be the deciding factor in ruling out Las Vegas. In Columbus, we moved to a great school district to have access to good public schools (which is our first preference), but I'm worried that in a school district as badly ranked as Clark County even the better schools will leave a lot to be desired. But we will not have the money for the higher-end private schools, especially not once both kids are in school (thinking of the 15-20k kind). We might be able to pull off something like a Montessori school, or Catholic school - but how would I know how good these are? I will consider homeschooling if that's the best way to give my kids a good education at a reasonable price, but it's not my first choice. I looked at some home school activity lists, but it seems like Las Vegas has much less to offer in that area than Columbus - we now have a great Zoo, a good science center with a great kids space, free Metro- and State Parks with educational classes for kids, plus the usual rec center etc. sports and arts class opportunities - and one of the best public library systems in the country. For the parents among you, what did you choose, and how happy are you with your decision? Is education something that might make you want to live elsewhere? Does anyone have experience with Montessori schools in Las Vegas in particular? Education is a top priority for us.
B. What areas of town should my husband look at when he's there for his interview?
We have only been to Las Vegas twice, very briefly, mostly on the way to some National Parks. We really haven't seen much of residential Las Vegas. From this forum, I take it that Henderson or Summerlin would be good places to live. We'd be looking to rent a 3-bdr house or apartment at first. My husband would be working downtown. Access to public transit is not important (unless my husband could commute that way reliably - that would be nice). A shorter commute is also nice, but 30 minutes each way would not be an issue at all if it meant a better neighborhood. Suburban is fine, although I do like to be able to walk to something - a park, a library, a grocery store, at least one of those maybe. Amenities I'd like in the neighborhood are a decent public school, a play-based preschool for before then, parks/ playground/ a community pool or other kid-friendly things along these lines, and not too horrible of a drive for everyday shopping (I'm thinking things like Trader Joe's, Costco, possibly Whole Foods). Between Henderson and Summerlin, would you say one of the two is somehow much more suited to our situation than the other? If so, why? Also, are there any particular areas/ neighborhoods within either of those that you'd recommend? We also love the outdoors (mostly hiking/ camping), and that is actually what I'd be most excited about moving to Las Vegas, so if either place is much better for that, let me know! Right now, I'd also love to come up with a route for husband to drive when he visits (or two, one in Henderson, one in Summerlin) to get an impression of the neighborhoods.
Check the sticky at the top of this forum. Best place to start.
For a start have husband look at 89012, 89134, 89135. The first is the Green Valley Ranch area the other two are Summerlin. There are others but these are a good start.
In general working downtown would be facilitated by Summerlin - anywhere with easy access to Summerlin Parkway. The schools in the zip codes listed will be fine. Likely equivalent to the best in Columbus. The bad schools in CCSD are horrible...but the good ones are fine.
My wife and I homeschool our two children, and we are in our third year after leaving a private Montessori school. We were not satisfied with the Montessori school and felt that it was less like a Montessori school after kindergarten. I can assure you that there are many groups and many children who are being homeschooled in Clark County. I just checked a local news report which indicated that as of 2013 there were over 13,000 children being homeschooled.
We belong to several different homeschool groups, and we usually have weekly park days and field trips. For example, this year we had homeschool tours at the Bellagio for the Picasso exhibit, the local PBS station, Spring Mountain Ranch State Park, Gilcrease Orchard, Zappos (the online shoe company), the Neon Museum (where the old Las Vegas neon signs reside), a fire station, a police station, Whole Foods Market, and the local planetarium. We also belong to a homeschool co-op which meets once per week where the parents teach classes to the kids.
You will find that there are several educational places you can take your kids in Las Vegas. While there is not a traditional science center here, the DISCOVERY Children's Museum here is excellent, and the Springs Preserve has museums and gardens which we visit often. While there is not a traditional zoo, there is a rescue zoo called Roos-N-More northeast of Las Vegas where kids can get up close with a variety of animals, and there is another place called the Lion Habitat Ranch in the south part of town where you can see many lions up close in addition to other animals. The Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay is a nice aquarium. While it is small and a bit old, my kids always seem to enjoy the Las Vegas Natural History Museum, and a membership there is a great value because if you travel to other cities you typically get into other science centers for free. We have saved hundreds of dollars in admissions fees when visiting other cities.
There also is no shortage of things to do outside. The park system here is excellent. We live in Henderson in the 89052 zip code, and Henderson has some of the best parks I have seen anywhere in the United States. There are many great places to hike in and around town including Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area, Valley of Fire State Park, Spring Mountain Ranch State Park, the Wetlands Park, and the Mount Charleston area. You also are within a short drive to the California coast or national parks such as Zion or Bryce Canyon in southern Utah.
My wife and I think the library system here is quite good. We reserve many history books through the library in addition to other books our kids enjoy reading. We rarely have any trouble getting the books, and once we reserve them online we pick them up at the Clark County or Henderson library nearest to us once all of the books have been delivered to that location.
In summary, if you are open to homeschooling, I think you can provide your kids with an excellent education in Las Vegas, and the regulations pertaining to homeschooling are less stringent here than they are in Ohio. There is no annual evaluation required in Nevada. The only requirement is a one-time notice of intent which you need to send to the Clark County School District indicating you are homeschooling once your child turns seven.
With regard to your second question, we have no more than a ten-minute drive to Whole Foods and Trader Joe's from where we live in the 89052 zip code in Henderson. While the nearest Costco is about twenty minutes away, a new one is opening within about ten minutes of us soon. Depending on traffic it takes us about 25 to 30 minutes to get downtown from where we live in Henderson, and most of the drive is on I-15 and the 215 beltway.
Thank you! That sounds somewhat encouraging. Will definitely have husband look at those zip codes. I wouldn't mind a 20 minute drive to a place like Costco at all. The active homeschool community also sounds attractive in case we decide to go that route, although I'd still rather live somewhere where didn't "have to" do that (not because I have anything against homeschooling - it just wouldn't be my first choice for our family, with one factor among others being that we don't speak English at home).
Regarding school districts, we're currently not in CCSD, we're in Upper Arlington School District. That's the thing about Columbus - the district as a whole isn't rated very well (although there are apparently some decent invidual schools within it), but a popular solution for those who can afford it is to move to a suburb with its own school district. Being from Germany I don't have a lot of experience with the schools or the rankings, but they seem like one of the few things to go by from a distance. What national rankings does everyone here find useful? When I google, I find varying results for Upper Arlington, but mostly good-enough sounding, whereas for Clark County I mostly just find news articles reporting how it's among the lowest ranks in the nation. It probably worries me especially because I lack first-hand experience from which I could judge myself...
Thank you! That sounds somewhat encouraging. Will definitely have husband look at those zip codes. I wouldn't mind a 20 minute drive to a place like Costco at all. The active homeschool community also sounds attractive in case we decide to go that route, although I'd still rather live somewhere where didn't "have to" do that (not because I have anything against homeschooling - it just wouldn't be my first choice for our family, with one factor among others being that we don't speak English at home).
Regarding school districts, we're currently not in CCSD, we're in Upper Arlington School District. That's the thing about Columbus - the district as a whole isn't rated very well (although there are apparently some decent invidual schools within it), but a popular solution for those who can afford it is to move to a suburb with its own school district. Being from Germany I don't have a lot of experience with the schools or the rankings, but they seem like one of the few things to go by from a distance. What national rankings does everyone here find useful? When I google, I find varying results for Upper Arlington, but mostly good-enough sounding, whereas for Clark County I mostly just find news articles reporting how it's among the lowest ranks in the nation. It probably worries me especially because I lack first-hand experience from which I could judge myself...
A quick tutorial on school systems. Las Vegas is one of the largest school systems in the US. And pretty much like all the others it has lousy scores. In all of the big systems the problem is minority children particular those not native English speakers. The way the system actually works these kids generally end up with the worst school environment and often many of the worst teachers often including large numbers of substitutes.
The schools however in the better suburbs are often fine. In fact if you check the average income for an area, available from the census you can accurately project where the good schools will be. For ratings you can use Great Schools. Great School 9 & 10s are fine. 7 & 8s OK. It is also rather easy to compare schools within CCSD by using the school accountability reports.
In general for working down town Henderson is not the better choice. It can be lived with if you find Henderson overpowering or something...but it is a commute that can easily get secrewed up. Las Vegas locals avoid anything that requires you to drive US 15 along side the strip.
Thank you! That sounds somewhat encouraging. Will definitely have husband look at those zip codes. I wouldn't mind a 20 minute drive to a place like Costco at all. The active homeschool community also sounds attractive in case we decide to go that route, although I'd still rather live somewhere where didn't "have to" do that (not because I have anything against homeschooling - it just wouldn't be my first choice for our family, with one factor among others being that we don't speak English at home).
Regarding school districts, we're currently not in CCSD, we're in Upper Arlington School District. That's the thing about Columbus - the district as a whole isn't rated very well (although there are apparently some decent invidual schools within it), but a popular solution for those who can afford it is to move to a suburb with its own school district. Being from Germany I don't have a lot of experience with the schools or the rankings, but they seem like one of the few things to go by from a distance. What national rankings does everyone here find useful? When I google, I find varying results for Upper Arlington, but mostly good-enough sounding, whereas for Clark County I mostly just find news articles reporting how it's among the lowest ranks in the nation. It probably worries me especially because I lack first-hand experience from which I could judge myself...
With regard to evaluating both private and public school options, I agree with checking out the GreatSchools.org Web site.
In terms of homeschooling we actually have quite a few families in one of our groups where English is not the primary language used at home. Off the top of my head, I know we have families from France, Brazil, and Hungary.
A quick tutorial on school systems. Las Vegas is one of the largest school systems in the US. And pretty much like all the others it has lousy scores. In all of the big systems the problem is minority children particular those not native English speakers. The way the system actually works these kids generally end up with the worst school environment and often many of the worst teachers often including large numbers of substitutes.
The schools however in the better suburbs are often fine. In fact if you check the average income for an area, available from the census you can accurately project where the good schools will be. For ratings you can use Great Schools. Great School 9 & 10s are fine. 7 & 8s OK. It is also rather easy to compare schools within CCSD by using the school accountability reports.
In general for working down town Henderson is not the better choice. It can be lived with if you find Henderson overpowering or something...but it is a commute that can easily get secrewed up. Las Vegas locals avoid anything that requires you to drive US 15 along side the strip.
^^ This. I'm not a huge Summerlin fan, but for a commute to downtown, I'd take it over GV in Henderson.
Summerlin has some nice schools and parks and is close to shopping and Redrock canyon for hiking.
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