moving to Madison in August need to find good schools (Middleton: 2013, houses)

[tmrobinson]

Hello, I was hoping someone could help us. We are currently looking into moving to Madison in August of 2013, my husband will be done with his Bachelor's of Nursing by then and we are looking to make a move from West Des Moines, IA. We LOVE Iowa and don't have one thing bad to say about it, but the pay for nurses is the worst in the country next to Guam and Puerto Rico (NO JOKE!) and Wisconsin pays pretty well.

I'm rambling so let me get to my point. I'm a stay-at-home Mom of 3 young kids (aged: 7, 4, 3) and our oldest has Autism. We really want to find a newer home in whatever safe neighborhood you consider to be the BEST school district. where would we be the best place to start???any advice would be great and most appreciated.

[Megan1967]

The best school district is relative. In your case MMSD (Madison Metro) would probably be the best school district because they have lots of resources for kids with special needs, like Autism. Some of the small school districts like Waunakee and Middleton Cross Plains are noted for their academic excellence, but I would be really careful to be sure they serve children Autism effectively.

I'm hoping that someone with similar experiences to your own will chime in about which school within Madison (I think there are something like 30 elementary schools) would be the best fit for your oldest. I feel West High School is the best high school in Madison and usually encourage people to get their kids in elementary/middle schools which feed into West, but a friend whose son went there has told me that they best served children with above average intelligence and perfect home lives. Her son had both, but certain assumptions were made that she didn't feel accommodated children with challenges. Like they assumed all children had access to computers at home and her son's advance placement classes had a huge number of students in them. I can't remember what she said, so I won't try to guess, but was a big enough number that I was taken aback. My point being that "the best" is really relative. The best school for one child might be the absolute worst school for another.

Perhaps contacting someone in this organization might be helpful:autismsouthcentral.org.

[HockeyFamily31]

We are also relocating to the Madison area and we are trying to figure out the best school district for my son. He will be going into 7th grade next year and he has been going to Parochial school since 2nd grade when we lived outside of Buffalo, New York. We now live in Dubuque, Iowa and he is still going to Parochial school but he may need to start going to public school because he plays travel hockey and fees/prices are going up since he is moving up a level. Are Waunakee and Middleton Cross Plains still currently outstanding schools for academic excellence? Are there any other areas that have exceptional school systems?

Thanks!

[Ragnar]

Even Madison Memorial has excellent high school programs with plenty of opportunities for advanced placement courses and sports/club activities, so I wouldn't discount the schools that feed Memorial. There are a lot of nice newer nice areas on Madison's west side that feed into Memorial. Although I do hear from locals that Memorial can feel like two different schools at times. One that serves underprivileged youth with more challenging home lives, and another that serves youth with more resources and stable home lives. There is probably more economic diversity in the areas that Memorial (and Madison East) serves, than in the areas that Middleton, Waunakee, Oregon, etc. serve. Also, the competition for sports teams will be greater in a larger school like Madison Memorial than in a school like Waunakee or Oregon. You children will likely need to be top notch players in the sport of their choice to make the team at Memorial.

I moved to a new state and school at the start of 7th grade. It was an excellent school but a tough transition mostly because it's a tough age and I was in a new place and missed my friends. 13-14 can be an awkward age no matter how good the school is, so parental involvement should be a top priority.

Also, don't assume that a home with a Verona/Middleton address on Madison's near west side feeds Verona or Middleton schools. Find out for sure. There are many neighborhoods on Madison's west side with Verona or Middleton addresses that are served by Madison schools. This is especially true for neighborhoods off Mineral Point, Valley View and Midtown Roads generally south/west of Hwy 12, and some neighborhoods along M between Verona and Madison. There are a lot of Town of Verona addresses in this area that are served by Madison services and schools.

[hogger129]

Originally Posted by tmrobinson

Hello, I was hoping someone could help us. We are currently looking into moving to Madison in August of 2013, my husband will be done with his Bachelor's of Nursing by then and we are looking to make a move from West Des Moines, IA. We LOVE Iowa and don't have one thing bad to say about it, but the pay for nurses is the worst in the country next to Guam and Puerto Rico (NO JOKE!) and Wisconsin pays pretty well.

I'm rambling so let me get to my point. I'm a stay-at-home Mom of 3 young kids (aged: 7, 4, 3) and our oldest has Autism. We really want to find a newer home in whatever safe neighborhood you consider to be the BEST school district. where would we be the best place to start???any advice would be great and most appreciated.

Monona Grove School District.

[marnitalane]

For people with younger kids with special needs --- Glacier Edge Elementary in Verona is outstanding. Many, many, many people buy/build houses in the Glacier Edge attendance area because of this. (And it's a good school overall, too.)

[TrueGrit13]

Originally Posted by hogger129

Monona Grove School District.

This is probably the only great school district anywhere around Madison.

Madison Metro schools are full of Liberals that try to push their agendas on the children and are too afraid to offer any punishment to the minorities of the school. I have one child in middle school and one in elementary and can tell you that they have the run of the place. My oldest child was getting bullied quite a bit, until I showed him how to defend himself, by the minority students and the school system didn't do a damn thing about it but the second my child stuck up for himself by beating the mess out of the minority bully he was suspended for a week.

Monona grove school district or bust.

P.S. You could also go with the Verona school system and that is only 5 minutes outside of Madison.

[Megan1967]

This post is 2 years old. I'm assuming the original poster has bought a house by now.

[Chelito23]

Originally Posted by TrueGrit13

This is probably the only great school district anywhere around Madison.

Madison Metro schools are full of Liberals that try to push their agendas on the children and are too afraid to offer any punishment to the minorities of the school. I have one child in middle school and one in elementary and can tell you that they have the run of the place. My oldest child was getting bullied quite a bit, until I showed him how to defend himself, by the minority students and the school system didn't do a damn thing about it but the second my child stuck up for himself by beating the mess out of the minority bully he was suspended for a week.

Monona grove school district or bust.

P.S. You could also go with the Verona school system and that is only 5 minutes outside of Madison.

Are you talking about White bullies? Because they are a minority in the district. More non-whites than whites.

Regardless, I assume there is more to your personal experience than the disctrict's decisión purely on your perception. And fortunately for you, there are many White majoirty districts that surround Madison that sound like they are more to your liking.