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Old 03-31-2018, 05:32 PM
 
14 posts, read 17,843 times
Reputation: 15

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Hi,

Thank you in advance for all your help/advice!

We are moving to Madison from Rochester MI in June after the kids are out of school. My husband just got a position at UW. It will be permanent ��, so I am hoping to find a house in the the best school district for our children. For instance, Shorewood Hills Elementary is rated super high and so is West High, however, I’ve also heard West High is rough. Then again I’ve read that more Merit scholars come out of West. I don’t want to move to an area with a great Elementary school only to have to move again for Middle or High. Which area has the best Middle and High School? All three high schools have highly rated Elementary schools, so I am trying to base the schools we tour on the High Schools. I have narrowed it down between West Madison, Middleton, and Waunakee.

About our family: I personally am a city girl and love walking to my activities, however since we’ve had kids I feel like their needs come first (I.E. maybe I do want a McMansion on a cauldesac where my kids can walk to a pool). I tend to think that Middleton might be the best of both worlds. I am a Sahm and I lean liberal. Sometimes I find that it’s hard to find other liberal SAHM’s, so I hope I’m moving to the right place. I like shopping at the coop and am a little granola. My husband is a research scientist. We like going to concerts, Farmer’s Markets, restaurants, and biking. I like access to art, outdoor, and science activities for the kids.


Here are my direct questions on schools.

1. Is West high dangerous and have a lot of drugs? I read reviews on great schools and some reviews were not so great.
2. Our 7 year old is in Supermite hockey. Which area will have the most hockey opportunities? West Madison, Middleton, or Waunakee?
3. Our 7 year old was just identified as gifted. Is there a public school that excels in this area?
4. What about Eagle School?
5. What about Wingra?
6. If we did private, which school is best for gifted and sports opportunities?
7. We have a 4 year old-What is the best play based preschool?
8. Is Waunakee boring compared to Middleton?
9. Anyone know about the Environmental Middle School in Spring Arbor?

Thank you!
Sarah

Last edited by Skludwig; 03-31-2018 at 06:25 PM..
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Old 04-02-2018, 01:08 PM
 
400 posts, read 566,655 times
Reputation: 842
I'm skipping the school questions, which tend to be a bit of a hot potato. We went through a similar process several years ago, and also had Middleton and Waunakee on our short list.

However, hockey is something I do know. My son is a Squirt. Waunakee, West Madison, and Middleton all have strong hockey clubs. If your son is really good, he can try out for the Capitals. They are located in Middleton, elite players from all the area clubs go there to play. I think they start at Squirt level. If you have specific questions I can try to answer them, my son has played against all the clubs I mentioned.

I may be wrong here, but am going to throw it out there. Based on what you've said about yourself, questions, and interests.....I'm feeling a Middleton vibe. Don't ask me why, just something that popped to my mind.
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Old 04-02-2018, 01:34 PM
 
73 posts, read 100,561 times
Reputation: 292
Yeah....heavy Middleton vibe. Other areas have their strengths - but yeah...hockey mom - Middleton.
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Old 04-03-2018, 07:35 AM
 
14 posts, read 17,843 times
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Thank you so much for your answers. Hockey Mom. Lol. I totally am. Our son is not an elite player. He’s only been playing for 2 years and loves it. We moved to Rochester, MN from North Bethesda, MD before he started Kindergarten. In first grade he came home and announced he wanted to play. We were not a hockey family, but we are now! Because there are many advanced players (some kids are trained to be players from the time they can walk), we signed him up for a hockey learn to skate. It was amazing and he progressed really fast. They even have a hockey treadmill. He still needs extra attention and I feel like lots of our coaches in Rochester have given him that. They have been amazing. I guess I am looking for coaches that will be encouraging even though he is not their child. Most of our coaches have kids playing, but they don’t just look out for their kids. They really spend a lot of time and effort on their program and make sure to encourage all the kids. They are like a family. They really focus on what it means to be a good teammate and they play all the kids. It sounds like all the areas I mentioned have good programs. I wonder if one is a better fit for our son.

Also, in MN kids don’t have to travel far for hockey. It’s really all over. High schools also have pretty good teams. It’s my understanding that in WI most good players do travel hockey. Is that true? If yes, when does that start? Squirts?

Funny you both say, Middleton. I have been leaning towards it. We’ll probably look at houses in all 3 areas.

I understand not wanting to answer on schools. I think I am just hoping to have something help me narrow my search a little. Ha! Moving out of state can be exhausting.

Anyone out there want to tackle the school questions? You can direct message me.

Thank you!
Sarah
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Old 04-03-2018, 07:59 AM
 
400 posts, read 566,655 times
Reputation: 842
Coaches can be hit and miss, which I'm sure is no different than MN. They are all volunteers, and they are all there because one of their kids is playing on the team. Coaching styles differ, and it all comes down to what team your kid ends up on - and more specifically who his teammates are. Because his teammates parents will be the coaches.


We've had great coaches and bad coaches, all in the same club. My son made the comment this year he enjoyed hockey much more because his coaches weren't yelling at them all the time like they were last year. Those yelling coaches are the parents of kids one year older than him, so next year he will have them as coaches again. It's just how it works out with the age brackets. I'm trying to figure out an alternative, one I'm considering is the Capitals but I don't think he will make the cut. The other option is to have him play down a level with his coaches from this year.

Travel starts at U6, but it's mainly 30 minute drives. Tournaments is really where the travel begins hard core - I know some of our teams have traveled up to Ashland. Tournaments are at the discretion of the coach - if you get one that is a tournament nut...be ready to travel a lot. We did 3 tournaments as Squirts, and that only escalates as they get older.

I'm going to generalize a lot here and say that Waunakee is a sports town, with a decent proportion of "grew up here and always lived here..." people. People move to Waunakee for the sports. Middleton is more fluid, with lots of transplants who typically are more white collar. Again, generalities but hopefully it's helpful.


I can't really tackle the school question because I'm not familiar with the schools you mention. I think you did well with the 3 High Schools you narrowed it down to.
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Old 04-03-2018, 12:24 PM
 
Location: WI/MN resident
512 posts, read 468,234 times
Reputation: 1389
West High was ranked in the Top 10 of Wisconsin high schools on US News a couple of years ago. According to its recent DPI report card, its test scores exceed expectations, so West High does have a stellar academic reputation in the area. Middleton High is also great.

You also say that you are liberal. Waunakee is more conservative than Middleton - it's purple, politically speaking. Middleton is where a lot of white-collar limousine liberals reside. There are plenty of liberal SAHM's in Middleton, so Middleton is exactly what you're looking for. I'm personally not a fan of Middleton (or any Madison suburbs). It's too upscale for me. Middleton oozes a conservative vibe because it's a suburb, but Hillary and Obama won at least 70% of every ward in the city, which is high for a suburb.

Good luck!
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Old 04-05-2018, 11:34 AM
 
Location: Milwaukee, WI
3,366 posts, read 2,846,227 times
Reputation: 2967
7yrs old... for god's sake, his interests will change many times. Meanwhile, nothing is too far in Madison, so pick your house based on your adult desires...
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Old 04-05-2018, 11:37 AM
 
Location: Milwaukee, WI
3,366 posts, read 2,846,227 times
Reputation: 2967
Oh, and schools with kids from rich families tend to do better than schools from poor families. Kids from rich families tend to have more pocket money to spare on weed. So, ... there's a correlation between "good schools" and "drug problems". Schools in poor neighbourhoods on another hand don't have "drug problems", they might have gang problems, violence problems and low school attendance problems, but not drug problems. Pick your own fights.
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Old 04-08-2018, 09:24 AM
 
14 posts, read 17,843 times
Reputation: 15
Hi,

We went to Madison this past week to tour schools and meet with our real estate agent. We are very excited! We know we are going to love the Madison area!

TWG1572 thanks for the Hockey info. I think you’re correct that it’s hit or miss on the coaches. We just have been lucky so far and we are at a beginning age group. It probably gets more intense at the higher levels. Good luck figuring it out for the next season. That is not the first time I’ve heard that Waunakee is a sports town. We went to both Waunakee and Middleton and they are nice. We’re probably ruling Waunakee out because of the longer commute.

Innovative American, thank you for your candid response. I think we love the idea of living in Madison, but are also considering Middleton because it is so close. While we were there it only took 10-15 minutes to get to the UW area. It definitely seems a little more liberal in the Madison West area, but according to those stats, Middleton isn’t conservative. We really like the area around West high school, Nakoma, and Dungeon Monroe. Housing is limited, so we’ll see if we find anything. Are there any other areas that you would recommend in Madison that are really kid friendly? Also, thank you for confirming the Madison West stats.

brrabbit, thank you for your comments. You do put it in perspective. Poorer area school districts are up against many obstacles. It’s so sad there there is such a divide between wealthy and poor areas.

Thank you all for taking the time to help me! I think at this point it’s between Middleton and West Madison. I love City Data!
Sarah
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