Quick Trip to Madison Area (Fitchburg, Middleton: low income, best schools, closing)

[Desdemona123]

My husband is being flown up the Madison area on Sunday for a second interview (the company actually is in Stoughton) and I was hoping for some suggestion of areas he should take a drive through to get a feel of the area.

We've already been told we'd want to live closer to Madison rather then in Stoughton.....are the schools in Verona and Fitchburg good, or if this a good job offer comes through should we just look in Madison? Are there really only 4 high schools for the entire city or am I missing something? (Yes, I already know that Madison is a liberal leaning city...this is a good thing as far as we are concerned.)

I am also a big concerned with what I am reading about them closing schools in Madison. Down here in NC we can't build them fast enough, and it concerns me that they are closing there there. Has this effected the quality of instruction and programs offered? Why are they doing it? Is it only enrollment or is it for budget issues? Any insight someone has would be great.

To be honest, I am not overly keep with the thought of moving (I love it down here in Raleigh) but something you have to do what you have to do, and from what I have seen, if I have to move, Madison certainly isn't the worst place to be moving to!!

Thanks in advance!!

[Desdemona123]

Originally Posted by Desdemona123

My husband is being flown up the Madison area on Sunday for a second interview (the company actually is in Stoughton) and I was hoping for some suggestion of areas he should take a drive through to get a feel of the area.

We've already been told we'd want to live closer to Madison rather then in Stoughton.....are the schools in Verona and Fitchburg good, or if this a good job offer comes through should we just look in Madison? Are there really only 4 high schools for the entire city or am I missing something? (Yes, I already know that Madison is a liberal leaning city...this is a good thing as far as we are concerned.)

I am also a big concerned with what I am reading about them closing schools in Madison. Down here in NC we can't build them fast enough, and it concerns me that they are closing there there. Has this effected the quality of instruction and programs offered? Why are they doing it? Is it only enrollment or is it for budget issues? Any insight someone has would be great.

To be honest, I am not overly keep with the thought of moving (I love it down here in Raleigh) but something you have to do what you have to do, and from what I have seen, if I have to move, Madison certainly isn't the worst place to be moving to!!

Thanks in advance!!

No suggustions yet?

[AnonymousCoward]

Based on what parents seem to think, the very best schools in the Madison area seemed to be Madison West, Memorial, Middleton/Cross Plains and Verona. Which of those is best, seems to be more about what you want out of a school than anything. Suburban schools tend to offer fewer options, particularly at the high school level, but they seem to be free of the problems (which are relatively few) in the Madison schools.

That said, working on Stoughton, I wouldn't dream of commuting to the west side. The beltline simply has too much traffic. McFarland might be a nice compromise. Schools there are quite good, and it would be in relative close proximity to work as well as the city of Madison.

I wouldn't be concerned about MMSD closing schools unless I lived in one of the areas that was impacted. With all of the parents in an uproar it may not happen anyway.

[LML]

If you don't want to live in Stoughton (although it is a pretty nice little city) I would second the McFarland suggestion. Also Verona has very good schools but you would face the beltline blues at rush hour more than likely.

[Chelito23]

In Wisconsin the state mandates budget caps for all school districts. This is to prevent the sky high property taxes going to down right insane levels that the average person couldn't afford. For this reason, the Madison schools are facing a challenge.

The school population is changing quickly in Madison, the enrollment is steady, but many funds are now being steered toward programs for the new demographics. For example, ESOL classes, bilingual education, students with learning disabilities etc. The schools that are closing have always had lower enrollments and the district cannot justify the expense of duplicating services if they have room at adjacent schools. Before, the Madison schools were virtually all middle class students with highly educated parents. Over the past 10 years, many families have moved to the suburbs due to affordability issues and desires for "new" schools. This of course helped the demographic shift to ocurr...and now many low income students make up the racially diverse student body (50%, a lot for Wisconsin).

The schools are not bad, but just facing the same problems and challenges that most US schools are. This isn't the sunbelt, so there is no explosive growth or trailers/portable classrooms. Fortunately, it is a progressive area with well funded schools and an educated population, so I would feel fine having my kids in Madison or suburban schools. It will really come down to where you want and can afford to live...and if you value diversity in the classroom as well.

Verona and Fitchburg schools are fine. They share schools, and some rstudents in Fitchburg will go to Madison schools. There are 4 mainstream public H.S. in Madison, with around 2,000 students at each school. The suburban communites all have their own high schools, so in reality there are actually a lot more in the area. You also have private schools as an option.

Fitchburg would be a nice area to live, adjacent to Madison...and an easy commute to Stoughton, plus you could avoid the Beltline and go against traffic.

Good luck.

[Desdemona123]

Thanks everyone! I knew ya'll would come through!! I had a great reply all written and it disappeared....not sure that is up with that.

It's amazing how each area can be so different in how the schools are funded and how they are organized. (Down here, the entire county is one school system, so we have 18 high schools and are building 5 more!!)

I looked at the information about West HS and it seems right up our alley....especially since they offer Latin. (My daughter takes Latin down here and she really would like to continue as well as girls' lacrosse). We live in a suburb down here, but she goes to school in downtown Raleigh so I think it would really be upsetting for her to give up options in return for 'safe blandness'.)

Hopefully, if this offer goes through, my husband's hours would be before the rush hour so it might still be a do-able commute, but we will certainly keep the other areas in mind.

Thanks again and I am sure I'll be back to pester everyone if this goes through.

[toast12]

If you want good schools I would think about the Randall ES/Hamilton MS/ West HS area