Columbia-Wilde Lake Highschool (apartments, townhouse, purchase)

[rfstrong]

Kind of a follow-up to my post below. My husband and I may make an offer on a TH that feeds into Wilde Lake HS. We don't have kids yet but don't expect to be in the area long enough for our kids to even go to the elementary school (Swansfield). Is Wilde Lake bad? Will it be a tough resale feeding into their?

Thanks!

[wjohns6139]

wilde lake ranks 12th in HC schools. One kid that went there got a full scholarship to Harvard university,while a big number of kids now attend community colleges. This goes to show that wilde lake's curriculum isn't bad,but the students will and effort to be successful is. Basically what i'm saying is that your kid should be find if they try hard, I'm also saying that the school's reputation is pulled down because of the students effort. Your child could do as good of a job at wilde lake that at any other school,but since others students may not be as positive,the only difficulty your child will have is not to feed into the influences. But regarding the environment as far as the students attending wilde lake, your child might enjoy a better high school such as alphilton. But it all depends on how easy your child is influenced,as i told you wilde lake can send your child to havard or community. In the end your child does what they want,whether they try hard or they hardly try.

[SmokeyLisa]

In general, Wilde Lake does not rank as the worse school in HC. Not sure what source or metrics you are using to determine rank. Granted there are more highly ranked schools in the area but there are also a lot of schools right in the ballpark of Wilde Lake. The difference is small and is not worth moving for or considering in a home. I'm sure the the price of the townhouse has the feeder school already factored into it's price. The question is whether or not the schools will get will get worse and therefore housing value might go lower as a result of this. I think the answer to this is yes. You are definitely taking on risk that the school will get worse. However, with the economy more people are taking their kid out of private and putting them into to public so you might see improvement. There are a lot of apartments feeding into this school and others in HC and you might get an increased amount of apt. dwellers vs. homeowners, which is another risk. I would also look at the elementary and middle schools as well as high schools that the house feeds into. I believe Swansfield is a title 1 school which is more of an issue than Wilde Lake HS, I'm not saying that it is bad just that people will shy away from title 1 schools. Other people are okay with them because of the added resources and classes are often smaller at these schools.

If they build more apts. in Wilde Lake and town center then you will probably have redistricting which could impact where your house will be districted so anticipate potential outcomes. Either way, you will probably be okay with your purchase and I find the risk minimal to living in these areas but others probably think that it is too risky. Also, my guess is eventually HC will have to offer some form of school choice, whether it is open enrollment, charter or something else eventually there will be a problem with perceived or real inequities within the schools and huge enrollment/capacity issues.

Good Luck.

[newhart]

Realistically, being in the Wilde Lake district will not add to the value of a home, and that probably will not change. Neither will Swansfield ES. Not bad schools, but not a plus in advertising.