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Old 08-16-2014, 10:39 PM
 
2 posts, read 5,892 times
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Hello.

I am an English Teacher/Instructional Coach thinking of relocating from Los Angeles to Massachusetts in a couple of years. I am a single parent of a ten year old. I am looking to use the equity in my house (in a marginal neighborhood - property values are hugely inflated here for where/what you get) to get us a larger and nicer place in a smaller, prettier, more rural area that is a lot less rat racy, preferably in a college town (looking for a smaller town, but one that is not in the dark ages culturally) with decent public schools and private schools that might offer partial financial aid to a single parent household of modest means (right now, I pay 35% of full tuition for my son to attend a progressive, constructivist laboratory school on the UCLA campus, and that is the type of school I prefer for private - for public, I prefer small - the best public middle schools in the Los Angeles area have a student body of upwards of 1,300 kids, with high schools running at 2,400 kids or higher - and academically challenging, but not cut-throat competitive, either academically or socially, preferably with socio-economic diversity). I am bookish and artistic and I like to cook and hike. My son loves the outdoors.

Williamstown and Amherst are two of the areas I am currently exploring. I am looking into homes in the under 300k range.

While I would prefer to find employment in the town I eventually decide upon (I am thoroughly sick of our crazy L.A. commute), I realize that new teaching positions in districts with only one high school do not grow on trees. So some questions I have are as follows:

Williamstown - How close is it to other school districts that are within reasonable winter commuting distance? Do any of these districts contain high schools with at-risk youth (I am an inner city teacher with a lot of positive experience in schools that some might consider difficult) that have high teacher turn over?

Amherst - Same question, but also, how easy is the commute from Amherst to Springfield (which may have more job opportunities)?

Any insight on my half-baked plan would be welcome. If any educators are on this forum, please chime in.

Cheers, all.
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Old 08-16-2014, 11:43 PM
 
Location: Cambridge, MA
4,882 posts, read 13,754,225 times
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Amherst has the edge given the criteria. The highway department does a good job of keeping I-91 cleared of snow during the winter. MA Route 9 across the Pioneer Valley is broad and flat outside the town centers. Other than the Turnpike there are no "fast" highways in the Berkshires besides US 7 in some places.

Impoverished families are in more ample supply in the "Happy" Valley - not only in Springfield but also in Holyoke, plus (increasingly) Chicopee and Ludlow, all to the south, and in Greenfield to the north. Berkshire County poverty is widely dispersed and "hidden away," as is true of many rural areas of America. The municipalities that include some disadvantaged sections are Pittsfield and North Adams. Neither are "next door" to Williamstown. North Adams is a "twisty turny journey" down MA Route 2 and Pittsfield lies about a half-hour away on 7.

Spanish/English bilingual capability is probably a non-negotiable condition of hiring.

Massachusetts' "powerhouse" (and "pressure cooker") public school systems are almost exclusively in the eastern part of the state. Within "the 413" the best towns for academics are Amherst and East Longmeadow (a suburb to the southeast of Springfield.) In the Berkshires, the schools are reflective of educational funding inequities that favor the wealthy. Therefore Lenox and Williamstown lead the pack. Private schools are in relative abundance: Deerfield Academy, Northfield/Mt Hermon, and Wilbraham/Monson are but three. Also worth bringing up is the "early college" in Great Barrington presently known as "Simon's Rock of Bard College" following the purchase of Simon's Rock by Bard. Its original reason for being was to educate talented high-schoolers at the college level as a sort of substitute for the 11th and 12th grades, awarding them with two-year degrees and a "leg up" at traditional universities. Today someone can launch their studies at age 16 OR 18, and can complete a Bachelors program there if they so choose. I realize your son's a few years away from being eligible to drive, but time has its way of flying and it's never too soon to prepare.
To the best of my admittedly limited knowledge the "lab school" at UMass-Amherst is for the elementary grades only.

"Outdoorsy" people are in hog heaven in Western MA. Being the type who loves nature but also appreciates creature comforts, I anxiously look forward to my annual Berkshires vacation. (Hiking opportunities abound in the Pioneer Valley also, but I'm over college towns. lol)
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Old 08-17-2014, 12:04 AM
 
Location: near bears but at least no snakes
26,637 posts, read 28,452,188 times
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Within "the 413" the best towns for academics are Amherst and East Longmeadow (a suburb to the southeast of Springfield.)

I mostly agree with the previous post. The pressure cooker school system, however, is Longmeadow, not East Longmeadow. They are two separate towns.

If you want a college town, Amherst is probably it--either Amherst or the general area. It is hard to find a job there though. You'd have an easier time with jobs somewhere around the Springfield area. Springfield itself is probably best avoided if possible. You could live in Northampton and commute on rte 91 to schools to the south or the north. You might have a 45 minute commute (just guessing) if you found a job in a town around Springfield and it would be highway and then driving through towns.

The immediate Amherst area is crowded with PhD people who can't find jobs so if you can spread out a little there is more chance of finding something. Williamstown is out in the Berkshires which I always think of as isolated and very cold in winter--that's about all I know about it.

Last edited by in_newengland; 08-19-2014 at 10:10 PM..
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Old 08-17-2014, 02:07 AM
 
Location: Cambridge, MA
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The Berkshires is one of those places that retain their natural beauty because "you can't eat scenery."
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Old 08-17-2014, 02:32 AM
 
2 posts, read 5,892 times
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@Goyguy - My specialty is in cognitive coaching and developing teachers implementation of the kind of pedagogy that scaffolds access to the Common Core standards for English Language Learners, and I currently work out of the classroom for LA Unified as an expert in that capacity - from what you are saying it sounds like I may find such expertise marketable. I shall have a look at what the hiring prospects are like in Pittsfield and North Adams, as well as Springfield. The lab school at UCLA only goes through 6th at this time, at which point my son will need to make a transition anyway, which is why I'm trying to time for then. @in_newengland - I shall check out what the commute between Northampton and Springfield might look like as well. Thanks to you both for your time and insight. It is much appreciated. All the best.
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Old 08-17-2014, 07:48 AM
 
Location: North of Boston
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I think the Greater Amherst area will have more to offer for you and your child than Williamstown.
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Old 08-18-2014, 07:53 AM
 
Location: Funkotron, MA
1,203 posts, read 4,059,241 times
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I don't know much about Williamstown, but I'm voting for Amherst. Amherst is right in the center of the valley. You have easy access to everything from farmland, mountains, cities, etc. Being on the I-91 corridor gives you far more options. Traffic heading towards Springfield can be a pain, but it's not even close to the disaster known as commuting to Boston.

I imagine Williamstown might be very beautiful or pleasant, but very isolated. A place like that would be great for a retirement or vacation home. Not necessarily the best place if you're still working on your career though.
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Old 08-18-2014, 09:46 AM
 
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Hadley is unique in that it is a small town, with less than 5k
Yet has its own high school called hopkins academy. It is supported by a charitable trust and the low property taxes in hadley reflect that. It ranks as one of the best in western ma. Plus, if your child can gain acceptance, deerfield academy is close and they have need blind admissions. I would guess on a teachers salary you would not be paying much.
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Old 08-19-2014, 12:05 PM
 
101 posts, read 247,937 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tokayo View Post
@Goyguy - My specialty is in cognitive coaching and developing teachers implementation of the kind of pedagogy that scaffolds access to the Common Core standards for English Language Learners, and I currently work out of the classroom for LA Unified as an expert in that capacity -

WOW. Me, too!!! what are the odds?

kidding, of course.

if you are not associated with the college, there is VERY little around williamstown.

something around amherst will be a better option as there are 5 colleges nearby as well as nice suburbs, activity, jobs, and your choice of reasonably-priced towns.
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Old 08-19-2014, 06:14 PM
 
536 posts, read 839,035 times
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Hi, Tokayo, I lived in Williamstown for two years, some time ago, so take what I say with a grain of salt. Though I was there a few years ago with my niece, who was looking at schools, and she said, this is the coldest town I have ever been in. (She grew up in Maine. She found it culturally cold and it is, a little. But the climatological cold was what got to me.)

Williams College was very kind to me personally but for me, weatherwise, Williamstown _was_ the coldest place I have ever lived. I didn't then have a car and would bus down to Pittsfield for dental work, and the snow would stop and it would be...still cold, but sunny, 20 miles away. Otherwise I walked all over the town and environs, teeth chattering. I grew up in Eastern Mass, and like cold weather. Williamstown wasn't cold. It was COLD. The public spaces for receptions required scarves and gloves.

Williamstown is in a valley and it snows more than in many local areas. As a school teacher, you would be disadvantaged as the nearest school system, North Adams, is really strapped for cash and may not be a steady employer.

The North Adams hospital, which saved my life during my 20s by diagnosing something early that could have killed me, was closed a year or two ago. Don't go up to Williamstown--though it is hauntingly beautiful up there. Employment and hope have become scanty, and if things have changed for the better, I hope someone will correct me.

I would choose the Pioneer Valley, which I don't know directly, though one of my brothers went to college there. More towns with school systems nearby, more potential sources of jobs. But others who know that area well can speak to the plusses and minuses. I doubt if it snows constantly from Nov. to April. I mean, maybe _some_ years--but not every year.

I would get up in the morning in my beautiful little apartment, and the cat's water dish would be frozen solid. I felt like a character at the Lowood School in _Jane Eyre_.
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