Best Boston Area Locations w/Diversity and Great Schools

[90Cantab]

Originally Posted by pennyone

Well, Quincy also has two HSs, both roughly 1500-1600 kids each (for a combined of more than 3200). And its population at 92,000 is just a tad bigger than Newton's 87,000 but significantly smaller than Cambridge's 107,000. Following your logic, Quincy, as someone previously inferred and because of its working class roots, should not have roughly the same number of HS kids attending schools as Newton does because, you know, working class people just "don't care that much about education"....

Yeah...that's absolutely not the inference I was making. I'm talking about a turnover of population in Boston that is largely child-less and hence a contraction in BPS students, which is similar to the situation in Cambridge with many younger, no-children people. It has nothing to do with working-class parents' views on education...at all.

[pennyone]

Originally Posted by 90Cantab

Yeah...that's absolutely not the inference I was making. I'm talking about a turnover of population in Boston that is largely child-less and hence a contraction in BPS students, which is similar to the situation in Cambridge with many younger, no-children people. It has nothing to do with working-class parents' views on education...at all.

Ok I get it now. Totally misread your meaning, especially in the context of a previous post where it was implied very explicitly that working class parents do not value education as much.

[missionhill]

Originally Posted by pennyone

Ok I get it now. Totally misread your meaning, especially in the context of a previous post where it was implied very explicitly that working class parents do not value education as much.

My post is the one to which you refer. Are you saying that working class parents have valued education as much as middle / upper-middle class parents? I think many do value it, especially now when there is no credible career path for people without college educations. My point was that historically--at least through most of the 20th century, school wasn't that big a deal for lots of people. They went but they'd drop out or they'd finish high school but then go to work. Not too much was expected of the school. A great source on this for Boston itself is the 1985 book Common Ground. But even now, schools in poorer neighborhoods have a hard time getting much parental involvement. They try but folks are busy or having too hard a time to get involved with the school. I'm not mocking the working class, just saying they haven't had much reason to be heavily invested in education. Lots of individual exceptions-- people going to Boston Latin and then Harvard-- but that's unusual. You also see lots of patterns across cultural/ethnic groups. Eastern European Jews were thought to be strivers, for example, and lots of working class Jews from Dorchester and Mattapan went to the Latin schools and on to a professional life. Same stereotype now applies to Chinese, and maybe to Vietnamese too. Lots of problems with stereotypes but I think there are discernible patterns over time.

[pennyone]

Yes, what you say may have relevance in historic perspective. Your definition of a working class family may very well be different from mine also. Two lawyers, who must spend 14 hours in their officess each day, are indeed still "working class" to me, though they are paid for their educational attainment. To me, unless you are independently wealthy, you are a member of the working class. It is a matter of what you do.

In this age of union police officers making well over 100K, and well educated PhDs making less than 50K, the definition of "working class" makes no sense whatsoever. I find most parents want the highest educational attainment for their kids. And this has been true for generations. It's just that there were segments of the population who did not see the possibility before, and were never given the opportunity, or even the hope to dream about it.

[gf2020]

I think you all scared away the OP - hasn't been back since Monday!

[Boston Shudra]

Originally Posted by clwarner0910

Hello.

I am searching online for information regarding the best places to live around the Boston area. Great schools, safety and diversity are my top priorities. We're relocating from Georgia for a new job opportunity. We are an African-American family of four so some diversity is important. More importantly, a great school system. In my research, I've seen where Newton or Weston are the best areas as it relates to great school systems. I'm leaning toward Newton but I understand there are some village areas that are better than others. I'd appreciate any information provided. Thank you.

Boston Latin School is the most diverse of the good schools in MA, and there are plenty of safe areas within the city of Boston.

Newton is nice, despite not being incredibly diverse. It has an African-American mayor. You 'd probably be happy there. Newton South is stereotypically the more academically rigorous of Newton's two schools, if that matters. Newton North has the newer facilities.

If being in an area with a larger African-American community is important, but you don't want to deal with the BPS, then Milton is an option as someone pointed out earlier. I think Miktons schools are typically ranked below those in Newton, Brookline, Weston, or Wellesly, though.

I don't know much about towns north of the city to have an opinion on their school systems.