Boston Magazine Top Ranked Public High Schools 2022 (Milton, Winchester: homes, private schools)

[bricka]

Maynard has flown up the rankings the past two years. in 2020 it was ranked 91.

it seems like their average SAT scores increased by ~100 points on both reading and math. for example their math SAT average is higher than Littleton, Hingham, Natick and Andover now. curious to know the story behind that.

[matrix5k]

Originally Posted by bricka

ya i suppose chelmsford and billerica are pretty similar in price at this point. i don't think it used to be that way (?). chelmsford is further out tho, so all else equal, many folks are paying with a terrible commute for what they thought was a better school.

i'm sure the new high school helped a little, it looks like a private school, but it was only opened in 2019. if anything the effects are yet to be felt. seems to me like younger families with kids who are not yet high school aged would be drawn by the new high school, and so the improvement in test scores etc would take place later.

It will be interesting to see if the rankings for towns like Billerica and Burlington will be higher in 10-15 years with all the new immigrant families moving in. I hear a lot of Indians, Asians, and Middle Easterns moved into the area and they generally do well in school.

[MtPleasantDream]

Originally Posted by matrix5k

It will be interesting to see if the rankings for towns like Billerica and Burlington will be higher in 10-15 years with all the new immigrant families moving in. I hear a lot of Indians, Asians, and Middle Easterns moved into the area and they generally do well in school.

Quite some Indians live in Burlington, but the East Asians usually move to Lexington/Winchester/Acton/Andover when their children reach the school age. Maybe it’s changing. House prices in Burlington and Billerica are both out of reach for ordinary middle class families now.

[bricka]

Originally Posted by matrix5k

It will be interesting to see if the rankings for towns like Billerica and Burlington will be higher in 10-15 years with all the new immigrant families moving in. I hear a lot of Indians, Asians, and Middle Easterns moved into the area and they generally do well in school.

many pakistani and indian families will buy the new mcmansion builds in billerica that are listed for $1mil+ and they will live in them with 9 people (i'm not kidding).

it's an interesting approach and extremely economical. it's almost a natural market reaction to the lack of new, affordable, smaller housing.

[matrix5k]

Originally Posted by bricka

many pakistani and indian families will buy the new mcmansion builds in billerica that are listed for $1mil+ and they will live in them with 9 people (i'm not kidding).

it's an interesting approach and extremely economical. it's almost a natural market reaction to the lack of new, affordable, smaller housing.

I know that Indian families often live together with their grandparents so that makes sense. Better to have a full house than a Mcmansion with two adults and one or two kids.

[robr2]

Originally Posted by matrix5k

I know that Indian families often live together with their grandparents so that makes sense. Better to have a full house than a Mcmansion with two adults and one or two kids.

You see that in quite a bit in Burlington. Grandparents live with the kids and grandkids providing child care/after school care and the they are taken care of for life.

[johngolf]

Originally Posted by robr2

You see that in quite a bit in Burlington. Grandparents live with the kids and grandkids providing child care/after school care and the they are taken care of for life.

Quite common in some cultures. I have known several American families sharing with an In-law suite

[robr2]

Originally Posted by johngolf

Quite common in some cultures. I have known several American families sharing with an In-law suite

I remember that as a kid in Somerville. The widowed Grandma lived on the first floor, her daughter/SIL/kids lived on the second floor, and confirmed bachelor Uncle lived on the 3rd floor with his "roommate." When Grandma dies, everyone gets moved around, young couple moves to the 3rd floor, Uncle and friend to 2nd floor, and daughter moves to the first.

I see it here in Burlington mainly in the Indian subcontinent and southeast Asian population. As you said, it's a cultural issue. A new Asian family just moved in up the street. I see Grandpa out with the little 2 YO walking around, playing, etc. In my social circle, I have Indian friends who have grandparents living with them who no longer need to watch the kids. But "Tata" and "Tatee Ma" are watched over by their children and grandchildren.

[Remy11]

Originally Posted by mwj119

Chelmsford was always considered a premium town over Rica, and was kind of a mainstay middle/middle upper class suburb during the 60s/70s boom. At that point, as I've been told, many suburbanites who couldn't afford places like Winchester, or Concord, or Lexington, looked at towns like Andover and Chelmsford for new homes and good schools.

But post recession, prices are nearly identical. Billerica has the commuter, and saves 15-20 minutes on commute time to Burlington/Woburn/Waltham where many of the jobs fall.

Chelmsford's most apt comparison in 2022 would be Franklin.. Chelmsford being slightly more expensive due to location.

Funny, as both Franklin and Chelmsford high school ranks well below many of its peer towns. Not sure why that is, especially considering Franklin's new High School... If it gives Billerica a bump, the same would apply.

I agree that Chelmsford was always nicer than Billerica but otherwise it was always considered very strictly middle class back in the day. I can see where people would look at Andover who couldn’t afford Lexington and Winchester, but I have a hard time thinking they would have also been considering Chelmsford. I know people who built in Andover back in the early nineties and they wouldn’t have been caught dead with a Chelmsford address.

[msRB311]

These lists are bogus. Hingham was #30 last year. How did they get to # 3 this year?? What possibly could have improved that much this past year...