Gloucester schools (Boston, Reading, Acton: house, public schools, living)

[Nea1]

SO I have heard differing views on the schools in Gloucester. We have found a house we love, but I have kids. One in middle and one in highschool. My kids are pretty cool. We have lived in places where they had to go through a metal detector to get in, where they were one of 6 white kids and in places where everyone drove a BMW and we didnt. They have never had problems making friends, but saying this I still want to be carefull where they go. SO what are the schools like ( I heard about the pregnancy thing).

Thanks

[Nea1]

Any thoughts?

[masspro]

I would select Reading, Acton, Lincoln, Concord. Those towns have much better schools than Gloucester, Acton in particular.

[Nea1]

Originally Posted by masspro

I would select Reading, Acton, Lincoln, Concord. Those towns have much better schools than Gloucester, Acton in particular.

Well thank you for the information!!

[ogre]

Originally Posted by masspro

I would select Reading, Acton, Lincoln, Concord. Those towns have much better schools than Gloucester, Acton in particular.

Nice towns, but except for Reading, these towns aren't even remotely close to Gloucester. Even Reading isn't exactly right next door. If the OP is considering Gloucester partly on the basis of location, it's questionable whether these towns would work. For the most part, these towns are pricier than Gloucester as well, so they're iffy in case the OP has a Gloucester budget.

Nea1, here are Boston Magazine's recent rankings of public schools in the Boston area: Public Schools Chart - Boston Magazine (http://www.bostonmagazine.com/boston/public2009 - broken link). These don't tell all the nitty-gritty about all the schools, but there's some basic statistical info which can at least give you some idea of a school system's general quality. It sounds as if your kids can get along well with other kids in pretty much any setting, so you're mainly concerned about the overall quality of education the schools provide. Unfortunately, I know pretty much nothing about the schools in Gloucester. It sounds as if the pregnancy incident isn't too much of a concern for you, and I concur that this should not be a concern. From what I heard about it in the local news, it was just some freakish one-time incident that could happen anywhere.

I'd suggest that if you could offer some info about what details about Gloucester lead you to consider living there, as well as perhaps something about your housing budget, generally the kind of town you're seeking, and any commuting location already established (plus preferred commuting time and mode of commuting), people here could help narrow the possibilities for you, including giving you some idea whether Gloucester would be a good fit.