Honest opinion about Walpole, MA! (Boston, Lexington: low income, hotels, buying a house) - Massachusetts - City-Data Forum

haberstroh · 05-31-2007, 05:19 PM

I am new in this forum so forgive me if I don't know my way around here so well. Anyway I need an opinion about Walpole! And only Walpole...we are buying a house there. I know the town has a prison, I have taken the train and all roads, I know all the neighboring towns and have looked at many, many houses. I don't need any advice on where to move - would just like to ask an insider some questions: How are the schools really? I have all websites and rankings and Walpole's Elementary and Middle Schools are just not so great. The Highschool is No. 52 in 2006 in all of MA! My daughter would be going to Elm Street School and the school does not rate and look so good. How about the Johnson Middle school? It looks really run down. How is the population? More low income or middle and up? I am starting to get doubts about the house after driving around town all day today. There is a poster called Back_East I would like to ask because he used to live there. Thanks for all answers.

CaseyB · 06-01-2007, 10:25 AM

Hello, I don't live in the town of Walpole itself, but close by. From the schools that you mention, I an assuming you bought in a neighborhood that is west of the town center, going towards Medfield? Anyway, I know where those schools are located, and they aren't in bad areas. It's fairly quiet on that side of town. I took a brief look at the school ratings and I don't really see all that much to be concerned about at the elementary and middle school level. I don't know if I'd say the same thing about the high school, I'd say that warrants more investigation.

As far as the town itself is concerned, Walpole is pretty solidly middle class, probably trending upward. They are really sports orientated, high school football is really big there. Oh, and don't be concerned about the prison, it's not a problem at all.

I'm curious about why you are having 2nd thoughts now. Is there something you saw driving around that bothered you? You said that you were familiar with some of the other towns around there. Is there another that you liked better, or you just liked the house more and now are starting to wonder if you picked the right town?

haberstroh · 06-01-2007, 02:55 PM

....for giving me an answer. We are relocationg from NJ and have looked at dozens of houses in many suburbs that have a reasonable commute. I always start out with looking at the school rankings (I have all websites like boston.com, psk12.com, greatschools.com and of course the department of education), then we look at the commute (my husband works at the world trade center, has to take his car but can sometimes take the train) and then we look at houses and their price. I liked Canton for schools and commute but a nice 3/4 bedroom house with 2 baths and some land around (quarter to half an acre) was very expensive (around $650000). So we moved the next town or two over and are now looking at Walpole. The house we would like to buy is very nice, big and in our price range. The commute is still okay but he will have to leave early to avoid heavy traffic (he works very late in the evening anyway). Now comes the schools: Walpole schools, especially Elm Street School and Johnson middle, were not so highly rated as Cantons or other towns like Westwood or Needham. I know that the ratings don't reflect everything but it is hard to tell from the outside. What I am basically looking for is a good, wholesome, safe town, mostly christian (I know I might get abused for saying that out loud-but it is important to me) and preferably middle class or up (again, I know I am on thin ice here :-)).
I was driving around town yesterday and ended up in areas that were clearly poorer and more low income, some of it in the west part not so far from me. Canton had these areas too as well as all other towns, the question is only does that reflect in the schools? We are still in the bidding process regarding the house and have not finalized anything. I appriciate any info you can give me very much. Thanks
PS: Why do you say that about the highschool, I thought that was the best ranked school in Walpole. psk12.com ranked it No. 52 out of all MA highschools. And the school looks beautiful.

back_east · 06-01-2007, 03:13 PM

Hi there,
Well, I didn't attend the Walpole public schools myself (attended the local Catholic school instead, but not necessarily because my parents thought the public schools were bad). Especially with the elementary and middle schools, I don't think there is much to worry about. The high school was reonovated fairly recently, and I think its also pretty good. I did participate in some of the youth sports in town, and they were really run pretty well, with lots of participation and volunteer parents to coach, etc. The town is really skewed towards upper middle class now, and parental involvement in the schools & local government is pretty high. The town schools are perhaps not reknowned around the state, like Lexington or maybe Needham would be, but, really, the schools are solid.

Whatever 'lower-income' areas you came across were probably just some remnants from when Walpole was considered rural and 'out in the boonies', which was really not too long ago. Walpole has more land area than most surrounding towns, and some bits, especially nearer the prison are pretty sparsely populated still.

haberstroh · 06-01-2007, 03:23 PM

That is all I needed to hear, I actually like the town very much, it has a nice little downtown, some streets are very pretty and it has a family feeling. I just needed to make sure that is really the case and I wont regret my decision later on. Of course there is always some uncertainty and I am sure Walpole has plenty of issues but as long as the fundamentals are right I think I can live there. If you know more please let me know, I am grateful for any info.

back_east · 06-01-2007, 03:45 PM

You're welcome. Walpole was really a great town to grow up in (and I'm not too old yet :-), so I'm not talking 30 years ago here)
If you want more info on the schools, you can get their latest report card at NCLB Report Card (http://www.walpole.ma.us/District_Home_page/NCLB/walpole.htm - broken link)
They seem to beat the state average in every category, at least.
Also, I just realized why I had never heard of Elm St school...it was just converted 2yrs ago from a preschool-only to a full elementary school...the rankings for that school may not mean much until it has more time to 'settle in'.
Anyway, good luck with your move!

CaseyB · 06-01-2007, 03:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by haberstroh

....for giving me an answer. We are relocationg from NJ and have looked at dozens of houses in many suburbs that have a reasonable commute. I always start out with looking at the school rankings (I have all websites like boston.com, psk12.com, greatschools.com and of course the department of education), then we look at the commute (my husband works at the world trade center, has to take his car but can sometimes take the train) and then we look at houses and their price. I liked Canton for schools and commute but a nice 3/4 bedroom house with 2 baths and some land around (quarter to half an acre) was very expensive (around $650000). So we moved the next town or two over and are now looking at Walpole. The house we would like to buy is very nice, big and in our price range. The commute is still okay but he will have to leave early to avoid heavy traffic (he works very late in the evening anyway). Now comes the schools: Walpole schools, especially Elm Street School and Johnson middle, were not so highly rated as Cantons or other towns like Westwood or Needham. I know that the ratings don't reflect everything but it is hard to tell from the outside. What I am basically looking for is a good, wholesome, safe town, mostly christian (I know I might get abused for saying that out loud-but it is important to me) and preferably middle class or up (again, I know I am on thin ice here :-)).
I was driving around town yesterday and ended up in areas that were clearly poorer and more low income, some of it in the west part not so far from me. Canton had these areas too as well as all other towns, the question is only does that reflect in the schools? We are still in the bidding process regarding the house and have not finalized anything. I appriciate any info you can give me very much. Thanks
PS: Why do you say that about the highschool, I thought that was the best ranked school in Walpole. psk12.com ranked it No. 52 out of all MA highschools. And the school looks beautiful.

Well the reason I sort of singled out the high school is the rankings from last year: 2006 MCAS Results - The Boston Globe From what I see, Walpole High is ranked 102 on the English exam with 83% and 110 on the math portion with 79%. It really should be better, but maybe just an fluke - the new rankings will be out this month. The other thing that I thought was strange is that the Norfolk Aggie, also located in Walpole, had better scores, at least in English.
If your child is only in elementary school, I wouldn't worry about it too much at this point, you don't know what's going to happen. There are private school options around there as well.
The town is very family oriented, Christian - has a parochial elementary school right in town. As far as Walpole vs. Canton, I think you made the right choice.

DreamworksSKG · 08-06-2007, 01:49 PM

There's a great doughnut shop in walpole, Country Kitchen Donuts and a pizza shop (Supreme pizza ?) (cant remember the name on 1A) just past the center of town. Also it has a nice little new england style downtown with a town common. And you're right next to Gillette Stadium (if you want to go to soccer games (new England revolution, concert, or the pats games (football).

there's commuter rail service there too i think or nearby in Norwood and Dedham which have big parking lots. Also Riverside off of 128 is the Green Line into Boston and has a parking area there. Prolly 20 min drive from Walpole if you needed to take the "T" into the city.
Being in walpole you could easlily get to providence or cape cod, could take 95 south to 495 south and 95 to providence.
You wouldnt be too far from Cape Cod either.
oh there's an old country buffet in Walpole too off exit 10 on 95

The gillette stadium is building a patriot place in Foxboro on route 1 too which will have the patriots hall of fame, a mall, a hotel, and restaurants, also a movie theater complex, and a bass pro shops outdoor center.
there's sports bars on route 1 near the stadium and some restaurants. plenty of hotels in the area on route 1 if you had relatives and wanted them to be close but not stay right with you

like the in laws.
Anyway hope this helps

findingmesomeday · 08-06-2007, 02:28 PM

Walpole schools don't rank nearly as well as neighboring Medfield but the school population is bigger and yes, the town is more diverse than Medfield. I know of some kids who graduated from Walpole High school and went on to Ivy League colleges. You can get a decent education there. And if you continue to remain concerned, there's always private or Catholic school.

bamatt · 09-15-2007, 05:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by haberstroh

I am new in this forum so forgive me if I don't know my way around here so well. Anyway I need an opinion about Walpole! And only Walpole...we are buying a house there.

I am also new to this forum, looking up a different city, but I grew up on the west side of Walpole. In fact if Elm Street School had been around when I went to elementary (20 years back) it would have been my school. So I'd be happy to try to give any info, esp on particular neighborhoods/streets. I cant speak for the schools now, but they were good when I went. High School offers lots of Advanced placement and Honors classes.
If you are planning on taking the train from Walpole center, get to the parking early!! it always fills up quickly.
As with most towns in the area, there is a mix of antique houses (100+ yrs old), lots of houses 30-60 yrs old, in various states of niceness, and pockets of land which have been built upon in the last 10 years or so.

All in all, I dont think you'll go wrong. Good luck!