How to compare Weston Wayland Lexington Concord Newton (Boston, Cambridge: real estate, how much)
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We have two bright kids 10 and 13. We live in a friendly town west of Boston with an "OK" school. With high school approaching and wanting the kids to get an excellent education, I feel the need to move the kids someplace where scholarship is highly valued and their peers are setting a high bar academically that is on pace for elite colleges. So it is time to move or go private. We can go to pretty much any town in Boston area.
We have read through the websites of many Mass. high schools and searched for schools with a high number of AP courses, lots of clubs and acivities, some international travel opportunities, a strong math program, early leveling on English, and a range of languages e.g. Chinese/Latin not just French and Spanish. The ones in the subject line are the best on those metrics in my view. There are other strong programs as well but you have to focus somewhere. (There are also some excellent day private schools in Boston area, but no point moving to those unless/until your child is accepted and the commute is too long.)
So now we get to these five towns. I have some surface impressions of each... could anyone please help expand or correct these impressions?
Again, we care mostly about (1) the school experience and (2) friendly enthusiastic people who are supportive of the schools.
Weston - great resources and punches twice its weight given the small class size BUT you only get to know and hang out with rich people -- missing most of the world!
Lexington - gosh that is one world class high school! BUT a pressure cooker... like going to MIT starting at grade 9? do kids emerge well rounded or forced to professionalize early to make any kind of mark?
Concord - excellent arts and humanities and great nature/history BUT do they do rigorous math and science?
Wayland - this is a mystery to me; on paper they are way better than a school with just 220 seniors should be; a touch more diverse income mix than Weston BUT what is it really like to live there? and are they world class at anything?
Newton - the richest diversity of offerings of all Mass public high schools and gleaming new/renovated schools BUT north or south? and will the town get sucked under by huge debts? and will my kids miss nature living in a city?
Apologies in advance since this is a real estate board and the central question is schools, but the two are linked!
I've never lived in any of these towns obviously and would like other people's view of the character and the people.
Are there any issues with the high schools for example, ability to get into AP classes, that would be good to understand in advance?
Some of this "depends on what you want". I would appreciate your advice on how to think about that, and what is most important, in your view, for making the decision.
Arguments could be made that towns like Westborough, Acton, Winchester and Lynnfield offer schools that are every bit the equal of the towns you have mentioned.
Moreover, most educators would argue that elementary and middle school play a greater role in preparing a student for educational success than high school. If your children have not had a successful experience in the lower grades, moving to a high pressure high school scene can be a recipe for disaster.
We have two bright kids 10 and 13. We live in a friendly town west of Boston with an "OK" school. With high school approaching and wanting the kids to get an excellent education, I feel the need to move the kids someplace where scholarship is highly valued and their peers are setting a high bar academically that is on pace for elite colleges. So it is time to move or go private. We can go to pretty much any town in Boston area.
We have read through the websites of many Mass. high schools and searched for schools with a high number of AP courses, lots of clubs and acivities, some international travel opportunities, a strong math program, early leveling on English, and a range of languages e.g. Chinese/Latin not just French and Spanish. The ones in the subject line are the best on those metrics in my view. There are other strong programs as well but you have to focus somewhere. (There are also some excellent day private schools in Boston area, but no point moving to those unless/until your child is accepted and the commute is too long.)
So now we get to these five towns. I have some surface impressions of each... could anyone please help expand or correct these impressions?
Again, we care mostly about (1) the school experience and (2) friendly enthusiastic people who are supportive of the schools.
Weston - great resources and punches twice its weight given the small class size BUT you only get to know and hang out with rich people -- missing most of the world!
Lexington - gosh that is one world class high school! BUT a pressure cooker... like going to MIT starting at grade 9? do kids emerge well rounded or forced to professionalize early to make any kind of mark?
Concord - excellent arts and humanities and great nature/history BUT do they do rigorous math and science?
Wayland - this is a mystery to me; on paper they are way better than a school with just 220 seniors should be; a touch more diverse income mix than Weston BUT what is it really like to live there? and are they world class at anything?
Newton - the richest diversity of offerings of all Mass public high schools and gleaming new/renovated schools BUT north or south? and will the town get sucked under by huge debts? and will my kids miss nature living in a city?
Apologies in advance since this is a real estate board and the central question is schools, but the two are linked!
I've never lived in any of these towns obviously and would like other people's view of the character and the people.
Are there any issues with the high schools for example, ability to get into AP classes, that would be good to understand in advance?
Some of this "depends on what you want". I would appreciate your advice on how to think about that, and what is most important, in your view, for making the decision.
Thanks.
I second the excellent observations by Gf2020. The Boston area does have its weaker school systems, but generally the schools are of high quality. You describe the schools in the town where you are now as "okay," but it may well be that what seems "okay" compared to the really high-powered schools in the area is actually very good by national standards.
Also, keep in mind that some of the high-powered school systems may not have the kinds of blatatanly high-pressure atmosphere Lexington is said to have, but the pressure may still be there in more subtle ways. If all a kid's friends are admitted to elite colleges, that kid may feel a little out of the loop if he ends up in a state school, for example. Depends on the kid, and depends on the friends, but something to think about.
Of the towns you're asking about, I'm most familiar with Weston. I have family living there, and a nephew who graduated from Weston High School four years ago, another who will graduate from WHS next week. My impression is that the schools in Weston are administered so that the pressure-cooker feeling is minimized, but it can't be avoided altogether. When kids hear all their lives as they're growing up all about the elite colleges that graduates of the town's high school frequently attend, there's no way they can avoid feeling some pressure to become super-achievers, even if the pressure is not overt. Again, something to think about.
I don't know a lot about all the school systems in the towns you are asking about, but let me try to offer what thoughts I can:
Weston: I'd say you're right to have some concern that kids growing up in Weston may be a bit out of touch with the real world. There can be some lack of understanding that not everyone lives the way they do. On the other hand, with the POSSIBLE exception of a portion of Wayland's population with somewhat more modest means, at least by the standards of such affluent towns as those being discussed here, I'm not sure that you're not going to encounter this situation in any of the towns you're asking about. Okay, so some of the other towns may not be quite as over-the-top wealthy as Weston, but these are very affluent towns we're talking about here, with many, many accomplished white-collar professionals living there. I have a feeling that kids in any of these towns may grow up being a bit detached from an understanding of the way life is for most average folks.
One particular note on Weston, at the middle and high school levels at least, is that when it comes to school activities, they are especially high-powered in the performing arts, as in music and drama. Something to keep in mind, depending on your kids' interests.
Lexington: I don't know much about Lex. high school. I know one family living in Lex. They have a son and a daughter. The son has been out of college for three years, and the daughter graduates this year. The son seems to have his act together, to thrive on the pressure. The daughter is a nice kid, but does seem to be a little troubled by the pressure to achieve. I don't know much more about Lexington's schools than this, though I agree with you that they certainly do have a reputation for really pressuring the kids to be super-achievers. I'd want to look very closely at that if it were my kids. I would avoid any town that did turn out to have really high-pressure schools, as I personally think that can be very destructive for many kids. The few who thrive on such pressure will do really well, but many others can be crushed, while they could thrive in an atmosphere more nurturing of their individual talents, and one of more understanding about the pace at which they're comfortable developing those talents.
Concord: Afraid I can't help you on your question about how strong they are in the sciences. Until reading your post, I was unaware of their strengths in the arts and humanities, though somehow it does not surprise me too much to read this about the land of Emerson, Thoreau, et al. This is only a guess, but my gut is telling me that the sciences as well are most likely strong in Concord's schools, simply because of the town's general reputation for high-powered schools that place many students into top colleges. Just an educated guess there, however.
Wayland: What's it like to live in Wayland? To a great degree, outside of some neighborhoods that account for that "touch more diverse income mix" you mentioned, very much like living in Weston, being that both are low-density, leafy suburbs, or Concord to some extent, though Concord is more rural in some areas. I have heard that the kids in Wayland have somewhat of an inferiority complex vis a vis Weston, but I really don't know how much play this gets among the kids in Wayland.
The schools there are very good overall. Are they world-class at anything? I don't know. They aren't as high-powered as Weston in the performing arts areas, but I think Wayland may be pretty strong in sports. Not absolutely sure about that, and not sure whether they're really, really strong in any sports. Overall, the schools there are first-rate. Whether the school system is a major power, I'm not sure. Keep in mind, though, what I pointed out above: All the towns you are asking about here are affluent suburbs. All of them have first-rate school systems on the whole.
Newton: I'm afraid I really can't offer any knowledgeable info on the town's budget or on the pros and cons of the high schools in comparison to each other. I will say that Newton is not a "city" in the sense that you may picture if you're looking only at its population. It's more of an older suburb. Tree-shaded old established neighborhoods in some parts, a little urban in a few localized spots, upscale suburban in some areas, and leafy suburban in some areas on the south side of town, like Waban. How much open space you need is a matter of personal preference, but Newton is not a highly urban place.
One more note on Newton: This is strictly hearsay, so keep in mind how much hearsay is worth, but I hear that Newton may be another town with high-pressure schools. Maybe or maybe not as high-pressure as Lexington's reputation says Lexington is, but I do hear that there's pressure on the kids in Newton to achieve big-time.
Okay, unfortunately I can't give you a lot of inside info on all these towns' schools. I hope this is at least a starting point, and that others will chime in with additional info. Best of luck with making your decision.
Newton schools definitely have more economic diversity than some of the others. I know this because I have a relative who works for the public schools. They have between 15-20% of the kids getting free or reduced lunch. Obviously that's way less than you'd have in Boston or Cambridge, but probably a lot more than Weston, Lexington et. al.
All of the towns you mentioned are filled with enough rich, psuedo-intellectual trust-fund-babies that there is very little opposition to throwing endless dollars at the schools.
The "experience" your children have there will be up to you and to them. They will be surrounded by other pampered rich kids, so they will either run with the crowd or march to their own beat.
If they are as bright as you say they are, they will be fine (as they would in any school).
The only town you mentioned that will even remotely expose them to the real world is Newton.
I have two daughters that went through the weston public school system since kindergarden. One is a senior at Brown and the other is a sophomore at Tufts. I thought the public school system at weston was fantastic. It really gave my two daughters the education they needed to pursue going to elite colleges.
Many that have only lived in MA rant and rave about the high quality of the schools in MA. Those of us that have experienced schools for our children elsewhere and in MA, are not as impressed with MA schools as many MA natives (never lived else where are) are.
Do not mean this as a pi$$ing contest and MA education is much better then many states (including where I presently live) but they are as not as great as many "natives" think. Personally I thought OH and IL had better, more caring, more personal. etc. school systems then MA has.
Also, no matter where, generally the higher the income and education of parents, the more they demand/expect from their school systems especially a location loaded with Tiger Moms.
beatylie seems to have resurrected several old threads about weston. nothing to see here...
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