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Old 11-24-2011, 11:09 AM
 
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A move to the Twin Cities may be in our near future, and for a variety of reasons we would be settling in St. Paul proper. Children range from 2 to 10, so in the near term elementary schools are the primary consideration. What are your experiences, and what can you recommend positively or negatively?
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Old 11-25-2011, 04:36 PM
 
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We have children in the St Paul public schools and are very happy with the schools. As I'm sure you know, not all schools in this large district are equal- but there are a number of really great choices. You can look up test scores as one measure- but I wouldn't make the choice solely on test scores. Our kids go to a neighborhood school and there are a number of good neighborhood school options out there. There are some magnet schools (montessori, spanish & french immersion) which are very good, along with the Capitol Hill Magnet school (your kids would need to test into the school to be accepted) which is a fantastic school with a very involved parent community.
One popular charter school is Nova Classical Academy. We looked into it and it wasn't our thing- but I know of several parents who love it. It will go up to 12th grade shortly, so one advantage is that your child can go there from K-12.

The St Paul school district has a lot of diversity (cultural, income, etc)- which we see as a big plus, but if you are looking for a place where every kid looks the same and wears the same brand of clothing, you will be disappointed (but you can easily find that as some of the private schools in St Paul). If you are coming from another urban area, you will likely be surprised at how great our urban schools are.
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Old 11-30-2011, 04:08 PM
 
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My family is also moving to the cities soon and we've been wondering if we should live in St. Paul where my husband will be working. It is good to hear from someone that has good experiences with the St. Paul School district. We are attracted to the diversity of the educational options in St. Paul with the plethora of charter and magnet schools.

Libby, could you give me some advice as to where to live in St. Paul? We are going to be renting for awhile, which will make things a little tricky in so far as finding housing where we want to be. We are a family with four kids and want to make sure that wherever we live is generally safe and family friendly.

Shana
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Old 11-30-2011, 08:54 PM
 
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St Paul is generall known for it's family-friendly neighborhoods, so you have a lot of options to choose from. It really depends on your budget and how close you want to be to work, schools, etc. With 4 kids, I'm guessing you'd want at least a 3-bedroom and ideally, a house to rent? A quick look at Craiglist shows a number of good options- for houses, duplexes, etc- but that depends on what your budget is.

For starters, I would look south of I-94, anywhere from the river to downtown St Paul. That would include Highland Park, Merriam Park, Mac-Groveland, Summit & Crocus Hill. North of 94, I'd look in Como or St. Anthony. For more affordable housing, I wouldn't rule out the East side/Phalen or the Westside. Although there are some tougher ares in those sections of town, there are some nice neighborhoods in both areas and you can generally get more for your money. There is a nice house on the Westside of St Paul on Craigslist that is located right on Cherokee Park that might be worth looking at if the location works for you.

I also wouldn't rule out looking in Minneapolis....Prospect Park is a great neighborhood on the east side of the Mississippi and there are a lot of good options on the west side of the river as well!
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Old 12-06-2011, 04:52 PM
 
Location: St Paul
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Originally Posted by Libby01 View Post
St Paul is generall known for it's family-friendly neighborhoods, so you have a lot of options to choose from. It really depends on your budget and how close you want to be to work, schools, etc. With 4 kids, I'm guessing you'd want at least a 3-bedroom and ideally, a house to rent? A quick look at Craiglist shows a number of good options- for houses, duplexes, etc- but that depends on what your budget is.

For starters, I would look south of I-94, anywhere from the river to downtown St Paul. That would include Highland Park, Merriam Park, Mac-Groveland, Summit & Crocus Hill. North of 94, I'd look in Como or St. Anthony. For more affordable housing, I wouldn't rule out the East side/Phalen or the Westside. Although there are some tougher ares in those sections of town, there are some nice neighborhoods in both areas and you can generally get more for your money. There is a nice house on the Westside of St Paul on Craigslist that is located right on Cherokee Park that might be worth looking at if the location works for you.

I also wouldn't rule out looking in Minneapolis....Prospect Park is a great neighborhood on the east side of the Mississippi and there are a lot of good options on the west side of the river as well!
This is an excellent post & sage advice about where to look for a house and some good "plan b's" neighborhoods as well. For elementary schools I would recommend Randolph Heights, Groveland Park & St Anthony Park as the top-3. There are also some solid Montessoris like JJ Hill & of course the Harvard of St Paul elementary schools "Capital Hill" magnet. We're new to St Paul so we just went through this process & we focused in on Groveland Park (where we landed), Randolph Heights (it was full), St Anthony Park (we were on the wrong side of Hamline Ave), JJ Hill (also full) & Capital Hill Magnet (had to test in last year). JJ Hill has now become available to us & Capital Hill may be for next year, but we're pretty sure we won't leave Groveland Park even if we have the opportunity to "trade up" for Capital Hill.

I have to admit the jump to Jr High concerns me a bit as our kids' path would be Ramsey Jr High, which has some problems & then St Paul Central which is either excellent if you're in their advanced program, or not-so-hot if you're in the general school. We're considering a move to one of the many, affordable, Catholic schools in the area for Jr High & then to Cretin Derham Hall for High School, but it's early yet so we'll see how it all plays out.

Best of luck to you and your family....
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Old 01-04-2012, 12:17 PM
 
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Thanks to both of you for your post! It took me a awhile to get back here and read your responses. Our moving plans slowed down a bit in December, but everything is back on track now and it looks like we'll be moving around the second weekend of February. We are excited to get down there and get settled! Now just to find a place to live!

Shana
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Old 01-04-2012, 06:09 PM
 
Location: St. Paul's East Side
550 posts, read 1,633,544 times
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Originally Posted by Mason3000 View Post

I have to admit the jump to Jr High concerns me a bit as our kids' path would be Ramsey Jr High, which has some problems & then St Paul Central which is either excellent if you're in their advanced program, or not-so-hot if you're in the general school. We're considering a move to one of the many, affordable, Catholic schools in the area for Jr High & then to Cretin Derham Hall for High School, but it's early yet so we'll see how it all plays out.

Best of luck to you and your family....
FYI... Capitol Hill, where my daughter is currently in the 6th grade, is open enrollment for the middle school years (7th & 8th,) meaning you don't have to take the test to qualify for admission.

And Capitol Hill's Gifted & Talented Program is being routed into Highland High School, rather than Central, under the district's new plan.
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Old 01-06-2012, 09:22 PM
 
371 posts, read 553,624 times
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Originally Posted by Mason3000 View Post
For elementary schools I would recommend Randolph Heights, Groveland Park & St Anthony Park as the top-3. ...
There is a lot of good information in these posts on Saint Paul schools. However, most people would consider Horace Mann elementary in the top 3.
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