Relocating to MN from Kansas City.....Need Help! (St. Paul, Bloomington: rental, how much)

[mom23kidz]

What an awesome avenue for relocation advice!!

My husband will be working in Eagan; he is moving right away. My 3 children and I will be joining him in June after we finish out the school year. This will give my DH four months to "check things out before our arrival". However, I am hoping to gain some pointers from you all!

My first priority is to my 3 children and am hoping to make this move as smooth and painless as possible.

My oldest DD will be going into the 7th grade. She is currently in the gifted program here and am hoping there is something comparable. She is also in orchestra and I am not sure if she will want to continue with that or not.

My middle DD will be going into the 5th grade. She is a social butterfly and is very excited about the move.

Both girls are competitive gymnasts and we are definately on the hunt for a new gymnastics facility.

My youngest DS will be going into 4th grade. He has Dyslexia and has a 504 Plan in place however, with tutoring he is now reading and writing on grade level and does not need any special services.

My son races motocross and is very excited to try out all the new (to him) MX tracks in MN.

Our plan is to rent for the first year before we commit to any specific area.

Please give ideas/advice on schools that would suit my childrens needs, neighborhoods for my DH to check out, and any gymnastic facilities you have experience with.

I have been on the MN Public Schools website and am very confused by the Choice Shools thing.

Thanks in advance for any help!

[golfgal]

The orchestra thing my throw a wrench into which schools you attend but there are several student orchestra programs around the metro that are not associated with specific schools so if you land somewhere without an orchestra and she wants to continue she can join a program like the Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphony or the South of the River Symphony, etc.

Eagan is a great place to start looking. Either the Rosemount/Eagan/Apple Valley schools 196 or the West St. Paul/Mendota Heights district (197) would work. I would avoid the Burnsville district personally. The 197 schools do have a well established orchestra program. There is a large gymnastics school in Apple Valley, just south of Eagan that is pretty competitive. The coach that runs/works at that school is also the coach at Rosemount High School (just south of Eagan as well). Any of these areas would be easy, easy commutes to a job in Eagan. I am going to assume this new job is at a large publishing company . If so, these are all minutes away.

Special ed programs in the 196 schools are very good. Can't help with the motocross.

School choice basically is any student can go to any school in the state providing they complete the application process, are accepted and the accepting school has room for you. You will have to provide transportation to and from school though. Eagan is a perfect example of why this program is beautiful. Say you rent in a 196 school area, kids start school there, happy as clams there. The house you find in a year, however are in the 197 district and the kids don't want to switch schools again. You apply to the 196 schools for open enrollment, kids stay in the same schools, you move into your dream house. This move might be across the street from your rental even because of the lines drawn through Eagan.

Good luck on your move.

[vetcon]

We moved here from KC about 3.5 years ago as a job transfer. We were in Overland Park in Blue Valley Schools. Our kids are very close to yours: son is in 7th, daughter in 5th, daughter in 3rd currently. We were in a short term rental for about 4 months while we looked for a home to buy. I don't know what school system you are in now so it is hard to tell you which ones compare. It was hard for us to find one to compare to Blue Valley. There are alot of good schools here, but I don't know if an entire district here really compares to Blue Valley as a district. You really need to look at the individual groups of elementary/middle/high schools that you will be going to as you compare homes you are looking at. If you are in Eagan it certainly makes sense to look at ISD 196 which is parts of Eagan/parts of Apple Valley/and Rosemount. That is the district we are in. We have been very happy with it. Our kids go to Shannon Park Elementary/Rosemount Middle/and will go to Rosemount High. I think the elementary school compares well to our BV schools. The middle school is good, but not quite BV levels. Same feeling for the high school. But overall we feel good with our choice. Good band program. Two kids are in it. No orchestra program. One of our kids does TAGS gymnastics in Apple Valley. Seems good. Our 5th grader is in the gift and talented program. I have been reasonable happy with it in the elementary school. I have heard less than stellar things about it once they enter middle school, but that is not from personal experience. Sorry, I don't have any experience with the special education department. Other choices close to Eagan would be Lakeville certainly. I too would agree with staying away from Burnsville School District. They just don't have that great of a reputation for whatever reason when you are relocating like we did.
The western suburbs also have good reputations: Eden Prairie, Wayzata, Minnetonka. It just depends how far you want to drive and how much money you want to spend. Good Luck!

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by vetcon

We moved here from KC about 3.5 years ago as a job transfer. We were in Overland Park in Blue Valley Schools. Our kids are very close to yours: son is in 7th, daughter in 5th, daughter in 3rd currently. We were in a short term rental for about 4 months while we looked for a home to buy. I don't know what school system you are in now so it is hard to tell you which ones compare. It was hard for us to find one to compare to Blue Valley. There are alot of good schools here, but I don't know if an entire district here really compares to Blue Valley as a district. You really need to look at the individual groups of elementary/middle/high schools that you will be going to as you compare homes you are looking at. If you are in Eagan it certainly makes sense to look at ISD 196 which is parts of Eagan/parts of Apple Valley/and Rosemount. That is the district we are in. We have been very happy with it. Our kids go to Shannon Park Elementary/Rosemount Middle/and will go to Rosemount High. I think the elementary school compares well to our BV schools. The middle school is good, but not quite BV levels. Same feeling for the high school. But overall we feel good with our choice. Good band program. Two kids are in it. No orchestra program. One of our kids does TAGS gymnastics in Apple Valley. Seems good. Our 5th grader is in the gift and talented program. I have been reasonable happy with it in the elementary school. I have heard less than stellar things about it once they enter middle school, but that is not from personal experience. Sorry, I don't have any experience with the special education department. Other choices close to Eagan would be Lakeville certainly. I too would agree with staying away from Burnsville School District. They just don't have that great of a reputation for whatever reason when you are relocating like we did.
The western suburbs also have good reputations: Eden Prairie, Wayzata, Minnetonka. It just depends how far you want to drive and how much money you want to spend. Good Luck!

The GT program in the middle school moves from a pull out program to more of a tag on program. The kids that are in GT get grouped together in a class and have "different" homework developed by the GT director and teacher. The "really" gifted kids pretty much bypass the system and work through the high school or various college level programs if necessary. Often you will see middle school kids walk down to the high school to take calculus, etc. It's a nice option to have. We loved the middle school set up but it has changed now so I don't know how it is working. I agree that they don't push the kids as much as they could but we have been trilled to death with the high school. There are just so many wonderful opportunities for the kids. You can't beat the band program anywhere else in the state. The marching band is fantastic and I would highly encourage your kids to join when they are old enough.

[Kebinminn]

I don't know how gifted your daughter is but if she needs a more in depth program there is an option in ISD 196.

Harriet Bishop Gifted and Talented Elementary and Eagle Ridge Jr. High Gifted and
Talented Program (Burnsville/Eagan/Savage) - Gifted magnet schools for grades K-6 and
grades 7-8 respectively (not a school-within-a-school program), started 2009/10. Burnsville-Eagan-Savage School District #191

Bloomington also has one.
Dimensions Academy and Elements (Bloomington) – Dimensions, grades 4-5, began in 2004.
Elements, grades 2-3, started in 2009/10. At the middle school level, grades 6-8, students are placed on a team and take the four core courses as a class, with teachers teaching "the Dimensions Academy curriculum.

[2sd]

I'd recommend really taking a look at each school individually in the area. There are some real winners and some not as good in each district in the area. I know from the experience the G&T schools in 191 in Savage are both quite good AND offer orchestra. My daughter started at Harriet Bishop there in 2nd grade and plays in the school orchestra. That school has the best music program by far plus is academically tops. For gymnastics (I have experience there, too) check our EGA, IGM, and Gleasons. EGA is opening an even larger facility and is run by an acclaimed (and strict) gymnastics family. IGM is tops in Rhythmic. Gleasons has lots of interesting offerings and a great young kids program. I'd chat with the instructors in each and see who you like. Lots of good options in the area.