St. Paul neighborhoods (St. Anthony, Randolph: house, magnet school, income)

[familyoffour!!]

My family and I are returning to MN from Oregon in June. When my husband and I were first married we lived in Uptown, but are now very interested in St Paul. We have two school-age children (ages 8 and 5) and are looking for great neighborhoods in St Paul that have good schools, families with children and access to urban amenities (stores, coffee shops, etc). We would like to spend around $275,000. If you have sugestions or things you love about your St Paul neighborhood, please share your thoughts!

[uptown_urbanist]

Highland Park comes immediately to mind.

[familyoffour!!]

Thanks- we have heard good things about Highland Park. We are looking at Mac-Groveland, too. We are unsure, however, if there are lots of families with kids. Anyone with personal experience in these areas?

[Family of five]

I live in Mac-Groveland with my husband and 4 school-aged kids, and there are tons of families with children here. Tons of young children in Highland Park, too, which is just south of my neighborhood. They are distinct neighborhoods are far as the housing stock available (Highland Park has a lot of 50's ramblers, Mac-Groveland has an older mix of styles), but they function really as one big neighborhood - our big business district and our closest library is in Highland Park, but our free outdoor skating rink is in Mac-Groveland, our neighborhood recreation league is Highland Groveland Recreation Association, etc. You will love either neighborhood! I think it really depends on the house that works for you, which schools you zone in on, and ideally where you would like to be situated within the neighborhoods (these neighborhoods cover a big area and have distinct sub-neighborhoods). Mac-Groveland is 55105, and Highland Park is 55116.

[familyoffour!!]

Thanks for the info. We have been checking out the housing stock and really like the older mix in Mac-Groveland. I am happy and relieved to hear that there are a lot of children in both of these areas. It is an important consideration for us. We will be visiting MN around Christmas and are definately going to check out both of these areas. I have been having trouble navigating the St. Paul Public School website and trying to find out the ranks of the schools in this area. Any links to school ratings people know of?

[Family of five]

There are a staggering number of elementary schools to choose from in the Highland/Mac Groveland neighborhoods and nearby in St. Paul, between K-8 Catholic (several), public neighborhood, public magnet, and a charter school. You can choose French or Spanish Immersion, Gifted and Talented (Capitol Hill Magnet - kids have to test into it, but it is 1-8 which is terrific so it is worth trying for, in my opinion), year-round (Four Seasons A+ Elementary), the neighborhood schools of Groveland Park, Horace Mann, and Randolph Heights, the IB magnet school (Highland Park Elementary), Expo Elementary Magnet, JJ Hill Montessori School, the wildly popular charter school Nova Classical Academy...it can be overwhelming.

I don't know what to tell you about rankings, but I know families at most of these schools and all have good things to say. You really have to narrow down your choices based on whatever your priorities are and then visit the schools to find the best fit for your children and for your family. And then you have to apply and see if you get in. The deadline for St. Paul Public Schools is sometime in March - it will be on the website. Best of luck!

[julie10]

I live in the St. Anthony Park neighborhood of St. Paul. Very family friendly, lots of kids. The neighborhood elementary school (St. Anthony Park elementary) is wonderful- lots of parental involvement and excellent teachers.

[cheddar]

To see test score (MCA test) data by school, now you need to go to the state department of ed website and look in the data section. You can open large spreadsheets containing every public school in the state and then look at the schools within the Saint Paul Public School district.

[Mason3000]

Originally Posted by cheddar

To see test score (MCA test) data by school, now you need to go to the state department of ed website and look in the data section. You can open large spreadsheets containing every public school in the state and then look at the schools within the Saint Paul Public School district.

These scores are meaningless unless you look at the scores by demographic. i.e. If you're American Indian & those students are at 30% of state average, but overall the school is at 85% of state average, the 85% is not a true indicator for your kids' likely success. Vice versa, if you're a white family & a school is at 85% of state average, what you really care about is what the white kids scored which in many cases may be higher than in the suburban districts.

[Mason3000]

Horace Mann, Randolph Heights, St Anthony Park, Groveland Park, Chelsea Heights, JJ Hill,, Capital Hill Magenet, Nova Academy, et all. all great places to send your kids to school. As for neighborhoods, Highland Park has slipped imo due the lower income areas down on West 7th. I'd rather be in Mac-Groveland, St Anthony Park or Merriam Park over Highland Park these days & I'd probably rate Summit-U and/or Como areas close behind.