Another Schools Question for Returning Family to MSP (Minneapolis: neighborhoods, kindergarten)

[jamnkats]

Originally Posted by Glenfield

If diversity is a priority you can forget areas like Southwest Minneapolis, Highland, or Mac-Groveland. I like it here for other reasons but they are racial and political monoliths.

at the highschool level this is not the case. my daughter moved to SW High 10th level from Mexico, where she had been living for 7 years. All her friends are black and latino. She has 1 white friend - a Germany exchange student she bonded with early as they are both strangers to the area.

[Min-Chi-Cbus]

Originally Posted by Grizzly Addams

Are private schools out of the question? If not, the highland/mac-groveland area of St. Paul sounds perfect for you.

Yes, we can't afford to pay for that, and we figure that, with an excellent public schools district, we won't need to.

[Min-Chi-Cbus]

Originally Posted by jamnkats

at the highschool level this is not the case. my daughter moved to SW High 10th level from Mexico, where she had been living for 7 years. All her friends are black and latino. She has 1 white friend - a Germany exchange student she bonded with early as they are both strangers to the area.

I also mean diversity in terms of other things, like socio-economic, cultural, political, etc. We currently live in a school district that is 16% white, and mostly black, so although it has a high percentage of non-white students it's not particularly "diverse" in the other definitions of the word. I guess in terms of racial diversity anything that's 30% or more non-white/Hispanic would be fine, but that's an arbitrary guideline. Diversity is important to us but not more important to us than quality of education.

[erin2882]

Originally Posted by Min-Chi-Cbus

There are no solidly-rated elementary schools in Hopkins though, and even if I was willing to take the plunge on a question-mark school, my wife certainly isn't. Basically, schools are dominating our research right now, based on the ratings they're given by different agencies (esp. when the ratings are similar). So far Linden Hills and Edina are leading the way, but I'd love to include SLP, Hopkins, or other areas in Minneapolis in the Kenny, Burrows or Hale/Field elementary school districts (for Burrows there aren't any homes we can find to rent, and Kenny has varying reviews). I have no idea how to objectively compare one school vs. another.

Does anyone have any first-hand info about the Kenny/Anthony district? I grew up there but never went to school there, and this was 30 years ago.

Actually, Glen Lake Elem and Meadowbrook are very solidly ranked, and Tanglen gets high marks as well in the Hopkins school district. I have called the district and in-district transfers have never been denied thus far. I've been asking around my firm about schools and know many lawyers who have sent their kids to both those schools and have been very happy with them, and the district as a whole.

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by erin2882

Actually, Glen Lake Elem and Meadowbrook are very solidly ranked, and Tanglen gets high marks as well in the Hopkins school district. I have called the district and in-district transfers have never been denied thus far. I've been asking around my firm about schools and know many lawyers who have sent their kids to both those schools and have been very happy with them, and the district as a whole.

Gatewood used to be very good also. I was in their very first First Grade class. But I have no idea how that school has fared over the years.

[JamieKaiser]

Originally Posted by Min-Chi-Cbus

We have to rent for at least a year, but want to buy soon too. Our current rent is $1200, but we realize that's unlikely in MSP and may be able to go as high as $1600/$1800

On a sidenote, if you can afford $1600+/month rent and make over $100k/yr are you sure you need to rent? It might be beneficial to speak with lender about your options. I can refer reputable local mortgage professionals.

[idlemellow]

If you have a 6 year old, you will not want to buy or rent in Minneapolis. Most of the popular elementary schools are full. Even if you live in the attendance zone, you are not guaranteed a spot if you move in after kindergarten.

[Min-Chi-Cbus]

Originally Posted by erin2882

Actually, Glen Lake Elem and Meadowbrook are very solidly ranked, and Tanglen gets high marks as well in the Hopkins school district. I have called the district and in-district transfers have never been denied thus far. I've been asking around my firm about schools and know many lawyers who have sent their kids to both those schools and have been very happy with them, and the district as a whole.

Great to hear! So much for online rankings, huh?

[Min-Chi-Cbus]

Originally Posted by JamieKaiser

On a sidenote, if you can afford $1600+/month rent and make over $100k/yr are you sure you need to rent? It might be beneficial to speak with lender about your options. I can refer reputable local mortgage professionals.

We do. We have dug ourselves deep in dept for various reasons and we do not have a.) any down payment, or b.) any backup savings (and I think banks suggest you have at least 6 months of savings nowadays). In addition, our credit isn't tip-top. I think mine is just over 700 but my wife's is more like 650, so we need the next year or two to work on getting that up, pay off our short-term debt obligations, and start saving for a down payment/backup savings. Lastly, we have about 6 weeks to figure out a living situation, which is extremely tight for a house purchase decision.

[Min-Chi-Cbus]

Originally Posted by idlemellow

If you have a 6 year old, you will not want to buy or rent in Minneapolis. Most of the popular elementary schools are full. Even if you live in the attendance zone, you are not guaranteed a spot if you move in after kindergarten.

Why aren't you guaranteed a spot if you live there? Where would I go to ask those types of questions, before we lock down on a rental home? Is the situation the same in St. Louis Park (another popular options for us)?