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hello.. My family is about to make a major step and purchase our first home. We currently live in East Rutherford, NJ and have serious interest in a beautiful home in the boonton park area of boonton. We have family that currently lives there and heard good things about the town as a whole. Yes, we know about the low-income housing on plane street. My main concern is the town's schools. We have two children and will more than likely be sending them to the boonton's elementary and middle schools. I know the high school has a bit of a bad reputation but also realize that things can change in another 11 years (when our daughter would enroll in the high school) We have no problem switching to a private school if boonton high doesn't meet our requirements. I guess the question is, are the reports of the boontons school system being a little weak a little overblown ? Any boonton residents out there that can help ??
My two kids are in Boonton's school system and I have to say I've been very impressed. My elder is in 7th grade and the younger is in 4th. The older child had bad luck with a substitute teacher back in, I think, 2nd grade, but outside of that all of their teachers have been absolutely wonderful.
The only downside of the small school system is the small range of organized sports offered in middle school. But this area is very dense with extracurricular clubs and so forth that we can find pretty much anything we need. They have played soccer, rugby, basketball, and softball over the years, and of course there's the really great Lakeland Hills Y for all sorts of other opportunities.
We used to say exactly what you are saying--that we'd likely consider alternatives when they got to high school. But I've seen such improvements over the last few years, and have been so happy with the instruction they've been getting, that we're going to keep them in the Boonton school system unless something really negative changes our minds.
P.S. The house wouldn't have "20" in its address by any chance, would it?
Hi Sanderling.. Thank you so much for your reply.. No,it's not the ranch but very close indeed. I'm speaking to a teacher in the neighborhood tomorrow afternoon which should help cement out decision. My wife and I both understand that we as parents also have a great deal of influence when it comes to the education of our children. We will decide tomorrow if this house and community are for us.
Is the Boonton Park section the part that butts up against Mtn Lks?
If so, then it is by far the nicest part and would be the only place I would consider if I were to live in Boonton.
With that said... I think you need to thoroughly investigate the Boonton school district to see if it is right for you. Search on the forums and there are multiple mentions of the Boonton school system and they are not as glowing as Sanderling's recommendation. Also, from merely a statistical point of view, Boonton schools look to be getting worse as per NJ Monthly's 2010 ranking where Boonton slipped from 112 to 130, 4th worst in Morris county. I am sure tons of holes can be poked in this analysis, but there it is.
Is the Boonton Park section the part that butts up against Mtn Lks?
If so, then it is by far the nicest part and would be the only place I would consider if I were to live in Boonton.
With that said... I think you need to thoroughly investigate the Boonton school district to see if it is right for you. Search on the forums and there are multiple mentions of the Boonton school system and they are not as glowing as Sanderling's recommendation. Also, from merely a statistical point of view, Boonton schools look to be getting worse as per NJ Monthly's 2010 ranking where Boonton slipped from 112 to 130, 4th worst in Morris county. I am sure tons of holes can be poked in this analysis, but there it is.
Look around Boonton, tallguy; you'd be surprised. Down toward the Montville line by the river, up on the hill in town, even in the Flats near the reservoir, there are some really beautiful parts. That's one of the things I love about Boonton--for a small physical area it's got really dramatic variety.
As for the school's statistics, well, I don't worry about them. That ranking referred to the high school only, and we're not there yet. My kids play soccer with Mountain Lakes kids and I've heard plenty of complaints about the elementary and middle schools there. We'd have options if we weren't satisfied with the attention and academics our kids are getting, but we really are.
I know a few people who live in the park section of Boonton. (It's beautiful btw). Everyone of them sends their kids to private schools and none of them are in high school yet.
The NJ monthly ranking might only be for the high school but other ranking sites (like great schools for example) rank the lower schools as very average - 6/10. And then it only goes down for the HS. Ho hum.
6/10 is considered above average in the state.(That is a good thing!!) The school system should be fine! I WISH people would stop using NJ MONTHLY as the holy grail! That list has so many things wrong with it you would NOT believe!!!!!! every two years it changes!!! In the past a school that is #130 all of a sudden becomes #20, #40 of #50 in a span of 2 years!?!?! Doesn't that put up red flags in your head about NJ MONTHLY?!?!?!
6/10 is considered above average in the state.(That is a good thing!!) The school system should be fine! I WISH people would stop using NJ MONTHLY as the holy grail! That list has so many things wrong with it you would NOT believe!!!!!! every two years it changes!!! In the past a school that is #130 all of a sudden becomes #20, #40 of #50 in a span of 2 years!?!?! Doesn't that put up red flags in your head about NJ MONTHLY?!?!?!
I know a few people who live in the park section of Boonton. (It's beautiful btw). Everyone of them sends their kids to private schools and none of them are in high school yet.
The NJ monthly ranking might only be for the high school but other ranking sites (like great schools for example) rank the lower schools as very average - 6/10. And then it only goes down for the HS. Ho hum.
Obrero, can you share (or PM me) the names of those schools? I'm really curious. The few kids I know who don't attend the public school here go to one of the two local Catholic schools. Besides the Wilson School in Mt. Lakes, what's close?
Obrero, can you share (or PM me) the names of those schools? I'm really curious. The few kids I know who don't attend the public school here go to one of the two local Catholic schools. Besides the Wilson School in Mt. Lakes, what's close?
Mostly the Catholic schools in Boonton and Montville. 1 pays tuition to go to ML school system and the other goes to Kent Place in Morristown. I don't know anyone that goes to the Wilson school.
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