Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
We are relocating to New Jersey with 3 middle school aged kids. We are college educated, middle class and white. What's the story with Maplewood/South Orange schools? I'm finding mixed messages online or old forum posts. Any assistance would be appreciated! Thanks!
its not a terrible school buts its not a top 10 school either. the fact that is a majority black school probably turns off a lot of people on this forum
Welcome to the area. I am currently a high school student here. Some elem. schools are great here, but the op is looking for middle/high school. Neither middle school is great, but south orange middle is better than maplewood middle. the principals are not good at either school, but south orange has some very good teachers. The school district is mostly black in middle school/high school, but in general it is a diverse community. Note that the school district is known for its student protests, students at south orange middle walked out last year over a boe decision. the high school is okay, it depends on your teacher. The school could use a renovation, as some of the school is falling apart.
both south orange and maplewood are affluent communities, with a high number of NYC commuters. the areas closer to south mountain reservation in both towns, and the montrose section of south orange are most affluent.
make sure your children stay with the right crowds, and avoid the area behind the waterlands park- many students do illegal things here.
In general, the schools are okay, but if you can afford, the neighboring wealthy town of Millburn has top 10 schools.
I was looking into the same thing. I met someone whose sister lives there. She said those that can afford it (her sister included) send their children to private school. That said, I've heard a lot of good things about the schools also.
New Jersey Monthly ranks Columbia High School 47th in the state. That's above towns like Westfield, Waldwick, Fair Lawn, Rutherford, and Midland Park - school systems which everyone raves about on this board.
The difference is that both Maplewood and South Orange are diverse towns (though both have white majorities) and that, still in 2013, freaks people out for some reason. If you don't want your child to go to school with black people, then no, you shouldn't move to Maplewood.
The high school is supposed to be fantastic, and your child is a whole lot more likely to come out to there a worldly and well rounded person, as opposed to being super sheltered in a town like Millburn - that's of course, just my opinion.
I also hear Columbia has one of the best fencing teams in the country, which is pretty bad ass.
Oh, and I should also mention Maplewood has its own message board called Maplewood Online http://forum.maplewoodonline.com/. People are SUPER friendly and talkative. I would highly recommend going there and asking away about the schools. People will be happy to chat.
I graduated Columbia in '89 ... Back then it was a good school, a lot of kids before me an in my class went to very good Ivy League Colleges...
Now.. They did away with a lot of classes and programs and there has been talks of putting a Police Substation in it.. A few years back they had a huge fight on the Football Field.. A group of kids just walked on the Field and started fighting with the kids practicing on the field.. The fights have gotten really bad and outta hand.. I was there in September and sadly its not the same school I remember..
This thread shows the hypocrisy of this NJ forum when it comes to schools....
NJMonthly is the bible, school A ranked higher than school B is always better...
UNLESS black and hispanic people go there. Then the rules dont apply
Yes SO/Maplewood schools look very good on paper. I knew people from that area in college who said it was very good albiet very diverse.
I have come to the conclusion that when people recommend town A over town B on these boards because of the school system, they just use that as the biggest reason so it sounds logical. It really has nothing to do with wanting to put their children in a top ranked school system, it has more to do with upholding a certain image, reputation and mentality. It is just like being materialistic, wanting to tell someone you live in a certain town because of its reputation so that person will think you are living large.
As someone who currently attends CHS, I can tell you it is fine. It is a very diverse, somewhat affluent, NYC suburban community. It isn't the best school around, but it is far from the worst. I think the NJMonthly rankings are far from the truth- Westfield is certainly a better school. But South Orange/Maplewood is better then other schools nearby, like Irvington, West Orange, and Springfield, but does not compare to nearby Millburn, Livingston or New Providence. There is no police station inside, though there are 10 security guards and an occasional police officer. Yes- the fencing team is the best in the state.
As said, this school does not shelter you like Millburn might, as different sides of the community are different. The Wyoming and Montrose sections are more upper middle class, NYC commuters, while other sides of town near the Irvington border have more crime. There is not much crime in the schools, just typical thefts from lockers like at any high school.
If you have any questions about the middle or high schools please ask.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
