Moving to NJ or PA from Charlotte - School districts with good Special Ed? (Princeton: house)

[maestrodong]

Hi everyone! New forum member here. I've been doing research on where to move to, but wanted to poll the collective wisdom on this forum. Especially for any suggestions regarding school districts considering our situation (see below). Been looking at Mercer or Bucks counties in NJ and PA, respectively. I'm posting on the NJ forum given that my wife's job is in NJ and my job is in NYC, but given potential WFH regime we are very interested in PA as well. Timing: mid to late summer 2021.

Based on our research we're leaning towards Yardley given location, good schools, and housing costs / taxes. Princeton Junction, Hopewell, and Pennington are our current runners up. Appreciate any additional info that can help us choose! Thanks in advance, and sorry for the long post.

Where are you coming from? Charlotte, NC area
Why are you moving? Wife taking a new job in Lawrenceville area
Where will you be working ? Transferring my job from Charlotte to mid-town Manhattan, close to Penn Station. Have negotiated only needing to be in the office 1-2 days a week, so my commute is doable.

Will you buy or rent? Buy
What is your budget? Would prefer under $650k, willing to go up to $800k for the right house or if it seems like a decent deal.
What kind of place are you looking for ? SFH, preferably decent sized yard (>.5 acres). Need at least 4 bedrooms. Need a home office, on a lot of work calls. 3rd child may be on the horizon.

Will anyone (spouse, children, pets) be moving with you? 5 total (wife, myself, 2 boys (5 yr old twins), mother in law). Twins currently in pre-k, will be starting kindergarten after the summer.
Do you need/want good public schools? Yes. One of our kids has medical needs due to cerebral palsy (CP) and would be in special ed. He's cognitively fine (he reads and spells kindergarten & 1st grade books), but the CP severely inhibits his muscle control & speech, so he has adaptations. Charlotte school district has been pretty good about giving him the services he needs, but it's a large district (147k students total) and has resources (including OT, PT, SLP, nursing support). My understanding is the schools in Mercer and Bucks counties are organized in smaller districts, so would appreciate any experiences folks have on districts good for special ed kids with medical needs.

Briefly describe the kind of neighborhood you'd like to live in? Safe, good for kids, with access to good healthcare given the aforementioned kid with CP. Access to good food and diverse food a plus.
(examples: families with young children, young, mature, artsy, diverse, safe, close-knit, block parties, etc)

List three things that are important to you in order of importance.(examples: nightlife, outdoor activities, rural/urban, safety, downtown area, charming, new construction, proximity to XYZ, family oriented, easy parking, short commute, etc)
A bit repetitive to the above, but in order:
1) Good schools receptive of special needs kids
2) Access to healthcare.
3) Quiet area with accessibility to diverse markets / restaurants

[Mightyqueen801]

I don't have small kids and am not familiar with the school systems, but it seems that most schools in decent towns in NJ have special needs programs. I hope someone familiar with that area can give you more info.

Just wanted to add that there are very few places in NJ where you WOULDN'T have access to healthcare or accessibility to diverse markets and restaurants, so you should probably focus on the schools thing.

[Wells5]

If special ed is very important, I would look into Bucks County, PA. In PA, special ed is handled by the "Intermediate Unit," which coordinates and administers all of the various programs and supports. In NJ, special ed is left to individual school districts or a county department.


https://www.bucksiu.org/

[maestrodong]

Thanks for the pointer to the Intermediate Unit, we'll look into it

[Gerania]

Originally Posted by maestrodong

Thanks for the pointer to the Intermediate Unit, we'll look into it

Your child can be accommodated in a good New Jersey district. My son was in a district that was rated as average and I was very pleased with the services that we received. My brother was an IU teacher in PA. As with everything else, there were problems. He had many complains.

I'd be as concerned with your commute as your child's education. I'm sure that you'd like to be able to spend some time with your wife and child rather than hours commuting.

I'm sorry that I can't answer your questions.

[swilliamsny]

I can’t comment on the specific NJ schools in that area, either, but do have something to add about NJ districts in general. NJ school districts get a lot of criticism for administrative waste. For the most part, each town is its own district. While it’s true that there is potential cost savings by combining administrators, having such local access gives individual families more of a voice than those in larger districts.

In a small-ish NJ town, you will have a decent amount of access to your Board of Ed and other school officials. You’ll have more direct input on what type of services are offered and how they are implemented. If there’s something you’d like to see happen or have change, it may be possible to get it to happen with an involved group of parents.

[maestrodong]

Thanks Gerania, swilliamsny for the additional advice.

Understand the viewpoint. Bit difficult to visit and assess the districts remotely, though will see if we can do something to get a better sense for what is right for us.

[jerseyj]

Consider West Windsor-Plainsboro Disctrict.
Talk to these folks- Special Services - West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District

All of these schools would likely serve you and your kids well. I mention WW because it has the NEC train station with designated parking for WW residents, it is very close to Lawrenceville (and reverse from the common commute), many good grocery stores (Whole Foods, Wegmans, Trader Joes, Woo Ri Mart).