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My kids go to Catholic school and more than half the kids are Irish. My husband is Irish but 3rd generation here. We live in Staten Island, which I do not recommend but if you are going to live in the 5 boroughs many choose here. I was born in Manhattan, grew up in Queens and have lived and worked in every borough excpet the Bronx so feel free to ask me any questions! BTW, after kids #3 catholics schools don't charge any more tuition. Best of Luck to you.
My kids go to Catholic school and more than half the kids are Irish. My husband is Irish but 3rd generation here. We live in Staten Island, which I do not recommend but if you are going to live in the 5 boroughs many choose here. I was born in Manhattan, grew up in Queens and have lived and worked in every borough excpet the Bronx so feel free to ask me any questions! BTW, after kids #3 catholics schools don't charge any more tuition. Best of Luck to you.
I would second the recommendation to look into Pearl River. Large Irish community, good public schools, and you should be able to find a single-family home with a bit of a yard in your budget range. I commute to Manhattan every day by train from one stop beyond Pearl River and don't find it bad at all (train is between 50 and 80 minutes to Penn Station depending on whether you get the express). Easy access to all sorts of outdoor activities throughout the Hudson valley from there as well.
This Thread brings me back to 1986 when I moved with my family from Ireland , most people at the time figured we were nuts moving to a strange country with three small kids , We settled in the North west Bronx ( Riverdale) Great schools, both Public and Catholic. Riverdale is a close commute to Manhattan by the #1 train, Theres good free Parking , Lots of shops, and a safe neighborhood for your kids to grow up in. The Rents are no more expensive that anywhere else , expect to pay $1500 to $2000 per month for a two bedroom apt . as i said it does bring back memories ,stick together as a family , love one another , and you will do fine . welcome to America.
This Thread brings me back to 1986 when I moved with my family from Ireland , most people at the time figured we were nuts moving to a strange country with three small kids , We settled in the North west Bronx ( Riverdale) Great schools, both Public and Catholic. Riverdale is a close commute to Manhattan by the #1 train, Theres good free Parking , Lots of shops, and a safe neighborhood for your kids to grow up in. The Rents are no more expensive that anywhere else , expect to pay $1500 to $2000 per month for a two bedroom apt . as i said it does bring back memories ,stick together as a family , love one another , and you will do fine . welcome to America.
Thank you so much for your reply. Yes everyone thinks we are nuts too haha. I will check out Riverdale. The plus about Yonkers is that we maybe able to rent a house from someone we know but then we are limited in schools. I'm confused about school ratings. If a school is a 4 does this necessarily mean it is bad? We don't rate schools here in Ireland ( maybe we should lol ). I could be horrified by the rating my kids school would get. Really nervous about everything but feel if we get the neighbourhood right we will be fine. I hope !!!
Thank you so much for your reply. Yes everyone thinks we are nuts too haha. I will check out Riverdale. The plus about Yonkers is that we maybe able to rent a house from someone we know but then we are limited in schools. I'm confused about school ratings. If a school is a 4 does this necessarily mean it is bad? We don't rate schools here in Ireland ( maybe we should lol ). I could be horrified by the rating my kids school would get. Really nervous about everything but feel if we get the neighbourhood right we will be fine. I hope !!!
Aside from the ratings you also want to know what features these schools have to offer.
Look at all of the class sizes, whether all classes include good teachers' aides (ie, can actually substitute for the teacher), enrichment (pull out programs for advanced students, orchestra, math/science olympiad, etc.), sports, whether arts facilities and supplies are readily available or if you need to buy separately, if classrooms are provided in all classes or if some sessions are held in stairwells, etc.
You also need to inquire where kids attend middle and high school.
These features are generally the BIG difference between an NYC public school with open admissions and a good suburban public school.
In a good suburban school like the ones you see in central Nassau, south shore Long Island or possibly Pearl River, these benefits are already laid out for you and your kids. Some NYC public schools have arguably caught up at least at the elementary level - but families are often asked to shell out thousands of dollars in "miscellaneous fees" and various "fundraisings". So if somebody tells you that their NYC PS provides all these perks, better visit the school and investigate for yourself and if its true then look at what price they need to pay for these perks.
They are not meaningless at such mediocre levels. If current scores were at least above average then you might be correct; newer standards might move the needle. But that is not the case here. Even with newer CC standards that PS in Woodlawn will still produce lousy results.
Lousy teachers produce lousy results-- whether you test or not.
Thank you so much for your reply. Yes everyone thinks we are nuts too haha. I will check out Riverdale. The plus about Yonkers is that we maybe able to rent a house from someone we know but then we are limited in schools. I'm confused about school ratings. If a school is a 4 does this necessarily mean it is bad? We don't rate schools here in Ireland ( maybe we should lol ). I could be horrified by the rating my kids school would get. Really nervous about everything but feel if we get the neighbourhood right we will be fine. I hope !!!
Depends what part of Yonkers your in? Also years ago Judge Sands has really changed Yonkers. For instance if you live in Getty Square then your school was over by Crestwood. If you lived off of McLean near Devoe then your school was Getty Square. The great social experiment of school integration. Needless to say catholic schools saw an uptick or folks abandoned Yonkers all together. The common question was Why pay the high taxes coupled with Catholic school? Sands also put low income housing throughout "Middle Class" areas. How dare those bad people work hard to maintain a nice middle class area. SMH
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