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Location: Concrete jungle where dreams are made of.
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I posted this on the other thread with a very similar thread (forgot which):
I'm a student teacher in NYC public schools and I'm going to be a teacher in the city. I'm in a school that's not a particularly great area, but the school is pretty decent. I was impressed when I saw this school that only got a 4/10 ranking on a website.
There are great areas in the city for schools. Region 3 (eastern Queens) have very good public schools, as well as lower Manhattan (neighborhoods like Soho, Gramercy, Chinatown). Also the upper east side, some of upper west side. I would say that a good majority of the schools in decent neighborhoods are comparable to Long Island.
If you do send them to public school, be very involved so they can apply to a good middle school for 6th grade. The kids get much much more rowdy in middle school and high school (worse in middle school though). That's why I'm saying to get involved in your childrens' education so they can apply to a good public middle school and high school.
Some people I student teach with are products of city public schools, so not all of them can be bad, right?
Here are some very helpful websites I have saved:
A site for all NYC public schools where parents/teachers/principals rate the school. This site has done reviews of these schools after going into them.
there is a map of the regions of public schools all over the city. Look into the regions I tell you and the schools in them. Region 3 is notoriously very good, which is what I said in my last post. They're doing away with regions next school year, but just check out the schools in that Region. Also, there are decent ones in pockets of 4, and in Region 7, district 20 (some real nice suburban-esque towns in Brookyln). Also, Region 9, District 1:
There's also this site, where mostly parents write reviews and rate the school in different aspects. Also shows the test scores each year, and the demographics:
Another tip for people with very young children is to explore TAG designated schools and programs. if your child is bright, you may be able to teach them the "critical thinking" skills needed to score well on the OLSAT test. if they score well on OLSAT and you have TAG entry as a plan, then you're in very good shape.
Look up the Gifted schools/programs on insideschools.
If you're in Manhattan or some parts of Brooklyn, traditional private school is very expensive (20-40k a year).
But the gifted programs are free and very very good to excellent. Some are extremely elite (like the Andersen program on the upper west side). We pulled our son out of a private school in 2nd grade because we got an opportunity to attend NEST (the only entirely gifted k-12 in all of NYC). If we had a scholarship to any private school in Manhattan we would not have moved him - that program was superior to anything we'd ever seen. Given the nature of the students, we've had zero discipline incidents (fighting or not following the rules). There was even a land's end dress code of school logo polo shirts and tan pants just like some of the private schools. It's a little weaker now (the founding principal retired), however it's still a solid school.
The point is...if you can get into a TAG track in NYC, your chances of having "excellent" free choices skyrockets. I don't know about TAG in the Bronx, but programs should be in all parts of NYC.
The trick is the OLSAt, but if the child is bright and gets "test prep" in the form of "critical thinking" skills, that should give them an advantage.
oh yeah --middle school is typically a BIG PROBLEM. Many people focus so much on finding a good k-5 school, they don't realize that in many areas Middle School is the bigger problem. make your K-5 plans with the midddle school target in mind. If you can find a K-8 solution, that's great because you still have the option to try and get accepted to a different middle school program, but you keep your "safety" of staying where you're at.
Middle schools pull their student demo from a larger geographic area than elementary schools do. It is not simply that the kids get more rowdy at that age. That does not need to be said as we all understand that. There are people who can make the system work for them but this does not always work out the way it should. There are too many extremes in New York. The system will never improve to the degree that the kids deserve overall. If you have limited options learn how to make the system work for you.
I have lived close to Pelham Pkwy here in the Bronx for almost 2 years. I have a 2 1/2 and 1 year old. We moved from Columbus, OH, which had more of a suburban feel. I work in finance.
The neighborhood is safe and fairly diverse---It is on the Westchester border. There are white, black, South Asian people on the block. Everyone is cordial. People plant flowers and have pride in their community.
There is a group of older kids--9-12 yrs. old who play, ride bikes together regularly. I am a stone's throw to 1-95, Hutchinson Pkwy into Westchester, other major routes. 10 mins to City Island Marina. Close to Bronx Zoo and Botanical Gardens (which has children's programs and a wonderful train show every year). 10 min walk to 5 express train into Manhattan (1 hr). 25 mins to Stamford and CT beaches.
Daycare is plentiful. They have state certified 'family day cares' here that provide a more reasonable alternative to corporate centers. My eldest will be taking swimming lessons this summer (in Westchester) and Suzuki Violin classes here in the Bronx for $50/month.
I like the fact that I can walk my kids to the library or playground and pick up authentic Italian gelato or Jamaican jerk chicken or flan on the way home. There is a lady who works at the cabinet store who sells beautiful homemade earrings. The neighborhood has character in a way that other suburban communities does not.
I've always been confused as to the definition of the "Pelham Parkway" neighborhood. Where exactly are you defining it as? Is this the neighborhood south of the Pelham parkway, East of Williamsbridge Rd, north of Morrris Park ave and west of the Jacobi Hospital? Or is this neighborhood also considered to be part of Morris Park?
Quote:
Originally Posted by mocha2007
I have lived close to Pelham Pkwy here in the Bronx for almost 2 years. I have a 2 1/2 and 1 year old. We moved from Columbus, OH, which had more of a suburban feel. I work in finance.
The neighborhood is safe and fairly diverse---It is on the Westchester border. There are white, black, South Asian people on the block. Everyone is cordial. People plant flowers and have pride in their community.
There is a group of older kids--9-12 yrs. old who play, ride bikes together regularly. I am a stone's throw to 1-95, Hutchinson Pkwy into Westchester, other major routes. 10 mins to City Island Marina. Close to Bronx Zoo and Botanical Gardens (which has children's programs and a wonderful train show every year). 10 min walk to 5 express train into Manhattan (1 hr). 25 mins to Stamford and CT beaches.
Daycare is plentiful. They have state certified 'family day cares' here that provide a more reasonable alternative to corporate centers. My eldest will be taking swimming lessons this summer (in Westchester) and Suzuki Violin classes here in the Bronx for $50/month.
I like the fact that I can walk my kids to the library or playground and pick up authentic Italian gelato or Jamaican jerk chicken or flan on the way home. There is a lady who works at the cabinet store who sells beautiful homemade earrings. The neighborhood has character in a way that other suburban communities does not.
I live 2 blocks south of Eastchester, Pelham Pkwy is 4-5 blocks West of me..right off of Allerton Avenue, which is an old Italian neighborhood (some people still fly flags outside their home)...I agree with the comments about the public schools here...there are several good Catholic schools w/in walking distance. Tuition is less than daycare (I have 2 kids in daycare now).
I'm not sure of the real name for the neighborhood..it isnt really Baychester either..I was more trying to give a feel of what it is like to live here.
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Close to Pelham Pkwy
