DISTRICTS::Great Valley, T/E, Radnor, LM (new house, school districts)

[TFZC1922]

Originally Posted by JEO

I attended T/E from kindergarten through 12th grade and now have two children in Radnor. My suggestion would be Radnor or Great Valley. I don't know much about Lower Merion, but have only heard good things about their schools. Radnor is wonderful and is anchored around the town of Wayne (primarily). The schools are excellent. T/E is a very large school district - almost double the size of Radnor - and it's very hard to make sports teams. T/E has also had a lot of negative press lately with the middle school sexting and the much larger athletic hazing scandal. This district is all about rankings and often takes it's eye off the ball when it comes to students. I can speak from experience. I would avoid T/E and check out Radnor and Great Valley in more detail. You may want to join the Main Line Parent facebook group - there has historically been discussions about the school districts there. Good luck!

Thank you so much for your input, I originally was set on T/E and now the more I hear about it, the more cautious I am about living in that district. Actually we were just looking at a house in Treyburn (sp?) which I believe is in Radnor SD. Any knowledge of this neighborhood? Also found a great house in Great Valley SD (sugartown el) too. Just curious, if you chose Radnor for your children then what reasons do you have for also recommending Great Valley? (I know Radnor ranks higher than Great Valley but then again T/E ranks higher than all of them and now I think it's a school district we would like to avoid)

Thank you so much for your help and advice!

[JEO]

Treyburn is in T/E. I would avoid the builder of that neighborhood - Bentley. Not very reputable - most of the homes have stucco issues. Most people I know who grew up in T/E live in either Great Valley (just west) or Radnor (just east). I have good friends and colleagues in Great Valley who love it, so that's my only point of reference. T/E is very large - over 6,000 students - and the high school (Conestoga) is PACKED with over 2,200 students in a small, dated facility. Also, high rankings = overcrowding. Just a thought. You are splitting hairs over Radnor vs. T/E vs. Lower Merion if you are looking at rankings. You can't go wrong in either. Radnor is three elementary schools, one middle school, one high school, which leads to a much stronger community as you know the families much better. T/E is five elementary schools, two middle schools. Also, there middle school starts in 5th grade, as opposed to Radnor and Lower Merion which is 6th grade. 5th-8th grade middle school is very unappealing. Also, Radnor has full day kindergarten - T/E and Lower Merion have half day. I know I'm throwing out a lot of information. I'm not a realtor, but have lived in the area a very long time and know most neighborhoods well in T/E and Radnor if you want some specific advice....

[TFZC1922]

Originally Posted by JEO

Treyburn is in T/E. I would avoid the builder of that neighborhood - Bentley. Not very reputable - most of the homes have stucco issues. Most people I know who grew up in T/E live in either Great Valley (just west) or Radnor (just east). I have good friends and colleagues in Great Valley who love it, so that's my only point of reference. T/E is very large - over 6,000 students - and the high school (Conestoga) is PACKED with over 2,200 students in a small, dated facility. Also, high rankings = overcrowding. Just a thought. You are splitting hairs over Radnor vs. T/E vs. Lower Merion if you are looking at rankings. You can't go wrong in either. Radnor is three elementary schools, one middle school, one high school, which leads to a much stronger community as you know the families much better. T/E is five elementary schools, two middle schools. Also, there middle school starts in 5th grade, as opposed to Radnor and Lower Merion which is 6th grade. 5th-8th grade middle school is very unappealing. Also, Radnor has full day kindergarten - T/E and Lower Merion have half day. I know I'm throwing out a lot of information. I'm not a realtor, but have lived in the area a very long time and know most neighborhoods well in T/E and Radnor if you want some specific advice....

Wow, I hadn't realized the number I students and I never heard of middle school being anything other than grades 6-8, I don't like the idea of grade 5 being middle school... keep any and all info coming. This is beyond helpful... what neighborhoods would you focus on and recommend? We want to stay under $1.3
Also, two homes we saw in great valley SD were off Paoli Pike very close to Sugartown El, any pros and cons there?

[TFZC1922]

Originally Posted by JEO

Treyburn is in T/E. I would avoid the builder of that neighborhood - Bentley. Not very reputable - most of the homes have stucco issues. Most people I know who grew up in T/E live in either Great Valley (just west) or Radnor (just east). I have good friends and colleagues in Great Valley who love it, so that's my only point of reference. T/E is very large - over 6,000 students - and the high school (Conestoga) is PACKED with over 2,200 students in a small, dated facility. Also, high rankings = overcrowding. Just a thought. You are splitting hairs over Radnor vs. T/E vs. Lower Merion if you are looking at rankings. You can't go wrong in either. Radnor is three elementary schools, one middle school, one high school, which leads to a much stronger community as you know the families much better. T/E is five elementary schools, two middle schools. Also, there middle school starts in 5th grade, as opposed to Radnor and Lower Merion which is 6th grade. 5th-8th grade middle school is very unappealing. Also, Radnor has full day kindergarten - T/E and Lower Merion have half day. I know I'm throwing out a lot of information. I'm not a realtor, but have lived in the area a very long time and know most neighborhoods well in T/E and Radnor if you want some specific advice....

Also- most people you grew up with chose not to live in T/E but in Radnor le Great Valley, is this completely because you all disliked going to school at T/E, just curious the reasoning behind everyone's decision to live east or west but not stay put

[MarketStEl]

Originally Posted by JEO

The above mentioned article, which I believe was published in Philadelphia Magazine - "Racial Profiling on the Main Line" had very little to do with Radnor. The African American boys discussed in detail in the magazine were former students at Tredyffrin/Easttown Middle School and the incident where they were video tapped and reported to the police took place in the Greens at Waynesborough in Berwyn (Easttown). The main focus of that portion of the article had to do with T/E and not Radnor....Just an FYI.

Thanks for correcting my faulty memory.

The three Main Line communities with historically black communities of long standing are Ardmore, Bryn Mawr and Berwyn. The first two lie partly in Lower Merion Township, Montgomery County, and partly in Delaware County - Haverford in Ardmore's case; the Delaware County portion of Bryn Mawr's historically black community is split between Haverford and Radnor. Berwyn lies in Tredyffrin Township.

Tredyffrin actually attempted to segregate its schools, in 1932. This article (PDF) from the Tredyffrin-Easttown Historical Society's quarterly magazine describes the ensuing fight, which the township school board ultimately lost, thankfully.

Given how little of black Bryn Mawr lies in Radnor Township, then, your best bet for finding a racially diverse school community on the Main Line where friction is also low is Lower Merion.

--Sandy Smith, Home & Real Estate Editor, Philadelphia magazine

[cpomp]

I don't think it is at all necessary to nitpick between those 3 school district. They are all amazing districts with excellent academics, sports, extracurricular activities, etc. All that scandal nonsense at T/E that someone posted is nothing but nonsense, and should in no way deter you from looking at that district.

Whether your kids go to Radnor, LM, or T/E they will have the opportunity to excel in any way possible, a privilege that millions of families in this country with they had.

I still also wouldn't rule out Rose Tree Media schools. A smaller yet excellent district, very family oriented, a large variety of housing stock, an actual downtown, and more recreation than the other 3 options. (19063 zipcode for real estate).


And also, I know Tom Bentley personally, and any issues that his homeowners have regarding stucco or eifs walls are minimal, no more or less than any other high-end developer on the Main Line.

[JEO]

First, I very much do agree with the post above...You can't go wrong in Radnor, Lower Merion or T/E. My preference is Radnor due to the smaller size, walkable downtown (Wayne) and accessibility to downtown, airport, etc. I don't know much about Rose Tree Media, but the town of Media is amazing! Regarding specific neighborhoods, I would look at Woods Lane/Garden Place/Valley Place in Radnor Twp. There are two houses for sale there now. Lots of kids and Radnor Elementary (newest elementary school in Radnor). Also, checkout 506 Woodland Court - great North Wayne location. North and South Wayne are great, sidewalk neighborhoods that are walk to train and downtown Wayne. I have a colleague on Fetters Mill Road in Great Valley who loves that spot! In T/E, I'd suggest the Shand Tract (Timber Lane/Hunters Lane). Note, T/E neighborhood typically have larger lots and no sidewalks. It really is a personal preference with home style. Just try and find a neighborhood with young families. There's another lawsuit against T/E in the works - discrimination by a gay teacher who was terminated. As a T/E alum, I will say this reiterates more of the hostile environment that has been associated with this district. Again, I'd avoid it, but your children will get a good education nonetheless.

[TFZC1922]

Anyone have any knowledge of Renehan Building Group?

[JEO]

Renehan is a great builder. I just checked their site - you should check out 412 Wyldhaven Road site - Radnor Elementary - very large neighborhood with tons of kids. Great for walking/running. There are a ton of tear downs and rebuilds but also many 50s/60s colonials and split levels on large lots. Very nice neighborhood and very centrally located.

[MarketStEl]

Since folks are reminding you of the other alternatives - and Rose Tree Media is a good one - I'll just put in a word for Wallingford/Swarthmore again too.

But: the OP listed diversity as an important value too. I think she said "socioeconomic," and I've been focusing on racial, but the two are often closely linked, given how American history has played out. (That said, the historically black neighborhoods on the Main Line are far from poverty-stricken. They're more middle-middle class.)

"Everybody's Hometown" (Media's nickname) is a way cool little community. And if you enjoy dining out, it has the densest concentration of good restaurants of any of the communities we've been discussing. Good luck finding a place to live within the borough's limits; though: it's only 0.6 square miles and fully built out. House prices within it are modest, though, so if there's a place for sale that you like, buy it.

More likely you'll find better pickings in the communities around it that share its school district: Nether Providence, Upper Providence and Rose Valley. That last started out as a utopian community and retains some of that vibe to this day; it's home to one of the oldest professional theater companies in Delaware County, Hedgerow Theater.