How would you rate these school districts? (Pittsburgh, Ross Township: middle-class, chapel)

[ChloeBill]

I think in Quaker Valley, you would be hard-pressed to find a rental accommodating four people at a decent price. Also, $200K is tight for a housing budget there, aside from Leetsdale, which is less classically suburban than the other communities on your list.

[greg42]

Originally Posted by heartchya

Quaker Valley does not get the credit it deserves on this forum.

I don't know about that. I for one am quick to mention QV when it seems appropriate. I didn't mention it here because I didn't think it was as convenient as other excellent districts which are closer to the workplace in question. It certainly is an option. If you found something in, say, Aleppo Township, that would actually be the closest part of the Quaker Valley district. Lots of hills and I-79 create some access issues but it does put you in QV. If instead you had to look in, say, Leetsdale, that would put you pretty far from a job on McKnight Rd.

The bang for the buck in sub-200k I think would be right in the North Hills school district (Ross and West View). Very close to work, good school district, convenient to a lot of stuff including amenities in the city. I'm going by rough approximations and ideas and not an intimate knowledge of the pricing of houses for sale, but I think it should be doable there.

[robrobrob]

The bang for the buck comment and great schools really don't go together. Great school district command premium pricing. I think Mt. Lebanon is probably the suburb where you get the least bang for you buck in the region. The reason for this is so many people are willing to live in small older home in order to live in Mt. Lebanon.

The nice thing about Mt. Lebanon and North Allegheny schools districts is that they are both massive and you will have a lot of housing options in comparison to O'Hara or The Village of Sewickely (QV).

Working on McKnight, I would look in the following school districts, North Allegheny, Hampton, North Hills and perhaps Shaler and Avonworth.

[Hopes]

For the OP's circumstances, we mean larger house size for a lower price in a great school district when we say bang for your buck.

North Hills School District has that in Ross. It's a hidden gem. You don't get as much house for your money in Mt. Lebo.

North Hills is a great school district, really it is. It ranks right up there with the best of the best districts in the area.

[spitale22]

You all are sooo awesome! Thanks so much for all of your advice. This is extremely helpful.

I found a rental in Brookline that my husband is going to check out today and it looks perfect, so keeping my fingers crossed that we can snatch that one up and get settled a bit before we start looking to buy. We will start the search to purchase within a few months if we can just get settled in first.

Keeping my fingers crossed that this rental works out or I'm back to the drawing board!

[gg]

Originally Posted by greg42

I don't know about that. I for one am quick to mention QV when it seems appropriate. I didn't mention it here because I didn't think it was as convenient as other excellent districts which are closer to the workplace in question. It certainly is an option. If you found something in, say, Aleppo Township, that would actually be the closest part of the Quaker Valley district. Lots of hills and I-79 create some access issues but it does put you in QV. If instead you had to look in, say, Leetsdale, that would put you pretty far from a job on McKnight Rd.

The bang for the buck in sub-200k I think would be right in the North Hills school district (Ross and West View). Very close to work, good school district, convenient to a lot of stuff including amenities in the city. I'm going by rough approximations and ideas and not an intimate knowledge of the pricing of houses for sale, but I think it should be doable there.

I agree. North Hills would be a very good choice and commute times ARE important. Why commute for an hour each way and have a father never home? Look at good school districts very close to work. It's a much better idea. Education starts at home. Having two parents there is more important in this case because you have plenty of good schools to choose from close to work.

[Retiredcoach]

Originally Posted by Hopes

For the OP's circumstances, we mean larger house size for a lower price in a great school district when we say bang for your buck.

North Hills School District has that in Ross. It's a hidden gem. You don't get as much house for your money in Mt. Lebo.

North Hills is a great school district, really it is. It ranks right up there with the best of the best districts in the area.

I am not sure how you are defining a great school district. The only real quantitative way to seemingly differentiate would be through the annual PSSA scores. Of the 500+ school districts in Pennsylvania, North Hills ranked 89th in 2012, down 8 slots from its 2011 scores. Of the top performing 15 school districts statewide, 6 are in Allegheny County (Upper Saint Clair (#1); Mt. Lebanon (#5); North Allegheny (#6); Hampton (#7), South Fayette (#10); Fox Chapel (#12). These, to my line of thinking would constitute great school districts.

Other districts of note with their 2012 rankings: Quaker Valley (#24); Shaler (#251); Seneca Valley (#47); Avonworth (#61), and lastly the school district that you deride most in your posts: Pine-Richland (#45)

[greg42]

North Hills is still well above average for the area and for the state using your numbers, whereas Shaler for example is decidedly average.

It doesn't have to be one of those big 6 that are in the top 12 in the state to be an excellent school district. All those others listed including North Hills are quite good.

[Hopes]

Exactly. North Hills ranks 48th (out of 500+) in the state, but it ranks much much higher when compared to districts in the THIS region. And within Allegheny County, some of North Hills' individual schools rank higher than some of the individual schools in the districts being raved about.

North Hills is no slouch. Read more about North Hills here:

North Hills among the top 7 percent in the nation on the Challenge Index

North Hills Senior High School is one of 31 schools in Pennsylvania and only nine in Allegheny County to be listed in the Washington Post’s High School Challenge.

North Hills School District

[Retiredcoach]

Originally Posted by greg42

North Hills is still well above average for the area and for the state using your numbers, whereas Shaler for example is decidedly average.

It doesn't have to be one of those big 6 that are in the top 12 in the state to be an excellent school district. All those others listed including North Hills are quite good.

Maybe if North Hills were in another part of the state, I might consider it an excellent school district for its region. As it stands now, the district would not be even a top twenty district in Western Pennsylvania if the test scores are relatively compared, and it is on a decidedly lower tier than many of its closest geographic neighbors. It seems that the Pittsburgh Business Times concurs, as well, ranking the North Hills School District 23rd of the top 50 districts in the Western PA.

SLIDESHOW: Western PA's top 50 school districts - Pittsburgh Business Times

All other variables being equal, and my search for a home is being based upon schools of the highest quality, I am sorry, but I would bypass the North Hills School District. There are just too many other surrounding districts that have surpassed them in terms of educational excellence.