good HS in Pittsburgh (Lebanon, Monaca: townhouse, neighborhood, buy)

[mtutor108]

Hello

We are contemplating moving to Pittsburgh, and looking for high schools for my daughter, the one she goes to here is top ranked in the country for STEM and we found it very taxing and stressful(as in loss of sleep, children looking worried always etc.) The quizzes and test are very hard, and not generally from material covered in class- to put simply, if you prepare class material very very well, you end up with a B and if you prep beyond class material, one can get an A. A ninth grade Pre-AP Biology has more than half the questions from AP biology.
I was looking at North Alleghany, but read an article that talked about sleep deprivation and depression/ anxiety issues.
How is Moon district, south fayette, etc.
Just for a better understanding, toppers in my daughters freshman class are already working at Calculus level and SAT scores of 1500+, sometimes I wonder what they are doing as freshman here- so they are the few handful who take the tough APs and make As. Although I do hear, everybody does get a couple of Bs if not more down the line. Students going here generally have completed the course elsewhere over summer and repeat it in school year to stay sane!

I am looking for a school that will make her work but not be stressful in these quizzes and tests ( as in tests are in scope of what is being taught n not totally new topics).


We are open to any good school district as long as it is in 30 min drive to Monaca

Your help is so appreciated. TIA!!

[RogersParkTransplant]

You might want to look at Sewickley -- a friend raised her three sons there (they are ca. 18-24 years old now) and they were all really happy with it. It's a nice area, and would put you pretty much halfway between Monaca and the city. I teach at Pitt and have a very, very positive impression of the students that come to us from Mt Lebanon (there are many good school districts all around Pittsburgh, but Mt Lebanon really seems to stand out), but that's a much farther drive for you (and is worse than it looks on the map, because of traffic.)

I know others will chime in with Fox Chapel, Pine Richland, Upper St Clair, etc ...there are a lot of good options, so the next question will be price range and what sort of house/neighborhood you want.

[guy2073]

We are seeing a few posts lately with Monaca being the destination, I wonder if this is cracker plant related.

My friend worked in monaca, he lived in moon twp. His commute was not very long and he was in love with the school district. Sorry I can't be much help other than that.

[mtutor108]

Appreciate your help really. We most probably will buy a townhome, as we just have one daughter and its temporary move. Within 200k. I do see from website researches that Pittsburgh has some very very good schools. I really would like to hear from some parents if possible, here on forum to get an idea of work load etc.

The numbers as seen on websites/ rankings can only help so much, I really would want to hear first hand from parents whose kids go to HS there. I am more concerned about issue on practical level - like health of children etc.

Thanks so much.

[mtutor108]

Originally Posted by RogersParkTransplant

You might want to look at Sewickley -- a friend raised her three sons there (they are ca. 18-24 years old now) and they were all really happy with it. It's a nice area, and would put you pretty much halfway between Monaca and the city. I teach at Pitt and have a very, very positive impression of the students that come to us from Mt Lebanon (there are many good school districts all around Pittsburgh, but Mt Lebanon really seems to stand out), but that's a much farther drive for you (and is worse than it looks on the map, because of traffic.)

I know others will chime in with Fox Chapel, Pine Richland, Upper St Clair, etc ...there are a lot of good options, so the next question will be price range and what sort of house/neighborhood you want.

Thank you, is your friend on the forum? I really would like to get more details. Thanks.

[jea6321]

Moon has done well and has become much more desirable over the past 10 years or so. Friends of mine have kids in the district, but they are still in elementary school. They do seem very happy with it and plan to stay. The commute north/west from the moon area is very painless. coming from the south can be terrible.

[PGH423]

It's good that you're a concerned parent. A few things seem confusing here to me (as a teacher). When you say an A requires going beyond class material does that include going beyond the assigned readings or just beyond what was covered in class? The latter would be appropriate though the former wouldn't. If the former, how do you know that your admittedly sleep-deprived daughter is not missing what's covered in class though? This is a common complaint among students who text or daydream during class (which may or may not be happening here).

I don't have any way of knowing what's going on here but it raises red flags to me when someone talks about life-interfering anxiety and sleep loss over grades. This usually means the student and/or parents are placing too much importance on grades. Grades do matter but aren't worth losing sleep over. They are less important than learning. There tend to be two types of A students: Those who cared more about learning and go on to achieve a lot after graduating and those who cared mainly about grades and don't achieve anything better than the B, C, and D students. Also, among the B, C, and D students those who cared primarily about learning tend to do better after graduating than the A students who cared just about grades.

I know this isn't the information you asked for but there may be issues going on here that won't be solved (and could be worsened) with a move.

[RogersParkTransplant]

Originally Posted by mtutor108

Thank you, is your friend on the forum? I really would like to get more details. Thanks.

No, it's a friend in real life who teaches at the University of Pittsburgh, like me. There aren't many parents of grown kids on this forum; there are a few but not a ton, and so I doubt you will get the kind of detail you are looking for. (My kids are early elementary age, and go to Pittsburgh public schools.)

I also think what PGH423 wrote makes a lot of sense. Honestly the main reason I keep mentioning where I work is that we see a broad spectrum of very good students from local school districts. I do think it's good that you are worried about mental health, but I don't think that comes from the workload as much as other sorts of pressures that kids feel as teenagers.

If you want a townhouse for under $200k, I am guessing you will end up in Moon, but others will have more ideas.

[SlurmsMcKenzie]

S. Fayette is very good but perhaps a bit further than you are looking for. Moon and Quaker Valley are very good. I also wouldn't overlook Montour as it is a very solid and large district.

[okaydorothy]

I will second South Fayette. We just finished with the school district and my kids did great. We moved here 6 years ago and while my hubby and I didn't settle, the boys did fantastic. They were in 7th and 8th grade when we came here and really thrived.The school district is booming. My son had 195 graduate from his class and I think the current freshmen class has over 300.They just put on a huge addition that is STEM based and was designed based on MIT. They have all the AP classes you need. The teachers are absolutely super also.