Reloc. to Roanoke area, possibly Salem - tips and ideas? (Cave Spring: apartment complex, rentals)

[headnsouth]

Lofts are cool and the Cotton Mill lofts are very cool, but I would not want to live there with kids because of the school district. There are two high schools in Roanoke city, Patrick Henry and William Fleming, and although I think it's important to consider overall quality of life and not just test scores when choosing a home, and although I want my kids to go to school with a student population that represents the real world and not a sanitized one, I draw the line at sending my kids to Fleming. The area where the Cotton Mill lofts are is at the edge of downtown and Old Southwest, and Old Southwest is sort of the dividing line between the two high-school zones. So there will be one block where kids go to PH, and the next block, or even across the street, where kids go to Fleming. You can tell the school district block-by-block by the price of the houses and the number of owner occupants compared to multifamily rental units. I would really like to live in OSW because we are downtown all the time, there's a great music scene, I work downtown, etc., and I could walk to work from OSW, but we haven't found the right house yet so we are staying put in Raleigh Court (which is fabulous as I mentioned, we just want to be closer to downtown).

As you look around, you can look at the Roanoke City Schools locator page which will tell you which school zone each street is in. The Roanoke Valley Area Realtors site has a search page that puts available real estate on a map for you.

[seahaven]

Salem schools are the best in the area, in my opinion. I would never, EVER, send my child to Fleming, or Patrick Henry to be honest. Fleming is violent, and always has trouble brewing there.....plus it is not a good section of town. The apartment right across from it,named Ferncliff, are a hotbed of trouble and drugs. There are a lot of fights at PH, especially come friday night/football season, but Fleming is even worse for that. Salem places emphasis on sports, some say far too much,( I am biased, band geek for the win!), but Salem does have the IB Track, and the AP track. The teachers are good, and there is also dual enrollment for the local community college. I took that option, rather than AP or IB, and graduated with several college course under my belt.

Raleigh Court area isn't all that bad, but you are very close to some very not good areas. You'd be very close to Patterson Ave, ad Campbell, which are BAD sections of town. I know very little about WW middle, but I do know Andrew Lewis has been recently renovated, has great teachers, and advanced tracks. ALMS did win the 2010 Governor's award for educational excellence...shrugs

Downtown is alright, but I would not call it safe, especially at night. Again, you're butting up against areas that are not safe at all. Salem does have a variety of housing options, and has a few good apartment choices. Salem Wood apts are nice, Chateau Rivera is also nice for size, but the internal decor is outdated. There are a few other apt complexes, but I do not know the names right off. There are also many houses to rent, so that's always an option.

Good luck with whatever you decide, and pardon my lack of coherency....it's 4am!

[540_804]

lol..where do you guys get your information about city schools?

I graduated from Fleming not too long ago (I'm still in college) and never experienced the things you guys allude to having occurred there. Was there an occasional disruption? Yes..but what school doesn't have them? But it didn't happen very often at all.

I graduated from Fleming with almost a years worth of college credit under my belt. I completed the IB program (full diploma), took AP and honors courses. My education from Fleming was obviously good enough to land me a full scholarship to my current school. I have friends (from Fleming) who are now at UVA, Cornell, Harvard, Princeton, etc...none of them were victims of violence or crime..it obviously couldn't have been that bad.

And seahaven, where do you get the idea that Ferncliff is a "hotbed for trouble and drugs." Do you have any evidence to back those claims or are you just pulling it out of the air based on what you think happens there?

And before you accuse me of being some pro-Fleming booster that is obviously biased towards one way of thinking...I'll tell you that I actually worked for the cities juvenile justice system and had first-hand exposure to these statistics (and actual cases) over the course of 2-3 years...so I actually know what was going on (besides actually attending the school).


Besides, the OPs son is 11 years old, he's obviously looking at renting (if he's considering Cotton Mill) so he has a few years to watch the high schools and make his decision.

[seahaven]

Originally Posted by 540_804

lol..where do you guys get your information about city schools?

I graduated from Fleming not too long ago (I'm still in college) and never experienced the things you guys allude to having occurred there. Was there an occasional disruption? Yes..but what school doesn't have them? But it didn't happen very often at all.

I graduated from Fleming with almost a years worth of college credit under my belt. I completed the IB program (full diploma), took AP and honors courses. My education from Fleming was obviously good enough to land me a full scholarship to my current school. I have friends (from Fleming) who are now at UVA, Cornell, Harvard, Princeton, etc...none of them were victims of violence or crime..it obviously couldn't have been that bad.

And seahaven, where do you get the idea that Ferncliff is a "hotbed for trouble and drugs." Do you have any evidence to back those claims or are you just pulling it out of the air based on what you think happens there?

And before you accuse me of being some pro-Fleming booster that is obviously biased towards one way of thinking...I'll tell you that I actually worked for the cities juvenile justice system and had first-hand exposure to these statistics (and actual cases) over the course of 2-3 years...so I actually know what was going on (besides actually attending the school).


Besides, the OPs son is 11 years old, he's obviously looking at renting (if he's considering Cotton Mill) so he has a few years to watch the high schools and make his decision.

My mother lived at Ferncliff, and I had friends who live/lived there, and then got out as soon as possible. So I am not making assumptions, but giving factual information. It is a trouble area, period.

It irks me to no end when people try and paint a rosy picture of certain parts of Roanoke, but bash the crap out of Salem. I may live in Salem at the moment, but I am not a Salem superfan by any means. If I had to pick 4 high schools, I would pick Salem, Hidden valley, Cave Spring, and Byrd.

My brothers girlfriend was from Fleming, and she can also attest to the level of trouble there, not to mention the time he went to pick her up, and was nearly mauled simply because he has a Salem jacket on.

[roanoker 4]

Fleming just completed a beautiful new high school. The area is mostly African American while Hidden Valley, Salem schools are over 90% white.
I don't think anyone brought up that demographic. Roanoke City is now over 50% non white so if one moves to the City they will experience a different cultural view than living in Salem & SW County. Roanoke Valley is quite compact and the ideal arrangement is to live in the City(mostly anywhere is safe)and send the kids to a private school. If I had kids today I wouldn't want to send them to a "sanitized" school like Hidden Valley as it doesn't represent the world these kids will face and I would have some reservations in sending my kid to a public school where many of the kids have more issues than education. I'm so glad I don't have kids anymore!

[cambridgehokie]

Roanoke City is about 70% white and 27% African American. We do pride ourselves on our racial diversity and cultural diversity, see our Local Colors festival. By the way, graduate of Patrick Henry and VT.

[roanoker 4]

I got this statistic from a Roanoke City cop. Wait for the 2010 census just in case.

[cambridgehokie]

doubt a City cop would know the census numbers. However, your negative view of the City will not be changed by demographic numbers. Just giving my 2 cents worth.

[mom51]

We have lived in Southwest County for 5 years. My son is finishing 6th grade at Cave Spring Middle. They offer Pre AP courses for the Middle School students as well as Pre-Algebra 6th, Algebra 7th, Geometry 8th, as well as Advanced Math depending on which path your child is on. There is not much going on with the gifted program that is not also available for the Pre-AP students, a few extra off campus programs, and some programs in the summer, but it's nothing to get excited about. The school offers Band and Choir or Interest block programs.(Tech Ed, Home Ec., Languages, Art. etc. The 2 Middle Schools are Hidden Valley and Cave Spring. I am sure HV follows about the same ciriculum since they are both Roanoke County. As far as Salem, I believe they have the best school system, Salem is a small town with there own School Board. (Salem is part of Roanoke County, however they opperate their own schools) You will find homes in Salem are more expensive than Southwest County and I think that is because of the school system. If you are looking at homes in Salem be aware that some listings say Salem but the school system is actually Roanoke County ie Glenvar. Hope that helps a little bit.

[Eyes_green]

Originally Posted by mom51

We have lived in Southwest County for 5 years. My son is finishing 6th grade at Cave Spring Middle. They offer Pre AP courses for the Middle School students as well as Pre-Algebra 6th, Algebra 7th, Geometry 8th, as well as Advanced Math depending on which path your child is on. There is not much going on with the gifted program that is not also available for the Pre-AP students, a few extra off campus programs, and some programs in the summer, but it's nothing to get excited about. The school offers Band and Choir or Interest block programs.(Tech Ed, Home Ec., Languages, Art. etc. The 2 Middle Schools are Hidden Valley and Cave Spring. I am sure HV follows about the same ciriculum since they are both Roanoke County. As far as Salem, I believe they have the best school system, Salem is a small town with there own School Board. (Salem is part of Roanoke County, however they opperate their own schools) You will find homes in Salem are more expensive than Southwest County and I think that is because of the school system. If you are looking at homes in Salem be aware that some listings say Salem but the school system is actually Roanoke County ie Glenvar. Hope that helps a little bit.

Thank you for your thoughtful insight! Seems like Salem schools get more positive reviews on the Web too. The onlly trouble I am having is finding a decent living in that area - apartemtn complexes that I could find on the web look outdated... I really want something modern and spacious. I'd consider renting a home, but have no clue where to start looking and not waste time...