West St. Louis County to Wright City/Warrenton Move (St. Charles: low income, house)

[twheeler.stl]

We have a family of four and are currently living in Ballwin/Chesterfield. We are parents to two boys, one currently in second grade and attending an elementary school in the Parkway district, the other only now starting pre-school.

We have a property and modest house available just outside of Innsbrook near Wright City and officially recorded as being in Warrenton. We are contemplating making a move out that way and our only concern at this time is the school system. We've done our research on the district via the Internet and read the Great Schools ratings and reports. We would really like some first hand information about the schools and personal experiences to help guide our decision.

Does anyone have experience with both St. Louis County Schools and Warren County R-3 and could compare and contrast the two? Pros and Cons? Biggest differences and things to look into or look out for?

[stlcitygirl]

Stay put, Parkway is why people move to that area.

[twheeler.stl]

I would tend to agree that in a battle of statistics Parkway is the clear winner. We have no knowledge of the Warrenton district however, and some insight would be welcomed.

Thanks for the reply.

[flynavyj]

Had a co-worker who lived in warrenton, and she was sending her kids to private school...not sure what her plans were for High school. Parkway schools are great, but i did go to college with folks from all over this state, many weren't from any large cities at all and as such i think that with the right grounding, and work from the parents any school is college prep. All about what you guys are wanting...

[inahandbasket]

Originally Posted by twheeler.stl

We have a family of four and are currently living in Ballwin/Chesterfield. We are parents to two boys, one currently in second grade and attending an elementary school in the Parkway district, the other only now starting pre-school.

We have a property and modest house available just outside of Innsbrook near Wright City and officially recorded as being in Warrenton. We are contemplating making a move out that way and our only concern at this time is the school system. We've done our research on the district via the Internet and read the Great Schools ratings and reports. We would really like some first hand information about the schools and personal experiences to help guide our decision.

Does anyone have experience with both St. Louis County Schools and Warren County R-3 and could compare and contrast the two? Pros and Cons? Biggest differences and things to look into or look out for?

I have a teacher friend who lives with his brother in Innsbrook during the week because he teaches in the Warrenton school district. On the weekends he comes back to civilization (his words) to his home in Clayton. My friend has told me of his challenges teaching at the high school. It is, in some ways, similar to teaching in the inner city, because a size-able percentage of the kids are from low income families. Warrenton is in outstate Missouri. Think meth labs and not a lot of quality activities to occupy these kids' time...

I also know of a rookie teacher, great credentials in English and theater, got hired by the Warrenton district to teach English and theater. The kids ate her up and spat her out within the year.

I'd do private school if you can afford it, out there. I am not at all familiar, though, with the private school offerings in the Warrenton area. If you want to be more west of St. Louis County, the Wentzville school district will be light years better than the Warrenton school district. But you're already in Parkway. It doesn't get much better than that. In the interest of self disclosure, I have a kid who's a sophomore at Missouri S&T (Parkway West '09) and another kid who's graduating this May, also from Parkway West.

My spouse and I would have much preferred to have lived either in the city of St. Louis or University City. We strongly believe in the public school system but weren't going to send our kids to the city schools or U City schools. We moved to Ballwin because of Parkway's reputation and could not be more pleased with the level, rigor and offerings of Parkway.

We, just two weeks ago, closed on a house in U City, that we'll be moving to in the early spring. We'll be living in our Ballwin house during the week and gradually prepare the U City house while staying there during the weekends. We'll be putting the Ballwin house on the market after our daughter graduates in May.

Hope this information helps.

inahandbasket

[twheeler.stl]

This is all VERY good information. We're currently at Claymont and it is a fabulous school with a wonderful staff. My wife and I both Graduated from Parkway (Central and West) and went to college at NWMSU. We also had many friends that were from small towns and didn't see terrible discrepancies and thought maybe the college preparation was more at home than in the community.

We thought if the difference in schools was nominal and more along the lines of less iPods and fancy cars and wasn't a total departure from a safe, structured learning environment, it may not be all that bad.

[flynavyj]

I can totally see your points, and i don't think you'd be moving your kids from a safe school to a terribly unsafe school.

From a guy who was born and raised in the St. Louis area (Bridgeton, a little South City, a little St. Charles) who also went to college in a rural area (Central Missouri State) I can appreciate both what's offered in city living and country living. As far as the activities not being "up to snuff" in a rural setting i'd have to disagree. I had friends in college from incredibly small towns in Missouri, numerous towns with populations smaller than our dorm hall or approximately 1200 residents. The students did just fine in college and managed to not get into much trouble in high school either. But don't think the same problems weren't there that you find in a more urban, or even suburban school. There was still drug use, under aged drinking, sexually transmitted diseases, and unplanned pregnancies. But short of sending your kid into the DMZ to get an education, i think much of the success or failure of your child's education will depend on you, and the child.

PS, the biggest concern i'd have with moving to Warrenton, would be if i still worked in St. Louis. My co-worker who lived out there recently moved closer in to avoid her 70 mile one way commute every single morning...Gas and maintenance on the vehicle would get really old and expensive if you actually were to work in St. Louis, not so bad if you're able to work in Warrenton, O'Fallon, Wentzville, etc.

[twheeler.stl]

Originally Posted by flynavyj

PS, the biggest concern i'd have with moving to Warrenton, would be if i still worked in St. Louis. My co-worker who lived out there recently moved closer in to avoid her 70 mile one way commute every single morning...Gas and maintenance on the vehicle would get really old and expensive if you actually were to work in St. Louis, not so bad if you're able to work in Warrenton, O'Fallon, Wentzville, etc.

I work in Chesterfield now. The commute will be a shock for me no matter what. Forty miles vs. my 4 miles now is going to be tragic no matter what.

[twheeler.stl]

We have found an additional faith based private school. Liberty Christian Academy goes fro pre-K to 12th grade and is only 8 miles from the property. It is only about a five year old school but could be a viable option.

[flynavyj]

If you don't mind me asking, what are the costs now for private grade school?