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I'm curious as to why people think Larchmont schools aren't stellar past elementary. Not from what a friend of a friend said, but perhaps someone that's been in the district and pulled their kid out. Everyone I know here sends their kids to public schools without hesitation, and they can all afford to send their kids anywhere.
It's not the PC thing to say, but if you took out the test scores for the almost 20% of our kids that are hispanic, I'd guess that the scores would be nearly as high as Rye and Scarsdale...without the drugs and suicides.
I'm curious as to why people think Larchmont schools aren't stellar past elementary. Not from what a friend of a friend said, but perhaps someone that's been in the district and pulled their kid out. Everyone I know here sends their kids to public schools without hesitation, and they can all afford to send their kids anywhere.
It's not the PC thing to say, but if you took out the test scores for the almost 20% of our kids that are hispanic, I'd guess that the scores would be nearly as high as Rye and Scarsdale...without the drugs and suicides.
To clarify - "not stellar" doesn't mean "not perfectly serviceable". The schools in Larchmont are fine, and excellent lower down. And I don't think hispanic has anything to do with it. Rye Neck right next door has roughly the same percentage of non-white students, and has a lower median income than Larchmont, but the test scores are higher and the hispanic graduation rate is 100%, compared to about 70% for Mamaroneck High School for example (Larchmont). Thats objective data.
No-one moves to Larchmont for the high schools, but they are perfectly fine. "Stellar" is a cut above.
Last edited by bg7; 09-09-2011 at 01:55 PM..
Reason: typo
I would wonder if the hispanics in Mamaroneck are poorer than in Rye Neck, though? That whole area bordering downtown MM in the flats is literally dirt poor - there are families living in one room or basements that regularly floods. Who knows...the stats only tell so much of the story.
Honestly, I only really think that people move to Scarsdale, Chappaqua and the like for the schools. They move to places on the Sound, the Rivers or elsewhere for the lifestyle. That is why I think that the go-to places for schools have so much negative feedback about the people. People have to realize that if you are in a district with the most competitive schools (or best anything), there is going to be a larger percentage of a certain kind of person there. We all want the best for our kids, but people that demand the best of everything can quite often be pretty annoying.
Anecdotally, I have not known anyone who pulled their child out of Larchmont schools, though I did go to school with children who fled Scarsdale and Chappaqua public schools, and not for academic reasons. One of the families I know who left Chappaqua sent their older family (two sets of children in close proximity a few years apart, not a divorce/remarriage) to Chappaqua schools. When the older set finished, then they moved to Northeastern Westchester and sent the younger children to private schools. Chappaqua was not a good fit as they are a bit to the conservative side, and actively parented their own children, as opposed to turning that over to a household employee as many in their area of Chappaqua did. The family who left Scarsdale did so in pursuit of a more relaxed lifestyle, since they felt undue pressure was placed on their children by the peer group with respect to superficial lifestyle attributes.
A close-in town with good schools and a relatively easy commute (under 40 minutes to GCT, using the parameter upthread), and not mentioning already mentioned areas like Larchmont and Rye Neck (Mamaroneck-Rye), would be Pelham. Pelham has some diversity in housing, middle to upper middle class/affluent residents. Shopping is a tad more spread out than Bronxville or Larchmont, but it's not something that would be a deal-breaker in recommending the area.
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To clarify - "not stellar" doesn't mean "not perfectly serviceable". The schools in Larchmont are fine, and excellent lower down. And I don't think hispanic has anything to do with it. Rye Neck right next door has roughly the same percentage of non-white students, and has a lower median income than Larchmont, but the test scores are higher and the hispanic graduation rate is 100%, compared to about 70% for Mamaroneck High School for example (Larchmont). Thats objective data.
No-one moves to Larchmont for the high schools, but they are perfectly fine. "Stellar" is a cut above.
I doubt this poster has any clue about the Mamaroneck School District (and no I don't live there).
The bottom line is that if your child works hard and is super bright, he/she can get into an Ivy League or Little Ivy from Mamaroneck High School or just about any high school in Westchester County.
The difference between Mamaroneck and Scarsdale and Chappaqua, is that in Mamaroneck the school body ranges from poor Hispanics from immigrant backgrounds, to wealthy families in $2M+ houses in Larchmont Manor. And when you get diversity like that, you don't have the same pressure (see the prior post) that you have in Scarsdale or Chappqua. So despite much lower median test scores, Larchmont/Mamaroneck is chosen OVER Scarsdale by parents who could afford to live in either district (PS - prime Larchmont real estate, pound for pound, is more expensive than Scarsdale real estate).
ruby - as a couple who are considering buying along the new haven line at the moment we are interested to know why Rye neck which is in mamaroneck as well does so much better than the Larchmont/Mamroneck union free district. Like the poster above said they seem to have the same percentage of diversity, but rye neck seems to top on every measure?
As you say Larchmont is expensive - but it seems to us that the expensive home prices in Larchmont reflect it is very esthetically pleasing place to live with some nice waterfront, but you'd expect the high school to be as good as Rye or Rye neck at those prices. Do people attend the French-American and German schools there instead for high school - is that why prices are so high (diplomats etc.)?
Also, what is up with Harrison high school?
I am not familiar with the test scores. I would not get hung up about it. My assumption is that Mamaroneck has lower test scores because there is a fairly large Hispanic immigrant community. Rye Neck is mostly white, ranging from middle-class to affluent.
Your child will do just as well (or not well) in either district.
As others have stated, nobody that I know pulls their kids out of the secondary schools like they do in places like New Rochelle or other more urban areas. Kids that go to the FAS from Larchmont largely go there because their parents are French or European - there is a huge expat population here (and a lot only stay here for a few years on assignment.) Actually, I don't even think that the FAS even had a HS program until recently.
Rye Neck's disadvantaged is a more solid middle and working class area, not dirt poor like some of the Hispanics in Mamaroneck. It's purely a function of the kids attending skewing the scores. Same curriculum, same admin, yet for elementary Chatsworth and Murray (rich side) rank 10, while Central and Mamaroneck Ave rank 7 I think. There is absolutely nothing sub-par about the district, and I'm a pretty big school snob. If you want a homogenous, high pressure environment, though, neither Mamaroneck nor Rye Neck really fit that bill to be honest.
And Harrison is confusing. I have no idea why their HS ranks so low, but I will say that I know a lot of people that move there for the low taxes, and go private (but Harrison has some ridiculously expensive properties, so those people might go private anywhere, really).
Mamaroneck, is not "sub-par", it is just not stellar as I originally said. Its perfectly seviceable.
As also I said above, the diversity level is the same at both schools, so that argument doesn't cut it, and both are drawing from the Mamaroneck immigrant Hispanic community.
As for rubygreta's irrelevant comment re. Larchmont real estate prices - sounds like status-anxiety.
I agree re. Harrison, don't know whats up there with the HS
Sorry dude, I don't live in Larchmont or Mamaroneck.
You just keep digging yourself deeper. Rye Neck actually has very few Hispanic immigrants. Drive around and look for yourself.
And if the Mamaroneck schools are only "serviceable," why in the world would people pay 2 million and more for houses and send their kids to Mamaroneck High School? Guess they're not too bright (although bright enough to earn millions).
Last edited by rubygreta; 09-13-2011 at 12:29 PM..
Reason: spelling
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