moving from NYC to Westchester, deciding between Irvington and Scarsdale (Rye: house, best schools)

[new-yorker]

Hi, we are a family of four. We are looking to move from NYC to Westchester and are trying to decide between Irvington and Scarsdale. I know that Scarsdale has the best schools and Irvington does too. However, the house that we are looking at Irvington belongs to Dobbs Ferry school district which I've heard has mediocre schools. However, the house is Irvington is in much better shape than the one in Scarsdale and is cheaper too. Putting aside the money, which town would you prefer in between these two towns/villages and why? Thank you very much in advance!

[rubygreta]

Oh, for goodness sakes. Dobbs Ferry does not have "mediocre" schools. What it has is more economic diversity than Irvington and especially Scarsdale.

Judging school districts by their SAT scores is about as superficial as you can get. And the top 25% at Dobbs Ferry gets into much better colleges than the bottom 25% at Scarsdale.

[new-yorker]

Dear Rubygreta, how else would you evaluate schools is not by their test scores and percentage of students that passed those tests?

Also, I researched that Dobbs Ferry spends more money per student than Scarsdale does (slightly more; hence very high property taxes in both). So economic diversity is not the reason why students in Scarsdale are doing better.

Thank you for your reply though.

[TiberiusOfRome]

Dobbs Ferry has great schools. So does 90% of Westchester villages.

[TiberiusOfRome]

I'd move to Dobbs Ferry. Nice town, down to earth and non-snooty folks there. Its on the river and closer to NYC than your other choices

[Forest_Hills_Daddy]

Originally Posted by new-yorker

Also, I researched that Dobbs Ferry spends more money per student than Scarsdale does (slightly more; hence very high property taxes in both). So economic diversity is not the reason why students in Scarsdale are doing better.

I think it might be the IB program that's pulling up DF's expenses per student, and that the district has fewer students so less people to spread the overhead expenses.

But I agree with rubygreta that in the bigger picture, DF is an outstanding school district that provides high quality education. It happens that many tend to compare it with the other excellent schools in Westchester.

If you can easily afford either DF or Scarsdale or even Bronxvile/Rye then choose Scarsdale, Bronxville or Rye over DF. But f your budget is more modest then DF offers a more affordable option.

[streetsmart]

Originally Posted by new-yorker

Dear Rubygreta, how else would you evaluate schools is not by their test scores and percentage of students that passed those tests?

Also, I researched that Dobbs Ferry spends more money per student than Scarsdale does (slightly more; hence very high property taxes in both). So economic diversity is not the reason why students in Scarsdale are doing better.

Thank you for your reply though.

You are not making sense. Dobbs spends more per student because there is more diversity there, therefore they need more programs such as ESL, more free lunches are provided, etc. Scarsdale is uniformly wealthy with highly educated parents, and diversity is basically limited to white or Asian. They still manage to spend a lot per student because the parents there expect and demand a lot, such a small class sizes and well-kept facilities.

What rubygreta was getting at with regard to test scores is that they are really only a reflection of the socio-economic make-up of the families and students in a school district, not the quality of education that YOUR child might receive there.

Scarsdale is a hard town. Having lived there, I'd choose Dobbs Ferry.

[new-yorker]

Ok, thanks everyone, I appreciate your replies.

[ca2ny]

Originally Posted by streetsmart

[...]
Scarsdale is a hard town. Having lived there, I'd choose Dobbs Ferry.

Can you elaborate a bit on the "hard" part?

[new-yorker]

I actually have the same question

Would appreciate the reply by streetsmart.