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Help! I am thinking about moving my family to Pound Ridge NY. I have one kindergarten aged child, an elementary aged child and a junior high school aged child. The houses we are (potentially) bidding on all attend Pound Ridge Elementary School and Fox Lane Jr. High / High School. Although we like Pound Ridge a lot, we are concerned about the public school district. No, I will not send my children to private school.
Our concerns with the Bedford Consolidated School district are as followings (apologies in advance for any bluntness. I'm only trying to get the best information and not offend anyone):
1. All three schools (Pound Ridge Elementary, Fox Lane Jr. High, and Fox Lane High School) score much lower on sites like greatschools.com than neighboring towns such as Chappaqua and Katonah. I understand there are reasons for that, but I'm unclear exactly what those reasons are...?
2. So far, my children have done very well in school. Meaning, I am concerned that in a public school that does not challenge them (the top of the class students), they will miss their potential, etc. Any Bedford Schools parents available to comment on the general ability of the schools to "teach up?" Yes, I know it all depends upon the teachers, but, but, but...
3. Related to number 2, above, yet separate, we are concerned (and have heard from other parents) that some classrooms are experiencing disruptions because of (perfectly nice) students that do not speak English - that is, the teachers are having to spend a lot of time getting the ESL kids up to speed at the detriment of the other children. Any color commentary would be useful.
4. Lastly, and I'm loathe to even ask this question because I know I'm going to get some negative feedback for the mere suggestion, but.... apologies in advance.... with the Bedford Schools now 28% Hispanic with many recent immigrants from Latin America and Mexico, are there cultural difference between the white students and Hispanic students that cause problems? Both in the classroom and socially?
5. OK, I lied.... now it's "lastly..." If you had the resources to choose a so-so house in Chappaqua with it's unanimously fabulous schools vs. a unanimously fabulous house in Pound Ridge with it's so-so schools, which would you choose and why?
Why don't you met with the principal at Pound Ridge Elementary? He/she can answer your questions directly.
After sending my children to private schools and public schools, I can tell you without a doubt, no school suits every student. If someone else's child has a great experience, it does not mean your child will. Vice versa, too. You need to visit every school and talk directly with the principals to make your own decision.
The only unanimously fabulous schools is the one that your child loves and does well at. Sometimes, it is a matter of luck - they have a teacher who becomes a mentor or a best friend in class or any number of factors that come into play. I've had "the top of the class students" and no student misses their potential by staying in a regular classroom with their peers. There is plenty of time for guiding potential in high school AP course and later in college.
You need to tour the schools and use your own judgement.
Oh.. here we go with the test score rankings again...
All three schools are top notch. Stop reading "Great Schools", its nonsense. Fox lane is diverse. Fox Lane is not homogeneous. It serves Bedford Village(rich,) Bedford Hills (slightly diverse,) Pound Ridge (rich) and Mount Kisco (Very diverse)
If you are going to judge a school based purely on the test scores of all students, then you will need to stick to a lilly white school district where all the kids come from the exact same socioeconomic background.
here are more interesting rankings that factor in more than just standardized test scores:
OK. I don't get the animus. I'm saying "so-so" based upon greatschools.com and I believe that I stated I am sure that their scoring system is absolutely flawed. MY QUESTION IS: if you can (have the means) to move to either Chappaqua, Katonah or Pound Ridge, (equal housing scenario), based solely on schools, which district would you choose? We are inclined towards Pound Ridge PRECISELY BECAUSE it is a larger, less homogeneous school district where opportunities seem to be plentiful. However, we believe, in the abstract, that Chappaqua and Katonah schools are probably "better." Hoping to get meaningful feedback on parent experience at Pound Ridge Elementary and Fox Lane Middle & HS, rather than (you're an idiot..., duh...). Thanks,
The school differences between Katonah and Pound Ridge are fairly negligible. Katonah uses John Jay and PR uses Fox Lane. Both great, Fox Lane will be more diverse.
Katonah is closer to highways and has a train station- so if thats important than its something to consider. I love Pound Ridge, but its a more difficult commute to the city. Pound Ridge is remote compared to Katonah/Bedford.
Perhaps consider the lifestyle you wish and base your decision on that.
Oh.. here we go with the test score rankings again...
All three schools are top notch. Stop reading "Great Schools", its nonsense. Fox lane is diverse. Fox Lane is not homogeneous. It serves Bedford Village(rich,) Bedford Hills (slightly diverse,) Pound Ridge (rich) and Mount Kisco (Very diverse)
If you are going to judge a school based purely on the test scores of all students, then you will need to stick to a lilly white school district where all the kids come from the exact same socioeconomic background.
here are more interesting rankings that factor in more than just standardized test scores:
Oh.. here we go with the test score rankings again...
All three schools are top notch. Stop reading "Great Schools", its nonsense. Fox lane is diverse. Fox Lane is not homogeneous. It serves Bedford Village(rich,) Bedford Hills (slightly diverse,) Pound Ridge (rich) and Mount Kisco (Very diverse)
If you are going to judge a school based purely on the test scores of all students, then you will need to stick to a lilly white school district where all the kids come from the exact same socioeconomic background.
here are more interesting rankings that factor in more than just standardized test scores:
I agree that these rankings are more "interesting", but they come with a whole different set of flaws. Some of the data upon which they rely is subjective, such as online surveys. And for me at least, it makes little sense to score a school higher simply because it is "diverse". For instance, if two schools are literally identical in all respects, niche will rate the one that is 1/2 black and 1/2 white higher than the one that is all black or all white. I just don't get why it matters to people so much what race someone happens to be.
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