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Agree about WP being a good choice, given the potential budget limitations. Also, to some extent agree about the earlier comments made about school ratings. They are generally misleading. I wouldn't worry about a 6 rated school in a socioeconomically diverse city, for example, but I would worry about a 3 or 4 rated school. That's just too low, especially at the elementary school level, and speaks of significant systemic issues.
The only school referenced that got a 3 rating was Post Road. That's one of the two dual-language elementary schools in WP. Perhaps the ranking system doesn't know how to adjust for that fact. Mamaroneck Avenue School got a 4, which strikes me as ridiculous. The parents at Mamaroneck Avenue are more enthusiastic about their school than any other set of parents in the District. (I say that as a parent of kids who are at Ridgeway - which got a 7.) I'll be happy to link OP up with a bunch of Mamaroneck Avenue parents, if that would help.
As I always say, school rankings don't matter. The only thing that matters is how much your child likes the school, not how anyone else feels about it. In order to know, you need to visit the school. Have the principal or guidance department give you a tour.
Yorktown schools are blue ribbon schools - top notch rating. My daughter did just fine at Yorktown. My son hated it. He wasn't alone, to spite the great ratings, quite a few kids had issues with Yorktown.
We looked at Archbishop Stepinac in White Plains and literally, all the students looked like him - friendly and bookish. His best friends looked like they could have been cousins. He went into the honors program and excelled. This was before Stepinac had bus service to Yorktown, so I drove him nearly 30 miles a day (twice a day) - but it was such a great program, I didn't mind.
When you visit, you'll get a gut feeling whether or not your child will be happy.
Thank you everyone for taking the time to respond patiently to my questions. Your feedback has been invaluable. At this point, Mamaroneck is our top choice (slightly out of budget though), followed by White Plains (we will be visiting the town over the next few weeks). We might consider renting temporarily if need be until we're ready to buy.
After school programs in White Plains and getting by without a car
I am so glad to see this recent thread as we are also thinking of moving out of Manhattan to Westchester. We have a four year old and a first grader. We are considering White Plains given our budget and comfort level with a more urban atmosphere. We will also look at Eastchester and Mamaroneck after reading recommendations on City-Data. As my husband and I both work in Manhattan, we are pleased to see that the two afterschool programs for WP schools (YMCA and Youth Bureau) offer late pickups at 6.30 pm and also day camps during school holidays and breaks. We would appreciate feedback from families who have experience with these afterschool programs. Also, we would hate to have to rely on a car except for errands on weekends. Is this wishful thinking in White Plains? Thank you.
I am so glad to see this recent thread as we are also thinking of moving out of Manhattan to Westchester. We have a four year old and a first grader. We are considering White Plains given our budget and comfort level with a more urban atmosphere. We will also look at Eastchester and Mamaroneck after reading recommendations on City-Data. As my husband and I both work in Manhattan, we are pleased to see that the two afterschool programs for WP schools (YMCA and Youth Bureau) offer late pickups at 6.30 pm and also day camps during school holidays and breaks. We would appreciate feedback from families who have experience with these afterschool programs. Also, we would hate to have to rely on a car except for errands on weekends. Is this wishful thinking in White Plains? Thank you.
White Plains is pretty spread out. You may want to look around for yourself. I would assume you would need to drive to the train station as well as to schools for pick ups.
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After school programs in White Plains and getting by without a car
