Are there any meaningful differences between the Irvington, Scarsdale, Edgemont, Rye and Rye Brook school systems? (Mamaroneck: school district, moving)

[nan99]

One more addition to all my comments. Edgemont does has some plusses to consider. It has good teachers and great scores, and is smaller than Scarsdale, so your child won't get lost in the shuffle. They have an "alternative" school, if your child is a hippy, and a good orchestra and drama dept.

Edgemont has two feeder elementary schools that combine in Jr High. (As opposed to Scarsdale's four). Both elementary schools have new gyms and nice playing fields and an outdoorsy feeling. The JR high/High School is built like a college campus, with breezeways connecting the buildings, so the students are always going outside and most buildings are only on one level. The Jr High/ High School is surrounded by woods, which in my day were patrolled for pot smokers, and duck ponds, and the playing fields are expansive and set in a lovely hillside and wooded area. This is in contrast to the flat landscape in Mamaroneck, and the crowded Ardsley facilities. Irvington High School's outdoor facilities are not as serene and wooded.

[Ekulu]

Originally Posted by nan99

I personally have a soft spot for the Mamaroneck school district, which I was considered dicey when I was growing up because it had people on assistance, some people of color and many spanish speakers. it stil does. But there is enough money in the town from the Larchmont side to make a good school district, and I think the diversity of the population may make the district more professional, so there will be psychologists, social workers, etc who will know their stuff, and principals who care about the children of all backgrounds in their school. Mamaroneck schools/towns also have luxuries like an ice rink, and I believe a pool, which is fantastic.

Actually parts of Mamaroneck on the water are a lot more wealthy than most parts of Larchmont.

[Ekulu]

I think academic scores aside they all have a different feel to them, Rye Brook, Edgemont and Irvington are a lot smaller than Rye and Scarsdale. Someone mentioned Rye Neck, which is another small school district frequently referred to as a private school although it is public, for the personal attention the students receive and the high standard of education.

Rightly or wrongly most people consider Scarsdale and Edgemont to be very competitive schools and even cut throat although Edgemont to a much much lesser extent than Scarsdale.

Irvington despite the wealth of a lot of its residents is more laid back than either Scarsdale and Edgemont so although the school are great and kids do well academically, it is not the same atmosphere as Scarsdale and Edgemont which some people like.

Rye Brook is a small school, I don't know what the atmosphere is like (i.e. firecely competitive vs more laid back) but the kids there do very well academically just as well as Rye, Scarsdale and Edgemont.

Scarsdale and Rye have a reputation for being uniformly wealthy towns (few modest home) so you can imagine what the student mix will be like, you may or may not like this. Somehow Rye is spared from the "highly competitive/cut throat" reputation that Scarsdale has but a lot of people feel that the people that live there are very stuck, which may or may not be true.

[Ekulu]

Originally Posted by Calla

Looking at public schools with a 40 minute or under train ride to Grand Central Station...

I know people most often say Scarsdale is "the best" but I'm not clear on what they offer that is different from the others. Is it just higher scores? Or are the programs/curriculum better in some way?

Would you agree that Irvington, Scarsdale, Edgemont, Rye and Rye Brook are the "top tier" with Hastings-on-Hudson, Mamaroneck, Rye Neck and Harrsion still very good but the next tier down?

...if you are going by scores I guess I will have Scarsdale, Edgemont and Rye as top tier, Hastings, Mamaroneck, Rye Neck, Irvington and Rye Brook are really on the same level.

[Al123]

As a person who has lived in the area, and has studied the above school systems in detail, I can say with a great deal of certainty that Rye has by far the best schools of the group. The affluent Rye school system is probably one of the best in our entire country.

[rubygreta]

Originally Posted by Al123

As a person who has lived in the area, and has studied the above school systems in detail, I can say with a great deal of certainty that Rye has by far the best schools of the group. The affluent Rye school system is probably one of the best in our entire country.

Dear Rye Realtor:

Prove it!

[DITC]

These school districts are all excellent and rated among the best in the country. To have preferences between any would be comparing apples against apples. People depend too much on the top tier SAT scores and teachers when selecting schools, and their kids end up in competitive cutthroat warzones. School districts like Mamaroneck which people knock are still excellent. Your kid could go to New Rochelle schools and still make the Ivy League. Its all in the kid and the work ethic you instill in him or her.

Walking to Port Chester station is only feasible if you live in the section of Rye Brook near Port Chester high school. This is at least a 1 mile walk. It is much easier to drive and park to save time on your commute as this walking will make the commute longer and more difficult (sweating in the summer heat, freezing in the winter, getting wet since NY is not a desert, etc). No offense but I would not want to be your cubemate.

[hsw]

Really kinda simple...look at no. of National Merit Scholars....and no. of (and % of) kids who actually enter Wharton, Harvard, Stanford, Princeton and Yale...

Scarsdale is a great middle-income town w/solid public schools, despite many parents who aren't very accomplished in own education/careers...

Greenwich has a few parents who've achieved a bit more in own education/net worth....but usually choose private schools (to avoid exposure to undesirable kids from the various Gwich slums)....and can write a check to college of choice to solve the silly, pseudo-socialist admissions game anyway...

[havoc315]

[quote=hsw;6198834]
Scarsdale is a great middle-income town w/solid public schools, despite many parents who aren't very accomplished in own education/careers...

quote]

Scarsdale is a middle income town? In what universe?

[Viralmd]

I think the only middle income people in Scarsdale are the people who work for the people who live there.