We need to move house in the next 6 months-year. Our kids are 3.5 and 2.5 so that will be around the time our eldest starts school. We would really like to move to a district that has good schools. My husband works in SE (near Division and 50th). He doesn't mind a certain amount of a commute (but less would be better!). However a good school would probably guide our choice. We plan to move into a home where we would stay for a while.
I have done some internet searches but I feel a little lost. I'm from England and the school thing seems so different here! I don't really know how to research this so that we can start keeping our eye out for houses in certain neighbourhoods. We are also considering either Montesorri or Waldorf inspired schools. I am guessing that houses in desirable school districts might be more expensive. So we would consider living in a more affordable neighbourhood and sending them to a paying school if we can afford to.
I'd love to hear from anyone who either
1) really rates their local schools and neighbourhood
2) is knowledgeable about the districts as a whole or can direct me to a good website that offers comparisons and independant ratings
3) can explain the Charter school thing (sounds like there's no guarentee of getting a place so not a good basis to choose a home on)
3) has their child/children in a Montessori and Waldorf school, which one, why did you choose it etc
Lots of questions but if you can fill in any of these gaps, I would really appreciate it.
Any other advice on this matter is also welcome.
Thank you!
Have you looked at www.greatschools.net? I've found their website very helpful.
I used www.Greatschools.net to do my research. I pretty much found that the only school districts that rate a 10 from elementary school to high school are Lake Oswego and West Linn. There were plenty of good schools in other districts, but then following school wouldn't rank as well (ie elementary x rates a 10 but then the middle school rates a 6). After a lot of research we decided to live in Lake Oswego because it's where my husband works and the school district is excellent. Good luck!
Follow up: Honestly, the Waldorf school would have been my first choice. However, it's roughly $12k per year, per child. We just couldn't afford it, so we choose to buy our house in an area where I would feel comfortable using the public school system. We did pay a little more for our house (over living in Tigard or Beaverton), but that will be a wash in just 1-2 years because of the schools.
This may be a bit far for you, but my grandson went to Phonics Phactory school last year for preschool. You can look them up on the internet. They are located off of SE 257th Ave in Gresham, just a blockor two east of Division St. For Preschool the kids go for about 2 1/3 hours a day 3 days (Tues-Wed-Thurs) per week. The tuition was $150/month. My grandson started off at age 3 1/2 and turned 4 in March during the school year. He is going to do it again this fall. They really work on the alphabet and are also taught sign language. He really seemed to enjoy this and it the hours were short enough that it wasn't restrictive and it wasn't daycare. The class-size was 12 students.
I really strongly recommend the North Clackamas school district. My daughter is going into the second grade, and when I enrolled her last year, her reading skills soared! She first started in Hollydale, and that school had a limited budget, and Madison didn't grab the concept of reading, but when she went to clackamas elementary, she is reading and doing really well in every other subject as well. there is a web site that lists the school "report cards" and rates each school by performance, etc. Clackamas High School has been rated one of the best schools in Oregon, with only less than 1% drop out rate and over 90% of the kids go to college. The elementary and grade schools aren't rated as high, but have improved a lot over the years and they are really dedicated to giving the kids a good education. They also don't cut out too much out of the curriculum and the district is very well managed.
Clackamas also has the Goddard School, and I don't know much about it but I've heard good things about it. Happy Valley/Clackamas has awesome neighborhoods, not too expensive, and I highly recommend it.
the website for Oregon School districts is: http://www.ode.state.or.us/search/results/?id=116
It's very informative.
Good luck!
I used to teach in Lake Oswego, so I'll add my two cents. The socio-economic status ranges from school to school. One school I taught at was wealthy, but in the other, 1/3 of my class qualified for free and reduced lunches. The wealthy school did not differ as much in socio-economic status, but I felt there was a wonderful cultural mix. I was only there for two years, but in that time I had students that were Russian, Korean, Iranian, and Chinese. I actually think that is more cultural "diversity" than many neighboring districts that tend to just have a lot of one minority. Good luck to you. I wouldn't hesitate to send my kids to the LO schools.
If you are drawn to Waldorf, you may like Sunnyside Environmental. There are huge differences but the similarities are that they both celebrate the earth, her seasons, respect for one another and the environment. There are no restrictions on media, as in a Waldorf school, and it is a neighborhood school as well as a focus option school so there are some issues that are in process of resolution for becoming one or the other. I think at this point, if you live in the Sunnyside district, you are automatically eligible for enrollment. It is very close to where your husband works and housing in that area is very mixed - you could probably find many options that would work for you. My daughter is a student there and though there are some bumps in the system, I think the school works really well as a loving, involved community as well as a dedicated group of educators.
One note about Lake Oswego and West Linn - if cultural, socio-economic and racial diversity are important to you, those school districts offer very little. They are academically very strong (which shows up on "Great Schools" ratings) but may be weaker on the socio-spiritual aspects of education (which I mention only because of your expressed interests). I think it boils down to what you value most in education and community for your family. Good luck and feel free to e-mail me personally for more info.
