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School system recs needed please
We just moved to the area and are in a temporary living situation while we look for a house. We have a 1 and 3 year old but are hoping that this will be a long term home purchase for us so schools are a big consideration. The problem is that we don't even know what the school systems are in the area let alone which ones would be better than others.
This is sort of dictating where we're looking so right now we're open to anywhere in the twin cities, suburbs or even rural suburbs.
Any help in this area would be really appreciated!
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Re: School system recs needed please
School districts I would def. recommend (in no particular order):
Orono
Wayzata
Minnetonka
Eden Prairie
Edina
Delano
Where do you or SO work? That may help with the choice, too. Let me know if you have any other questions. I am happy to help!
I would 2nd all that PP have said & also add in Lakeville.
I live in EP now but grow up in Lakeville & I really liked it.
The Spring Lake Park district is an awesome choice on the north side. It has an excellent ECFE and School Readiness Preschool program, plus the district is very transparent in terms of their vision and finances. There are a lot of existing older and/or newer homes in the Spring Lake Park, Fridley and Blaine areas that go to SLP. If you are looking to build, Blaine has a ton of developing areas that go to SLP.
The Andover schools within the Anoka-Hennepin district are also good. That is another suburb on the north side, just further north.
If you're looking on the northeast side, definitely look at the Mahtomedi school district.
Something to consider coming from out of state -- MN has open enrollment, which means your kids can go to a school outside your district of residence, provided there is capacity. (And I believe if your child is a non-resident student that getting them to and from school is on the parent, not the district, but I'm not 100% about that.) Plus there are quite a few charter schools, as well.
And as a general rule, MN has good schools. Because of that, I'd concentrate more on at least a side of town. (Would you rather be close to St. Paul or Minneapolis, for example. New construction, historic neighborhood etc.)
Here's a chart of all the districts:
https://ww3.startribune.com/projects/no_child/?
Where in Ohio are you coming from? I lived there for 7 years and have lots of family still in the area.
I would stay away from Anoka-Hennepin, but a lot of that is because of their refusal to admit they have a problem with bullying. They've had a rash of GBLT teens commit suicide due to bullying in the schools.
In general MN has great schools. If you want to stay on the same side of town that you're staying in now, look at Mounds View, Mahtomedi, Centennial, and possibly Forest Lake.
There's also a Spanish immersion school in Forest Lake that I've heard great things about.
I agree with most of the PPs, except that Moundsview schools wouldn't be my first choice, and I would add Rosemount and Stillwater schools.
I would also say that MN has some AWESOME charter school options (and also some not-so-good ones, so be sure to do your research) which are free public schools, but not tied to any one district
Good luck finding a good fit for you!
A Little Bird and a Monkey Butt
Photo taken at 16 months old
Thanks ladies!
We're actually pretty flexible on that front. I'm currently (and probably for awhile barring any issues) a sahm and dh is a carrier at the post office. He's out of North Minneapolis right now but once he gains his seniority back (because of the transfer) he can bid to other stations. So we're in more of a situation where we can find the house we want and move his job location to suit that.
Hmmm very interesting to know.
We just moved from Toledo. That's where I'm from originally and Dh grew up here but he hasn't lived here in something like ten years so he's not to familiar with anything anymore.
And thanks for the chart!
ECFE= Early Childhood & Family Education
https://www.ecfe.info/what_is_ecfe.html
You can click on your area and most of the districts have info on classes available. https://www.ecfe.info/eco_members.html
You can also schedule a free home visit and an ecfe coordinator will come out and tell you more about the programs available through ecfe.
We've taken ecfe classes in Anoka Henn school district, Spring Lake Park, and Moundsview. All of the classes have been great but Anoka Henn definitely has more offerings since it is such a large school district.
Photo taken at 16 months old
Open enrollment of some districts is harder to get into than other districts, so if you don't love the district you live in check into how difficult it is to get into other districts that are more desirable.
Think about school/district size too. There are negatives and positives to big and small. Bigger districts are usually able to offer more AP classes, sports, ect, but sometimes feel too much like a cattle drive. Smaller schools districts can be more personal and students will have less competition getting onto sports teams, ect., but can have more peer pressure issues because of it.
And look into the options in school districts. In general, I wouldn't want to send my kids to schools in the Minneapolis or St. Paul School districts, but there are some schools that are pretty good. Consider visiting the individual schools that your kids would be going to. It's amazing what a different vibe they all have.
I was in a similar situation -- my husband is from here, but hadn't lived here for more than 10 years when he moved back. We rented for 2 years while we figured out where we wanted to be.
My dad is from Fulton County (Delta), and I used to work for the state representative from the Toledo district. (A billion years ago.)
Minnesota is great. I love it here!
I'd take issue with that statement. There are actually a lot of great schools in St. Paul and Minneapolis. People just get blindsided by the fact that its "inner city". My college best friend graduated from Hopkins Highschool with a class of 702 in 1999 and I graduated the same year from Highland Park in a class of 295. That's quite a difference...I never had a class over 15 people and I know that Highland is still that way. Central and Highland were the first two schools in the State to offer IB programs and a lot of MN schools still don't offer those.
Not to mention that the St. Paul school District has a lot of great alternative programs Immersion schools, etc.
I think a better way to do your search is to think about what schools to AVOID, honestly - because there are far more good schools than bad, in general, in this area. The only one I'd add that I haven't seen mentioned yet is Apple Valley, specifically Eastview HS (I went to AVHS, but I think it's not as good as Eastview from what I hear now).
I agree that there are tons of amazing schools in Minneapolis and St. Paul too - the system of enrolling is pretty confusing (to me at least, I haven't looked into it too much yet though) but it sounds like most people end up being happy with the school they end up with. The generalization that all schools in big cities are bad or even worse than schools in the suburbs is completely inaccurate.
I would agree that not all St. Paul and Minneapolis schools are bad (there are some great ones), but IMHO, the ones that are bad are REALLY bad. So it isn't fair not to warn someone about that aspect too.
Our neighborhood school (in St. Paul) boasts that they teach reading and math. Those are the schools 'selling points'. (really? what school doesn't teach those?) The school doesn't even offer gym class until 4th grade. It has horrible ratings on greatschools.org and it is rare that I hear a neighborhood parent say anything positive about the school.
I have heard from many neighborhood parents that there are so many english language learners in the school, that teachers struggle to meet the needs of all students. That isn't necessarily the teacher's fault (I can only imagine how challenging it would be to teach when you have students from such diverse cultural backgrounds, many of whom don't fully understand you), but it doesn't mean that the school is a good fit for my family. My job is to advocate for the education of my DD, and in our case that means either moving to a new district or seeking out a charter school.
I am glad to hear that several of you have had positive experiences in Minneapolis and St. Paul schools (I know good schools exist) but by and large, I hear way more negative about the districts as a whole than positive.
A Little Bird and a Monkey Butt
Well hello to a fellow ex Toledoan!
Thanks again for all the information everyone! I am still completely lost but this helps a lot. This is definitely a much murkier issue than it was in Toledo. Back there it was definitely cut and dry - for the most part the suburbs were good with a few minor exceptions and the city schools were just awful. I did a lot of research on whether we could move anywhere within the city and found one school district that we were comfortable with but we ended up elsewhere. In the six years since we moved into our home and then moved here, that school has now also gone down the toilet. It's really a sad sad situation.
I'm glad to see that the schools here are in general so much better!
I agree. I've heard excellent things about Hopkins (I worked for someone who sent her kids there). St. Louis Park consistently ranks well also, and that's part of the reason we moved here. We have SLP and Hopkins very close to where we are and from what little I have seen I would send my kids to either.
I highly recommend Anoka-Hennepin. I went to school through this system. I currently work for this district
Go4 - I work at the school with the accused teachers and the media doesn't always get things right...far from it but I'm not allowed to say much.
Forest Lake also offers partial Spanish immersion starting in 1st grade. (English in the AM, Spanish in the PM) this will help kids keep meeting MCA test scores (as studies show that students in full immersion tend to lag behind a little for obvious reasons.) I grew up in the Centennial system (Blaine, Lino Lakes, Circle Pines area) and I felt that I had a great education and plenty of opportunities. Class sizes are getting bigger, but not gigantically huge, either.
All in all, I think most of the suburbs here also have great schools, and our big city schools are pretty great, too. Like a PP said, make sure you go into the schools and get the vibe. Check out the town, too. If you like the way the community feels, you will probably like their schools.
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That's more what I was refering to. Many of the issues I've heard of about both districts have been from teachers there.
I don't know that there can be anything that would change my mind when a school district refuses to acknowledge that their current anti-bullying system isn't working.
At least 4 GBLT students from that district have committed suicide due to bullying, and who knows how many more are on the verge. It's enough to be unnerving no matter what excuses may be there.
I graduated 11 years ago. Bullying of that type never would have been accepted then, and it still wouldn't be (both my brother and sister are still in that district). There's an epidemic of something going on, and little or nothing being done about it.
I went to Hopkins & loved it! There were a lot of opportunities for AP courses, sports/clubs etc. I had a good experience & still hear good things about it. I would definitely look into sending DS when we get to that point (which is a ways off, & I know things can change) A family friend who is a teacher was raving about Beacon yesterday (a charter school k-8th grade) & said it's getting constant comparison (in a good way) to Breck. (she doesn't work for either)