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Mrs&MrsK
i need sleep ;-)
Member since 2/14 2008 total posts
Name:
L
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Schools
What are the best sites to look up school ratings
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Posted 4/12/17 7:04 PM  |
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Ian&EmmesMommy23
My family is complete!
Member since 11/08 12970 total posts
Name:
Diana
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Re: Schools
www.greatschools.org
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| Posted 4/13/17 9:10 AM |
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Re: Schools
There are schools that are rated well that I would never send my children to. There are schools that aren't rated as well that I absolutely would send them to.
I try to find people who teach in the district and who have children in the district and talk to them. It will give you a better idea of what the schools are really like.
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| Posted 4/13/17 9:33 AM |
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Ian&EmmesMommy23
My family is complete!
Member since 11/08 12970 total posts
Name:
Diana
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Re: Schools
Posted by MerryChristmas
There are schools that are rated well that I would never send my children to. There are schools that aren't rated as well that I absolutely would send them to.
I try to find people who teach in the district and who have children in the district and talk to them. It will give you a better idea of what the schools are really like.
agreed...i live in Wantagh but zoned for Levittown Schools. Levittown for some reason has a bad reputation but we LOVE it! we're zoned for Lee Road/Salk/MacArthur
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| Posted 4/13/17 9:58 AM |
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Mrs&MrsK
i need sleep ;-)
Member since 2/14 2008 total posts
Name:
L
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Re: Schools
i've been trying to do that some... mostly with people at work as they are in the same areas i want to go.
Some ratings have a district at 6 and some have the same district at 7/8
regardless my current district is not rated well anywhere....
my 2nd cousin works in the elem. school and said its good, it seems good by what they offer/ programs they have- and yet the rating on that particular school dropped significantly on all these sites.
my cousins were zoned for macarthur and went until 9th grade then went to st marys. i think the levittown stigma is from years ago?
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| Posted 4/13/17 10:26 AM |
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Ian&EmmesMommy23
My family is complete!
Member since 11/08 12970 total posts
Name:
Diana
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Re: Schools
Posted by Mrs&MrsK
my cousins were zoned for macarthur and went until 9th grade then went to st marys. i think the levittown stigma is from years ago?
i think it had a bad reputation in the 90s and it stuck with them for some reason. but i personally love it so far. Lee Road is wonderful and I hear from parents in Salk that they love it even more than Lee Road.
I went to Mepham and didn't like it. Academically they were great, but socially it was horrible.
I feel like Levittown SD5 is not like Bellmore. There's less competition...more blue collar families and a warmer community.
No one jump down my throat lol this is my experience
Message edited 4/13/2017 10:50:58 AM.
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| Posted 4/13/17 10:49 AM |
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Mrs&MrsK
i need sleep ;-)
Member since 2/14 2008 total posts
Name:
L
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Re: Schools
Posted by Ian&EmmesMommy23
Posted by Mrs&MrsK
my cousins were zoned for macarthur and went until 9th grade then went to st marys. i think the levittown stigma is from years ago?
i think it had a bad reputation in the 90s and it stuck with them for some reason. but i personally love it so far. Lee Road is wonderful and I hear from parents in Salk that they love it even more than Lee Road.
I went to Mepham and didn't like it. Academically they were great, but socially it was horrible.
I feel like Levittown SD5 is not like Bellmore. There's less competition...more blue collar families and a warmer community.
No one jump down my throat lol this is my experience
yes very late 90s is when they would have been in HS.
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| Posted 4/13/17 11:02 AM |
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pumpkinmom
LIF Adult
Member since 5/12 2911 total posts
Name:
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Schools
Did something happen in the 90s in Levittown schools? I didn't go to Levittown schools, but never had a bad inpression of them.
I remember the hazing at Mepham, but don't recall anything about Levittown.
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| Posted 4/13/17 3:26 PM |
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Ian&EmmesMommy23
My family is complete!
Member since 11/08 12970 total posts
Name:
Diana
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Re: Schools
Posted by pumpkinmom
Did something happen in the 90s in Levittown schools? I didn't go to Levittown schools, but never had a bad inpression of them.
I remember the hazing at Mepham, but don't recall anything about Levittown.
i think the reputation was drug related and Division gets a bad rep because of all the special ed services they offer so they get a big mix of kids.
Message edited 4/13/2017 4:35:07 PM.
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| Posted 4/13/17 4:34 PM |
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Re: Schools
I think school preferences are very subjective.
You can look at Newsday's rankings for things like academics (graduation rate, % going to 4 year college, test scores).
Sites like schooldigger.com or greatschools.org can be helpful, too.
Looking at the school district website to get a feel for what is offered within is helpful.
But at the end of the day, I think it's useful to do "targeted" research versus just accepting numbers at face value. For example, my son's elementary school is rated the lowest of the 5 in our district on greatschools.org, but I think that is due in large part to the fact that we house a lot of the special ed population, which affects test scores and that type of thing. I love the school and I'm so happy my son goes there.
For example, do you prefer a large district or a small district? What are the class sizes? Certain small districts or smaller schools within a district may have larger class sizes than those large schools (that may have more students but also more classes, so fewer students per class).
Does your child have special needs?
Do you have particular wishes in terms of arts programs? music? athletics?
Do you have a need for before care or after care?
When evaluating whether a district is considered well-regarded, I'd focus more on high school than elementary schools.
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| Posted 4/13/17 6:05 PM |
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mommy2be716
LIF Adult
Member since 1/16 2921 total posts
Name:
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Re: Schools
Posted by Christine Braun - Century 21 American Homes
When evaluating whether a district is considered well-regarded, I'd focus more on high school than elementary schools.
This. Many long island rankings are by high school only, because I really think that's what matters most
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| Posted 4/13/17 8:22 PM |
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LuckyStar
LIF Adult
Member since 7/14 7274 total posts
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Re: Schools
We're starting to look into this now, but in Westchester, so we can decide between there or the city.
Before we moved to LI I used greatschools.org and googled rankings for the state.
We're zoned for Mepham, so judging from this post, we screwed up! 
Message edited 4/13/2017 9:30:03 PM.
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| Posted 4/13/17 9:25 PM |
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Re: Schools
I think this is a great place to start. And as mentioned, put more weight into the high school ratings - most elementary schools are going to be great.
There's just a lot more to consider than the rating though.
We live in a very highly regarded district. The academics are great and there are a lot of elective options and AP/honors classes for the kids in the upper grades. Some of LI's greatest young athletes have come out of this district, athletics are super competitive, and there are lots of clubs and music opportunities as well. But if my kids need any extra special education services, they would have to go to a neighboring district. I didnt have kids when I bought so I didnt want to base a decision on "what if", but if I had kids that needed services already, that would probably impact my district choice.
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| Posted 4/14/17 7:40 AM |
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Mrs&MrsK
i need sleep ;-)
Member since 2/14 2008 total posts
Name:
L
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Re: Schools
Posted by LiveForMoments
I think this is a great place to start. And as mentioned, put more weight into the high school ratings - most elementary schools are going to be great.
There's just a lot more to consider than the rating though.
We live in a very highly regarded district. The academics are great and there are a lot of elective options and AP/honors classes for the kids in the upper grades. Some of LI's greatest young athletes have come out of this district, athletics are super competitive, and there are lots of clubs and music opportunities as well. But if my kids need any extra special education services, they would have to go to a neighboring district. I didnt have kids when I bought so I didnt want to base a decision on "what if", but if I had kids that needed services already, that would probably impact my district choice.
did you find this all out by asking around? a lot of the areas we are looking i only know people who graduated in the late 90s or people who have kids too young for school :(
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| Posted 4/14/17 8:01 AM |
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Ian&EmmesMommy23
My family is complete!
Member since 11/08 12970 total posts
Name:
Diana
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Re: Schools
Posted by LuckyStar
We're zoned for Mepham, so judging from this post, we screwed up!
LOL don't let me discourage you. I had a unique experience...I moved to Bellmore in 9th grade from Brooklyn, so I was an outcast lol I'm sure life would have been different if i lived there my whole life, but coming in as a new kid...was not very receptive. I just felt like there was a lot of pressure to be smart and a jock. i ended up hanging out with Calhoun kids and wished I went there. I felt there was less competition and more unity.
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| Posted 4/14/17 8:51 AM |
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Re: Schools
Posted by Mrs&MrsK
Posted by LiveForMoments
I think this is a great place to start. And as mentioned, put more weight into the high school ratings - most elementary schools are going to be great.
There's just a lot more to consider than the rating though.
We live in a very highly regarded district. The academics are great and there are a lot of elective options and AP/honors classes for the kids in the upper grades. Some of LI's greatest young athletes have come out of this district, athletics are super competitive, and there are lots of clubs and music opportunities as well. But if my kids need any extra special education services, they would have to go to a neighboring district. I didnt have kids when I bought so I didnt want to base a decision on "what if", but if I had kids that needed services already, that would probably impact my district choice.
did you find this all out by asking around? a lot of the areas we are looking i only know people who graduated in the late 90s or people who have kids too young for school :(
Our real estate agent gave us a lot of info, as she lived in the area we were looking in. She was actually trying to get us to buy another house that she had listed in a neighboring district, so she gave us a lot of 'cons' about our current district - which didnt really turn out to be cons for us, but it was good to know. We also happen to have bought in a very friendly area, so the neighbors gave us some info as well.
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| Posted 4/14/17 8:54 AM |
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Re: Schools
Posted by LiveForMoments
Posted by Mrs&MrsK
Posted by LiveForMoments
I think this is a great place to start. And as mentioned, put more weight into the high school ratings - most elementary schools are going to be great.
There's just a lot more to consider than the rating though.
We live in a very highly regarded district. The academics are great and there are a lot of elective options and AP/honors classes for the kids in the upper grades. Some of LI's greatest young athletes have come out of this district, athletics are super competitive, and there are lots of clubs and music opportunities as well. But if my kids need any extra special education services, they would have to go to a neighboring district. I didnt have kids when I bought so I didnt want to base a decision on "what if", but if I had kids that needed services already, that would probably impact my district choice.
did you find this all out by asking around? a lot of the areas we are looking i only know people who graduated in the late 90s or people who have kids too young for school :(
Our real estate agent gave us a lot of info, as she lived in the area we were looking in. She was actually trying to get us to buy another house that she had listed in a neighboring district, so she gave us a lot of 'cons' about our current district - which didnt really turn out to be cons for us, but it was good to know. We also happen to have bought in a very friendly area, so the neighbors gave us some info as well.
Just fyi - it is unethical for realtors to steer people toward or away from school districts, or give subjective opinions about them. We can deal in FACTS (this district is large v. this district is small, or this district offers busing or aftercare or whatever programs of interest), but we can't give opinions about what's "good." We can guide people to resources that they can use to research whether they want to be in a certain district. But don't expect to be able to rely on your realtor b/c they arre limited in what is allowed to be conveyed.
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| Posted 4/14/17 4:34 PM |
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Faithx2
All good things in 2016!!
Member since 8/05 20181 total posts
Name:
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Re: Schools
Because of the opt out movement, ratings have dropped significantly. Schools that were once solid 9's are 6's. I honestly don't think you can go by it anymore...
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| Posted 4/14/17 11:53 PM |
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ChristinaM128
LIF Adult
Member since 8/12 4043 total posts
Name:
Christina
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Re: Schools
I find it helpful to look up the school/district report card on the state ed website. Granted, the opt-out movement leaves us with one less statistic to be able to solidly rely on, but there's still a lot of factual information to be found.
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| Posted 4/22/17 11:15 PM |
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