s/o where you want to live---school districts

Ali2302

I noticed in the post below a few of you mentioned wanting to move in the future due to the school district.

I'm relatively new to Columbus, and DH and I will be looking to buy a home in the next year or so. We're a little lost on what area of Columbus we want to make our permanent home---but school districts are a high priority for me.

So what do you consider preferential school districts in the area?  Any to maybe stay away from?

PS - not looking to start a dramatic debate, but it's nice to get an outside opinion

MrsJSP

I think that most people will agree that Upper Arlington, New Albany, Olentangy,  and Dublin all have great schools.  Bexley schools are great as well.  

AmberOH

Worthington & Hilliard are pretty good too.  I've got 4 or 5 links to info. on school districts listed in my blog (& on my website www.lcrohio.com )that should give you a good idea too!

OHFallBride06

Upper Arlington is a wonderful school district. Both DH and myself graduated from there. We're so glad that we are already settled in UA already and know that our kids will go to UA one day.

tbonegrl

UA, Bexley, Dublin, Worthington, Olentangy, New Albany, and Hilliard are all good. I live in Westerville...westerville is OK.

marie0507

Pickerington schools are fantastic. And as you check out houses, you might see that it seems like you can get a lot bigger house for the money there.

ibbunee77

i saw that in the post below you mentioned grandview. we live in grandview and while we will probably send our kids to private school, it has nothing to do with the grandview school system not being good. we have a lot of neighbors who have or had kids in grandview schools and are thoroughly pleased with the quality of education. it's a small school - around 120 students per graduating class so there is a low student to teacher ratio and a lot of personal attention.

ibbunee77

btw. i noticed that pretty much every single school district in the area except columbus public schools has been mentioned so far.

Ali2302

Ibbunee - you're right!   It looks like as long as I move out of Columbus Public I'll be fine

Thanks for the help ladies! I really appreciate it!

Temp893722312503334

Most people will say that any school district but Columbus Public and Southwestern are good. 

Darrenswifey

My daughter has only gone to private school, Pickerington and Canal Winchester.  If I had the money, I would still send her to private school (because of the learning style - it fits her personality better), but if I had to choose between Pickerington and Canal, I like Canal better.

They are having budget issues right now (like a lot of others) but I think the quality is much better.  And (sorry to say this - I hope no one is offended), they aren't as snooty in Canal.  I want her to get a good education and to be grounded in reality, which is one reason I chose Canal over Pickerington when we moved.

That said, other districts I liked were:  Gahanna, New Albany, Hilliard, Olentangy.

YourSong

Not all schools in Southwestern are created equal.  Grove City High School is pretty good, and usually so is Central Crossing.  I wouldn't want to live in the Westland or Franklin Heights areas within Southwestern. 
I work for Columbus City, and there are some elementary schools that are good.  But, there are really some other schools that struggle.  (I live in Hilliard, for the schoool district)

emilyandbrady

upper arlington, dublin, new albany and worthington are (IMO) the best.  olentangy and hilliard are good too.

Mrs.SabrinaM

I would try to avoid Columbus Public and Southwestern City schools.  Southwestern city schools are pretty patchy and it depends on exactly what school. 

Oh and the one thing I do know is that Bexley and Westerville schools have the only 2 IB (International Baccalaureate) programs in the area but this applies more in HS

tmp-190333

When we rated the schools(before we bought last fall) I think it went something like this: Upper Arlington, Bexley, Dublin, New Albany, Worthington We bought in Worthington schools

buckeyechik

We have TONS of family that work in Southwestern and most of the other ladies are right--things are definitely patchy, at best, around here.  It's actually where we live right now.  Our kids would go to Westland and after hearing my SIL talk about it (she teaches there), we want to get out of here before our kids start school (don't want to have to move once they're in school).  We'll probably head to Hilliard, but I agree that, really, all the other school districts are going to be fine no matter where you are...Columbus and SW are just pretty patchy about what's okay and what's not.

Adjudi-Kate

I've heard that some of the Columbus Elementary schools are fine, but that most of the high schools aren't as good as most in the suburbs. We might buy a house in Clintonville and just send the kids to private school once they hit middle school, or else consider moving at that time.  Since the baby is still on the way, we have about 12 years before that decision will be made, and who knows what the schools will be like by that time?

Mandie16

I have worked in CPS, at a charter school and now work in Canal Winchester. I'd look at the Ohio Department of Education. There are several things to consider:

1. Cost of taxes in relation to other areas
2. What is the focus?
3. Report card status with ODE
4. Climate and culture

Hilliard and Worthington are in Continuous Improvement for their weaknesses with Special Education, ESL, and minorities. I think that this is important because as a teacher I think all kids should be treated well not just those that are the smartest, have the most important parents, are considered the coolest, etc. If it's good enough for my kid, it has to be good enough for EVERY ONE'S kids. A lot of really high ranking school districts are high ranking, but elitist.

I am partial to Canal Winchester because I work here, but it is a good place to live and a good school system making changes for the better. Overall, there are a lot of things to consider.

LovinTone

Columbus City Schools have some very good schools, depending on the area of town. The main reasons the district seems to struggle is because of all the inner city schools in poor neighborhoods. I would not hesitate to send my child to Columbus City schools in Clintonville, a nice established area.