Good school districts

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Pharmado

PharmaDo
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I have finally reached the point in life where I can provide my children with something I never had; attendance in a good school district. Yet I’m hesitant because I’ve had no experience in the world of affluent schools. Is there a drawback to putting your kids in top ranked public schools? If schools are filled with kids who would all standout against their peers, don’t they all then fail to standout, and if so, would they benefit from a less competitive environment? Can anyone comment on the environment in affluent school districts in big city suburbs (moving to Minneapolis suburbs) and whether they positively or negatively affected their children.
 
There are no drawbacks to good schools, beyond the cost for a private one, or the cost to live in a neighborhood with a good public one.

Don't worry about your kids failing to stand out among other excellent students. The schools give As to everyone who earns them ... and actually, better schools tend to have a reputation for grade inflation. Besides, being surrounded by excellence is probably the best thing for a person anyway. When everyone around them is competent to excellent, they tend to be motivated. It's easy to slack off and coast when you're surrounded by mediocrity, or worse.
 
Pharmado said:
I have finally reached the point in life where I can provide my children with something I never had; attendance in a good school district. Yet I’m hesitant because I’ve had no experience in the world of affluent schools. Is there a drawback to putting your kids in top ranked public schools? If schools are filled with kids who would all standout against their peers, don’t they all then fail to standout, and if so, would they benefit from a less competitive environment? Can anyone comment on the environment in affluent school districts in big city suburbs (moving to Minneapolis suburbs) and whether they positively or negatively affected their children.
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you put your kid around kids who actively expect to have a future, around kids with parents expecting them to run businesses and go to college instead of live off welfare.....that is a good thing
 
What about:

1) Private school for wealthy families

vs

2) Excellent public schools

vs

3) Excellent religious schools

vs

4) School for truly "gifted" children (assuming they're actually gifted of course)

?
 
pgg said:
There are no drawbacks to good schools, beyond the cost for a private one, or the cost to live in a neighborhood with a good public one.

Don't worry about your kids failing to stand out among other excellent students. The schools give As to everyone who earns them ... and actually, better schools tend to have a reputation for grade inflation. Besides, being surrounded by excellence is probably the best thing for a person anyway. When everyone around them is competent to excellent, they tend to be motivated. It's easy to slack off and coast when you're surrounded by mediocrity, or worse.
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my kids think we’re poor. Other than that good schools seem to be mostly upside 😀
 
I grew up going to one of the public schools you’re likely considering, and I think being surrounded by kids and families with high expectations raised mine. I consider it a strong plus.
 
Another side to good school districts is they often have a wide range of services available if your kid is not so good at school. The resources go both ways.
 
Guillemot said:
I for one think you should save money by sending your kids to a ****ty school.
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that’s some sound advice....

I wasn’t looking to send my kids to bad schools, just considering whether or not my plan to buy a home in one of the top 3 districts in the state was wise, or if I should go with maybe top quartile type schools. When you are looking at school districts that have average household incomes around (or even over) 100k/yr with only 5-6% of students qualifying for reduced cost lunch, this is a world I literally have zero experience with. Currently, in year 3 out of residency, my kids go to a school where 49% of kids qualify for reduced price lunch, and it’s the best school in town (rural America, gotta love it). I want my kids to be happy and succeed, but I also don’t want them to be overwhelmed or lost among the masses.

I appreciate everyone’s advice. I think I’m going to push forward with the great schools plan, though maybe go for one of the smaller districts ifI can.
 
If you move to Edina, your kids will be in a well funded public school chock full of smart peers. The problem with schools full of rich kids is that some of the kids are slackers who are ignored by their parents. You'll still need to monitor friendships carefully.

You will love the Minnesota income tax. Furthermore, the drivers there are some of the worst in the U.S.A. Before you move there you will need to hone your passive aggressive skills and the local dialect.


 
The only downside of paying up for a house in a good school district (and planning to send your kids to the public schools there) is deciding later on that one or more of your kids would be a better fit for a private school and spending the $$ on that. Unless you are inclined now to send your kids to private elementary school and beyond, go for the good school district.
 
The downside is lack of perspective but that also occurs at poor schools. You want the rich people's lack of perspective.

You want them to think most people are excellent so they have the desire to excellent as well. But you don't want them to expect $1k gifts on a regular basis because their friends get them.

Basically the downsides are more of a result of ****ty parenting instead of good school districts IMO. E.g. your kids have low self-esteem because everyone is so excellent. Or your kids think everything in life is handed to them because you fail to instill the value of hard work. Etc.
 
dr doze said:
The only downside of paying up for a house in a good school district (and planning to send your kids to the public schools there) is deciding later on that one or more of your kids would be a better fit for a private school and spending the $$ on that. Unless you are inclined now to send your kids to private elementary school and beyond, go for the good school district.
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Private schools and elite public school districts are a sure way to introduce lifestyle creep.
 
As someone who went to went to a top ranked public high school (and was probably middle to bottom half), I was still way ahead when I went to my state university (which made it easier to stand out in college). So, yeah it may be hard to stand out, but their are benefits.

There are good schools and then there are good schools where not having more than a handful of Ivy League acceptances per class is unusual.
 
0kazak1 said:
As someone who went to went to a top ranked public high school (and was probably middle to bottom half), I was still way ahead when I went to my state university (which made it easier to stand out in college). So, yeah it may be hard to stand out, but their are benefits.

There are good schools and then there are good schools where not having more than a handful of Ivy League acceptances per class is unusual.
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I went to one of those good high schools. scoring perfect math SAT was seen as a failure because the standard was perfect math AND verbal.

But my middle school had metal detectors and such.

I prefer the high school even though i was dumb in high school and like a genius in the middle school.
 
dchz said:
I went to one of those good schools. scoring perfect math SAT was seen as a failure because the standard was perfect math AND verbal.
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Yeah exactly, you feel like a failure and then you go to a state college like me, and realize that there is a whole world of average people.
 
The advantages of the elite public schools are that they essentially give you a private school experience without having to pay additional tuition for it. Obviously you're paying in higher housing costs and/or taxes, but those markets also move so when you sell you’re in a better position as well. One of my partners was committed to private school so they bought a giant house in a “lesser” school district and sent the kids to elite private schools. Over time things changed and when it was time to sell that house it was on the market for 2 years. The same high $$ homes sell every day in my school district just a couple miles away.
How to keep the kids from “lifestyle creep” is a whole other topic. And they’d probably have that if they were the richest family at the average school anyway.
 
nimbus said:
Private schools and elite public school districts are a sure way to introduce lifestyle creep.
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It is a risk. I have paid BIG bucks for my kids' education all the way through. One of them is a little entitled. But overall some of the best money I have spent.
 
Pharmado said:
Why do elite public schools introduce lifestyle creep? Simply because of the cost of housing?
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They tend to attract aspirational “upscale” families. For example, many of the teachers in these districts don’t schedule anything important during President’s Day week because they know it’s unofficial “ski week”. And there’s a natural tendency to want a Range Rover if many other parents are in one even though a Subaru will do.


I’m speaking of actual school districts and not elite competitive admission high schools like Lowell, Jefferson or Stuyvesant.
 
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Pharmado said:
Why do elite public schools introduce lifestyle creep? Simply because of the cost of housing?
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Cause the parents of these kids are people like us (or richer). Keeping up with the Joneses is a problem.

Gotta teach them those FIRE principles from a early age.
 
Case in point:

tucson.com

Photos: Catalina Foothills HS Marching Band in Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

The Catalina Foothills High School Falcon Marching Band in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City on Nov. 28, 2019. The band is one of six high school
tucson.com tucson.com

Local high school from when I grew up. They were in the nice part of town. Sure the band was/is good, but how do you pay for a whole band (250-300 people) to travel across the country to play in the parade?
 
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