How much does a good public school matter in life?

[diamondyes]

We are house hunting. It has long since stopped being fun and is not becoming stressful as we try to find a home before September and my oldest starts grade one.

We found a house we like, but the school catchment is not ideal. It is a “high needs” school with a lot of diversity. Diversity is good, but not so good if 8-year-olds are going around saying “suck my dick”. (Pardon the language.)

We are having trouble finding a home we like in a catchment we prefer. I was hoping you could share your story or perspective to help us decide. We are fortunate to be in a position to buy a home at all, and I am grateful. Just unsure how to proceed.

 

[pearlsngems]

We wanted to buy a home in a district that had a good Gifted and Talented program. Our daughter benefited immeasurably from it.

Unless you plan to send your kids to a private school, I think the quality of the education at the public school is very important. I am not referring to diversity or the language the kids use, though. I would research how much the community spends per student.

 

[mrs-b]

I do think good school districts matter - a lot, in fact.

But apart from their importance for the future of your kids, they're also *really* important for the value of your property. My husband and I never had to put kids through the US education system, but we have *always* made a point of buying houses in top school districts, as it's always made selling sooooo much easier, and the demand for any home we've sold way higher. The impact on the price you can recoup can't be underestimated.

So I'd always try for a good school district, even if only from a real estate value perspective; when it comes time to sell, you'll be so glad you bought in an area that commands that kind of premium.

 

[diamondyes]

Thank you, @pearlsngems and @mrs-b ! Valuable perspectives. Location location location, isn’t it the truth! Appreciate you sharing.

 

[nala]

When we bought my current home, we fell in love with the neighborhood and the actual house. It had been my dream neighborhood years before so we jumped in without considering the quality of schools. We did private school until our divorce. At that point, I explored my options and realized my neighborhood elementary school scored an 8/10 according to whatever measures they released back in the day—which was good enough for us bc as a teacher myself, I know how to advocate and maneuver the system. Luckily, we also discovered that our district offered a magnet school for grades 7-12–which at the time—was ranked number one in the nation. To this day, it outranks other top city’s schools. It came with a 45 min bus ride for DD, but well worth it. Maybe you can explore charter schools? I know that I work for a high needs district but we do offer at least 3 magnet schools for elementary and high school.
We got the best of both worlds. It worked out. I love my neighbors. Very little turn over and most have common goals. The city keeps improving our area bc we are in a tourist resort and I have never looked back.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

always interesting looking in from the outside

i was sent to the school closest to home (i walked to school) and that we were in the zone for
there was a bit of an old old boy network in my home town but my school was only 25 years old, but it didnt really matter, i dont think it was any better or worse than any of the other high schools, it was very middle NZ

but when i moved to Wellington and people seemed obsessed where did you go to school ?
bit of an eye opener

 

[Lookinagain]

I do think good school districts matter - a lot, in fact.

But apart from their importance for the future of your kids, they're also *really* important for the value of your property. My husband and I never had to put kids through the US education system, but we have *always* made a point of buying houses in top school districts, as it's always made selling sooooo much easier, and the demand for any home we've sold way higher. The impact on the price you can recoup can't be underestimated.

So I'd always try for a good school district, even if only from a real estate value perspective; when it comes time to sell, you'll be so glad you bought in an area that commands that kind of premium.

I agree with this on two levels. I did care about the quality of the school from a parent's perspective as I was pregnant when I purchased by home. But I also cared about the quality of the schools from the real estate value perspective as @mrs-b mentions. So I bought less of a house in a neighborhood with excellent public schools instead of buying a "nicer" house in a town with lower quality schools. Yes, you can always send your child to a private school if that's preferable to the public schools, but you're still spending $$ and you many not see any "appreciation" on that investment. A home in a town with excellent schools will generally appreciate. So I opted to do it that way.

Oh, and as it turned out, in about 2nd grade my child was diagnosed with some learning disabilities which my school system was prepared to address. They were not severe enough to require a "special school" and none of the regular private schools around us offered any services to support her. I was lucky that I lived where I did and she overcame most of her issues with their help.

 

[llamacat]

We intend on moving to a better public high school district by the time my eldest reaches high school age.
The local public primary school my kids currently go to are ok, but the local high school isn't that good.

I agree with mrs-b, school districts matter alot.
Not just from the quality of education but current and future home values. I wish I knew that when we bought our first house in our twenties.

Now we need to move to a better catchment where the home values are appreciating at a faster rate than our current house in a not so good catchment. The sooner we move the better, but they are tightly held areas so not much stock comes on the market for sale and when they do they get snapped up fast!

 

[Wink]

Both of my children had excellent teachers in public schools, including one who demanded my son be accepted in the gifted and talented program. He was sick the day of the test and did not do well, but our fighter teacher got him in and he excelled.

Both of my children excelled in the G&T program and both have gone far in their careers. My son is the CEO of a successful company and my daughter won a BAFTA for her voiceover work and she was recently asked to go to England this past Spring to present a BAFTA to this year's voiceover winner.

Neither would have gotten the head start they did without quality education DO NOT SETTLE!!!

 

[Petalouda]

I really feel for your situation because you have to 'pay' for top public schools. I really saw how crazy this was when I moved from TX to NY (Westchester County). To buy a house in the top districts there you need a minimum of 800k.

With that said, if you can somehow make it work, I overall recommend it for reasons mentioned above. With the latest interest rate hikes and now heading towards the fall/winter, you may see some downward movement on price. I also have found that neighborhoods that are close to coveted private schools and to the city retain their value pretty well even if the zoned public school isn't that great. I wish you luck on your journey!

 

[missy]

School is important but I don't think it matters if you go to private or public school as long as you get a good education. My sister and I both went to public schools (grammar through HS) and we were/are successful in our careers and happy. My DH went to both (private catholic school grammar school and public HS) and he was/is quite successful and happy in his career.

We grew up with families who emphasized the critical importance of an excellent education.

 

[YadaYadaYada]

When we bought our house 19 years ago we were districted for a very high performing school, the best in the district in fact. Five years later they redistricted us to the lowest performing, I was so upset that I put our oldest into a magnet school for elementary. An excellent public school matters but I have learned not to count on that being a guarantee, if you can find a district with excellent schools district-wide then you might be okay.

This has been our experience, it is rather long but we have experienced magnet, public and private schools for our two kids.

Our kids are seven years apart, I thought that by the time our youngest was ready for kindergarten, we would try the local school, how bad could it be? Well at the same time we had taken our oldest out of the magnet school for sixth grade to attend the local school because he would be going to our local high school and I thought that would give him time to make friends. It was a nightmare, the kids act like animals, constant fighting, disgusting language. Then the pandemic hit and both kids did distance learning for the remainder of seventh and kindergarten and all of eighth and first grade. It was a blessing for our oldest.

Distance learning with our younger son showed me that he was way ahead of the other kids. However because they couldn’t move on until everyone caught up, he ended up having to go over the same lessons over and over again. He started second grade and was there until I pulled him out in February to homeschool, it was hard socially though finding a group. So he started private school October of 2022 and that has been amazing. Granted I’m not happy having to pay private school tuition, but the curriculum is challenging, he is an A/B student in the private school.

Our older son has chosen to attend the local high school despite the violent fights that occur, locked bathrooms so you cannot find somewhere to go, pitiful response from administration when there is a problem, I can’t wait for him to be out in two years. Having a kid in public and one in private has really opened my eyes, at least in our district, they view parents as a bother and hinderance, but in private school you are the first authority and looked at and treated as a partner in your child’s education. There is a higher level of respect all around and that includes how parents correspond with teachers, let’s face it, if the parents don’t have respect for the teachers then the kids certainly won’t either.

Also consider that better school districts help a home’s resale value. If you plan on living there forever then I wouldn’t rule out that house but I would consider alternative schooling options.

 

[diamondyes]

When we bought our house 19 years ago we were districted for a very high performing school, the best in the district in fact. Five years later they redistricted us to the lowest performing, I was so upset that I put our oldest into a magnet school for elementary. An excellent public school matters but I have learned not to count on that being a guarantee, if you can find a district with excellent schools district-wide then you might be okay.

This has been our experience, it is rather long but we have experienced magnet, public and private schools for our two kids.

Our kids are seven years apart, I thought that by the time our youngest was ready for kindergarten, we would try the local school, how bad could it be? Well at the same time we had taken our oldest out of the magnet school for sixth grade to attend the local school because he would be going to our local high school and I thought that would give him time to make friends. It was a nightmare, the kids act like animals, constant fighting, disgusting language. Then the pandemic hit and both kids did distance learning for the remainder of seventh and kindergarten and all of eighth and first grade. It was a blessing for our oldest.

Distance learning with our younger son showed me that he was way ahead of the other kids. However because they couldn’t move on until everyone caught up, he ended up having to go over the same lessons over and over again. He started second grade and was there until I pulled him out in February to homeschool, it was hard socially though finding a group. So he started private school October of 2022 and that has been amazing. Granted I’m not happy having to pay private school tuition, but the curriculum is challenging, he is an A/B student in the private school.

Our older son has chosen to attend the local high school despite the violent fights that occur, locked bathrooms so you cannot find somewhere to go, pitiful response from administration when there is a problem, I can’t wait for him to be out in two years. Having a kid in public and one in private has really opened my eyes, at least in our district, they view parents as a bother and hinderance, but in private school you are the first authority and looked at and treated as a partner in your child’s education. There is a higher level of respect all around and that includes how parents correspond with teachers, let’s face it, if the parents don’t have respect for the teachers then the kids certainly won’t either.

Also consider that better school districts help a home’s resale value. If you plan on living there forever then I wouldn’t rule out that house but I would consider alternative schooling options.

This is so interesting and really speaks to needing to adapt to the needs of each kid and the abilities of each school. Thank you for sharing.

The private schools here are all religious. Not our bag.

My friend’s kid went to a “great” school, very affluent and uniforms etc, and her kid was bullied. So I’m trying to be realistic that you can’t control all variables. But we definitely want to put our best foot forward.

The school we may end up with is not “the best” but is far from the worst. In Canada French immersion is a thing and this school has that. I am hoping the benefit of bilingualism makes up for anything the school is lacking. And after my kids move out, I’m the one that has to live in the home and neighbourhood! It is important to us that our house is a nice place to be. Elementary school is a snippet in time.

I went to meh schools and I have a master’s degree… I think a lot of emphasis on education does come from home.

My husband went to great schools but is an autodidact and feels school was nothing for him- it was all about the books. His friends from back then have high-powered jobs though, so maybe that’s a benefit.

Sigh. I find it so hard to make adult decisions sometimes! Our budget doesn’t get us a nice home in a good school district. And we are too unskilled and exhausted to go for a real fixer upper.

Michelle Obama went to a meh elementary school. Hopefully it all goes well for me and my little family.

Thank you, everyone, for sharing your great perspectives. I really appreciate it. A good school definitely matters to us. We also want to be able to afford healthy foods and trips to Europe! So many ways to support kids. Hopefully we are going about it the right way. We will course correct if we need to

 

[Lookinagain]

It may also matter how public schools are set up in your area. Are they by town, county or some other "district" area. Where I am, each town has it's own school system so we wouldn't run the risk of our district being changed. There is only one middle school and only one high school, so that is where all the kids in my town go.

 

[Austina]

I’m not from the US, so my experience is based on UK. My child went to private school, because although we lived in good areas, the local schools weren’t very good.

When we moved to our last house, being in a good school district didn‘t matter to us, and in fact, it wasn’t until long after we moved, we discovered we were in a very coveted school catchment area. When it came to selling the house, it definitely made a huge difference, people with children were literally queuing up to buy houses in our road.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

School is important but I don't think it matters if you go to private or public school as long as you get a good education. My sister and I both went to public schools (grammar through HS) and we were/are successful in our careers and happy. My DH went to both (private catholic school grammar school and public HS) and he was/is quite successful and happy in his career.

We grew up with families who emphasized the critical importance of an excellent education.

i would think the older one gets and with a fattening CV along the way it becomes less and less important where someone went to school because one's work based achiecvments start to stand on their own

 

[missy]

i would think the older one gets and with a fattening CV along the way it becomes less and less important where someone went to school because one's work based achiecvments start to stand on their own

I agree 100 percent depending on the field one is in of course. My sister and I got an excellent education in the public school system and we both went on to graduate (different) Ivy League colleges both top of our classes. And both went on to top graduate schools and both again top of our classes. All with a public school education foundation.

I don’t know what the public school situation is in other areas but where we grew up the public schools still have an excellent reputation.

You get what you put into it of course. Students who are not motivated and who don’t work hard won’t get the same results. No matter where they go to school. That goes without saying.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

I agree 100 percent depending on the field one is in of course. My sister and I got an excellent education in the public school system and we both went on to graduate (different) Ivy League colleges both top of our classes. And both went on to top graduate schools and both again top of our classes. All with a public school education foundation.

I don’t know what the public school situation is in other areas but where we grew up the public schools still have an excellent reputation.

You get what you put into it of course. Students who are not motivated and who don’t work hard won’t get the same results. No matter where they go to school. That goes without saying.

Missy, what exactly is a graduate school ?
is it for postgraduate degree?
we only have a handful of universities in my country ?

 

[empliau]

Missy, what exactly is a graduate school ?
is it for postgraduate degree?
we only have a handful of universities in my country ?

When I was in grad school in the 1980s, NZ was always recruiting faculty from US universities, and every year there would be ads for jobs in Dunedin, Christchurch, and I forget, but the charming thing was you applied via "Private Bag" - that was the address. I had fantasies of diplomats solemnly clutching a valise - said Private Bag -of applications to fly over the Pacific. Unfortunately I was in love with someone based in the Northern Hemisphere, so I never applied.

 

[empliau]

And in the US, we have colleges, which mostly award only undergraduate degrees, and universities, which award both undergraduate and graduate degrees. Plus some universities have professional schools - medicine, law, business - and some don't, or have some but not others (Brown has medicine, but not law).

 

[missy]

Missy, what exactly is a graduate school ?
is it for postgraduate degree?
we only have a handful of universities in my country ?

Yes sorry. It’s post graduate school. My sister for example is a veterinarian and went to Cornell veterinarian school for four years post college. Medical school, Law school are other examples of post graduate education

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

When I was in grad school in the 1980s, NZ was always recruiting faculty from US universities, and every year there would be ads for jobs in Dunedin, Christchurch, and I forget, but the charming thing was you applied via "Private Bag" - that was the address. I had fantasies of diplomats solemnly clutching a valise - said Private Bag -of applications to fly over the Pacific. Unfortunately I was in love with someone based in the Northern Hemisphere, so I never applied.

I am (very proudly) from Dunedin, i never went to university but the University of Otago is NZ's oldest and best university
a private bag is very common amoung big bussineses, i guess places that get a lot of mail, we had one in the big firm i first worked at
the office boy would go down to the post office every day and pick it up -its litterly a big bag... ..i think last thing at tghe end of the day who ever was the last manager leaving for the night would drop it off at the post office
i do remember placing outward mail into a tray that would then be taken upstairs to go into the mail bag

....i just googled
private bags still exist
i do like your idea much better, much more excitting

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

Yes sorry. It’s post graduate school. My sister for example is a veterinarian and went to Cornell veterinarian school for four years post college. Medical school, Law school are other examples of post graduate education

that is all done at the same varsity here
we only have two universities you can be a vet
i think you can go anywhere to do first year but then you have to transfer to the specialist university just like human medicine
i beleave it takes longer to be a vet than it does to be a human doctor
one of them is in the city about an hour east from here, it specializes in agriculture and animal and 'farmy' stuff - the Spanish Woman's soccer world cup team were surposed to be bassed their -excelant facilities at universities, but Palmerston North was too borring for them , it was on the list of places i refuse to live when we were house hunting

 

[Avondale]

i would think the older one gets and with a fattening CV along the way it becomes less and less important where someone went to school because one's work based achiecvments start to stand on their own

Most certainly. A good school isn't important for having its name on your diploma. It's important because of the environment it cultivates for children, both in terms of teachers and academic opportunities, and in terms of peers and social growth and development. My most influential friendships started back in high school, and I value those about as much as I value the education I received there.

 

[Alybird]

This is one of the most important decisions you'll ever make in your child's life.

I have observed Blue Ribbon schools and top private schools. It matters, not just due to the increased funding and the better student-to-teacher ratio but because parents in good school districts have a vested interest to keep it so and will actually do what they can to support teachers. Your child will be spending the majority of their time in school from the time they enter elementary 'til the time they graduate and are ready to go off to university.

Early childhood education is especially important. It really does set the stage for development. I have nothing against private schools other than it can be a weird social environment where the administration favors kids of parents who donate a lot of money. The most well-adjusted, bright, socially adept and happy kids I've met go to *good* public schools in a nice area and take a few extracurriculars to keep their minds engaged and out of mischief.