Category Archives: PA Suburbs

Why I Chose Lower Merion: 2011-10-13 School Selection Report

This is a snapshot of one parent’s school choice. You can read other parent testimonials and help other parents. Take five minutes to complete an anonymous survey to tell PSS and our readers about your school choice!

What school did you decide on? Lower Merion School District

Calendar year your child entered 2011

Grade your child entered 1st

What neighborhood are you in? Montgomery County

What schools did you consider? CW Henry, Lower Merion Schools, Greene Street Friends

What factors were most important to you? Tuition, Location, Reputation, Public Eduction, School Performance (test scores, success of graduates), Teacher Quality, Principal Quality, Diversity

What first attracted you to the school? Excellent reputation, public school

What were the critical factors that led to your choice? All my kids could go to a neighborhood elementary, middle and high school that provided quality education. We attended two local public schools in NW Phila and were not thrilled with the education our child was receiving. The move was difficult for us parents but we are thrilled with our decision. All LMSD schools have foreign language 3x a week starting 2nd grade, excellent art and music programs, afterschool activities, and parent participation. The schools are more diverse than you would expect – including children of Asian, Indian, and European background as well as African American. Of my child’s class of 18, 8 are non-white. Several kids in the class do not have English as a first language. Taxes are crazy high but at least the school quality reflects that.

Did you relocate in order to choose this school? Yes

On the political spectrum, I consider myself to be liberal

Please share anything else about your experience

Why I Chose The Montessori School: 2011-03-23 School Selection Report

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This is one parent’s opinion on why they chose The Montessori School (formerly New Horizons Montessori School). Help other parents–take five minutes to complete an anonymous survey to tell PSS and our readers about your school choice!

Date Submitted: 3/23/2011

What school did you decide on? The Montessori School, formerly New Horizons Montessori School

Calendar year your child entered/will enter 2003 and 2008

Grade your children entered/will enter Preschool and Toddler

What neighborhood are you in? NW Philly

What schools did you consider? We looked at Greentowne Montessori, Gladwyne Montessori, Wyndmoor Montessori and New Horizons Montessori (now called The Montessori School)

What factors were most important to you? Reputation, Teaching Philosophy, Teacher Quality, Diversity, Montessori

What first attracted you to the school? We were first attracted by the school’s reputation. We were interested in Montessori education, and were told that quality of Montessori schools varied widely and this was a great schools with experienced teachers.

What were the critical factors that led to your choice? The level of education is amazing. At age five, my son was telling me a story and he set the story in Paraguay. When I asked him if he even knew where that was, he said, “Sure – it is in Central America next to Uruguay.” The math curriculum is astounding. Kids learn multiplication and division (using hands-on manipulatives) by the time they leave kindergarten. The social studies curriculum has a global focus – children learn about factors that influence world peace (or lack thereof) at an early age. Kids learn about the fundamental needs of people and how they meet these needs in different countries. They settle their own disputes from the time they are two years old at a peace table, possibly moderated by an older student, but that is not always needed. Children are taught to be independent from the time they are 18 months old. They are also taught “grace and courtesy” which goes a long way to contributing to the peaceful culture at this school.

Did you relocate in order to choose this school? Yes

On the political spectrum, I consider myself to be democrat

Please share anything else about your experience If you have two working parents – know that the school has before care from 7:30 and aftercare until 6:00. During aftercare, there are electives such as robotics, gardening, chess, and pottery. There is a great piano teacher who offers piano lessons at the school and they just started violin lessons as well. The campus is beautiful – located on a bunch of acres with nature trails and streams. The kids do get dirty doing stream walks – this is not a school for the faint of heart, laundry-wise. Their is a toddler program starting at 18 months and they do the heavy lifting on potty training the kids. Tuition is way lower than most of the other common private, non-religious schools. School goes thru sixth grade.

This is one parent’s opinion on why they chose New Horizons Montessori School. Help other parents–take five minutes to complete an anonymous survey to tell PSS and our readers about your school choice!

Parent Asks, “Talk to me about city schools”

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There is a family who moved to the area about 6 months ago, choosing Lower Merion for the schools. Now having settled somewhat, they are considering a move into the city but worried about school options. Sound familiar? One parent of the family, “Justdey” posted this request on the Philadelphia Speaks forums:

We moved here last fall and took a rental in Lower Merion b/c of the steller school district. It was a very abrupt move with very little time to prepare or plan. We literally arrived the day before school started.

Our lease will be up this summer and we’re trying to figure out where we want to be permanently. While we like our neighborhood, the housing prices are crazy when you consider what you get for the $$. We are naturally urban dwellers and would prefer to live in city (probably Chestnut Hill, Mt. Airy area because we have two kids 8 and 3 who both need “yard time”).

About Us:
1. Spouse works in Old City. I work at home.
2. We intend to be settled until the 3 year old graduates high school or longer. So whatever we decide, we’re in it for the long haul.
3. While we do alright financially, the cost of private schools is typically more than we can spare long term and if forced to choose, would put the $$ away for college instead.

So my questions are:

What is the normal course of an average public school kid in Philly — Go to your neighborhood elementary, middle and high school? Are there specific neighborhoods where you can trust you’re getting a solid start to finish education?
How hard is it to get into a magnet school? (the 8 year old gets good grades, but is not insanely smart and I hear getting a spot is difficult)
Are any of the non-magnet schools a reliable upper education?
I hear getting into a charter is hard as well and frankly I don’t think I can handle the insanity of applying to many and being rejected by all. Besides that, it appears we’ve missed our opportunity to get in for next fall anyway.

I’ve dug through this forum, read blogs, etc. etc. and I keep coming back to the conclusion that we can choose to 1) Take a risk and maybe get a solid education thru the city schools assuming if our kids are smart enough and we do everything right in terms of residing in a decent elementary school district and applying on time to a magnet school; or 2)Play it safe in a less affluent suburb with a solid public school program.

If we “risk” it and buy a house in the city, should we be prepared to shell out the big bucks on private school, in case the public school doesn’t work out? To rephrase the question, can an educated family navigate the public city school system and get a quality education?

For an outsider, the whole thing is so confusing and overwhelming.

It prompted an interesting discourse on choosing between schools and lifestyle preferences. I encourage anyone considering similar issues to take a look at how people have responded to “Justdey” and contribute yourself!

Why I Chose J.S. Jenks Elementary: 2011-03-01 School Selection Report

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This is one parent’s opinion on why they chose JS Jenks. Help other parents–take five minutes to complete an anonymous survey to tell PSS and our readers about your school choice!

Date Submitted: 4/1/2011

What school did you decide on? John Story Jenks

Calendar year your child entered 2009

Grade your child entered Kindergarten

What neighborhood are you in? NW Philly

What schools did you consider? C.W. Henry, Suburban Public Schools if we moved.

What factors were most important to you? Tuition, Location, Reputation, Public Eduction, School Performance (test scores, success of graduates), Teacher Quality, Principal Quality, Diversity

What first attracted you to the school? I was interested because it was my neighborhood public school; walkability

What were the critical factors that led to your choice? I struggled with school choice – I wanted to utilize my local public school, but didn’t know anyone there at the time I began looking. Once I met parents who attended the school and talked with them, visited the school and met the principal/teachers I became very comfortable there. I loved the small, neighborhood feel to the school and the enthusiasm of the teachers and administration. I liked that the principal has a long term vision for the school and works with parents to improve the school. I liked that my child would have an urban public school experience at a school with alot of socioeconomic and racial diversity.

Did you relocate in order to choose this school? No

On the political spectrum, I consider myself to be Liberal

Please share anything else about your experience Public school, particularly in an urban district like Philadelphia, has ample bureaucracy, budget and space woes, etc.. But overall our experience thus far has been rewarding and enriching, both for my son and for me. He is thriving at Jenks and I can’t imagine he would be better served academically anywhere else, public or private.

My advice: don’t dismiss your neighborhood public school without researching it yourself first. Visit the school, talk to parents, see for yourself, you may be pleasantly surprised.