Best Elementary in Maplewood? How do they assign you to a school? archived

We're moving from California and are considering Maplewood, but have no idea how school assignments work. Is it just a geographical zone or a lottery system? Which elementary schools would you say have the best sense of community, parent involvement, caring staff, good after school enrichments?

Thanks!

Zoned. As a general rule, the parents of students in each elementary school believe that the school for which their family is zoned is the best. As such, I'd conclude that they're all good.

P.S. You should also look at South Orange - same school district (and same parental beliefs) and one stop closer to NYC on the train.

All of them.

The schools are zoned by neighborhood,* and all score high marks in the areas you mentioned. I'm not even being diplomatic. With your criteria, I think you'd be happy with any of the local elementary schools.

*there's also an opt-in school called Seth Boyden available to anyone in the district.

zoned unless the kindergarten class fills up and then you could be placed where there is space. I believe Tuscan kindergarten is already full for next year.

We're in South Orange. Both towns are great and the schools are pretty good.

What about private schools? Names of any recommended within 20 mins driving distance?

Which private school will depend a lot on what you are willing to spend.

Catholic private schools will be less expensive than others.

I was going to say what yahoo said. There are local privates that cost around $30K. For that kind of money, I would strongly urge you to form your own impressions.

There is also a wonderful free democratic school here, btw. IDK what it costs, but it's another school model to consider.

calilo said:

What about private schools? Names of any recommended within 20 mins driving distance?

Did our creepily uniform, Stepford-style responses about the public schools give you pause?

I really like everything I've heard about Far Brook School. I've also heard good things about Newark Academy, and I have a friend with very high standards who is happy with St. Rose of Lima.

Adele - Well, sort of. "All of them are great" doesn't lend too much guidance. If one asked me about San Francisco public schools, I could point people in the right direction I think, but then there are about 100 elementary schools, not 4-5.

Ooh hamandeggs - what is a democratic school? Like a co-op model?

LOL. Maplewood is not San Francisco. All of our elementary schools are good. It's the truth. Sorry to disappoint.

I think the point is that all of the elementary options are pretty similar in terms of what's offered, though each has a different "flavor." Another thing that makes them uniformly good is that the school zones are drawn in somewhat ragged shapes so as to diversify the student bodies in terms of socio-economic backgrounds. That means the "good" schools are not limited to the wealthier parts of town like you might be used to in CA. Unlike SF, there's really no competition to get a spot in elementary school here. I'd also argue that if you're going to pay the taxes to live here, why bother with private school unless you're dealing with special issues?

calilo said:

Adele - Well, sort of. "All of them are great" doesn't lend too much guidance. If one asked me about San Francisco public schools, I could point people in the right direction I think, but then there are about 100 elementary schools, not 4-5.

Tee hee. We're not obfuscating, I promise. It's a smallish community and the schools are very similar. They're also zoned with socioeconomic balance in mind. It's easier to compare our system with neighboring towns. We are maybe the Cole Valley to Millburn's Pacific Heights. Except the NJ examples are more boring on both counts.

I don't think people move to a certain area of Maplewood/South Orange based on the elementary school - very different from an urban model. In general I would say people choose a town based on the schools, rather than a part of town, because many northern NJ towns are so small the school district is the key factor.

TarheelsInNj said:

I don't think people move to a certain area of Maplewood/South Orange based on the elementary school

If affected our decision.

for anyone moving to Maplewood, choose a home and neighborhood that you like. as others have pointed out, the schools are equivalent to one another.

one thing for us that's turned out great is being in the Marshall/Jefferson district, living in Maplewood. short walk to the bus stop for Marshall for K-2, and then walking distance to Jefferson, MMS, and CHS for grades 3-12.

@jersey123 makes a very good point.. Why pay for school twice, with our taxes we are already paying kids tuition.

There certainly are people who have moved to certain areas based on received wisdom about the elementary schools, but that's due to long-outdated stereotypes that have been perpetuated by ignorant residents and certain realtors for years. It's a bunch of nonsense. The schools are all good. Period.

I like how no one said why they think the schools are great-that to me doesn't show a ton of confidence. I could name a thousand reasons why the school my children attend is great besides just "it's great."

the one district that has an important difference is Marshall/Jefferson. Kids go to Marshall for K-2, and Jefferson for 3-5. The other elementary schools are K-5. We liked having our kids in a school with only K-2 to start. Because it's all young kids Marshall has a different vibe. On the downside, our kids were only two grades apart, but for almost their entire time in school, we had them in different schools -- two sets of back to school nights, two sets of every function from plays to concerts, to fundraisers, etc.

I'm taking a ride here, does anyone have first hand experience with Far Brook? I'm very curious about this school since I first heard of it.

ml1 said:

for anyone moving to Maplewood, choose a home and neighborhood that you like. as others have pointed out, the schools are equivalent to one another.

one thing for us that's turned out great is being in the Marshall/Jefferson district, living in Maplewood. short walk to the bus stop for Marshall for K-2, and then walking distance to Jefferson, MMS, and CHS for grades 3-12.

Ditto for us! That's one of the things I love about raising a kid in Maplewood - everything is so walkable, which makes the parents' lives easier and gives the kids a lot more sense of freedom and independence.

Thanks Adele - that's very helpful. We're more Cole Valley people than Pacific Heights. We don't have a choice about boring - the move is what it is. So what we're aiming for - a diverse, welcoming (to a diverse family) community, more liberal leaning community and a decent school for our Kindergartner.

jersey123 - Thanks - that makes sense and explains it well to me.

All very helpful information - thanks everyone.

Frank said:

There certainly are people who have moved to certain areas based on received wisdom about the elementary schools, but that's due to long-outdated stereotypes that have been perpetuated by ignorant residents and certain realtors for years. It's a bunch of nonsense. The schools are all good. Period.

I'm not sure if your comments were directed toward me, but we actually knew quite a few people from Maplewood and South Orange before we moved here, so we got a lot of real time insights (not stereotypes, but thanks). That allowed us to make a decision that was right for us.

townperson1 said:

I like how no one said why they think the schools are great-that to me doesn't show a ton of confidence. I could name a thousand reasons why the school my children attend is great besides just "it's great."

True! Which do yours attend, if you dont mind sharing? 4-5 reasons you love it?

townperson1 said:

I like how no one said why they think the schools are great-that to me doesn't show a ton of confidence. I could name a thousand reasons why the school my children attend is great besides just "it's great."

That makes no sense to me. We who have kids in the district schools are very confident that our schools are great, and don't have to lay out detailed arguments why this is so. Perhaps you might share a few of your own thousand reasons why your children's school is great (assuming they go to school in the SO/MA district)?

ml1 said:

the one district that has an important difference is Marshall/Jefferson. Kids go to Marshall for K-2, and Jefferson for 3-5. The other elementary schools are K-5. We liked having our kids in a school with only K-2 to start. Because it's all young kids Marshall has a different vibe. On the downside, our kids were only two grades apart, but for almost their entire time in school, we had them in different schools -- two sets of back to school nights, two sets of every function from plays to concerts, to fundraisers, etc.

Good observation. We're in the Marshall/Jefferson zone, and we have one child, so we didn't have to deal with the two-school two-step. We really liked/like the age specialization in these schools. Also worth noting: these schools are not overcrowded like some of the others in our district, and the housing stock in their zones offers a nice mix of different price points.

calilo said:

Thanks Adele - that's very helpful. We're more Cole Valley people than Pacific Heights. We don't have a choice about boring - the move is what it is. So what we're aiming for - a diverse, welcoming (to a diverse family) community, more liberal leaning community and a decent school for our Kindergartner.

jersey123 - Thanks - that makes sense and explains it well to me.

All very helpful information - thanks everyone.

You're welcome. As someone who grew up in SF, I find myself very much at home here. It is all you describe, and even more friendly than the Bay Area, I think. If you're going to live in NJ, Maplewood/SO is the place to be!

Gioamorim said:

I'm taking a ride here, does anyone have first hand experience with Far Brook? I'm very curious about this school since I first heard of it.

Yes, we sent all three of our children to Far Brook and love it. This will be our 14th year connected to the school. My youngest is still there now and my older two went on to CHS. Feel free to inbox me if you have any questions.

FWIW: Our decision to send them to Far Brook School had absolutely nothing to do with shortcomings in the local public schools. It was a personal decision made for a number of reasons.