Any Philadelphia ladies on? Would love to hear about the schools in the area--mostly interested in the schools in the city itself or in the near suburbs (Chestnut Hill or Bala Cywnd, maybe? Or anywhere else that is nice and has a real town center to it). I keep hearing that the schools in philly are terrible, but wondering how true that is.
Also, what is the school cut off to start school? DS is 5 in Oct 2017, when would he start K?
squash / 13208 posts
@hilsy85: not in Philly but in PA - you must be 5 before Sept 1st - so your DS would start the following year 2018
nectarine / 2797 posts
We are in the burbs but there are several amazing school districts here and within commuting distance to the city. Wallingford-swarthmore and Rose Tree media are both very highly rated.
pomegranate / 3032 posts
So my husband is a product of the Philly Public school system and I have cousins that go to school in the city. Hubs went to school in the northeast (Rhawnhurst Elementry) and then applied and was accepted into Central High School (very good HS) his best friend and brother both went to the local high school (Northeast HS) and both went on to great colleges and successful careers. My cousins both live in South Philly and they did charter schools with a lottery system or catholic grade schools and switched to charter. One applied and went to Kappa (which is a performing arts high school). Another friend has a kid in McCall Elementary which is a public schoool in Center City and is one of the best but you have to live in that territory which can be quite expensive but they found a great rental apt.
Abington, Upper Dublin, Neshaminy, Central Bucks are all a little north of the city. they have some great little towns with awesome school districts. You can also look into some towns in NJ that are near the PATCO high speed line - Haddonfield, Cherry Hill, Voorhees all have really great school systems ( I went through Voorhees schools)
pomegranate / 3032 posts
My town which is one of the ones listed above also has a sept 1 cut off but you can petition to start early which i what we hope to do as our LO's birthday is 9/26
squash / 13208 posts
@hilsy85: @Chillybear: we are in Central Bucks and the schools are top notch!! (20 miles North of Chestnut Hill)
grapefruit / 4321 posts
@hilsy85: Did y'all definitely decide to go to Philly? Or still investigating options?
squash / 13208 posts
@Chillybear: we were not allowed to start early - DS has a 23 Sept bday - so he went at almost age 6
pomegranate / 3032 posts
@Mamaof2: my BIL and SIL work in our district so when the time comes I will lean on them to help us navigate the process... worst case she will do private K at her daycare (which we'll have to pay for and then reevalute for first grade)
squash / 13764 posts
@Mamaof2: ok thanks! That is helpful.
@mamabolt: will check them out! We don't want anything too far from the city I would think...but do you know, are those legit towns with like a city center? Restaurants, stores, groceries, doctors offices, etc?
@Chillybear: Thank you! I came across McCall in my search, along with Meridian and Greenfield.
@Mamaof2: I have heard such great things about Chestnut Hilll My concern with the suburbs is that it will be very...suburban. LIke housing developments, everyone drives everywhere, etc. Which is fine, its' just not something we're interested in I think.
@Truth Bombs: just gathering info, since the schools would be such a huge part of it! And in Philly, it seems it's not a guarantee that you have access to a good school...
nectarine / 2797 posts
@hilsy85: Media, which those districts border, is a fantastic small town with tons of restaurants and shopping, we can get to pretty much everywhere we need within 10 min drive.
hostess / wonderful apple seed / 16729 posts
DH and I both grew up and went to school in the suburbs of Philadelphia. Both in Chester county. School taxes are sky high and houses are expensive but I would love to end up back in that area. It's very common for people to commute into the city from Chester county. My family and DH's family both work in Chester county but I have plenty of friends that work in Philly and do the commute.
Have you look into school lists? I think my school district was one of the top 25 schools in PA.
ETA: my family member lives in Philadelphia and her kids are still young. She said there are some good charter schools but it's on a lottery system. She said public schools aren't that good but she thinks there's still time for them to improve before her kids are in school.
coffee bean / 27 posts
Swarthmore has an excellent school system, the town is small but a very close community that is welcoming to outsiders. Lots of liberal, well-educated tree-huggers! There is a town center with a few small restaurants, mom & pop shops, and a market. The train station is in town and a 25 min ride will get you into downtown Philly. Same with Media which is adjacent to Swarthmore, but bigger town.
I will mention that Swarthmore/Media aren’t as “hip” as some towns on the “Main Line”. Ardmore and Narberth are Main Line towns with excellent schools that are close to the city and have a more thriving scene in the way of shops, restaurants, etc. The farther you go out on the Main Line, the more hoity toity it gets so if cost of living is your concern or if you plan to buy a home, you probably don’t want to go all the way out to Radnor/Wayne/Villanova. But all of the school districts along the Main Line are superb and it’s an easy train ride in.
The public school system in the city is…suffering. The few friends I have in the city send their little ones to private schools. Bala Cynwyd I thought is Lower Merion school district – top notch. Chestnut Hill is beautiful and has a lot of cute shops, etc. but my husband’s colleagues that live there send their kids to private school. Still worth considering though, I love that town.
All of these towns have cute town centers but it might be an adjustment coming from NYC. If you look around and decide you’d prefer staying in the city, I’d look in Rittenhouse, Washington Square West, Old City, or Society Hill. Philly has amazing restaurants/shops peppered throughout the city, but the highest concentration of excellent ones are in these areas. But I should warn you the transportation system in Philadelphia is nothing compared to NYC!
pomegranate / 3113 posts
I went to college on the Main Line (western suburbs) and I love, love, love that area. Its suburban but not like new, sprawling developments -- there's a main road (Lancaster Ave/Rt 30) with shops, restaurants etc and housing on the surrounding roads. Narberth has a really cute downtown area, as does Wayne. The schools are great but it's very expensive. I lived in Ardmore for awhile and, at the time, it was among the more reasonable places to rent -- not sure what it's like now, though. One of my good friends now lives in Wayne and has two elementary school-age kids. I'm not sure what the name of their school is but I know they're happy with it. Another friend is in upper Bucks county, which is beautiful but a heck of a commute into Philly (I've done it and couldn't handle it). All our friends who live in the city of Philadelphia send their kids to private schools.
cherry / 178 posts
@mamabolt: we live in Media! We lived in the city for several years before buying a house in Media and one of the major reasons we chose it was because it was walkable and had such a great community feel. The schools are great as well. And yes, Philly public schools are just as bad as they say. Charter schools are good but EXTREMELY competitive and there is little guarantee that you will get in.
nectarine / 2797 posts
@madger: small world! We live just outside of Media proper but walkable to downtown if we are up for a little bit of a hike and love it! So many fun activities and street festivals and great community.
persimmon / 1286 posts
I'm a realtor in Center City Philly, and we moved there from NYC. I also know a lot about NW Philadelphia neighborhoods (Mount Airy, Chestnut Hill) and the Western Suburbs (Bala, Ardmore, Main Line). Feel free to PM me!
For Center City- Meredith, Greenfield and McCall are the best elementary schools (so, Queen Village in the "Meredith catchment"; Rittenhouse/Fitler Sq., Society Hill are the corresponding neighborhoods). For middle school/HS, there are magnet schools (Masterman, Central) you can test into.
persimmon / 1286 posts
http://www.phillymag.com/articles/best-places-to-raise-kids/
this is a good jumping off point about suburban Philadelphia towns.
squash / 13764 posts
@mamabolt: great, will check it out!
@bluestriped bee: DS would be starting in 2 years so we don't have a ton of time...and I've heard charter schools are good but don't want to chance not getting in!
@oldsoulmama: thank you so much! That was helpful. Radnor Township was recommended to us, good to know it's one of the more expensive areas. 25 minutes into the city seems like a lot right now, but I guess if the town itself is bustling then I won't feel the need to go into the city all the time.
@PurplePeony: thanks for the info!! I don't think I'd want to live 25 min outside the city--we've only ever lived in cities, so the whole idea of a suburb is still so foreign--we need to ease into it 
@madger: awesome! I may be asking you some more questions at some point if that's ok
@lioneyes: yes those are the city neighborhoods I was looking at! We will definitely check out those catchment areas.
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