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Kitchen-Spray-1984 OP t1_iuzkm17 wrote

Reply to comment by guitar1257 in Relocating to Hartford with kids by Kitchen-Spray-1984

I have gotten some good recommendations about Wethersfield and Rocky Hill as being central to everything. Is there any area to avoid based on school ratings?

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guitar1257 t1_iv0brrw wrote

No, they’re all good. Some of the elementary schools have higher test scores than others, but that more reflects the slight differences in socioeconomic status of the various neighborhoods. Both towns are fairly racially diverse, with Rocky Hill especially having a decently sized south Asian population. Both have lots of parks, services, shopping, and things to do. Wethersfield has a beautiful historic district. Rocky Hill has some fantastic hiking for such a small town.

You really can’t go wrong.

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Kitchen-Spray-1984 OP t1_iv2u3jt wrote

> You really can’t go wrong

That is great to hear. Ending up in a "wrong" area is what I am/was concerned about.

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guitar1257 t1_iv2vjwm wrote

I think if you stick to those towns, you’ll come look at houses and get a feel for the neighborhood and find one you like. It’s not like there are beautiful neighborhoods in those areas with secretly bad schools.

For what it’s worth, I’m a teacher (though not in either of those towns) and teachers here are well compensated. I would gladly work in either of those school districts. Happy teachers = happy students who feel cared for and are more ready to learn.

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Kitchen-Spray-1984 OP t1_iv34v21 wrote

> Happy teachers = happy students

Word!!

I feel at ease now knowing that overall it is a good area and not like I have to find a decent place while avoiding a ton of areas!! My wife and I are looking forward to our new England adventure.

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ellemenopeaqu t1_iv0rd76 wrote

Both towns have great schools and even the 'lower ranked' schools are still very good. They elementary schools have a real community feel.

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Kitchen-Spray-1984 OP t1_iv2udlh wrote

> They elementary schools have a real community feel.

Can you elaborate?

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ellemenopeaqu t1_ivfbmy3 wrote

Can only speak from experience at Wethersfield. At least in elementary, there's a lot of parent involvement in the schools, so you see familiar faces (or at least names over email). There are maybe 40 kids per grade (2 classes) so they all know each other too.

If you live within a mile of school (except for kindergarteners) you are supposed to walk/bike to school, so at least at my daughter's school there are a LOT of walkers. You see the same faces every day and walk by each other's houses. I think with so many walkers it helps keep things safe, everyone kind of keeps an eye out for things that could be a danger, even those with older or no kids.

There are a number of school events with great turn out, which mean meeting all the other parents as the kids run around. There is a program called Keane on Kids with extracurriculars - same story. You meet the other parents when you go for pick up.

And there are a lot of town events, so the kids who know each other will spend the time running around having fun, and again, us parents are stuck being social.

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Kitchen-Spray-1984 OP t1_iwa2ckk wrote

> there's a lot of parent involvement in the schools

All of that sounds good but can you elaborate on parents involvement in school? I have lived in south and there the parent involvement in school is synonymous with them trying to control what is being taught in schools.

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ellemenopeaqu t1_iwc4wmm wrote

Oh, not at all controlling! It's much more supporting the school & teachers. PTO fundraisers, attending school sponsored events, showing up for meet the teachers & conferences, stuff like that. The teachers ask for kleenex and boxes appear like magic. Room parents coordinate gifts for staff. It's a community centered around the school i guess is better phrasing?

The high school basically axed the dress code this year and while there were some unhappy voices, most of them were people who last had children in the school system 40 years ago. There are a few loons angry about SEL or CRT, but they are generally ignored except on FB.

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