Vinings, Buckhead, Sandy Springs (Smyrna, Druid Hills: for sale, safe area, school district)

[LovelySummer]

Do anyone know what makes Sarah Smith better (or seem better, if not really better). Is it the fact that it is an IB school? Has a huge amount of money that parents donate? Just wanting to have an understanding of what people are considering.

Anybody have a better sense of which city (Buckhead or Vinings) is likely to help with properties holding value better? And better on resale? I no longer believe in buying houses unless I think I can resale and make money some day. House purchasing is less emotion and more business for me so just wondering.

Thanks on the tips on the backstreets.

Is North Buckhead a place in which you'll see kids playing outside? Vinings? Sandy Springs? Any of them particularly kid-friendly? We've got a wiggly worm and I can't imagine him sitting in the house coloring or playing video games all day. I imagine he may be much more likely to go outside and play in the yard or walk down to a friend's house after school/homework. Which community is more likely to have kids out socializing/playing?

Originally Posted by AtlJan

Go visit both schools. Sarah Smith is known to be a better school than Teasley, but there are plenty of sharp kids whose parents care about education going to Teasley. Have not heard good things about Campbell Middle or High, but again, I know a few kids there and seems like there is a core group of motivated kids that do well. Actually, I'm hearing better things about Sutton Middle. And at North Atlanta, there are definitely a bunch of motivated kids going to great colleges every year from there--but it can be a rough place and APS is very corrupt. You really have to go and see if it's what you want. Re:Vinings, if you are talking true Vinings (outside the city, inside the perimeter), you will have great low Cobb taxes. You will also find that many of the kids (including elementary) are going to private schools. This is true for all but a few streets that I can think of in true Vinings. During rush hour, Paces Mill and Paces Ferry coming in to/out of Buckhead do get backed up, but you just have to time it right. There is also the Atlanta Rd/Moores Mill back way in to town. I think that if you want to use the public schools with your neighbors, you may be happier in Sandy Springs.

[LovelySummer]

Why would you say Vinings over Buckhead? Which way would you go if it were Vinings vs. Sandy Springs?

Originally Posted by Calitransplant27

I would also say Vinnings over Buckhead. Teasley and King Springs are supposed to be top notch. Cobb Co taxes are much cheaper. I live in Sandy Springs now and it is very close to Buckhead, it is really just down the street. I lived in Vinnings before moving here and I loved being so close to 285 and 75, you can get anywhere pretty quickly. I have heard good things about Sarah Smith but not so great on the middle school-I think it is Sutton. Again- just what I've heard as far as the schools, not from personal experience.

[LovelySummer]

I'd heard about that. Is that going to solve the problems that Sutton is having or is it just going to make more space? Wasn't sure if why the school is not doing well has to do with the crowding issue.

Originally Posted by lorilove

Just an FYI - when the new North Atlanta High opens next year, the old campus will be converted into a new middle school to help with overcrowding at Sutton Middle.

Vinings is an easy commute into Buckhead.

[LovelySummer]

If the Paces Ferry area is true Vinings, then I'm talking the true Vinings area. What do you mean North Atlanta can be a rough place? Does this school have issues with safety for the students?

Do you have a sense of why many children from Vinings are going to private elementary instead of Teasley? Do you have the sense that Sarah Smith has more support/involvement from parents in the community than Teasley? We definitely want to be in a school in which we are not some of the few parents sitting at the PTA meeting and parents in the community have taken ownership of the school.

How is Sandy Springs on parental involvement?

Originally Posted by AtlJan

Go visit both schools. Sarah Smith is known to be a better school than Teasley, but there are plenty of sharp kids whose parents care about education going to Teasley. Have not heard good things about Campbell Middle or High, but again, I know a few kids there and seems like there is a core group of motivated kids that do well. Actually, I'm hearing better things about Sutton Middle. And at North Atlanta, there are definitely a bunch of motivated kids going to great colleges every year from there--but it can be a rough place and APS is very corrupt. You really have to go and see if it's what you want. Re:Vinings, if you are talking true Vinings (outside the city, inside the perimeter), you will have great low Cobb taxes. You will also find that many of the kids (including elementary) are going to private schools. This is true for all but a few streets that I can think of in true Vinings. During rush hour, Paces Mill and Paces Ferry coming in to/out of Buckhead do get backed up, but you just have to time it right. There is also the Atlanta Rd/Moores Mill back way in to town. I think that if you want to use the public schools with your neighbors, you may be happier in Sandy Springs.

[AtlJan]

Campbell High School, Smyrna, GA

Maybe a better way to illustrate it is--from the website above-- about 1/2 the kids at Campbell are on the federal lunch program. At Walton, I'm going to guess its a lot smaller percentage. It does not mean Campbell's a bad school. I have a good friend whose daughter goes there and she is thriving and in very advanced classes, but if you are looking for the very suburban, mostly white, middle-class feeling Cobb high schools, Campbell is not one of those. It is more like a city school, middle class black, white, and hispanic kids and very poor black, white, and hispanic kids at one school, making it work.

[AtlJan]

Yes, Sarah Smith has way more parental involvement than Teasley and the neighborhoods have taken ownership of the school in a much bigger way. I don't want to discourage you from looking at Teasley. Of course, there are some parents who are rallying around the school, but very few kids in true Vinings go there. More from Smyrna do. . .Vinings is just a great spot to be if your children go to private school because, hey you don't need to be in the City of Atlanta for school districts, so why pay the taxes and tuition? You asked, re: Sandy Springs. Heards Ferry Elem has great neighborhood support.

[AtlJan]

In terms of kids being outside, playing--that is totally a street-by-street call. Just look for a quiet, walkable street with a lot of kid stuff in the yard, soccer goals, basket ball hoops, broken cozy coops...Vinings, SS, and Bhead all have kid-friendly streets.

[LovelySummer]

I don't prefer one race over the other so no, I'm not looking for an all white school. A diverse school with a mixture of races sounds like a perfect combination to me. Thanks.

Originally Posted by AtlJan

Campbell High School, Smyrna, GA

Maybe a better way to illustrate it is--from the website above-- about 1/2 the kids at Campbell are on the federal lunch program. At Walton, I'm going to guess its a lot smaller percentage. It does not mean Campbell's a bad school. I have a good friend whose daughter goes there and she is thriving and in very advanced classes, but if you are looking for the very suburban, mostly white, middle-class feeling Cobb high schools, Campbell is not one of those. It is more like a city school, middle class black, white, and hispanic kids and very poor black, white, and hispanic kids at one school, making it work.

[LovelySummer]

Thanks. It's great to know that all areas have kid-friendly streets/neighborhoods. That is really important to us. I would not be comfortable moving to an area in which my kid would be the only one playing outside, for example.

Originally Posted by AtlJan

In terms of kids being outside, playing--that is totally a street-by-street call. Just look for a quiet, walkable street with a lot of kid stuff in the yard, soccer goals, basket ball hoops, broken cozy coops...Vinings, SS, and Bhead all have kid-friendly streets.

[LovelySummer]

My Mom has explained to me that parental involvement at a school can make all the difference between a decent school and a really good school. Parents taking ownership, holding administration accountable, stepping up to help where possible, she suspects that this is also the reason that Fayette County and North Fulton schools are so good. There just seems to be more interest/involvement from the community. Good stuff. Thanks for your insights. We can get into Sarah Smith without living in Buckhead bc hubby works for APS so Vinings/Sarah Smith might be the perfect combo. I'm hopeful that it is a school that is also racially and religiously diverse although I know that Buckhead can be more on the conservative and more homogeneous racially. I'm hopeful that there is good representation from everyone. I'll look into that. For me, it's not all test scores or school endowment. I think much is learned from school that is not in the textbooks and I want my child to become comfortable with interacting with different races/cultures and children of working class, middle class and upper class families, liberals, conservatives, different religious backgrounds and being more of a world citizen. For me, that is part of the "education" that a child obtains from school. I want to expand his mind and life experience in that way as well as what's in the books. Thanks again.

Originally Posted by AtlJan

Yes, Sarah Smith has way more parental involvement than Teasley and the neighborhoods have taken ownership of the school in a much bigger way. I don't want to discourage you from looking at Teasley. Of course, there are some parents who are rallying around the school, but very few kids in true Vinings go there. More from Smyrna do. . .Vinings is just a great spot to be if your children go to private school because, hey you don't need to be in the City of Atlanta for school districts, so why pay the taxes and tuition? You asked, re: Sandy Springs. Heards Ferry Elem has great neighborhood support.