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My husband took a teaching job in Seabrook and we looked for homes in Bluffton but I like Charleston much better, more to do! My husband is willing to commute but I need to find the right area. He is already there and the kids and I move down next may. Help me narrow down my search please. I will have 2 high schoolers and 1 elementary, 1 preschooler. We are moving from Iowa so we realize there may be a culture shock at first but we are looking forward to moving to your beautiful city!
The commute will be far for your husband at least 45 minutes to an hour for the higher rated schools. Check out GreatSchools - Public and Private School Ratings, Reviews and Parent Community to research schools. Mount Pleasant and Summerville/Dorchestor 2 area schools tend to be the more highly rated schools. I live in Mount Pleasant and have children of all ages and love it here. My oldest just graduated from HS and I have a 13, 4 and 2 year old. Home prices start in the 250K's and I would assume you need at least 4 bedroom so it would be more like 300-400K. You could buy a larger home in Summerville for less money but the commute would be over an hour. I am guessing this because I have never done that commute myself.
scores for the PASS test just came out, as has been the case for many years Dorchester 2 district dominated again... but that would be too far of a travel IMHO
If you aren't doing private, if you don't have a genius that can get into a magent school - the two high schools that are the best are Wando and Summerville. Of course, the middle and elementary schools that feed those two are decent.
Also, Academic Magnet and James Island are very good high schools, which get good grades on tests, and Magnet is one of the top 15 high schools in the nation.
However, you have to qualify to get into Academic Magnet. James Island is a charter school, and gets people from all over the Charleston County area. They have an IB (International Baccalaureate) program, which is a program that schools all over the world have. James Island is the only high school in the county with the program.
If your husband is teaching in Seabrook, the best places to live will probably be West Ashley, Johns Island, and James Island. Any other places are way too far to commute. Summerville is a good 45 minute-1 hour drive from Seabrook in the morning, running with the traffic.
What is your price range? If you tell us, it would probably be easier to find information.
summerville and fort d are rated annually Average on their SC state report cards. plus they are enormous enrollments where your child or children will one day get lost in the sea of student id #'s.
both schools are in severe academic decline. a half decade ago they were both categorized as excellent schools with good academic growth. now they are both labeled Average with Below Average academic growth.
however....if you child is an athlete then by all means send them to either school. both seem to pump out D1 athletes in all sports every year.
I'd send my kid to James Island HS personally. its not HUGE like Wando yet will still give your child a great education. rated Excellent annually according to their state report card.
scores for the PASS test just came out, as has been the case for many years Dorchester 2 district dominated again... but that would be too far of a travel IMHO
yes but both sville and fort d sport 75% graduation rates which is right at about the national average. somewhere between those middle school kids doing well on a test and that walk across the stage 4 years later someone drops the ball for 25% of the kids.
My husband took a teaching job in Seabrook and we looked for homes in Bluffton but I like Charleston much better, more to do! My husband is willing to commute but I need to find the right area. He is already there and the kids and I move down next may. Help me narrow down my search please. I will have 2 high schoolers and 1 elementary, 1 preschooler. We are moving from Iowa so we realize there may be a culture shock at first but we are looking forward to moving to your beautiful city!
personally i'd move to hilton head and save some gas money for the fam. make going to charleston a weekend thing and enjoy the island during the week. plus you do realize those beaches don't stay warm all year round right? visited my parents back in march who live in mount pleasant. they took me to the isle of palms beaches and it was freezing!!! at least for my blood it was. had to walk the beach in march with a hoodie on lol.
as someone who moved down here from Ohio to greenville i had the same thoughts about living in the city and commuting to my work 30 minutes away. 4 years later and too much gas money blown i realized the mistake and moved 20 minutes closer to work and now just commute back into the city for fun if i want / need to.
Thank you for all the input! My husband has looked at a community called Carolina Bay that he seems to like. He heard West Ashley High school is a pretty good one, is this true? By the way, our house budget is 220,000 to 260,000. I prefer not to go above 250,000. Schools are kindof a big deal to us especially since he is an educator and the schools in Iowa are very good. So thank you for all the information on the schools, I appreciate it!
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