Any thoughts on west bloomfield schools? (Grand Rapids, Rochester: real estate, crime, home)

[um2011]

I checked greatschools.com and it looks like just about all the schools look pretty good... but I don't have the familiarity with this district that I do with others we are considering, and I am hoping to get some more thoughts about it. I have heard rumors that violence and crime have been an issue as of late, is there any truth to those rumors? I just want to make sure I'm not missing something.

We have a few years before we'll have kids in the school system, which is plenty of time for any district to take a turn for the worst, but we see some good real estate opportunities here and I'd feel more comfortable considering them if I knew more about the schools.

The other district we are considering moving into is Farmington.

[animatedmartian]

Haven't heard anything violent, but lately their buses have been vandalized repeatedly and have caused school closings. They also just recently voted to privatize bus service (not saying it's probably the reason for the buses being vandalized, but it's fishy).

Other than that, I doubt the academics of the school district should be affected at all.

[Coldjensens]

It is a good district generally. The high school is pretty large. family members and friends who went through the system recently reported increasing drug use, extreme bullying incidents and petty crimes, some violence but nothing like shootings, stabbing etc. Academically a good school, but somewhat on the decline recently I think. Not failing, just not what it used to be. Citydata or greats chools should have information on that. Still an really good district overall.

I do not know anyone who attends Farmington or has kids there. Nor have my kids come into contact with Farmington through sports, music or academic competitions or events. It is a school that I simply hear very little comment or discussion about. When we looked into schools and talked with a few hundred different people, Farmington was not considered as good as West Bloomfield. However that was 6 years ago. They may have moved several notches in any direction since then.

Walled Lake Schools are supposed to be very good. They certinaly have a nice high school and they are very competitive in arts and academics (not sure about sports). I think they may have two high schools and one is better than the other.

[Dinosaursrun]

They're decent. Lake Orion is another good district, I personally went to Lake Orion all through my years of school and didn't have many issues. I got a good education too. Lake Orion has a great football team and marching band, if your kids would be into that stuff in the future. I was personally in the marching band myself. Amazing band program.

I really don't know too much about West Bloomfield.

[urban-sophocles]

UM2011, not certain if you're still in the decision-making process, but if you are, be warned. Avoid West Bloomfield and the school district. Here's why - the district used to have several schools that were National Exemplary Award winners, and were considered in the top 10% state-wide throughout the 1990's. But then the former Superintendent Gary Faber decided to make West Bloomfield a Schools of Choice district. Since then (around 2000), the number of fights, bullying, vandalism, and academic achievement all went in the wrong directions. The home values in West Bloomfield accurately reflect the generally poor schools and increase in crime. Check the U.S. News and World Report (2012) to see how mediocre the schools have become. Better communities and schools can be found in Milford, Clarkston, Rochester. Frankly, your family would be best served if they could move to the Grand Rapids area, where the schools and communities are safer and provide better education than West Bloomfield.

[Arthur Digby Sellers]

A lot of people rely on SchoolDigger as a primary data point, but this database gives a good idea of where each school within a district ranks in relation to other schools in the district and the state. It also indicates if a school is a "Focus" school (large achievement gaps between groups). I found it to be very handy when investigating districts as not all schools within a district are equal.

As you can see, there is a wide spread when it comes to West Bloomfield schools.

http://www.freep.com/article/20120802/NEWS06/120801077/Database-Michigan-School-Report-Cards

Typically a district throwing open its doors and becoming a "school of choice" district is a huge red flag. It usually indicates that the district is struggling to attract enough new families to maintain enrollment levels.