Dallastown Elementary Schools (York: house, employment, school district)

[mdteacher1]

My wife and I decided that we are going to start house hunting in the Dallastown school district this Spring. We are relocating from another area of PA for employment reasons and decided that we liked this district based off feedback from folks here and some folks who grew up in York County. I noticed that Dallastown has five elementary schools. They all seem to be ranked highly on the Great Schools website except for Ore Valley. Is Ore Valley a school we should stay away from? I'm curious as to why their test scores are lower than the other four schools and wonder if it has to do with the quality of classroom instruction. The areas assigned to this school seem nice so it doesn't seem to be lack of parent involvement. Anyone have experience with this school or other Dallastown elementary schools?

Note: This is not an attack on this school, I'm just trying to gather as much information as possible before we begin targeting specific areas/communities.

[teachbeach]

Having taught in York County (although not in Dallastown) I can tell you that all of the schools are top notch. The only reason that Ore Valley might look different on test scores is that they could have a higher percentage of students who are receiving individualized instruction, supplemental learning or parents who may have opted their children out of standardized testing. I would not hesitate to send a student any school in Dallastown. It is a large district, so easy to get lost unless you are persistent (not aggressive but involved). The programs offered at the high school level are superb (gifted, AP classes, music and related arts). If you have any specific questions you can PM me~