Relocating to Southern Maine and wanting opinions on school systems (Biddeford: rental, home)

[katburd]

Hello All,

My husband is retiring from the military and will be attending the Landing School in Arundel this fall. We are moving up sometime in late July/early August. We are realizing how hard it is to find rental properties. We have a couple of good leads right now but my biggest concern is in regards to schools for my boys. We have one son going into sixth grade and another going into third grade this fall. We want to be within reasonable commuting distance of Arundel. We have been finding most of the housing that would work for us in the Biddeford area (prefer a single-family home that will allow our two medium-sized dogs and that would have at least two bedrooms). I have found mixed reviews about Biddeford. It doesn't seem like a bad place- we drove around a bit and explored in early April. But, I'm more concerned about the quality of schools for my kids. I know that Kennebunk schools are rated highly. I'm not as concerned with schools based on test scores- I am a former teacher and know that test scores do not represent the total quality of the education. I would love to hear from posters who have or have had their children in area schools. Thank you for your insight.

[bangorme]

Have you looked at Saco? Biddeford isn't as bad as it used to be, but I can't attest to how the schools are. Saco is the next town north and has a good reputation.

[katburd]

We have looked at Saco but haven't found much in the way of housing options. It's tricky between finding affordable housing, having two dogs, and then trying to find a good school system on top of it. I can't get a good feel for the Biddeford Schools based on their website- they seem to be mainly focused on showing athletic photos and that's about it. Thanks for replying bangorme!

[HighTechRocker]

Look at North (and/or South) Berwick too. It's not too far out and they have a well regarded school system. There's certainly more land out there than you'll find in the cities.

[katburd]

Thank you HighTechRocker- I will check out North Berwick!

[mainegrl2011]

might want to search the forum; this has been asked many times...Cape Elizabeth has the highest paid teachers in the state. Some would argue that that is an indication that they also have the best schools. They scored a 10! This web site might help you. Cape Elizabeth Schools - Cape Elizabeth Maine School Ratings - Public and Private

another 10 Yarmouth Schools - Yarmouth Maine School Ratings - Public and Private

North Berwick--score not as high North Berwick Schools - North Berwick, ME | GreatSchools

York York Schools - York, ME | GreatSchools

Falmouth Falmouth Schools - Falmouth, ME | GreatSchools

Kennebunk http://www.greatschools.org/maine/kennebunk/

Old Orchard Beach (ouch!) Old Orchard Beach Schools - Old Orchard Beach Maine School Ratings - Public and Private

Sanford (ouch!) http://www.greatschools.org/maine/sanford/

[katburd]

Hi Mainegrl2011- thank you! You did a ton of research! I have looked through the forums but it seems like much of what I've found seems to be a few years old.

I have been looking at the Great Schools site but I always take it with a grain of salt since the numbers are based on standardized test scores. Sometimes a school can be doing a really good job but their test scores are not wonderful. The highest test scores usually correspond with the highest level social/economic areas. I've also found that sometimes those schools are also too test-driven rather than focusing on good solid education that is not solely "teaching to the test". I don't mind schools that with Great Schools scores of 5 or so- as long as I see parent comments talking about what they like about the schools.