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I am a 12 year Billerica resident with two young kids. Our jobs were located in Billerica (DH still is) and we moved to the town from California with practically no knowledge of the town's reputation for schools or community. It actually wasn't all that important to us as we were just buying our "starter home" in a really difficult buyers market (2000) and did not have a large budget. We loved the house, the price was right and we had to move quickly.
Over the years I did become aware of what other people would say about the Billerica schools. "I would never send my kids there" etc. When our girls became of preschool age, we opted for a private school for reasons of religious and cultural education and because we felt that it was "probably" better quality than Billerica public. They have been there ever since and are now entering KG and 2nd gr. But I am growing tired of taking them there every morning (12 miles). There is also the issue of them not really having friends nearby since all their classmates live closer to the school and there are no children on our street.
Sadly, even after 12 years I barely know anyone in town . I do online research about the schools and just see 4/10 or 5/10 for elementary school or the ranking for the district is in the lower half of the state. And I wonder why? What is it that makes the schools here so much lower rated than neighboring towns? Can I hear from any Billerica parents? Is the education really as bad as people make it seem? Or is it about the students themselves? What??! People on this message board even write things like "steer clear of Billerica" when people ask about the schools. I feel like everyone is hung up on the numbers sometimes. We can definitely afford other towns like Bedford, Westford, Chelmsford, etc if we sold our current home. But due to a legal/land issue we recently discovered we cannot sell until resolved . I don't know when that will be. And I also don't want to feel like I 'have' to move over this. I still like my house! I just want to do the right thing for my family.
Don't worry and don't move. It's rated lower because other towns are extremely good. Looking at MCAS, it's only 10 percentage points behind the top schools.
I have to admit that I've been lurking on this message board for months but this is my first post. I've actually read your (konfetka) posts on other threads and you seem to not get very hung up on the district stuff. I think you also posted a link for the documentary film Race to Nowhere if I am not mistaken. That is what got me thinking about this question to be honest.
Having never lived there I can only go by heresay, but my impression pretty much matches what you said. When I was growing up (like 15+years ago) it had a reputation for a lot of "tough kids" and lots of hard drugs, etc. Now I have no evidence that it is truly worse than any other town, but some people would insist that there is something "special" about the place. Some might say that it is due to the many blue-collar Italians who relocated there from Eastie, Revere, Malden, etc., but that didn't seem to have quite the same effect on Wilmington, Tewksbury and other towns that don't have quite that reputation.
Your girls are now old enough where they can get involved in activities within the town. I would suggest that as a way to get to know the town better, maybe get more honest opinions of the schools and see how the other parents value education and everything else.
That is interesting. The girls have been playing soccer for the last 2-3 seasons. Yes, I see a handful of red-necky parents but the majority that I talk to seem to be sincere, educated and very family-oriented. I've hesitated to ask them about schools because I feel why would they say something bad about the school they send their own children to...but I guess I should start. However one of the moms teaches at one of the elementaries and moved to Chelmsford because she no longer wanted to live in the town she teaches in. Another family are homeschooling. Just a couple of examples out of many but of course that gets my mind racing...
Everyone has their own motivation, and it may be right for their family. You already live in the town, and you know what kind of people live there. If you wouldn't mind if your kids are friends with their kids, then you don't have to worry about that.
In Massachusetts, being the best in the country for schools, the top 50% of the schools are very good, and close to the top in performance. But it doesn't mean the others are bad, they are just further down in the rankings, but not as far behind in performance.
Personally, I don't get too hang up on schools, because I don't want to limit my kids options by my eхpectations of their future. If my son wants to be a ski instructor and he is happy, than I am happy.
I think experiences outside of school are far more important, and things like social skills and personality are a better predictor of success.
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. I do online research about the schools and just see 4/10 or 5/10 for elementary school or the ranking for the district is in the lower half of the state. And I wonder why? What is it that makes the schools here so much lower rated than neighboring towns? Can I hear from any Billerica parents? Is the education really as bad as people make it seem? Or is it about the students themselves? What??! People on this message board even write things like "steer clear of Billerica" when people ask about the schools. I feel like everyone is hung up on the numbers sometimes. We can definitely afford other towns like Bedford, Westford, Chelmsford, etc if we sold our current home. But due to a legal/land issue we recently discovered we cannot sell until resolved 
. I don't know when that will be. And I also don't want to feel like I 'have' to move over this. I still like my house! I just want to do the right thing for my family.
