Newton elementary schools and neighborhoods (Needham, Wellesley: houses, school district, college)

[JuneM]

Hi,
Our family is house hunting in Newton and we are focused on Newton Center, Newton Highlands and Newtonville. I'd love to hear from anyone with experience with any of these elementary schools in these areas (Zervas, Mason-Rice, Cabot, Countryside). Is there much difference between these schools? Our priorities for education are teachers who foster a love of learning (vs. a huge emphasis on teaching to the test) as well as social and emotional development and also the physical condition of the buildings.
Would also love to hear more about which of these neighborhoods would be best for families with young kids. We value walkability as well as access to playgrounds and green space.
Thank you!
JM

[MikePRU]

I don't have any first hand info about Newton schools because I live next door in Needham. However, i did live in Newton Centre previously and I can tell you Newton is a great place to live. Lots of great neighborhoods to choose from. It's just a matter of finding the right house that fits your lifestyle and your budget. If you value walkability, clearly the closer you are to one of the village centers the more walkable the location will feel.

As far as the physical condition of the schools, Zervas is practically brand new. The old Zervas was in really rough shape and so they completely started over with an entirely new building. Cabot is basically new as well. They did an extensive renovation of the existing school building and added a large addition as well. Mason-Rice and Countryside on the other hand are buildings that are quite old.

[chicagoliz]

I live in Newton, and have been in the Newton Facebook groups a lot. For the most part, everyone I've seen discuss their elementary schools has loved their particular elementary school. (Sometimes people have had issues that are individual issues and might happen anywhere.) Overall, the level of satisfaction I've seen with each individual elementary school has been consistently high.

Some of the schools are able to raise more money than others through their PTOs, and that is a perennial discussion -- that is equity among the schools and how PTOs are allowed to use funds, etc. Three of the elementary schools have been completely rebuilt, so their physical buildings are essentially brand new. (Angier, Zervas and Cabot are the elementary schools with new buildings.)

My perspective is that it is better to concentrate on the houses that are in your price range that suit your needs. Then, if you narrow it down to two or three, you could investigate more about the elementary schools the houses are assigned to (although, again, you're probably going to find similar amounts of satisfaction). At some price points, houses go very fast, so I think it would be frustrating to try to initially find a house in a particular elementary school boundary. All 15 elementary schools, 4 middle schools and the 2 high schools are run by NPS as a whole. Ultimately all of the elementary schools feed into one of the two high schools, and those are similar, as well. (I'd be happy for my kids to attend either one.)

[JuneM]

Thanks to you both! Very helpful - I appreciate it!

[BosYuppie]

Yes, I have a friend who has been working at NPS elementaries for a while now. She said quality of education is uniformally great but she likes some of the "lower end" ones like Lincoln-Elliot because they've got more diversity and less snobby parents. The worse buildings are the ones on deck to get replaced next, as well, so pretty good chance the older schools will turn into the newest schools quickly.

[bugelrex]

Where does Newton get its Gold plated school district reputation from?

I know Newton high school was voted best in the country in the 50s, but its way below that these days

Is it:
Average sat scores
Number of ivy acceptances
Emotional well being of kids (raft of suicides 10 years ago which may have changed focus from hardcore academics? )
Or simply median household income

[JuneM]

I understand that affluence usually correlates with high test scores and rankings. I can easily look up test scores and stats myself. I'm trying to understand more about the quality of education beyond test scores and rankings. The best way is to ask people from Newton but it's hard to strike up conversations with other parents at the playground or cafe during a pandemic. It's been helpful to hear that parents throughout the city are happy with the quality of the elementary schools overall. My family isn't seeking out the highest ranking possible elementary school in the highest ranking school district. For us, the purpose of education is not acceptance into the highest ranked most prestigious college. I'm gathering information about the teachers, the community, and other aspects of education.
I am sorry to hear about the suicides. I did not know about that and that is tragic. I do want to avoid a high pressure environment. That's one of the reasons I asked about social and emotional emphasis which is so important for kids.

[Shrewsburried]

Originally Posted by bugelrex

Where does Newton get its Gold plated school district reputation from?

I know Newton high school was voted best in the country in the 50s, but its way below that these days

Is it:
Average sat scores
Number of ivy acceptances
Emotional well being of kids (raft of suicides 10 years ago which may have changed focus from hardcore academics? )
Or simply median household income

Their average SAT score is in the 82%+ percentile nationally. That's impressive for what is effectively an urban city school district.

It's essentially on par with districts like Dover-Sherborn, Carlisle-Concord, Wellesley, etc. which are much more suburban and monolithic.

[bugelrex]

[That's impressive for what is effectively an urban city school district.
[/quote]

Newton is technically a city, but "urban" would never come to mind in describing it.

But yes, have a school full of entitled helicopter moms would drive me insane.

[Shrewsburried]

Originally Posted by bugelrex

Newton is technically a city, but "urban" would never come to mind in describing it.

But yes, have a school full of entitled helicopter moms would drive me insane.

Having spent most of my time in West Newton, I tend to think Newton feels more urban/dense than it really is. Regardless, my point was it's not a small town consisting purely of $1mill+ SFHs.