Woodbury, MN (Bloomington, Plymouth, Eagan: crime, credit, houses)

[Swede in CA]

Could some please compare it to Chanhassen and Plymouth? We need good school with strong sicence/math program for a second child. We are trying to compare our move to MN vs MA. Thanks,

[golfgal]

As far as the town goes, Woodbury and Plymouth are very similar. Chanhassen is much more scenic. It's hard to compare the Chanhassen school to anything because this is the first year it has been open. If you are comparing Wayzata schools, they are one of the best districts in the state, they are also the largest high school in the state, classes of 1000+ kids. Woodbury schools are ok, there are better districts around the metro but it isn't horrible. If you are going to be working on that side of the cities I would look into Mahtomedi or Stillwater instead of Woodbury.

If you are looking for a district with many offerings and don't care where, Eastview and Rosemount High Schools both have a large number of AP classes as well as College in the School (CIS) classes where you can take a class at school, taught by a college professor and have it double count for high school and college credit.

[Swede in CA]

My office is in Bloomington.

[eastside38]

As a lifelong (20 yr) resident of Woodbury, I hope that the hate-fest that some users will lay upon this city won't sway you away from it. We have a microscopic crime rate, great parks, and friendly citizens.

It is funny that you mentioned a school with a strong math and science program because Woodbury has a charter school called Math and Science Academy, which I attended from 6th through 12th grade. That is the range of grades they serve, and it is a requirement to pass a full year of physics and calc (I took both of them in my Junior year) to graduate. About 340 kids go there now. I won't hide from you the fact that the academic options at that school are limited (as they don't offer many electives), but when you're in an environment where the normal track is an accelerated one at a normal school, it certainly makes a positive difference. To compensate for limited course options, the school gladly sends kids to a program called PSEO (post-secondary enrollment options), a state-run and state-funded program that allows students attend college (the U of M even) for free full-time or part-time in their Junior and Senior years. I went to a local community college in my two years in PSEO and loved it!!

Their sports teams of note are the Cross-Country, Nordic Ski (starting their third year), and Track and Field teams, which are all run by the same coach, so if your kid loves to run or has great endurance, that'll be a major plus. I can personally vouch for these sports teams as their boys and girls cross country teams finished 4th and 5th respectively out of 18 teams in the state qualifying meet this past October, which was an incredible accomplishment considering they were most likely the smallest school there. They even sent one boys runner to the state cross-country meet this year and last year, and they sent one girl (maybe two) to the state track and field meet last spring.

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by Swede in CA

My office is in Bloomington.

I would look into the Eastview or Rosemount High schools then. Depending on where in Bloomington you are it will be an easier commute then Woodbury or Plymouth. My son graduated with a total math/science genius. He was taking specially designed math classes because he tested out of high school/college math in 9th grade and was also a national finalist in the Chemistry Olympiad last year. If they don't have what your son needs they will work with him to get what he needs.

If it matters, Rosemount took 3rd at the state Cross Country Meet this past fall and won the state track meet last year

[BillWallace]

I definitely agree with the south metro as having a better commute to Bloomington than Wayzata or Woodbury. You could also look at Edina or Eden Prairie, depending on what your budget for a home is, as both of those cities are even closer to Bloomington and have good schools.

As golfgal says, District 196 covers Apple Valley, Eagan & Rosemount and has a strong reputation for schools. You mentioned math & science - if it is any kind of interest in environmental science then you might plan for the District 196 specialty high school called SES - http://www.district196.org/ses/ My daughter went there and loved it.

Eastside mentioned PSEO and that is an unbelievable option in Minnesota as well. It would allow a Junior or Senior to attend any Minnesota college for free while they are in high school. Your child gets college credits at no charge which also count toward high school graduation. By the time they finish high school they could possibly have 1-2 years of college credits completed which means you save a ton of money plus they were challenged with college level courses. My daughter did this as well and it helped her graduate from college in 3 1/2 years.

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by BillWallace

I definitely agree with the south metro as having a better commute to Bloomington than Wayzata or Woodbury. You could also look at Edina or Eden Prairie, depending on what your budget for a home is, as both of those cities are even closer to Bloomington and have good schools.

As golfgal says, District 196 covers Apple Valley, Eagan & Rosemount and has a strong reputation for schools. You mentioned math & science - if it is any kind of interest in environmental science then you might plan for the District 196 specialty high school called SES - Welcome to the School of Environmental Studies My daughter went there and loved it.

Eastside mentioned PSEO and that is an unbelievable option in Minnesota as well. It would allow a Junior or Senior to attend any Minnesota college for free while they are in high school. Your child gets college credits at no charge which also count toward high school graduation. By the time they finish high school they could possibly have 1-2 years of college credits completed which means you save a ton of money plus they were challenged with college level courses. My daughter did this as well and it helped her graduate from college in 3 1/2 years.

SES would be a good option too. Our son looked into going there but he isn't a reliable independent worker so he opted not to attend. The district released information that 196 students earned 1.7 MILLION in college tuition savings last year-that's a lot of savings.

[Swede in CA]

Our budget for a home is around $470,000, we would like not to go over it to feel comfortable and still have money for travel and some hobbies.

1. Golfgal, what did you mean by saying that Chanhassen is much more scenic? I would very much like to live next to a park or a lake, with some view and mature trees.
2. I understood that Math and Science Academy in Woodbury is a charter school where I have to put my child on a waiting list for this school. Is it correct? I checked the website and it is a nice school. I think it is # 1 in MN.
3. Wayzata schools are the best, but I am afraid they are too big for my taste and my child. She will come froma very small private Lutheran school where it is OK to call a principal by his first name and have a cup of tea at the same table on lunch.
4. The child is into biology/animal research, chemsitry/ earth science.
5. Option for going to a community college while in a high school was alive in CA until last year. My older child graduated from La Jolla High and took many classes at the college, but the last semester we had to pay bc it changed. Well, CA one unit is only $26 and a regular class is only 3 units. and 4 if science, most foreign language classes are 5 units.
6. House. In this price range many houses are huge with basement. I think it is nice giving long winter and need for a space. I would rather have a little smaller house but with trees, /view/lake around/park.
7. doe anyone have experience with Concordia language village for children? We want her to try to go to Swedish or Russian village.

[uptown_urbanist]

I have 10+ years with Concordia Language Villages; they are fantastic! Expensive, but definitely good value for what you get in return. Sign up well in advance, though; sometimes they can fill up fast. CLV shaped my college choice, my choice of major, and my outlook on life. I'm hoping that my son will want to attend as soon as he's old enough. One nice thing about the less common language villages (at least my impression) is that there's a core group of regulars who go there every single year; I know that's true at the big ones, too, but since they have more locations and more sessions (and appeal to far more people) it doesn't seem like they don't have quite that same feeling of self-containment. Let's say, for example, that your daughter goes to the Swedish camp for 8 years, then maybe decides to go to a college that offers Swedish, maybe does a study-abroad there, maybe even applies to work there herself when she's older. Odds are that she'll continue to cross paths with some of her old counselors and fellow camp attendees for years to come. I do, and I'm in my 30s.

CLV offers some winter family weekends for most languages, too; I know there are Swedish family programs, and probably Russian, too.

[Kebinminn]

Originally Posted by Swede in CA

Our budget for a home is around $470,000, we would like not to go over it to feel comfortable and still have money for travel and some hobbies.

1. Golfgal, what did you mean by saying that Chanhassen is much more scenic? I would very much like to live next to a park or a lake, with some view and mature trees.
2. I understood that Math and Science Academy in Woodbury is a charter school where I have to put my child on a waiting list for this school. Is it correct? I checked the website and it is a nice school. I think it is # 1 in MN.
3. Wayzata schools are the best, but I am afraid they are too big for my taste and my child. She will come froma very small private Lutheran school where it is OK to call a principal by his first name and have a cup of tea at the same table on lunch.
4. The child is into biology/animal research, chemsitry/ earth science.
5. Option for going to a community college while in a high school was alive in CA until last year. My older child graduated from La Jolla High and took many classes at the college, but the last semester we had to pay bc it changed. Well, CA one unit is only $26 and a regular class is only 3 units. and 4 if science, most foreign language classes are 5 units.
6. House. In this price range many houses are huge with basement. I think it is nice giving long winter and need for a space. I would rather have a little smaller house but with trees, /view/lake around/park.
7. doe anyone have experience with Concordia language village for children? We want her to try to go to Swedish or Russian village.

I can't comment on most of this but the big schools may not be too hard of a transition. I know someone who came from a small Catholic school and no goes to a big high school and she's thriving there. The kids all get to know their groups anyway so it's like small schools in a big school, this girl does IB. It may be worth looking into how the schools are set up to see if a large school can still provide that smaller sense of community.