Neighborhoods within 20 minutes of downtown (Minneapolis: private schools, living in, costs)

[StilltheSame]

For what it is worth - I live in St. Louis Park on the Northeastern Edge (near Excelsior and France) and it takes me about 15 minutes downtown on a decent morning - 10 minutes if little to no traffic and about 20 minutes home on an average evening, 15 - if I avoid traffic - those are realistic commute times.

[Lafferty Daniel]

I would consider this property if I had around $600k to spend. Not sure if this is the school district that you would consider, but it looks like a great house in a nice location.

2904 Ewing Avenue S, Minneapolis, MN 55416 (MLS # 4179536)

[dayton_ohio]

Stillthesame -- that is very helpful. Does snow/winter weather impact the commute time much?

Lafferty -- I actually looked at that house online earlier today. Nice, but the schools are not exactly what we want.

[StilltheSame]

Dayton - weather and rush hour can have huge impacts, weather more so than rush hour. Where I live is optimal for me because I can either take highways or local roads in. The local roads are a lifesaver in winter. Winter is very unpredictable. On occasion I have had my 15 minute commute last as long as an hour and a half - that is unusual, but happens at least a few times every winter.

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by golfgal

No, the Hopkins schools are going downhill, fast. I agree with you.

There have been a couple of Elementary schools with issues, but you seem to be talking about the whole school district.

What is your information source? Since most of the district is in Minnetonka, I don't see the demographics changing. What is the cause?

[Kebinminn]

Originally Posted by rcsteiner

Thanks for the suggestions. Mahtomedi seems really far -- Google maps shows a 30 minute commute -- but Eagen looks like a good fit. We avoided Golden Valley because of Hopkins schools, which look to be lower rated that others nearby, but we could have been mistaken.

We go to Hopkins schools and we're very happy. I don't have experience beyond elementary there yet but I have to say the kids I've met at the high school level there are impressive.

Tyrol Hills goes to Meadowbrook Elementary and that's considered to be an excellent school. There's certainly other choices beyond Hopkins schools but it's a good district. We're open enrolled there and I imagine that we'll move to the district when we can.

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by rcsteiner

There have been a couple of Elementary schools with issues, but you seem to be talking about the whole school district.

What is your information source? Since most of the district is in Minnetonka, I don't see the demographics changing. What is the cause?

Declining graduation rates, well below average for the better districts in the state:

Data for Parents and Educators (you have to select Hopkins district and the information you want).

When you have issues with your elementary schools, that funnels up as kids get older, obviously,

Test scores well below average compared to better districts (i.e. suburban schools)



There are just better choices in and near that area.

[QuietBlue]

Originally Posted by golfgal

In my experience, you don't know where these cities are and assume they are 50 miles or more away....

He's right at least as Eagan goes, though. I live in Eagan and commuted into downtown Minneapolis from there for almost ten years, and it's pretty unrealistic to expect do it in 20 minutes at the times given. 25 if you're lucky, maybe, but 30 is more like it. Traffic has to be absolutely dead for it to be doable in 20.

[1stpontiac]

Originally Posted by golfgal

Declining graduation rates, well below average for the better districts in the state:

Data for Parents and Educators (you have to select Hopkins district and the information you want).

When you have issues with your elementary schools, that funnels up as kids get older, obviously,

Test scores well below average compared to better districts (i.e. suburban schools)



There are just better choices in and near that area.

Maybe I'm looking at something wrong, but the link you showed has the graduation rate for Hopkins listed at 85.2%, which is noticeably higher than the statewide average (76.9%), higher than some schools typically mentioned as "good" (St. Louis Park - 73.1%), and basically identical to several school districts touted as "the best" (Moundsview - 88.5, Rosemount - 85.8%, Eden Prairie - 85.6%) I haven't looked at every district, but from where I have look, Wayzata - 91.1% is the only one substantially higher than Hopkins. It also looks like the Hopkins grad rate has been pretty steady over the 5 years listed.

The math test scores do look a little low compared to other districts.

[northsub]

Originally Posted by 1stpontiac

Maybe I'm looking at something wrong, but the link you showed has the graduation rate for Hopkins listed at 85.2%, which is noticeably higher than the statewide average (76.9%), higher than some schools typically mentioned as "good" (St. Louis Park - 73.1%), and basically identical to several school districts touted as "the best" (Moundsview - 88.5, Rosemount - 85.8%, Eden Prairie - 85.6%) I haven't looked at every district, but from where I have look, Wayzata - 91.1% is the only one substantially higher than Hopkins. It also looks like the Hopkins grad rate has been pretty steady over the 5 years listed.

The math test scores do look a little low compared to other districts.

If you compare graduation rates of individual high schools, here's what you get:

Hopkins: 85.2%

Mounds View district:
Mounds View: 95.2%
Irondale: 92.7%

Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan district:
Rosemount: 86.7%
Eastview: 92.8%
Eagan: 92.9%
Apple Valley: 90.0%

Eden Prairie: 85.6%

Wayzata: 91.1%

Other schools that seem to get touted as "best" around here:
Edina: 94%
Minneapolis Southwest: 79.7%
Mahtomedi: 97.6%