Public/Catholic Schools - Concord Area (Manchester, Dover: real estate, co-op, homes)

[Fiddi]

Hi! We are relocating to the Concord area in the next month or so. I'm am so, so excited but have one great fear. We have two middle school boys who are currently in a small Catholic School. Besides Faith, we chose the school because the public schools in our district are top-rated but way overcrowded. Didn't want my boys to be just a number.

What we are looking for is either a good school district that is small enough to not get lost but developed enough to have a good academic program. It would be WONDERFUL not to have to pay the huge tuition we've been stuck with here. If we can't find this we are then looking for another good Catholic School to enroll the boys in.

The areas we are considering right now are Concord, East Concord, Hopkinton, Bow, Boscawen, and Penatook (?). My husband's company will be just north of Concord and he doesn't want a long comute. He says the closer the better

Thanks for any advice you can give. Also, we will be look for a realtor. Any recommendations?

I can not wait till we are all settled in!
Stephanie

[CityGirl52]

If your sons are in the environment right now, then may be you should think about keeping them right in the private Catholic schools when you move here, I would think? I heard a LOT of good things about these two schools conveniently located right in Concord, NH:

St. John Regional School which is located at 61 So. State St. right in Concord. 603 225-3223

Bishop Brady High School located at 25 Columbus Ave. 603 224-7418.

I have 6 nieces and nephews that all went to Sacred Heart School in Hampton and then St. Thomas HS in Dover, NH. but these would be too far for them from the Concord area. It pays off to keep them in that environment, rather than switching them! I can see it in these kids right now and they're in college and some are beyond that now. It absolutely pays off, don't let any one kid you either about it with this debate!

Good luck, I would think if your kids are in school and your husband is working in Concord? Then check out the real estate listings in realtor dot com or nh living dot com right in Concord or the next few towns near it this way it might steer you to a few good realtors in the Concord area.

[NHDeb]

You can also check http://www.nneren.com/
it is a wonderful resource and you can search by county first and the map can show you surrounding towns to Concord. This shows all MLS listings in the area.

No advice on the school situation as my kids are all home schooled.

[Fiddi]

Thank you so much for that information. I will look into those schools right now.

Another option we have is homeschooling. We were considering it for one son who has an auditory processing issue. The language pathologist said she thought it would be good for him, just that he needs to still have a good number of activities in group settings to continue working on his skills. Does anyone know about homeschool groups in the Concord area?

Thanks again for the info!

[NHDeb]

NH is very home school friendly.
I'm not sure what is in Concord for groups, but we are part of a wonderful co-op group just outside of Manchester (probably 15-20 mins from Concord). We have classes 2 days a week and lots of field trips and activities. People come from all over - even up from MA, so it's a wide-spread group. Over 300 families.
You might check www.hslda.com for links to area groups or at least a group that might have other links for you.

[NeverTooLate]

Hi,
There are two Catholic Schools in Concord as referanced above.I have heard nothing but good about St.Johns and my son went to Bishop Brady HS(for the very reasons you stated)
Please feel free to contact me for any area information you may be looing for!
Good Luck

[AngelaK]

Great public schools in both Bow and Hopkinton. Fairly small numbers as well, not large at all. I have also heard great things about St. John's in Concord. Good luck.