Seneca valley vs. North allegheny (Pittsburgh, Indiana: rentals, chapel, homes)

[twkxo]

Is there a huge difference in the quality of education and extracurricular activities in these two schools? We're trying to decide wether we want to buy in Cranberry or Marshall/Bradford Woods. We like both areas so we want to learn more about the school districts. I have heard that NA is historically better, but I wonder if as Cranberry continues to grow if the schools will improve. Our kids will be entering kindergarten within the next couple of years, so if there is anyone out there with children in either districts elementery schools please share your experience!

[sandritz6]

Originally Posted by twkxo

Is there a huge difference in the quality of education and extracurricular activities in these two schools? We're trying to decide wether we want to buy in Cranberry or Marshall/Bradford Woods. We like both areas so we want to learn more about the school districts. I have heard that NA is historically better, but I wonder if as Cranberry continues to grow if the schools will improve. Our kids will be entering kindergarten within the next couple of years, so if there is anyone out there with children in either districts elementery schools please share your experience!

From what I have heard, they are both good districts. Seneca Valley is larger in terms of area. It encompasses almost 100 square miles. Other than Cranberry and Seven Fields, the majority of the rest of the area is rural. NA is the district that people rave the most about as it is definitely one the largest in terms of population around the Pittsburgh area. You will have some older suburban style homes in McCandless and many newer neighborhoods in Franklin Park and Marshall, with there still being a little bit of rural at the western edges of the latter two. It is overall more densely packed, being only about half the size of Seneca in terms of mileage, about 47 square miles. However, I think you would be fine in either one.

[ProFiction]

I've 'followed' Seneca Valley since graduating from there in 2003 and it appears to me that their ranking relative to other area schools has fallen since then. Mind, this is based almost exclusively on the rankings that Pittsburgh Business Times releases every year. So if that is actually true, than the district is either losing its edge or other schools have caught up and surpassed them. It pains me to recommend NA over SV, but it's tough to argue against NA north of the city.

[sandritz6]

Originally Posted by ProFiction

I've 'followed' Seneca Valley since graduating from there in 2003 and it appears to me that their ranking relative to other area schools has fallen since then. Mind, this is based almost exclusively on the rankings that Pittsburgh Business Times releases every year. So if that is actually true, than the district is either losing its edge or other schools have caught up and surpassed them. It pains me to recommend NA over SV, but it's tough to argue against NA north of the city.

Yeah it is possible that is true because of the rural areas of SV. There are other districts in north Pittsburgh that are in competition with NA with regards to the rankings. Hampton and Pine-Richland are always pretty top notch as they are predominantly upper middle class areas. Fox Chapel still always seems to do well also, even though the district is a diverse mix of demographics.

[ProFiction]

I was thinking of Hampton and Pine Richland, and I think it's fair to say that NA is a better district than them. I did forget Fox Chapel. Good point.

[sandritz6]

Originally Posted by ProFiction

I was thinking of Hampton and Pine Richland, and I think it's fair to say that NA is a better district than them. I did forget Fox Chapel. Good point.

Yeah I went to Hampton and I'll say that one advantage to it was the small size and close proximity to the schools. Fox Chapel is a diverse mix as Sharpsburg and Aspinwall are more like city neighborhoods, O'Hara Township is a mix, Fox Chapel is the wealthy area, and Indiana Township is rural in parts, particularly towards the eastern end. Most of it is considered part of the north hills while eastern Indiana Township is more in line with the A-K Valley.

[Paul2421]

https://www.niche.com/k12/search/bes...gh-metro-area/

seems to be pretty in line with sentiment on here. NA number one with 2 PPS high schools in the top 10. If you live in those feeders they are just as good as suburban schools. Also looks like North Hills has joined the ranks of the elite. Kind of goes against the whole declining first ring suburb narrative as well. Seneca is absent from the top 25.

edit: looks like seneca isn't ranked for some reason?

[twkxo]

Thanks everyone. It seems like as an area grows and more young professionals move in, the schools tend to improve. I'm a little concerned that it doesn't seem like the case with Seneca valley schools. Does anyone know if there are any good rentals around the Marshall or Bradford woods area?

[Countrywood]

Moved to the area from out of state 5 years ago. Looked at NA, Seneca and Pine Richland. Found NA to be too big (1 high school for 9-10th, and 1 for 11-12th). Seneca was too far out there for us, covered a huge geographical area, and did not rank as highly as the other 2 for academics. Pine Richland was the perfect fit for our high school child. Lots of people that had relocated like us, lots of high school AP courses and extracurricular activities that our child took full advantage of, lots of neighborhoods within a 5 mile radius of schools. It worked out very well for us. I have heard good things about Hampton as well.

[schleppenheimer]

We raised three kids in NA schools. I cannot rave enough about the schools there. We even moved away at one point to California, and after a year came running back to NA schools. I think the schools are terrific if you either have kids who excel, or kids with special needs. My kids were not ones to take every AP class offered, but they were good students, and I had one special needs child who received fantastic help from highly qualified people.

Having said this, if education isn't the absolute top of your list, I feel like some kids can get lost in the shuffle of the school system. NA had it's groups of super athletes, super smart kids, super rich kids ... and my kids weren't in any of those groups, which may have made life hard for them.

I had lots of friends who had kids in the Seneca school district. I think the schools there, while not bad schools (certainly better than California schools, in my experience) where not super high caliber. I also think that they had lots of wealthy kids, but the emphasis was not as much on high achieving.

My kids went on to pretty great colleges and so did a lot of their friends. I think they would say that they felt like their high school prepared them really well for the work they would end up doing in college. I definitely can recommend NA schools. It's a great area to raise a family in as well.