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Old 06-23-2013, 09:58 PM
 
13 posts, read 38,470 times
Reputation: 11

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My husband will be working in DuPont, and my family will be moving soon from Alabama. I am looking at real estate online trying to decide an area to live in, and the school reviews are making me nervous- I don't want to make a mistake based on a great house, and put my two daughters (1st & 6th grade) in a terrible school district! What school districts would be consistently safe, good, and clean, and which school districts should I avoid?! We are coming from an excellent school district with a gifted program, and thoughts of enrolling my sweet girls in an unsafe school makes me sick- please help! I'd much rather compromise on the house than on the schools.
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Old 06-24-2013, 12:45 AM
 
1,070 posts, read 2,028,670 times
Reputation: 734
Well, if you didn't believe what was posted on your other thread, then I'll give you my opinion again but it doesn't mean much as I no longer follow the school district situation closely so hopefully others who have kids in the same age range as yours who live in the area will chime in.

I would also suggest you contact somebody like Sandy (in the other thread) or another respected real estate agent who deals with properties in the entire South Sound area (not just a concentrated area but the entire Olympia/Tumwater/Lacey and south Pierce County areas) for their assistance as some keep very close tabs on the areas schools as that is part of their field of expertise.

I believe that the Steilacoom Historical School District #1 (which serves DuPont), the North Thurston Public Schools, and the Olympia School District are all very good and the closest to Dupont. Personally, I've heard some problems with the larger districts as you move further north to Lakewood, Spanaway, Parkland, Tacoma, etc. I've heard good and bad about Clover Park SD, the big district in Lakewood and Franklin Pierce, the district in Parkland. However, I've heard more good things than bad about Steilacoom, North Thurston, and Olympia.

Here's the OSPI reports on some of the districts mentioned which you can look at while you're waiting for responses in this thread:

Steilacoom Historical SD #1

North Thurston Public Schools

Olympia School District

Tumwater School District

Clover Park School District


Franklin Pierce Schools




Here are their websites:

Steilacoom Historical SD #1

North Thurston Public Schools

Olympia School District

Tumwater School District

Clover Park School District


Franklin Pierce Schools

There are other districts within a 20 mile radius and others can clue you in on the pros and cons for those but my opinion is why go out that far when some very good districts are right there in or close to Dupont?
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Old 06-24-2013, 01:07 AM
 
7,743 posts, read 15,866,378 times
Reputation: 10457
You can also check into University Place school district which is as good as Olympia SD.

Puyallup area to be a popular choice for people who work for JBLM and the school district is pretty decent. But it is pushing that radius just a bit.
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Old 06-24-2013, 05:59 AM
 
13 posts, read 38,470 times
Reputation: 11
Thank you so much for the information! It wasn't at all that I didn't trust the other thread, I only thought I'd get more school-district specific replies by starting a new one. Thanks again for te information, I truly appreciate it, as this is such a big decision, and I'd like to not move again for awhile!
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Old 06-24-2013, 05:43 PM
 
Location: Olympia
1,024 posts, read 4,138,285 times
Reputation: 846
Wendy,

Washington State has a great tool on the Superintendant of Public Instruction website, where you can compare up to three schools side by side. Washington State Report Card
Click on the link "compare schools" in the top right corner and input three schools from different districts. If your kids are in elementary school, enter elementary schools from Steilacoom, Olympia and Clover Park for example.
Clover Park is the school district for Lakewood, Steilacoom serves Steilacoom and Dupont, and Olympia serves the Olympis area. If you;re considering Lacey, the school district is called North Thurston. This tool will give you great insight into things such as student-teacher ratios, test scores, teacher education levels, etc.
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Old 06-25-2013, 12:09 PM
 
Location: God's Country
611 posts, read 1,204,655 times
Reputation: 584
I would look at Olympia SD over North Thurston SD. Tumwater also might be more than your 20 mile limitation.
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Old 03-01-2015, 02:43 PM
 
5 posts, read 5,174 times
Reputation: 10
University Place and DuPont-Steilacoom have the best school districts in the area. UP, Steilacoom, and DuPont are all great places to raise a family. Chloe Clark Elementary and Pioneer Middle School are both located in DuPont and have great reputations. It's a gorgeous little community.
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Old 03-08-2015, 12:37 AM
 
Location: Tacoma, WA
18 posts, read 43,849 times
Reputation: 39
My son is in Franklin Pierce. We've had mostly good experiences with them so far but he's finishing his second year of preschool soon at the Early Learning Center so I don't really have experience with the elementary school programs. I have friends with kids in Puyallup and University Place schools and hear they are good as well.
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