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anonymous_lighting t1_jac517q wrote

any school would be better than philly public

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ScottishCalvin t1_jac74jf wrote

that's not quite true, places like Meredith (and nearby Nebinger these days) are pretty decent, although your mortgage payment will be so much higher that you may as well be paying school fees.

Except you'll build equity up and get that money back when you go to sell

If an area is expensive, it's almost entirely because the school is decent and there's competition from parents with kids to live in that area. It's why once an area starts to gentrify, it moves fast as incoming families mean that the school performs better which makes it more attractive still, in a positive feedback loop.

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SaltPepperKetchup215 t1_jacaoi2 wrote

I see Meredith mentioned in here all the time like it’s the answer. But that’s an elementary school. What happens for high school? You’re still going to be stranded and have to pay private or catholic for high school regardless. Meredith is also rated 7/10 or 8/10 depending where you look and still behind most suburb elementary schools. So while it’s a great option for people who can afford society hill housing it’s not the answer forever.

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jea25 t1_jacibo4 wrote

I assure you that the majority of Meredith graduates go on to public magnet high schools.

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a-german-muffin t1_jacx2le wrote

Those school ratings are overwhelmingly based on standardized test scores, which is an absurdly narrow view of things.

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SaltPepperKetchup215 t1_jacxqqc wrote

They’re not tho. You can go on the website and see the full breakdown. No system will ever be flawless but progress and math and reading proficiency etc is a good gauge.

I’m not here to argue school ratings. The point I was trying to hammer home is even the best elementary school kids are still looking at private schooling or charter magnet if they’re lucky at some point no matter what.

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ScottishCalvin t1_jad5nkh wrote

I think by the time kids are older, the parents too are older and more keen to move to the suburbs rather than needing to be able to go out in the city midweek. Most of the reasons for being in a city are things that appeal to you a lot when you're 20-something but less so a decade later

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jea25 t1_jadjutx wrote

I am one of those parents that will soon be going through the high school application process with my kid and frankly, once you’ve been in the city with kids long enough, you have learned how to navigate the school system, your kids are old enough to get places on their own without you needing to drive them everywhere, and by that point the suburban lifestyle really lacks appeal. There are plenty of people that bail early when their kids are in early elementary, but I think they probably always planned on leaving. I think you can talk yourself into anything, but every time we have seriously considered leaving the city, we just couldn’t find a place we thought we’d be as happy.

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wntjd5864 t1_jac8vg4 wrote

Recommendation for rittenhouse sq?

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JesusOfBeer t1_jacigvg wrote

Greenfield ES is just one of the highly touted public options. The district actually has a lot of solid options. If you want the reality, in the end the only difference are the connections and fabricated prestige from attending private schools so if you’re into spending money for no reason other than ego… go private

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