just outside ps 321
I’m considering buying a co-op just outside ps321. It is in ps282 which according to everything I’ve read at greatschools and elsewhere is a pretty bad school (no offense to anyone involved in the school, just being blunt).. Few programs available beyond the basic three Rs, shrinking staff and student sizes, poor test scores. Overall…
I’m considering buying a co-op just outside ps321. It is in ps282 which according to everything I’ve read at greatschools and elsewhere is a pretty bad school (no offense to anyone involved in the school, just being blunt).. Few programs available beyond the basic three Rs, shrinking staff and student sizes, poor test scores. Overall evaluation of 5/10, vs 9/10 for 321.
The contrast between 321 could not be greater. I think that schools around 321 suffer from its presence, as the motivated parents immediately around it pull their kids from the zoned school and find some way to get into 321, or go private.
Our kid is 1 year old. We don’t have to worry about this until he is 3 or 4, but obviously it is a big factor when purchasing. So what are the real alternatives (and prices) of being just outside 321 if you want to give your kid maximum advantages?
I am not sure how you gathered that information
from greatschools.net., a site that I have visited and posted on as well. P.S. 282 doesn’t have poor grades,diminishing staff or few programs “beyond the three R’s”. The rating that you quote is from user ratings and represents a handful of users comments and opinions. My stepdaughter attended P.S.282 for the 4th and 5th grades in the gifted program and my son is just about to finish the Pre-K program. My stepdaughter was accepted to M.S. 51 and now is ready to go to H.S. at NEST+M.To be blunt as you have been in your response P.S. 282 while having excellent reading scores just below P.S.321 (not very much below I might add) and an extensive program that includes art, music, culinary program etc. has received a bad reputation because it is predominantly black. I think what is working against the school has nothing to do with actual facts but a bias based on it’s mostly black population. I think this is a travesty and shameful because the potential of this school to be a cultural and academic force is being squandered by these negative attitudes fueled by covert racist notions.
I have a kindergarten student at 282 and she is doing really well. They have a terrific music and arts program. They also have a large beautiful gym and a fully functioning library. In addition, the students also have language instruction and for those parents in zone, you also have access to a great LEAD (gifted & talented) program. There is a concerted effort made to not only focus on the academics, (don’t get me wrong, the kids do work and at the beginning of the fall semester, I was aghast at the amount of homework that they had to do. The homework is now about half what it was in the fall and my daughter has truly blossomed). She is doing well academically and socially, but more importantly, her love of learning has not been dimmed. She enjoys going to school each day and if she is sick, it’s a struggle to keep her home.
I would encourage people to take a tour of the school, I had some pretty ill-conceived notions of what it meant to send my child to public school given that she was enrolled in a private school prior to the fall and am very happy that I decided to enroll her at 282.
Here is the group info for 282
http://groups.google.com/group/282parents?hl=en
My son’s Brooklyn private school wants $27,000 for next year (8th grade). One thing they don’t tell you about private school is that half the kids need tutors to keep up — so factor that in too, if you’re thinking about private school. I have one in public and one in private and in hindsight would not have done private. Not worth it.
A $5,000 monthly payment(which is based on 2 kids x $30,000 tuition / 12) will support a mortgage of $800,000. 30 years, 6.5% fixed rate, fully amortizing. As a parent with children who have gone to both private schools and public schools in NYC, I know it is hard to give up the private school benefits once you’ve started. Not to mention your kid probably not wanting to change schools if it can be avoided. And $25,000 compounded at 8% inflation means that tuition will be nearly $63,000 at the end of 12 years. My point is this: pay a little extra to be in the school district you want your kids to be in. Otherwise, try to suburbs.
I don’t know quite where you get the $800,000 figure. Remember, 321 is only 6 years of school, and middle schools are unzoned, so anyone can apply to MS 51 and the other good middle schools in the District. And private school is not $30,000 a year, not in Brooklyn. Low twenties. Even if it’s $25,000, six years of that is $150,000 x 2 = $300,000
No school is great for every kid and Public schools vary a lot. The superior schools have a reputation for a good reason — they are better. Better test scores (which is indicative of a number of things — not just the racial make-up of the school), motivated principals and teachers, more involved parents, and a better environment to learn. Don’t buy outside of a district thinking you can grovel your way into a school in another district. Don’t buy in one area, thinking you’re only going to be there for a couple years and then move to a place inside a good district. The transaction costs and aggravation will be enormous. Private school costs $30,000 per year per kid. And it goes up 8% a year (I have had my kids in both). With 2 kids, that is $5,000 a month. That pays for nearly $800,000 of extra mortgage. Are the places just outside of the district that much cheaper?
No school is great for every kid and Public schools vary a lot. The superior schools have a reputation for a good reason — they are better. Better test scores (which is indicative of a number of things — not just the racial make-up of the school), motivated principals and teachers, more involved parents, and a better environment to learn. Don’t buy outside of a district thinking you can grovel your way into a school in another district. Don’t buy in one area, thinking you’re only going to be there for a couple years and then move to a place inside a good district. The transaction costs and aggravation will be enormous. Private school costs $30,000 per year per kid. And it goes up 8% a year (I have had my kids in both). With 2 kids, that is $5,000 a month. That pays for nearly $800,000 of extra mortgage. Are the places just outside of the district that much cheaper?
I know two families who paid a premium to move to the 321 zone and ended up being very unhappy with 321 and getting their kids out (one went private, one got a variance to another public school). 321 has a great reputation but that doesn’t mean it’s going to be great for every kid.