nooka

As our move is now very imminent, and my husband is supposed to be doing some pre-vetting of schools the week of the 25th March I thought I'd ask the lovely New Jersey crowd which schools he should be checking out. I looked at the web-sites of the schools in Maplewood and they all seemed very welcoming - any views on which ones to go and see? We are working on the principle of find the school and then try and find somewhere to live in the catchment area, rather than the other way around. The children are 8 and 7, so elementary is our primary consideration. They are both bright, but my daughter loves kindness and anything arty/creative; whilst my son needs firmness (according to his current school he has special needs of the sitting still and not annoying everyone else type) and loves maths/science (and hates arty/creative things!). We are only thinking about state schools at this point (although were thinking ds would probably need to go to a independant school at secondary here in London).

Any ideas welcomed!

Englishmum

Well as I live in the neighbouring school district (Millburn) I don't know very much about Maplewood elementary schools, other than my friend has pulled her daughter out of Tuscan because she had a run-in with the headteacher! However her little boy still goes there.

If you wish to send me a PM (private message) with your e-mail address, I'll pass it on to the expat/foreigners group that I often go out with; most of them live in Maplewood/South Orange and some of them do have their children in the public schools there. I'm sure that some of them can give you some advice and perhaps even know of rental properties they could suggest.

Just click on my name and it will flag up 'private message'.

Chris Rizzo

Morristown is a very well respected school district, and is near Maplewood. I am just curious, is there any particular reason that you want "Maplewood," specifically?

Jerseygirl

These are the elementary school and high school my daughter attended.

http://www.peckschool.org/home/

http://www.pingry.k12.nj.us/

Certainly wouldn't consider Morristown High...too much gang related trouble.

Chris Rizzo

I was actually thinking more of some of the "elite" private schools in the Morristown area.

Englishmum

Yes but what are the annual school fees? Basic fees + extras + 'donation'? Am I correct in thinking that it's a minimum of $20,000 per year per pupil?

It's a huge expense if one has two or more children! However, if the company is paying for the school fees.....

This is the website for the school district where I live (which is next to Maplewood ie. 3 minutes by train and 5-10 mins if driving):

http://www.millburn.org/

Here is the latest 'School Report Card' for NJ public schools.

http://www.nj.com/news/reportcard/

NB: Maplewood (includes South Orange) & Millburn (includes Short Hills) and Montclair school districts are in Essex county. Summit and Westfield are in Union county. Chatham and Madison are in Morris county. All of these suburban towns are served by commuter trains to NYC.