Sliv

We are moving to Summit New Jersey next month with our 3 children 7,4 and 2. The elder two are at private school here in the UK but we are going to try state schools in US which is one of the reasons we chose Summit as the schools are meant to be very good. We figure we will give them and try and see how it goes, Im also hoping it will help the children make friends in the neighbourhood.

McZaki

I live in Millburn, New Jersey. Millburn school district is the top rated school district (public) in New Jersey - a lot of kids end up at the Ivy League universities. Train from Millburn to Manhattan takes around 30 mins. It's a very nice town, but like all good things, very expensive! You can search the local rentals or property for sale on Zillow.com or Trulia.com (search properties around 07041 zip code - this is where the Millburn high school, downtown, and the train station are located).

Let me know if you need more information, happy to help!

Best of luck with your move.

McZaki

You won't regret it, most Summit schools are good; however there are some crapy ones too. Make sure you check the school ratings on Greatschools.org. Also, important to pick the right property at the right address/street, and before you sign the lease, call the school to confirm if the school is assigned to your address. I have 3 kids, 7 (almost 8), 5, and 3. One of the reasons we moved to Millburn and not Summit because the Kindergarten at the Millburn schools are full time, and our 3 years old got admitted into the Pre-school (5 days/3 hours, @ only $300pm at the no.1 rated school in the state). Summit's Kindergarten is not full time, and they don't have a Pre-School "lottery" option I.e you would have to send the 3 years old to a private nursery, for 2 years, at an extrotinate price!

Sliv

Our 7 year old starts at Lincoln hubbard in April and from what I can gather its a really good school. Totally agree on the pre-schools though - our 4 year old is signed up to a very expensive one but then it's similar to private school pricing here so we have gone with that for the sake of the good state schools from 1st grade

ponyo

Not visited here for a very long time (rather slack of me).

Moved to Brooklyn over 3 years ago now, eldest went to a well respected grammar school after being in private since they were 4 years old. Very happy with the education and support whilst in the UK. We (and eldest) are over the moon with what has been provided here. Our experience maybe unique, but not a single thing (aside from religion and color being far more an issue here) has been equaled by previous experiences. Our youngest is happy and school is great. Both schools have been amazing, from elementary, middle through to High School. And both schools are public (free).

Not a single regret with the level and experince in schools here.

ponyo

Hey there

As a continuation (I really should read the posts more as we were as nervous and naive as hell before our move), there are so many variables involved here.

1. Where do you want to live - and what 'experience' do you want ?
Living in the suburbs (Westchester, NJ etc) works for some but not for others.Living in the city (Manhattan, parts of Brooklyn and Queens, and parts of NJ) has it's ups and downs too.
2.Private schools here appear to be more cynical and expensive than the UK.
But if you can afford between $15K-$45K per child then it's not an issue
3.Bronxville High School maybe a great school
But based on what. Web reviews, word of mouth, 2nd hand experiences ?
4. Catchment, catchment, catchment.
The area where my kids go to school is defined, small and ever shrinking. Which of course does two things (in our experience). Raise the rental/sales property prices through the roof, and create a mono culture in an otherwise formally diverse neighborhood.

Etc etc etc.

My eldest joined in Middle School and is now a Freshman. Was nervous as hell for the first couple of weeks but now Wild Horses couldn't drag them away from home here in Brooklyn.
Youngest had a Brooklyn accent within 6 months of being in a Catholic Pre-K (the only Pre-K available in the area with spaces(which was very good socially)) and is now at a great elementary school.

Tackle the 1st decision above, and everything will fall into place I feel.

One thing to bear in mind for NY is the Gifted and Talented schools. These give children a better chance of getting into the Specialized High Schools of which there are 7 in NYC (including the boro's). Competition is extraordinarily intense (this is another side topic all in itself much like the 11+ exams in the UK).

The High School my eldest attends in NYC which is a public specialized High School, had over 27,000 students sit the exam for 800 (or 700) spaces.

MrsBonzai84

Have you used GreatSchools - Public and Private School Ratings, Reviews and Parent Community to look at reviews of the school? The schools have rating 0-10 which may help you decide.

notonuksoil

My experience is first hand, if you have any questions feel free to ask.

ponyo

OP, like the above if you have any questions (if you are considering Brooklyn) feel free to ask.

Perky74

Hi Sliv
We are possibly moving to NYC next summer from
The UK with our 2 children aged 7 and 5. Our children are also in private education in the UK but planning to try the state system in the US. My husband will commute into Penn station. We have been thinking about Basking Ridge so have followed a few of your posts! How is it going? How did you end up with Summit? Any other advice gratefully received.
Thanks!

Sliv

Hi

We moved over in March and after thinking Basking Ridge looked great with good schools etc we chose Summit following a house hunt trip with a Realtor, we just really loved the town and felt Basking Ridge just didn't have that town life that we like - I just wanted somewhere I could park up, go to a few shops, grab a coffee and take the kids to the park. Summit seemed to have that and excellent rated schools.

So far we haven't been disappointed, the town is great with lots to do and do much for kids. Schools have also worked out very well. People are very friendly.

Feel free to message me and can talk more about schools etc if you would like to.

Good luck

Perky74

Thanks Sliv. I can't pm yet as I've only just joined and I have to do a few posts first apparently! That's great info and yes will definitely be in touch when I know for sure. That had been my initial response about basking ridge vs summit too. How easily did you find a rental? I was thinking we'd have to buy.