Parents---Which Elementary School?

[dbcooper]

I'm looking for candid opinions about the elementary schools in the area. If you could choose a 'better' elementary school Bay or Butler..which one would you choose. Is their a difference between the two. Both look great.

Thanks

 

[Geo]

Very happy with Butler. I know many parents happy with Bay too. I think both are great and we are lucky to have choices/good public schools in the area.

 

[Crimsontide]

Both schools are great!

We are moving to 30A this summer.I have two young boys and have toured both recently.We thought that both were wonderful.We chose Bay just because it will be closer to our house.

 

[Teresa]

are you moving to the area?

I can say that over many years I have heard mostly very positive feedback from parents and kids on both Bay and Butler. The two schools are different though in some ways such as size and overall "feel" - from my own experiences in touring and visiting both schools. I would definitely tour each school and talk to the principal of each.

 

[Douglas the Intrepid]

My daughter is diagnosed as slightly autistic and we had a horrible time with Butler several years ago. They didn't seem to know what to do with special needs students and their solution was to attempt to get her out of general circulation and put her in mostly 'special' classes. I got the feeling they were more concerned with us messing up their test scores than anything. However, Bay Elementary has been amazing. They make us feel welcome and my daughter attends all normal classes and its helped her greatly. We just received her report card and she had one A and four B's and she enjoys going to school now. Bay Elementary has a much better teacher to student ratio and almost seems a throwback to the 1950's in some ways (positive ways!). It is also mostly the original school house built back in the 1930's and its nestled right next to Eden Gardens and its very picturesque. I recommend Bay Elementary!

 

[SGB]

Both of our kids went to Butler and we were extremely happy with it. I have a friend that had one of their kids at Bay and one at Butler at the same time. It was based on the teacher for each child. I've known kids that go to Butler one year and Bay the next and then back to Butler. Again, it's all dependent on the teacher. You can't go wrong with either.

I'm surprised and disappointed to hear about Douglas' experience. My son has a friend that is slightly autistic and he was mainstreamed in with a class at Butler and did very well. That was a few years ago, so maybe it depends on who is in charge at the time.

I would go and talk to the principal and a few parents, tour the schools and figure out which one best suits your family. If you're going to be dependent on the bus for transportation, where you live will decide it for you

 

[dbcooper]

Thank you everybody....I appreciate your feedback.

 

[Dia]

It's wonderful that you have a choice! I would recommend visiting both schools & seeing which one feels right for you and your child(ren).

When we first moved to the area, I spent time in both schools & ended up 'clicking' with Bay. Bay has been wonderful for both my kids & I'm happy that I visited the schools and made the right decision for us.

 

[Matt J]

There's also home schooling if you are so inclined. There seems to be a very large population of home schoolers in the area.

 

[Teresa]

There's also home schooling if you are so inclined. There seems to be a very large population of home schoolers in the area.

definitely works well for some families around here.