Category: Student Posts

The housing stimulation was interesting to me, especially when considering interest rates and mortgages. In the end, interest paid was almost 3 times my annual gross income. Then, to look at school districts after selecting houses was very discouraging. First, I found some nice houses (as assessed via pictures) and with accommodating space for a family of four. One house I particularly liked was a 3 bedroom/2 bathroom home in Hartford on Osten Blvd. It fit in my price range ($249,900 asking) and had the space I needed. I found it harder to find a home in the suburbs close enough to my job in Hartford, seeing as I don’t have a car. Also, public transport is not usually available the suburbs. I used school digger and greatschools.org to look into school districts, and I found Hartford and East Hartford districts surprisingly low ranked in terms of teacher: student ratio and test scores. Avon had incredible rankings, however, homes in that area were too expensive and too far to commute to a job in Hartford. West Hartford public schools showed promising statistics, and while homes were affordable close to there, it would still be a commute. In the end, this simulation illustrated to me the outrageous rates of interest to consider when taking out a mortgage, the importance of school districts and available public schooling, and proximity to job opportunities. To live in the suburbs may provide security, seclusion, and better schooling. However, costs of living (groceries, rent, etc). and commuting (gas, car, etc.) should be taken into serious consideration. Income inequality may lead to inequality of educational access, which becomes a serious issue in terms of individuals attempting to improve their lives with the resources their given.

 

 

 

As someone who is not familiar with the Connecticut School Systems, I found many challenges while gathering the data to compare the quality of education for Hartford and the surrounding towns. I grew up in Chicago and attended public schools all of my life. My husband and I both have the desire for our kids to grow up in the city and attend public schools as well. With our recent relocation to Hartford, we wanted to ensure that our children would continue to receive quality education as they did in their neighborhood school in Chicago (we have visited Hartford numerous times before for short business trips so we are have a feel for the city even though it is not in depth).

Initially, we looked at places both in Hartford and the other surrounding towns that worked within our limited budget, but ultimately decided to find a place in Hartford. After considering numerous factors such as access to public transportation, affordability and our desire to live in the city, we felt that living in Hartford would be the best fit for our family.

As I researched the Hartford Public School system, I learned that they operate on an Open Choice system. In the beginning, I did not quite understand what that meant, but after conducting more research, I thought that it was a pretty good and unique system. For one, the fact that our children can attend school anywhere in Hartford is appealing to us because we can find a place that we can afford and not have to worry about squeezing into a tiny apartment to ensure that our children attend a good school as we did when we lived in Chicago. Furthermore, the potential for my children to attend suburban schools gives me added hope for their futures. Growing up, I always heard that suburban schools are better in terms of funding, which in turn allows more resources and better learning opportunities. In Hartford it is nice to know that my children can experience the city lifestyle and potentially get the benefit of attending suburban schools.

The results:

We chose to rent an apartment in school zone 3 for $800. We applied to schools based on their tests gain percentage as shown on the Smart Choices website. Our 6th grader will be attending Capital Preparatory Magnet School that had a test gain of 2 points  located in Hartford’s zone 2, while our 3rd grader will be attending Expeditionary Learning Academy at Moylan that had a test gain of three points in Hartford’s zone 3. Our 6th grader will be bused to school, while we will walk our 3rd grader to school (0.8 mi) until we purchase decide to purchase a car. Although we did not look into demographics, according to the Smart Choices website, Capital Prep is predominately African American but has a good balance of Whites and Hispanics. On the other hand, Moylan is predominately Hispanic with very few Whites and African Americans. Ideally I would like for my 3rd grader to attend a more diverse school but we will see how Moylan works first before deciding if we would like to look into other options.

When I look at the schools suburban schools in the Greater Hartford Region OpenChoice Program that my children were eligible to attend, the test gain results were not available. However, the overall average of student demographic showed that there were more Whites enrolled in the suburban schools. When we settle into our neighborhood, I plan to do more research on the schools to get a better look at how the system works to know if my children are truly getting a quality education.

 

One of the biggest drawbacks of the Open Choice initiative is the lottery system. Everyone wants the best for their child and will choose put the top schools on their list, but not everyone will come out winning. Without any previous experience with the school system, the statistics found were helpful, but they don’t give me  a full understanding of what we are getting ourselves into. Even though we initially planned to buy a house in Hartford, we decided to reconsider this option after we experience the schools in the city first. The options seem promising, but we want to ensure that our children will have the best education before settling down. I cannot say that we wont resort to the suburbs (despite deep love and hope for the betterment of urban public schools) if we lose all confidence in the Hartford Public and Magnet Schools, but we are currently optimistic and hope for the best.

Suggestions for the future:

I found it challenging to understand the “ins and outs” of the Hartford Public School system because I’m not from around here.  However, after meeting with Finnouala, to discuss the difficulties, I did not feel as overwhelmed. The Smart Choices website that she showed me was very helpful and I think that the link should be provided as a resource for the activity.

Objective: Given a demographic profile of a Hartford family, how would you obtain information and make decisions about buying versus renting in the city or surrounding suburbs, and the type of school your child would attend?

For this particular home simulation assignment, I found my results somewhat unsettling. To begin, I calculated an appropriate home price that my family could afford given the current economic situation (anywhere between conservatively $127,638.63 and aggressively $143,227.27). To my surprise, I found many homes in surrounding suburbs that were within this budget; however, the qualities of life were entirely lacking compared to wealthier areas of the state.

One part of the assignment entailed doing some research on the schools my children would be able to attend if we decide to move to one of these suburbs (Manchester, Windsor Locks, E. Windsor, and Bloomfield). To begin, Manchester has 29 schools that are located within its district. However, after having visited the online journal of “Manchester Patch,” I regretfully discovered that the 2012 CMT and CAPT test scores fell under the state average level in both proficiency and goal. The author of the article argued that a significant contributor in these results pertains to the lack of funding that is invested into the school. Unfortunately, this poor performance in both the CAPT and CMT scores seemed to be a trend within all of the other potential school districts (Windsor Locks, E. Windsor, and Bloomfield) I picked out for my family.  Additionally, I feel as though the arts are imperative for a child’s success in the world and thus I found it essential that the school I choose to send my children to has an adequate arts program. Unfortunately, the arts suffered coincidently with the suffered budget. Most of the schools offered a mere arts class or an afterschool choral group. This did not seem fit.

This particular assignment was incredibly eye opening in terms of how unjust the public educational system of Connecticut (as well as in other states of America) is. I obtained a large amount of the data I used for my project from the website, www.schooldigger.com. This website was essentially a guide to all of the schools in Connecticut—their rankings, student and parent reviews, and scores—which in effect give great insight into the qualities of life of each respected district. To my dismay, the trends in the rankings reflected the economic status of each town. All of the schools that were located within Fairfield County (arguably one of the wealthiest counties in the state) dominated the “Top 10 Schools in the State” list. It is undeniable that there is a significant discrepancy in the funding to the schools that are not as affluent. It is terrible to think that a child must sacrifice his or her level of education simply because of financial matters. Children should not be brought into the world neither at a disadvantage nor at an advantage, simply because of the socio-economic status in which they were born into.

 

Test to link RSS feed for EDU 308 course at Trinity College

Results and Reflection:

The home buying simulation exposed me to the world of home ownership and mortgages. I realized that finding a home involves considering other factors besides how many bedrooms the home contains and what the home looks like on the outside. I was able to experience how it feels to look for a home with having to consider the quality of life and education that I would like to give “my children.”  In addition, I was able to compare the cost of homes in areas around Hartford. In the process, I discovered which areas had a higher cost of living, as well as, whether or not the housing was well maintained. More importantly, I was exposed to the correlation between the neighborhood one lives in and the school districts that their children attend. For example, had my family chosen to live in a $264,000 home in Glastonbury, CT, my two children would attend a school district that has three magnet schools (one for each grade range), has 2011 CMT testing scores in which 90% of students were at/above the goals, and has a strategy to include parents, community, and staff in the education of the children. Whereas, if my family had chosen to live in a $129,000 home in New Britain, CT, then my two children would be able to attend school in a school district that has one elementary magnet school, has 2012 CMT scores that rank them at 7th among other districts with 20-30% at/above the goals, and has a summer program based on literacy. Overall, I learned that higher priced suburban homes are correlated with school districts that are more improved and have more options for schooling. I believe this is related to the neighborhood the housing is available in, as well as, the income of the residents, and how suburbs with higher priced living are often able to afford higher priced educations for the children.

In order to make the housing simulation capable on the web, one might consider creating a form on a webpage. This form could then be filled in with appropriate information depending on the student’s scenario. The student can use a calculator on the computer to make necessary calculations or use the calculators that are provided online. Making the links available on a single webpage (instead of in a separate Word document) would also be an option.

 

Please click here to view my completed housing simulation.