The Schools

The Rochester City School District is notorious for its underperformance (more on that in future posts.) On the other hand, the suburban schools in the Rochester region are a source of great pride to the local populace.  U.S. News & World Report's 2014 ranking of American public high schools illustrates why.  A total of 31,242 schools were eligible, with sufficient enrollment and sufficient data being available for 19,400.  The ranking takes into account standardized testing (controversial, I know) and college-readiness as evidenced by AP and IB participation and performance.  Two area high schools, both in the suburb of Pittsford, landed in the Top 100 (84 and 90 to be exact.)

What makes the above striking is that almost all other schools in the Top 100 were charter or magnet schools.  In other words, admission involves strict academic criteria, the presence of special talents, lotteries, or all of the above.  In the case of Pittsford, you can just show up in town and you're in!  To be fair, there were a handful of other towns like Pittsford in the Top 100. There is only one catch - they are a tad expensive.  The following shows how the Zillow. com Home Value Index (or median sales price) in Pittsford stacks up against the competition:

• Pittsford, NY: $253, 400
• Falls Church, VA: $484,600
• Highland Park, TX: $701,630 (median sales price)
• Vienna, VA: $725,000
• University Park, TX: $758,455 (median sales price)
• Bethesda, MD: $824,800
• McLean, VA: $861,500
• Scarsdale, NY: $1,300,000
• Rye, NY: $1,500,000
• Cupertino, CA: $1,600,000  

http://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/national-rankings