Photo Credit: Montgomery Advertiser.com

The fledgling Pike Road, Alabama, school system took a big leap forward by hiring an executive director of the Pike Road Education Leadership Council.

And they didn’t hire just anybody.

Ed Richardson will lead the Council in their negotiations with Montgomery County, and oversee the beginning stages of setting up the town’s school system. Anyone that has spent any time in Alabama in the past 20 years should know him. Mr. Richardson has served as the President of Auburn University, and also the Superintendent of Education for the entire state of Alabama.

Learn more about this huge announcement in this Montgomery Advertiser article by Annie McCallum Bitter.

Richardson tells the Advertiser that he sees the new Pike Road school system as a “golden opportunity to form a very strong school system” and “You seldom have an opportunity to start a school system and to build it in a very qualitative way with parents who are highly interested.”

Are you highly interested in a home for sale in the Pike Road, Alabama, area? We can help.

Check our Neighborhoods Page, we have information on lots of Pike Road neighborhoods like Bon Terre, Providence, Lochshire, The Waters, Stone Park, and more.

Don’t see anything you like?

Please Contact Us on this page and we can customize your home search.

Home Buyers: It’s official – The Town of Pike Road is getting its own school system.

On October 11, 2011, Pike Road residents voted to raise property taxes to support a new, independent Pike Road school system.  Plans for this school have been in the works since 2006, and the approval of a 16 mill property tax increase means construction of a K-8 facility will begin in 2014.  Grades 9-12 will be phased in, one per year, thereafter.

The Town of Pike Road’s website is a great resource to find out more about the new school.  Here’s the short version of what it’s all about (for the longer version, click here):

The Pike Road School will be a Professional Development School, or PDS.  This means it will partner with 4 universities in this area to help future teachers learn alongside veteran teachers and university faculty.  The goal is a win-win environment for students in Pike Road, for the universities, and for other students in Alabama who will benefit from the resources and research done at the school.

The school will be within Montgomery County, but independent of the Montgomery Public School System.

But this is a real estate website.  Why all the talk about a new school?

If you currently live in Pike Road, in my estimation, you’ll likely see property values rise.  Think of other independent school systems in Birmingham, for example, and the demand for housing in those zones.  This is merely anecdotal evidence, but since the vote in October, developments that have been ghost towns since the recession are booming: Bon Terre, Providence – have you been by in the last few months? Whoa.

If you have any questions or would like to speak to a Realtor about properties in Pike Road, give us a call.  We’d love to help you find your piece of Pike Road and take advantage of the new school system. Call John at (334) 221-5862, or contact him by clicking here.

Just a quick reminder:

If you’re considering a Montgomery Public School magnet program for your child next year (2010-2011 academic year), get your applications in by January 29, 2010.

Need an application?  click here

Want to know more about magnet schools in Montgomery?  click here

Have any words of wisdom for families applying for a magnet program?  Leave your thoughts in the “comments” box below. We’d love to have your feedback.

It’s that time of year – time to apply for magnet and private schools for the 2010-2011 school year.

If you’re wondering what public magnet schools in Montgomery have to offer, consider the honors recently bestowed upon Loveless Academic Magnet Program High School (LAMP):

20th best high school in the NATION

and

4th best magnet school in the NATION.

That’s pretty strong.

“U.S. News and World Report” considered data from over 21,000 public high schools to come up with this ranking.  And it’s not the first time LAMP and other Montgomery magnet schools have received such awards (see last year’s ranking here).  Booker T Washington and Brewbaker Technology Magnet High Schools were also ranked nationally.

Click here to read the entire Montgomery Advertiser article about these awards.

FYI – Montgomery has public magnet schools for grades K-12.  For more information check out the MPS website. Applications are usually available on their website in mid-January and must be returned in early February.

Related article:

Head’s Up! School Registration in Montgomery is Around the Corner

Last week was the first week of school for Montgomery Public Schools, and if anyone doubted the demand for public schools on the east side of Montgomery, AL, all doubts have been erased.

Homeowners in these schools zones should be pleased.

However, the Montgomery Advertiser reports a lot of traffic and “overcrowding” at the 2 newest east Montgomery schools, Wilson Elementary and Carr Junior High (to read the article, “Carr Junior High already crowded”).

Consider a few things while digesting these reports: 1) the first week of school is chaotic for any school, in any zone, 2) these are two brand new schools built where demand is HIGH for public schools, and 3) there are now 3 large public schools virtually next door to one another along  the 2-lane Ray Thorington Road.

Is anyone really shocked about the traffic?

Let’s give these schools a chance to work out some kinks.

As for the overcrowded classrooms, the Advertiser article reports that school administrators are double checking residency to make sure kids are really zoned for these new schools.

I wish them all luck, and look forward to checking back in a month or so to see how conditions have improved.

Carr Junior High School, Montgomery, AL

It’s finally time to head on over and make it official. If you live in the new Jim Wilson Elementary and Carr Middle School school zones, you can register your kids starting today.

Don’t expect to tour the  new facilities yet, though – you’ll actually register in Blount Elementary’s lunchroom. From today until Thursday, you can come from 9 am until 1 pm.  From June 22-25, come between 1:30 pm and 5:30 pm.

Wilson Elementary School, Montgomery, AL

If you miss this two week registration period, you can still register your child – but it will happen closer to the beginning of the school year at the new school itself.

Not sure if you’re affected by these new school zones? Click here for MPS zoning maps.

For more info on what to bring with you, see the Montgomery Advertiser’s article “Registration Starts Today for New Schools.”

The wait is over.  Here are the new school zones for east Montgomery, AL. . .

First are the Montgomery elementary schools – Blount, Halcyon, and the new Wilson elementary:

Wilson is green; Blount is blue; Halcyon in light pink.

For a more detailed elementary zoning map , click here.

Next, the East Montgomery middle/jr. high schools :

Pink is Brewbaker; Green is Carr; Purple is Georgia Washington

For a more detailed middle/jr. high map, click here.

Finally, the Montgomery high schools:

Green is Lanier; Pink is Jeff Davis; Brown is Lee

For a more detailed high school map, click here.

With two new public schools opening in east Montgomery, AL (Wilson Elementary and Carr Junior High), there’s been a lot of anticipation about who will go where, which neighborhoods will attend which school.

Now we know.  I got this info from the Montgomery Public Schools website -click here to get there.  A you know, they are the final authority on zoning, so check with them if you’re not sure where you’re zoned.

If you’re ready to find a house in one of these schools zones, give me a call or contact me.

Since I want to be a reliable source for public school  information in east Montgomery, I’ll throw this article from the WSFA website into the mix (dated April 14, 2009).  Click on the title to read the full article:

MPS weighs land proposal for new high school

I didn’t hear much about this in the paper or other news services, but some Montgomerians think this is inevitable, simply because of population growth out east.  I’ll continue to keep you posted, because where you decide to live has a lot to do with public schools.

If you’re shopping around for homes in the the River Region, give us a call or use the contacts tab.  It costs a buyer nothing to have a Realtor do the legwork for you!  We’d love to help.

The Town of Pike Road had an “Education Summit” tonight at St. James United Methodist Church.

It mostly covered the nature of the school system, which will be a P.D.S. school – or a Professional Development School - more on that later.

For now, check out this video of Pike Road Mayor Gordon Stone answering the big question:

When will Pike Road have its own school system?

His answer:

Also, I was pleased to be interviewed by WSFA Channel 12 and WAKA Channel 8.  It also aired on the local Fox affiliate WCOV.

I revealed two great pearls of wisdom: 1. choice is good and 2. schools are important.

Gee, I am brilliant.

The Town of Pike Road is hosting an Education Summit on Thursday, April 16, 2009 at Saint James UMC on Vaughn Road.  You might have heard talk about Pike Road creating its own school system in east Montgomery County, so here is your chance to find out more first-hand.  The meeting is open to the public, and there is time scheduled for Q&A.

Here’s the agenda:

6:45pm:  Welcome remarks, Mayor Gordon Stone

7:00pm: Relationship of PRESET (Pike Road school) to PK Younge School

7:15pm:  Dr.  Fran Vandiver, Director, PK Younge School

7:30pm:  Dr. Lynda Hayes, Director of Research and Outreach

7:45pm:  Dr. Nancy Dana, Director for Center for School Improvement

8:00pm:  Questions and Answers

8:20pm:  Conclusion and Wrap-up, Mayor Stone

If you’re not able to make it, I’m going and will update you here.  By the way, the website for PK Younge Developmental Research School in Gainesville, FL is pretty neat and informative.  If you want to know what’s being planned for Pike Road, check it out here.

Related post:  Pike Road is an Option for East Montgomery