Is there anything more important for a young family than finding the best school district for the kids? When families move to Columbus, they have so many fantastic options for schools, and New Albany ranks among the best. Parents who choose to live at The Estates at New Albany can rest assured knowing they chose some of the best schools possible for their children.
Happily, The Estates at New Albany is in one of the best school districts in Central Ohio: The New Albany-Plain Public School District. Boasting five high-performing schools on one beautiful campus, students and families alike love these schools for their everlasting dedication to students.
How do New Albany Schools measure up?
The New Albany-Plain Public School District is ranked in the top 10 percent of all school districts in Ohio, and their index score rises every year.
According to the 2019 Best School Districts Ranking from the U.S. Department of Education, the New Albany-Plain Public School District is one of the best in the Columbus area, ranking 4th in the region just behind Dublin City Schools, Olentangy Local Schools, and Bexley City Schools. This ranking is based on state test scores, college readiness, graduation rates, SAT/ACT scores, teacher quality, public school district ratings, and more.
The New Albany-Plain school district earns an overall grade of A+ from the US Department of Education and received a ranking of “Excellent” from the Ohio Department of Education.
Five schools, one beautiful campus
Unlike other school districts, where all of the schools are scattered across town, the New Albany school district is housed on one beautiful campus, providing a host of opportunity in one location.
The campus boasts 120 acres of tree-lined walkways surrounded by an 80-acre nature preserve. If you walk across the campus, you’ll see the “Jeffersonian” Library Information Center, the Environmental Land Lab, and the Learning Campus Computer Network.
Where opportunity abounds
Is your child into sports? Do they love singing, painting, or jamming on the guitar? Whatever your child feels passionate about, they will find the support and community they need at New Albany schools.
Students of all ages can join band, orchestra, and choir, and high school students can experience the hard work and pleasure of putting on a full-fledged theater production at the Jeanne B. McCoy Community Center for the Arts. If your child loves their paints and canvas, they can show their artwork at local contests and community art shows.
New Albany Public Schools also offer invigorating sports opportunities year-round. In the fall, students can play football, tennis, cheer, soccer, volleyball, golf, cross country, water polo, and field hockey. Over winter, students can partake in basketball, swimming, bowling, hockey, and wrestling. In the spring, students can participate in baseball, softball, lacrosse, volleyball, tennis, and track. The possibilities are endless for the young athlete.
Where high school seniors prepare for college
New Albany Public Schools require the best from their students. The Senior Seminar and Internships are all about requiring a step above when it comes to college (and career) readiness. The Senior Seminar is a graduation requirement that encourages high school seniors to get out of the classroom and into the real world. Some examples from the past include students constructing a wildlife conservatory, writing and performing original music, creating an event that raises money for childhood cancers, etc.
By the time students graduate from New Albany high school, they have a firm sense of who they are and what they’re capable of. They’ve experienced working in the real world. This is what the Senior Seminar and Internship is all about.
A spirit of continuous improvement
Every single year, the New Albany-Plain Public School District creates a new improvement plan. According to their website, “The New Albany-Plain Local School District is committed to creating a culture of accountability that achieves the best academic and developmental outcomes for each student. The district aspires, by September 2023, to be ranked in the top 10 or higher of all public-school districts for student achievement in the State of Ohio as reported by the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) Performance Index Ranking. As our long-term commitment, we aspire to become and remain the best rated school district in the State of Ohio.”
How will they achieve this, you ask? They hold all employees accountable for implementing research-based practices “including a rigorous and aligned curriculum, common assessments, focused instruction, and data-driven decisions to achieve the best academic and developmental outcomes for every student.”
A nurturing place for every student
New Albany Public Schools prioritize the emotional wellbeing of students, and even consider this more important than the students’ grades. Think about it: if a child isn’t happy, how can we expect them to perform in school?
The school board at New Albany seeks to make sure every student feels safe, and that each student feels like they have at least one faculty or staff member to go to when there’s a problem.
Perhaps most impressively, the New Albany Public School District has initiatives in place for suicide prevention, drug education and prevention, bullying prevention, internet safety, citizenship, emotional competencies, cognitive-behavioral competencies, and social competencies. They’re not just here to push students into college and career. They’re here to support and cultivate the entire person.
Glowing reviews by students themselves
Based on school district ratings by actual students, the reviews are glowing from students of all grade levels. One alum reports, “New Albany prepared me extremely well for college; it also gave me a broader look on life itself. There is no other place where I would have rather called my high school.”
Another, a current Junior at the New Albany High School reports, “We are a diverse, innovative community where the opportunities are limitless.”
Another graduating senior says, “My experience at New Albany high school has been incredible. The faculty is great, the teachers are brilliant, and the facilities are amazing.”
As a place where our children spend much of their time, isn’t it important that they love where they go to school? The students at New Albany sing high praises of the schools they call home.
If you’re moving to Columbus, you can’t go wrong with choosing either The Estates at New Albany. Both offer a resort-like setting where children can play together on the playground, at the pool, and on the school campus. Schedule a tour of The Estates at New Albany, and learn how our community is so much more than just luxury apartments and townhomes.