Evaluating Schools When Buying a New Home

February 19, 2022 | Evaluating Schools When Buying a New Home

The Hickory Hill community of homes in Ashland VA is a popular choice due to the variety of amenities on site, as well as the quality of the homes and the spacious lots. Walking trails, beautiful greenery throughout the community, and a sense of peace and tranquility gives homeowners here the life they want away from the hustle and bustle. Yet if they have children, it’s important to consider the quality of the schools when choosing a new home. Fortunately, Hickory Hill, The Reserve comes up top notch there, as well, with the Hanover County Public Schools receiving high marks.

According to the National Association of Realtors, more than half of all homebuyers with children under 18 consider the quality of the local school district as a major factor in their home choice. Even people without children know that good schools tend to mean a good area where their home will be likely to increase in value. School quality is important to every homebuyer, whether they know it or not, so it pays to do some research. Fortunately, you can find out a lot without leaving your computer.

First, start with your builder to find out what district and which schools serve the community you’re considering. They should be able to tell you. In fact, we list that information on our community website pages so it’s right there to see without having to dig. For example, Hickory Hill is served by Kersey Creek Elementary, Oak Knoll Middle, Hanover High.

Next you want to get a sense of the quality of the schools. Certainly, there are websites that list overall grading and details of the schools, and you should check those out, but it also is worthwhile to go around the neighborhood and simply knock on doors and ask people already living there what they think of the school and the community. If you’re not comfortable doing that, you’ll find that some of the websites that grade schools also let people leave their own comments and ratings. Hanover County Public Schools, which serves Hickory Hill, gets a lot of high praise from parents and even from students. One of the consistent comments is how dedicated teachers are to helping their students inside and outside the classroom.

Another source of information is The Department of Education. They list public data that looks at individual schools and districts, covering topics that range from academics and college prep to demographics and safety. Of course, most schools and districts have their own websites, which you should certainly visit to get a feel for academic and social events, activities, and achievements, as well as other directly related news.

Finally, the best choice is to visit the schools. You’ll get a much better sense of the atmosphere, the class sizes, especially teacher to student ratios and see if the school seems able to help your child achieve a quality education in a setting that they will find comfortable. Don’t just visit one school, though, unless you’re only going to have one child in one school. If you have children in elementary school now, be sure to visit the middle and high schools, as well, and feel free to ask the principal and other staff any questions you feel are important.

If you’re seriously considering purchasing one of the Hickory Hill homes in Ashland VA, you’ll be happy to know that all of the schools that serve the community rank consistently well in a variety of categories, and students and parents alike are happy with the education on offer. If you want to know more about Hickory Hill so you can potentially start doing your own research on the local schools, contact us today. We’d be happy to discuss finding you the perfect home and some really great schools.