any info about philly?

amother

Tue, Jun 28 2011, 1:20 am

we are thinking about moving next summer and one of the places we are considering is philly. can anyone give me info about the community?

*what are the schools like? is there a variety of choices? are they able to accommodate a child who has adhd? what is the tuition like?

*what is the cost of living? do you get your moneys worth? what is the going rate for a decent size house with a nice size yard? if you were to (lets say, because I dont have any idea what houing costs are) get a house for 400k, would it be a decent house with a decent yard, or a small house with a 2x4 yard?

*what is there in terms of shopping? groceries? clothing? places to eat out? are prices high or affordable?

*is it a warm welcoming community? how diverse (or not) is it?

thanks!!

amother

Tue, Jun 28 2011, 1:15 pm

e1234 wrote:

I'm not sure which side of philly you are talking about.
dh is from the northeast so if that's what you are referring to I can find out more info.

(and I think I might know a nice house for sale - if you are really looking there )

I dont know anything about it, I didnt even know there were different parts. I was just throwing names out last night, and I said philly and my husband said sure, check it out.

I will take any info you have to give.

*schools
*shuls
*shopping (food, clothing, etc)
*community in general
*housing

Soul on fire

Tue, Jun 28 2011, 1:29 pm

There are a few areas. The schools are very limited. Really only two grade schools and 1 co-ed HS and 1 girls HS.
http://www.politzhebrewacademy.org/
http://www.torah-academy.org/
(they are also responsible for the girl's high school but they don't have a website yet)
http://www.koheletyeshiva.org/Home.html

As far as communities there are probably 4-5.
Here are some links that may be helpful.

I live in Philly and if you want to PM you are welcome to.

http://philly-direct.com/frum/shul.html
http://www.jcor.org/ (this site contains a lot of info about shuls, shopping, restaurants, etc)
http://www.lmsonline.org/main.htm
http://www.yiep.org/
http://www.bethhamedrosh.org/
http://www.cbscommunitycenter.com/
http://www.ccshul.com/

Housing in the NE rhawnhurst is very reasonable, you can get a house for 200,000+/- and have a nice sized yard. The bustleton area is probably around the same price but I think you would get less yard.
Elkins Park, Wynwood and Lower Merion/Bala Cynwyd would be way more expensive but they houses are beautiful with nice yards. Center City is probably expensive and I don't think there is much in the way of yards.
If I think of anything else helpful I will post it.
Hope this helps.

amother

Tue, Jun 28 2011, 7:39 pm

FrumMamaPA wrote:

thanks for the links, I will check them out after my kids go to sleep. what are property taxes like? and tuition?
for us, the most important thing is that a school can work with our son. is it hard to get services in philly? right now, he gets ot and special instruction....

Soul on fire

Tue, Jun 28 2011, 7:59 pm

amother wrote:

honestly I don't know about the property taxes because we are renting right now plus they may be different in each area. tuition at Politz is about 8400/yr but they offer scholarships. I think Torah Academy is around 10,000/yr and they also offer scholarships. As far as the high schools I don't know we aren't there yet.
I know that Politz does have children with special needs, although I really don't know what services they provide. as far as getting special services through the city, I really don't know about that. maybe the Jewish Federation can help you with that. http://www.jewishphilly.org/ I'm not sure if they do that or not. Or maybe the school will be able to direct you on who to call.

amother

Wed, Jun 29 2011, 12:29 am

I grew up in Philly, and I think I had a great childhood/teenagehood

I don't really know the answers to your questions about schools in terms of adhd and special services. But for the elementary schools, Torah Academy is definitely becoming more to the left, and Politz is considered to the right. People who live on the different ends of town (Northeast vs. Lower Merion) do send their kids across town if that school is a better match for them. Abrams is very very modern, there are kids there whose parents don't keep shabbos or kosher at home.

I went to Torah Academy Girls HS and LOVED IT! It's really an amazing amazing school.

In the Wynnewood area, you can get a home for probably about 400/500K, and this would be a nice suburban style home with a nice big yard. But, I'm only estimating on the price.

The shopping is GREAT! Both ends of town have plenty of kosher shopping. There aren't really any big all kosher supermarkets, there are small "makolet" type of kosher supermarkets, and regular supermarkets that have nice sized kosher sections. I don't think there's anything you can't get. Some things like meat are probably cheaper in NY, but still, you can get everything.

The clothes shopping is AMAZING...I love going shopping and I never felt like I needed to go to Lakewood or New York, my husband, who's from NY, prefers going clothes shopping in Philly (there's a woodbury commons style mall called Philadelphia Premium Outlets that are AMAZING!)

The community, on any end of town, is very friendly. It's the type that if you see another frum person, you say hello. Everyone is really there for each other,and in times of need everyone really reaches out to each other. There are great chesed organizations like bikur cholim and meals for after birth.

Kugglegirl

Wed, Jun 29 2011, 1:00 am

Well, there is also Yeshiva of Philadelphia. Some of the local boys do go there. They have to really want to be there. Very special place.

There is a special education program called OROT that is in ALL of the day schools. It is more for kids with specific learning disabilities.

Depending on the needs of your child w. ADHD, you will have to visit & speak to people at each school & to decide if your child can be successful there.

I have a child w. ADHD @ Torah Academy. The administration is very cooperative with me, held full team meetings & allowed me to work w. the teachers to create accommodations that my child benefits from. (There are, naturally, many children w. ADHD in all of these schools.)

If you need services that will come from the local school district, you are better off not being in the school district of Philadelphia. IMHO (They just laid off THOUSANDS of teachers.)

Regarding "more to the left" & "more to the right" also realize that this is not Brooklyn or Lakewood. All the schools here have a more diverse student make up & teacher make up than you may be use to.

You can PM me w. specific questions if needed.

amother

Wed, Jun 29 2011, 10:09 am

Kugglegirl wrote:

thanks everyone for allyour help!! kuggel, I live in far rockaway, and if we stayed here, we would send him to darchei, which in my opinion has a very diverse parent/student body. im not sure how getting services would work outside of ny. would I have to do new evals, or would I be able to just transfer his iep to another state? next year he will be in an ei center, but after that he will probably needa seit or shadow in class, at least for a few hours a day. he also gets OT. do you think I would have ahard time getting that for him? please be as honest as you can- if you dont think he will be able to get what he needs, please tell me. thanks!!

Kugglegirl

Wed, Jun 29 2011, 11:20 am

" im not sure how getting services would work outside of ny. would I have to do new evals, or would I be able to just transfer his iep to another state? next year he will be in an ei center, but after that he will probably needa seit or shadow in class, at least for a few hours a day. he also gets OT. do you think I would have ahard time getting that for him?"

Kids at Torah Academy can get OT, I believe from the county Intermediate unit (IU) system. Some children qualify for services from additional agencies, which provide a specific # of hours of 1:1 behavioral support & that can be in the home or school setting. I think the behavioral support services write separate plans from the IEP's.

It sounds like with the level of support your son needs, you might do best to start with discussing your situation with OROT, and figure out which part of the city you would be thinking of living in to see what IU you would be connected with.

There are a few families with children with more intense learning or behavioral needs who have children enrolled in the Lower Merion Public Schools & other children attending day school. In the past few years, there has been at least 1 child every year who has been 1/2 day in Torah Academy Kindergarten (for lemudi kodesh), and 1/2 day in LMSD kindergarten with a special classroom. The public school can only do this for kindergarten, which is required in PA for 1/2 day.

If you have an IEP, & evals, I imagine that will expedite your process w. the public schools. I have not seen any IEP's or IEP like documents from OROT or Torah Academy. Torah Academy sent me a letter of summary after each team meeting.

I am only speaking about what I have direct knowledge about or have heard directly from a parent who receives the indicated service.

Hope this helps.