Schools, transit, and the everyday.
Ratings only get you so far. Here's what parents in our network actually say.
Top schools by neighbourhood
Westview Elementary
Rating 8/10. Strong reading + math. Music + art twice weekly. Active PTA. Catchment includes Maple Ridge.
Schools in Westview→Old Town Charter
Rating 9/10. Project-based learning. Lottery admission, oversubscribed 4×. Catchment-agnostic.
Schools in Old Town→Riverside International
Rating 7/10. IB curriculum K–12. Strong languages programme. Bus service from Riverside Mews.
Schools in Riverside→Lincoln Middle
Rating 8/10. STEM-focused. New robotics lab (2024). Transition feeder for Westview Elementary.
More about Lincoln→Harbour Prep
Rating 9/10. Private (~$32k/yr). Small classes, ocean-themed STEAM. Waitlist starts year before.
Harbour schools→City Centre Magnet
Rating 8/10. Public magnet. Pre-K–8. Application open Jan–March each year.
City Centre schools→Lifestyle data
How walkable, how transit-rich.
0
Walkscore (Old Town)
Highest in the city
0
Walkscore (Westview)
Family-friendly avg
0 min
To downtown (Riverside)
By Main Street Metro
0/demo/realestate/10
Avg. school rating
Across the metro
How to read school ratings
GreatSchools ratings (1–10) are based primarily on standardised test scores. They're a useful first filter but they miss what matters most for a kid's actual experience: class size, teacher tenure, the parent community, after-school programmes.
Before you commit to a catchment, we'll connect you with two or three parents in our network whose kids attend the school you're considering. They'll tell you the unfiltered version: what the principal is like, whether the PTA actually does anything, what the playground politics are. It's the most useful 30-minute conversation you can have before signing.
What "transit-rich" actually means
Walkscore + transit score look different in practice depending on whether you have kids. "15-minute walk to a bus stop" is fine for a young professional and brutal in February with two kids. We weight transit data toward your actual stage of life when we do the briefing for you.