No. As a recent (4 years ago) graduate from HHS, I can say that the school district is poorly managed and generally inferior to most of the neighboring school districts. The HCSD administration basically coddles a quarter of each class (so that they can get into schools worth reporting in the local paper), while playing damage control on the remaining three quarters (keeping them out of jail).

Unless you want your child to end up spending his adult nights on a bar stool at Uncle Henry's re-living his glory days as a HHS fooball star, you mat want to keep clear.

p.s. there are, of course, many job opportunities for HHS grads with the HPD.

p.p.s. - You, Newbie, may actually feel quite at home in Harrison, where a vocabulary with words like "criterior" and "destrict" would put you at the top of your class.

NewBie,

You will find enough information to be able to come to your own decision about any school district in New York State by referring to the official website for the New York State Department of Education.

It's provides a comprehensive overview of each district including test scores, drop out rates, demographics, enrollment, teacher certifications,attendance, etc. etc. With this detailed information, individuals can tailor a search to their own specific needs.

Many personal opinions are skewed toward the individuals presonal experiences and should be considered with caution.....our recommendation is invest some time looking at the data prior to listening to the experiences of others.

Good luck
The Eckler Team

You can check out school report sites but they often don't tell the full story; reports based on numbers only often don't and you can by pass some great school systems by using statistical reports only. Whereas it is true that your most expensive communities often have very good school systems, it does not follow that less expensive communities have poor school systems.

You can ask residents and that too doesn't tell the full story since it involves their own prejudices which may not be yours and hear say as well about school systems they are not part of. Picking a school for your children is a personal decision. What is a great school for some families may not be what you're looking for when it comes to your children and their personal needs.

The best advice IS what Realtors tell you to do which is research. Check out some school reports but then go to the school districts' web sites to get additional information. Last but very important, take those districts you are considering and find out from the source what the school system is all about. Call the Board of Education for the school district in question and ask who you can speak to to address your questions. Ask questions and find out specifics like how competitive the school is and if their atmosphere fits your childs personality. See what type of enrichment courses they offer, advance placement, variety of courses. Check out their athletic programs and extracurricular programs. It may be important to see what type of support they can offer your child or if there are after school programs etc. Find out what the list of colleges are that their senior class has been accepted to. Bottom line, do some research and spend some time figuring out what you're looking for: it is the best way to fit the school system to your family's needs.

As a former PTA President and parent of twins who graduated Harrison Schools, I feel the majority of people do not evaluate the system on more than just test scores, and Westchester Magazine layouts.
The district has been improving yer to year by leaps and opportunities for students have never been greater.
The recession has taught us that merely getting into an Ivy League college is no guarantee for long term success or emotional success today. While as an agent for 25 years in Harrison, I have only found that given the right atittude and of course academic yearnings, every student can exceed . Please call Jan Vinikoor on her cell to further discuss this or any topic on Living in Harrison, 914-879-9795

Greatschools.net is generally crap. I live in westchester and knew people that lived in Harrison that made sure to move out before their kids started school. I was under the impression that Harrison schools are middle of the road for the county and looking at the numbers in westchester magazines ranking, this seems about right, maybe low middle. With a post like yours, most realtors will either say they can't comment because they can't, and then point you to sites like greatschools or city-data or tell you to go talk to the administrators. While these all may work, you can generally tell how good a school is in westchester by how much of a premium you pay for houses there.

here are some westchester magazine links that may help:

http://www.westchestermagazine.com/Westchester-Magazine/Apri…

http://www.westchestermagazine.com/Westchester-Magazine/Scho…