However, I would bet that in general, high income (high educational level) suburbs of large cities and college towns offer more rigor and challenge than most other areas.
But the higher income suburbs tend to offer less flexibility, because they are more invested in themselves as having 'all the answers.'
This doesn't tend to apply (I think) to the very richest towns in the suburb (top 1%), but I sure have seen this at work in the next tier down (top 20%)
It can take as little as one person in the right position to make a school work for an individual kid! High Schools tend to attain a certian size which helps our little ones be less 'rare,' and since high school aged kids are closer to adult, some of the adult-level abstraction skills that are a curse in elementary school start to become prized in High School.
I think the key is to make the best decision you can every step of the way, and force yourself not to do more than 'peek' into the future. A child can subject accelerate into High School at late elementary or middle school age, attend community college, and then go back to High School at the regular time if they want to have the 'fabled' social experiences. I think that it is still true that lots of the learning in High School comes afterschool in the various clubs, but except for sports (and sometimes including sports) that can be experienced at many ages.
Anyway, Welcome, SouthL, we're glad you are here! Feel free to ask any questions or brag away!
Love and more Love,
Grinity
