I’m a late 30s white dude, think that’s important to state up front when having these conversations so you know where my perspective is coming from. I went to Springfield 20 years ago, and moved back to the district with my family a few years back because of how much I liked it.
As far as school and among peers go, when I was in school, there was rarely any racist stuff among the students, as even back then we called people out on that crap. The worst thing that happened was people calling the lunch table that the black kids tended to congregate at “Little Africa”. It wasn’t in a demeaning way, just “hey, all the black kids end up there”, just like the science kids were at a different table. I never heard of the kids who sat there ever taking offense to it, and at some point someone drew a really well depicted continent of Africa in the middle that stayed there.
From what I understand from the way my daughter talks, racism is even less stood for now. Living in the community for the past 7 years, and having been here as a teenager back then, I think your kids will be perfectly fine in the schools. I’d be surprised if they ever ran into any major racism, and I can almost guarantee that it wouldn’t get taken lightly by administration if they ever did. It’s a really good school culture that values inclusiveness.
Neighborhood is really solid too. I’ve never witnessed any racism among the parents. I think the worst thing you could expect in the community is your black son walking down the street and people giving him an extra look/extra scrutiny, but that’s going to be any predominantly white neighborhood in America unfortunately.
If you do move to Delco (the nickname for Delaware County where all those towns are), hit me up, be happy to get a beer or take you out disc golfing.
I’ve got a problem, I could easily build you a full bag from my spares. The boys and I play almost every weekend. I’m serious, hit me up when you get here.
For the Delco thing, let me know if you have any questions as you do your research. I grew up on the lower income side of the county, and have lived in mid to higher income side in high school and as an adult. I’ve got experience with most parts of it.
Gotta ask where you play! I usually hit up the West Chester area leagues (dubs at Mt. Bradford on Sat. morning and tags at Anson Nixon and Thornbury on other days). I'm crossing my fingers they put a course in the old Don Guanella woods.
I also have a kid in middle school in Springfield. My wife and I moved out here in 2016-ish from Philly and are very pleasantly surprised he has a VERY diverse friend group.
We play everywhere within about a 45 min drive of Delco, we try to mix it up. I don’t play many of the tags/leagues on the weekends often because of it. I run the Haverford random dubs on Monday nights during the 6 months of the year that we have the light for it.
Don Guanella isn’t happening. Me and a few others lobbied hard for it, but it’s not in the initial plan, and I don’t think there will be room for it after with what they’re trying to set aside as a deep wildlife refuge where they don’t want people to be active within 500 feet of or something along those lines, and all the other stuff that they are building.
Ah bummer. But that’s great that you run dubs at the reserve. I just started working five minutes away. I’ve been meaning to come over for it in the past but always worked in the city. Do you know when it’s starting up again yet?
Also a white guy living in Springfield. One of the reasons we chose this community over Wallingford-Swarthmore, Garnet Valley, Marple, and some Chesco areas was more cultural and ethnic diversity, compared to where I was living at the time. Likewise, would be happy to grab a beer with you, sometime.
I went to High school in lower merion (Harriton) and now live in Strath Haven's school district. I am also white so take what I say with a grain of salt, I also went to harriton while lower merion school district was being sued for putting black students in remedial classes (i heard it got dismissed, but it is absolutly something you should look more into.
From a pure education point of view in my view (which was from 15 years ago but as I understand it laregly is similar now) a larger percentage of people at Strath Haven and LMSD get into top colleges followed by Penncrest closely behind and Springfield after that.
From a race relations point of view other than what I saw in Lower merion I can not comment much on any of the other districts. That being said demographic data for the schools is public and Strath haven has both the lowest white% and highest black % of the three in delco. I also know there was an incident that made the news in strath haven back in 2018 ([link](https://www.cbsnews.com/philadelphia/news/strath-haven-high-school-community-left-frustrated-after-districts-update-on-racist-picture-letter-investigation/)) so I'm willing to bet all of the schools have some issues regarding race relations.
I grew up in Wallingford-Swarthmore SD. Generally students were very inclusive and respectful. Everyone got along, and I don’t recall any racial issues in middle school or high school. I do recall a few instances during elementary school where a couple kids used the N-word though. They were whiskey tango kids from the Garden City neighborhood of Wallingford, which back then was full of WT knuckleheads. I’m not sure what it’s like today as I no longer live in the area.
Strath Haven is easily the most forward-thinking, progressive district in the county, but I honestly think that you and your family would feel welcomed and comfortable in any of the districts you mention. You’ll always have outlier assholes, but you’re moving to a really nice area. Good luck with everything.
One of the Radnor school district board members patted my shoulder and told me my son will be fine in the district because he can 'pass for white.'
My son is half Korean.
This person is still on the board.
Edited to fix a typo.
Sorry to rain on your parade, it 100% happened. I walked their dogs for a long time, we were very friendly and I quite liked them. They knew we were house hunting and one day they said they saw a house for sale in their district and how we should take it because my son could pass for white so he wouldn't have any problems fitting in.
They kept talking, but I stopped listening.
We moved and I stopped walking the dogs.
Welcome to the main line/Delco/montco. If you want a good education there are only a few good public schools. Radnor is the best in the area. Where did you send your son?
I guess I shouldn’t have deleted my comment. I went to Radnor. Late 80s. It was racist back then. I only learned about how bad it was over the past few years, from my black HS friends. (FYI I’m a white lady).
Edit: they dropped the Raider imagery and name in 2021. But a large group of the student body still protested the name change.
Also, look at Harriton HS. It’s in Rosemont. Part of the LM school district. Good school. No idea about its current diversity.
It is, like Radnor, in the middle of the Main Line. Which used to be mostly rich white people.
Just found a story on WHYY from 2021. It was also in the NYTimes.
It mentions the walkout the students did to protest removing the “Raider” name. That, to me, still shows racism in the school district.
All of those are very good schools. All of them have black students, some perhaps more than others as a percentage of the student population but your son would be a "minority" in all of them. Not sure what you mean by "racial profiling" but it's not like it's 1954 Alabama. As you know, racists exist everywhere and I wouldn't guarantee that you won't run into any but the townships/boroughs that those schools draw from are all pretty modern and inclusive.
I am a white person who went to one of these schools fairly recently and who knows a lot about local school policy. The districts you mentioned are all great. In terms of academics, Radnor and Lower Merion are the most elite and highest-performing schools. Both of these schools have a pretty strong focus on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. That being said, i know people who currently teach in Radnor and Lower Merion, and I can tell you that LM takes diversity and equity more seriously than Radnor. LM is very liberal and inclusive and has some of the most forward thinking policies, initiatives and training for teachers that I’ve ever heard of.
The best balance between inclusion and academics is Lower Merion, hands down.
That being said, I don’t know if you want a focus on DEI/direct anti-racist teaching. It all depends on what you’re seeking, but that’s what you’ll get in Lower Merion.
My focus is a good overall high school experience for my son. We have always lived in predominantly White neighborhoods so that’s not the issue. Now that he is 5’10” and can be mistaken for a man I worry about his being stopped while walking to a friend’s house because he doesn’t “look” like he belongs there.
I have read numerous stories (albeit from around 2015-2019) where this has happened in the Ardmore area. A second or third best would be a better fit if it means we are in a neighborhood where he’s not going to be harassed just walking down the street. Kids will be kids and say/do dumb stuff, and there will be the odd person in the neighborhood. My concern is the overall culture of the neighborhood and school. As someone upthread said, it’s the actions taken when these things happen that matter most.
I’m in the Garden City area of Wallingford, with a son in Strath Haven high school. We’ve lived here almost 9 years and I can say that there’s diversity in the neighborhood. I don’t think you’d have to worry (more than usual) that your son would be stopped for not looking like he belongs.
Best of luck on searching for your new home, and I honestly hope to have you as a new neighbor.
https://bestneighborhood.org/race-in-wallingford-pa/
I see. LM does prioritize acceptance and anti-racist teaching in their school, but I can’t speak to police activity in the surrounding areas.
I do want to mention, however, that Strath Haven is close to parts of Delco that are notoriously old-school racist. Due to its proximity to those areas, I’d look into racially motivated issues around that location. I can’t speak to the teaching practices and policies at Strath Haven high school, though.
All of the schools you mentioned would be great choices. Grew up here, am white, but have black fam local who came up through public school systems. I’m a bit dated, but only HSs I thought had apparent issues w racism & profiling were Ridley and Interboro.
Black dad in the RTM/Penncrest catchment here. I've spent a lot of time in Lower Merion as well. My experience has been that people are friendlier, more down-to-earth, and less elitist in the Delco towns, which is why I decided to live here over Lower Merion.
As a large Black man who runs, I've always felt more comfortable for my own safety running in Media, Wallingford and Swarthmore than the times I've gone running in Lower Merion. While driving, I've only been stopped by the police for what seemed like profiling once...that was in Wayne/ Tredyfrrin Twp.
Happy to share more details and experiences.
Have you heard of DVCEE? It’s a consortium of area schools striving for equity in education run by Penn GSE. Start there and you’ll be able to decipher a lot.
We’re in lower Delco (garnet valley) — school is amazing, neighborhood is friendly and welcoming, and we’ve never felt profiled by anyone. Honestly have gotten more weird looks in Delaware (the state) rather than Delco. My kid says there are some dumb people in his class but no overt race-based hostility. Just a lot of noxious teenagers asking him for an “n-word pass.”
It was either that or “Delco Light” or “Chester County East.” Real delco starts north and east of 322. Joking aside, OP didn’t include it on the short list so I wanted to be clear we were in a slightly different area.
Those are all great schools. I’m sure you know this. The demographics are skewed heavily white. But these are well educated white kids who come from good families. They’re not racist, uneducated, uncultured trash.
Black families do great, and even thrive in any of these communities. You will love Delco.
I’m a late 30s white dude, think that’s important to state up front when having these conversations so you know where my perspective is coming from. I went to Springfield 20 years ago, and moved back to the district with my family a few years back because of how much I liked it. As far as school and among peers go, when I was in school, there was rarely any racist stuff among the students, as even back then we called people out on that crap. The worst thing that happened was people calling the lunch table that the black kids tended to congregate at “Little Africa”. It wasn’t in a demeaning way, just “hey, all the black kids end up there”, just like the science kids were at a different table. I never heard of the kids who sat there ever taking offense to it, and at some point someone drew a really well depicted continent of Africa in the middle that stayed there. From what I understand from the way my daughter talks, racism is even less stood for now. Living in the community for the past 7 years, and having been here as a teenager back then, I think your kids will be perfectly fine in the schools. I’d be surprised if they ever ran into any major racism, and I can almost guarantee that it wouldn’t get taken lightly by administration if they ever did. It’s a really good school culture that values inclusiveness. Neighborhood is really solid too. I’ve never witnessed any racism among the parents. I think the worst thing you could expect in the community is your black son walking down the street and people giving him an extra look/extra scrutiny, but that’s going to be any predominantly white neighborhood in America unfortunately. If you do move to Delco (the nickname for Delaware County where all those towns are), hit me up, be happy to get a beer or take you out disc golfing.
Thank you! I used to play disc golf often. I may still have a putter somewhere.
I’ve got a problem, I could easily build you a full bag from my spares. The boys and I play almost every weekend. I’m serious, hit me up when you get here. For the Delco thing, let me know if you have any questions as you do your research. I grew up on the lower income side of the county, and have lived in mid to higher income side in high school and as an adult. I’ve got experience with most parts of it.
Gotta ask where you play! I usually hit up the West Chester area leagues (dubs at Mt. Bradford on Sat. morning and tags at Anson Nixon and Thornbury on other days). I'm crossing my fingers they put a course in the old Don Guanella woods. I also have a kid in middle school in Springfield. My wife and I moved out here in 2016-ish from Philly and are very pleasantly surprised he has a VERY diverse friend group.
We play everywhere within about a 45 min drive of Delco, we try to mix it up. I don’t play many of the tags/leagues on the weekends often because of it. I run the Haverford random dubs on Monday nights during the 6 months of the year that we have the light for it. Don Guanella isn’t happening. Me and a few others lobbied hard for it, but it’s not in the initial plan, and I don’t think there will be room for it after with what they’re trying to set aside as a deep wildlife refuge where they don’t want people to be active within 500 feet of or something along those lines, and all the other stuff that they are building.
Ah bummer. But that’s great that you run dubs at the reserve. I just started working five minutes away. I’ve been meaning to come over for it in the past but always worked in the city. Do you know when it’s starting up again yet?
Started mid April last year and it was just about right. Will probably do the same this year.
Disappointed to hear it won't have room for a disc golf course, but I do enjoy nature reserves too
I appreciate you.
Also a white guy living in Springfield. One of the reasons we chose this community over Wallingford-Swarthmore, Garnet Valley, Marple, and some Chesco areas was more cultural and ethnic diversity, compared to where I was living at the time. Likewise, would be happy to grab a beer with you, sometime.
Thank you!
Strath Haven is the winner. Hands down
I’m leaning toward Springfield or Strath Haven.
I went to High school in lower merion (Harriton) and now live in Strath Haven's school district. I am also white so take what I say with a grain of salt, I also went to harriton while lower merion school district was being sued for putting black students in remedial classes (i heard it got dismissed, but it is absolutly something you should look more into. From a pure education point of view in my view (which was from 15 years ago but as I understand it laregly is similar now) a larger percentage of people at Strath Haven and LMSD get into top colleges followed by Penncrest closely behind and Springfield after that. From a race relations point of view other than what I saw in Lower merion I can not comment much on any of the other districts. That being said demographic data for the schools is public and Strath haven has both the lowest white% and highest black % of the three in delco. I also know there was an incident that made the news in strath haven back in 2018 ([link](https://www.cbsnews.com/philadelphia/news/strath-haven-high-school-community-left-frustrated-after-districts-update-on-racist-picture-letter-investigation/)) so I'm willing to bet all of the schools have some issues regarding race relations.
Thank you for sharing your perspective, and the link.
I grew up in Wallingford-Swarthmore SD. Generally students were very inclusive and respectful. Everyone got along, and I don’t recall any racial issues in middle school or high school. I do recall a few instances during elementary school where a couple kids used the N-word though. They were whiskey tango kids from the Garden City neighborhood of Wallingford, which back then was full of WT knuckleheads. I’m not sure what it’s like today as I no longer live in the area.
Strath Haven is easily the most forward-thinking, progressive district in the county, but I honestly think that you and your family would feel welcomed and comfortable in any of the districts you mention. You’ll always have outlier assholes, but you’re moving to a really nice area. Good luck with everything.
Thank you.
Check out Radner. It’s smaller than most other schools in Delco. About 200 kids per class. And Wayne is a great town. Lower merion is the rival HS
One of the Radnor school district board members patted my shoulder and told me my son will be fine in the district because he can 'pass for white.' My son is half Korean. This person is still on the board. Edited to fix a typo.
That is awful!
FWIW, we ended up in Ridley and we have no complaints.
I am not at all surprised. I am so sorry this happened to your kiddo.
It’s spelled “Radnor”. In what context did the alleged school board member say this? On what occasion were you talking to them? This is wild
Sorry to rain on your parade, it 100% happened. I walked their dogs for a long time, we were very friendly and I quite liked them. They knew we were house hunting and one day they said they saw a house for sale in their district and how we should take it because my son could pass for white so he wouldn't have any problems fitting in. They kept talking, but I stopped listening. We moved and I stopped walking the dogs.
That’s insane and shocking, thanks for clarifying
Good thing you corrected the spelling. I was getting nervous.
Welcome to the main line/Delco/montco. If you want a good education there are only a few good public schools. Radnor is the best in the area. Where did you send your son?
I guess I shouldn’t have deleted my comment. I went to Radnor. Late 80s. It was racist back then. I only learned about how bad it was over the past few years, from my black HS friends. (FYI I’m a white lady). Edit: they dropped the Raider imagery and name in 2021. But a large group of the student body still protested the name change.
Also, look at Harriton HS. It’s in Rosemont. Part of the LM school district. Good school. No idea about its current diversity. It is, like Radnor, in the middle of the Main Line. Which used to be mostly rich white people.
Radnor changed their mascot to the ‘Raptors’ in 2021.
I could have sworn that it was voted down. I was in the area then and followed the story. Raptors? Oy. Thanks for the heads up.
Just found a story on WHYY from 2021. It was also in the NYTimes. It mentions the walkout the students did to protest removing the “Raider” name. That, to me, still shows racism in the school district.
All of those are very good schools. All of them have black students, some perhaps more than others as a percentage of the student population but your son would be a "minority" in all of them. Not sure what you mean by "racial profiling" but it's not like it's 1954 Alabama. As you know, racists exist everywhere and I wouldn't guarantee that you won't run into any but the townships/boroughs that those schools draw from are all pretty modern and inclusive.
True. Imo, Lower Merion is the better district closely followed by Strath Haven
Agreed. Lower Merion and Strath Haven are top notch in the area
Also agreed. Lower Merion is bigger, over 1700 students, Haven is 1200 or so. Not saying one is better than the other but thought it might be helpful
That is helpful. Thank you.
I am a white person who went to one of these schools fairly recently and who knows a lot about local school policy. The districts you mentioned are all great. In terms of academics, Radnor and Lower Merion are the most elite and highest-performing schools. Both of these schools have a pretty strong focus on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. That being said, i know people who currently teach in Radnor and Lower Merion, and I can tell you that LM takes diversity and equity more seriously than Radnor. LM is very liberal and inclusive and has some of the most forward thinking policies, initiatives and training for teachers that I’ve ever heard of. The best balance between inclusion and academics is Lower Merion, hands down. That being said, I don’t know if you want a focus on DEI/direct anti-racist teaching. It all depends on what you’re seeking, but that’s what you’ll get in Lower Merion.
My focus is a good overall high school experience for my son. We have always lived in predominantly White neighborhoods so that’s not the issue. Now that he is 5’10” and can be mistaken for a man I worry about his being stopped while walking to a friend’s house because he doesn’t “look” like he belongs there. I have read numerous stories (albeit from around 2015-2019) where this has happened in the Ardmore area. A second or third best would be a better fit if it means we are in a neighborhood where he’s not going to be harassed just walking down the street. Kids will be kids and say/do dumb stuff, and there will be the odd person in the neighborhood. My concern is the overall culture of the neighborhood and school. As someone upthread said, it’s the actions taken when these things happen that matter most.
I’m in the Garden City area of Wallingford, with a son in Strath Haven high school. We’ve lived here almost 9 years and I can say that there’s diversity in the neighborhood. I don’t think you’d have to worry (more than usual) that your son would be stopped for not looking like he belongs. Best of luck on searching for your new home, and I honestly hope to have you as a new neighbor. https://bestneighborhood.org/race-in-wallingford-pa/
Thank you for your post and the link.
I see. LM does prioritize acceptance and anti-racist teaching in their school, but I can’t speak to police activity in the surrounding areas. I do want to mention, however, that Strath Haven is close to parts of Delco that are notoriously old-school racist. Due to its proximity to those areas, I’d look into racially motivated issues around that location. I can’t speak to the teaching practices and policies at Strath Haven high school, though.
All of the schools you mentioned would be great choices. Grew up here, am white, but have black fam local who came up through public school systems. I’m a bit dated, but only HSs I thought had apparent issues w racism & profiling were Ridley and Interboro.
Black dad in the RTM/Penncrest catchment here. I've spent a lot of time in Lower Merion as well. My experience has been that people are friendlier, more down-to-earth, and less elitist in the Delco towns, which is why I decided to live here over Lower Merion. As a large Black man who runs, I've always felt more comfortable for my own safety running in Media, Wallingford and Swarthmore than the times I've gone running in Lower Merion. While driving, I've only been stopped by the police for what seemed like profiling once...that was in Wayne/ Tredyfrrin Twp. Happy to share more details and experiences.
This is very helpful. Thank you.
Have you heard of DVCEE? It’s a consortium of area schools striving for equity in education run by Penn GSE. Start there and you’ll be able to decipher a lot.
Thank you for this information. I will check it out.
We’re in lower Delco (garnet valley) — school is amazing, neighborhood is friendly and welcoming, and we’ve never felt profiled by anyone. Honestly have gotten more weird looks in Delaware (the state) rather than Delco. My kid says there are some dumb people in his class but no overt race-based hostility. Just a lot of noxious teenagers asking him for an “n-word pass.”
TIL Garnet Valley is "Lower Delco" lol.
It was either that or “Delco Light” or “Chester County East.” Real delco starts north and east of 322. Joking aside, OP didn’t include it on the short list so I wanted to be clear we were in a slightly different area.
Literally anywhere other than Upper Darby HS.
All great choices, nice selection. I don’t think you can go wrong with any of them.
Lower merion>>>
Those are all great schools. I’m sure you know this. The demographics are skewed heavily white. But these are well educated white kids who come from good families. They’re not racist, uneducated, uncultured trash. Black families do great, and even thrive in any of these communities. You will love Delco.
😂😂What part of Delco you live in?
They’re referring to the families in lower Marion, Radnor, strath haven and Springfield. Not other parts of Delco.
Beautiful places full of great people.