Introducing Where Success Lives

How Parents Protect and Build Wealth in the Best Homes, Neighborhoods and Schools

Read this introduction below or listen using the audio player.

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Doing what’s best for our kids

We all want the best for our children, and as parents, we’re highly predictive in our child’s future success. Not that we need reminding. Today’s parenting culture would have us believe that every decision, from the choice of water bottle to bedtime story, makes a difference.

The reality is that just a few big rocks matter: our incomes, marriage, and where we choose to live. 

Where we live matters a lot. Self-reliance and grit is often nothing compared to the opportunity and outcomes the best homes, neighborhoods and schools deliver in a child’s life. 

Deciding where to belong may start with the desire for more space or a garage, but the search for a place to call home is soon taken over by schools. Where are the good schools? What’s the best school for my child? Neighborhood property values and schools tend to rise and fall together. Knowledge is power after all. With enough knowledge, you can not only fend off circumstances of your birth, inequality, and discrimination, but you can create opportunity, wealth and success.

Discovering good schools and neighborhoods

It’s no wonder that getting the best education for our kids consumes us parents -- and that’s where school rankings come in. Often based on factors such as test scores, graduation rates, and other performance indicators, sites like Great Schools, Niche and US News & World Report publish rankings to help families evaluate and compare schools. 

Parents assume rankings reflect an accurate and complete picture of a school’s performance; schools with a high score offer better teachers, resources and outcomes, while schools with a low score should be avoided. The implication is that good schools are in limited supply. 

Certainly, test scores can provide insights into student achievement, but they are just one piece of the puzzle. Both parents and schools can get caught in a game of scarcity and competition when looking at school rankings, and may feel incentivized to focus on gaming the system, while neglecting other aspects of education, such as character development, social-emotional well-being, critical thinking skills, and creativity.

While schools can be pathways to success, school rankings can be harbingers of inequality. So, what truly makes a “good” school? Similarly, what makes a “good” neighborhood? Why do we place so much emphasis on the notions of good schools and neighborhoods, and are they truly worth the cost?

"Where Success Lives" will explore how parents protect and build wealth in the best homes, neighborhoods and schools.

Over the next few weeks, we'll break down how much more you'll pay for a home in a good school district, whether higher-ranked schools are a worthwhile investment, whether lower-ranked schools are safe, and how to evaluate and discover the best places for your child.

Join our community of committed parents and educators

“Where Success Lives” is a newsletter for parents, educators and anyone interested in how the best homes, neighborhoods and schools influence the next generation’s success. With a free weekly email, “Where Success Lives” aims to give you the numbers and decision-making tools you need to feel more empowered as you decide where to live and what’s best for your child(ren).

I’m Rebecca Healy and this newsletter includes many things I enjoy: making sense of complex decisions, weaving together multiple data sources, and a deep curiosity toward understanding place and success.

I hope everything I write will empower parents to shape their current and future communities, and that you’ll join me, as we unearth where success lives.

The first post will go live Thursday, June 1st, with weekly posts thereafter.

You can also help me by liking this post, commenting and sharing with a friend. Thank you, and I can’t wait to explore these questions and ideas together.

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