91吃瓜

By Nina Rubin

Every day when I Google “Georgia Charter Schools,” to keep up with the charter school news, a funny thing happens.聽At least a dozen real estate listings come up in search, all mentioning that the home for sale is near a public charter school.

Here’s one from a few months ago:

Learn more about 1947 Bixby Street, Atlanta,聽Georgia聽30317 聽and …聽Park with playground, and one mile to the Drew聽Charter School campus.

It’s long been true聽that the reputation of a school district can impact聽real estate sales and increase home values. Ask any Northeast transplant from New York, New Jersey, or Massachusetts聽why they’ve chosen to live East Cobb or Alpharetta, and invariably the answer is, “We got a helluva house in a great public school district.”

So it’s good to hear聽some realtors report that high quality public charter schools are also having an effect on home sales and home valuations.

, is seeing the charter school impact聽in Intown Atlanta. “The charter school in Grant Park is a big driver of home sales.聽Even though admission to the school is by lottery, buyers still want to make sure they’re in the attendance zone so their kids have a shot at getting into , as well as for potential resale. has become聽the leading factor driving home sales and increasing property values in the East Lake area as well.”

sells as many homes outside the Atlanta Perimeter as inside. He agrees that charter schools are adding a new dimension to what has always been true. 鈥淎ward winning schools often聽add value to a home. Bottom line, for real estate decisions, a school鈥檚 academic results, which are available to anyone who wants to do their homework, are a big factor.鈥�

Drew Charter School’s impact on the East Lake neighborhood聽is about much more than the power of a high-achieving school. The聽once proud East Lake neighborhood had聽unique assets (a world-class golf course, for one) but聽had fallen into crime, disrepair, abandonment, and poverty. It took the plan of comprehensive聽community redevelopment to bring the neighborhood back to its current strength and marketability.

Nevertheless,聽affordable housing and excellent schools were the undeniable cornerstones of the redevelopment plan. East Lake’s mixed-rate housing options, its聽Boys & Girls Club, along with聽the opportunity for families to enroll their children in Drew Charter School, have been absolute game changers.

For families who can afford to live anywhere, high quality public schools will always be a real estate driver. But for families who rent, or聽might be stuck with聽underwater mortgages in declining neighborhoods and聽cannot afford to relocate, school choice offers perhaps the only聽way to bypass failing zoned public schools. In metro Atlanta, parents have demonstrated their sheer determination to enroll in charters, driving聽out of their way simply to give their children a better聽education.

It’s exciting to see that聽the presence of a good public school, whether charter or not, can help families build wealth, better prepare their children for college and careers, and transform a neighborhood. When聽more fluid neighborhood choices combine with expanded school choices, the possibilities are truly empowering.

Nina Rubin is Director of Communications for the Georgia Charter Schools Association

Georgia Charter Schools Association

The Georgia Charter Schools Association (91吃瓜) is the membership organization for Georgia鈥檚 charter school operators and petitioners, established in 2001. Our mission is to be an effective advocate and service provider for all charter public schools in Georgia.