Did it surprise you when you learned that a national magazine named Columbus as the 4th best place to raise a family? It did me. I guess that doesn’t sound very loyal to the town of my birth and where I have spent – not all – but most of my life. Loyalty has nothing to do with it. I am a realist and, while I know Columbus’ plusses, I also know its minuses.
It is a good place to raise a family. There are great parks, museums, a beautiful river walk, lakes, live theater, and a 2,000 seat state-of-the-art theater that attracts top international performers and a university that has a good reputation. Also, commutes and traffic congestion are nothing compared to places like Atlanta, LA and New York.
But public education has to be at the top of the list for most parents when they are considering the desirability of a place to raise a family. While some schools have good standardized test score records, the overall average for the city is not good. So how did the judges for Best Life magazine get around that when it gave Columbus the number four ranking? It’s because the system is hiring a larger percentage of new teachers than most school districts, 50 each year for the last 5 years, according to the report I saw about it on the Today show. Maybe that will help bring up the test scores. Let’s hope.
Being named number 4 was something the Greater Columbus Chamber of Comemrce can work with. Just imagine what a chamber would do if a city made the top ten worst cities to raise kids. You don’t have to imagine. Just check the YouTube video below and see how Springfield, MO reacted to being named the number 1 worst palce to raise a family.
Tags: Best Life, Chamber of Commerce, Columbus, education, Georgia, Missouri, Museums, Parks, Recreation, River Walk, Springfield, Top 100 Cities
