move2westlinn

Jody McLeod April 12th, 2007

What tops a home-buyer’s priority list when purchasing a new home? Price? Crime statistics? Square footage? For many families, schools can be a deciding factor.

It was for my family. In addition to liking the area, we moved to West Linn because of the school district’s reputation. And we haven’t been disappointed; my kids have had great instructors who genuinely care about their students and an administration that has been responsive to our questions or concerns.

West Linn schools are part of the West Linn-Wilsonville School District. Here are maps of the district boundaries. (In case you are wondering, Wilsonville is a city just south of West Linn.)

West Linn Schools include the following:

Primary Schools
Willamette Primary
Bolton Primary
Sunset Primary
Cedaroak Primary
Stafford Primary

Middle Schools
Athey Creek Middle School
Rosemont Ridge Middle School

High School
West Linn High School

Other Schools in District
Three Rivers Charter School
Arts and Technology High School (Although located in Wilsonville, West Linn students may transfer here if they have openings).

Private Schools
Sun Garden Montessori
Columbia Academy
Montessori School of West Linn (no web site, phone 503-636-2195)
West Linn Montessori School (no web site, phone 503-656-8911)

District Report Card
Click here for West Linn-Wilsonville school district report cards going back several years.

Some Fun Facts about the District:

• The total student membership for the West Linn-Wilsonville School District was 8,104 students at the start of the 2005-06 school year.
• The state funding allocation was $5,319.00 per student for the 2003-04 school year.
• The district has 412 teachers. (For reporting purposes, two half time teachers are counted as one full time teacher.)
• Wilsonville High led the state in percentage of CIM Completers with 66% and West Linn High was second with 56%.
• There were 9 valedictorians and 5 National Merit Scholars last year. West Linn High had 7 Commended Scholars.

Posted by: Jody

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Jody McLeod April 9th, 2007

There has been some residential and political tête-à-tête around town regarding the future of West Linn. There are those folks who think that there are already too many large, stately homes and don’t want to see more built, there are some who want to see more parks, while others are perfectly happy with the City’s future plans.

In 1994 West Linn formed a task force and published a report, Imagine West Linn, outlining a plan of growth for the city. Thirteen years later, the City of West Linn is revisiting the report to reflect the communities’ changing goals in a new document to be titled Re-Imagine West Linn.

As a 5-year West Linn resident, I have my own personal “wish list” for the city. (NOTE: I’m not sure if these ideas are financially feasible, or even if they are city-driven issues, they are just a list of things that have crossed my mind from time to time that I thought I would like to see in West Linn).

1. A community center – (bonus points if it had a pool).
2. A bed and breakfast for out-of-town visitors (no corporate entities).
3. More “mom and pop” restaurants with great food and down-home service
4. A natural food store to supplement the Artists and Farmers Market held Wednesday afternoons.
5. Additional sidewalks and bike paths on a few roads, such as Willamette Falls Drive/Borland Rd.
6. A dog park (Yes, yes, I know there is one close-by in Lake Oswego, but its my wish list and I think it would be great to have one here).

And, now, the table is turned to you. City officials are asking for input from citizens, committees and neighborhood associations. What would you like to see in West Linn’s future? Speak up, shout out, and let your thoughts be known! Email your ideas and comments to John Atkins, West Linn’s City Planner.

——- UPDATE ———- 
West linn DOES have a dog park! Shame on me for not knowing this.  Thanks to one of our readers, Ben, for pointing this out. It is located in Mary S. Young park off of Willamette Drive (Highway 43). I went and checked it out.  Although there is no fence, it’s a nice big area and there were several people there with their dogs having a good time. (However, when I go I will have to keep one of my dogs on a leash; it’s amazing how she goes “deaf” when she spots a critter and I suddenly become nothing more than a distant memory).

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Ron Ares March 27th, 2007

What is our purpose? Why do we exist? Fundamental and philosophical questions for everyone. An existential puzzle, if you will.

But, in the case of creating move2westlinn.com, it was simply a matter of acknowledging that real estate is a LOCAL endeavor.

Information that is best served with local feet on the street. Local eyes on the housing inventory. Local knowledge of community news and events. Highlighting local market trends, business people, and useful resources.

There are many directory or community sites, typically created by companies looking to generate advertising revenue or leads for real estate agents. But these websites provide little additional value to the reader. Even the new flashy, map-driven property valuation sites tell only part of the story.

We aren’t looking to be a dead-end list of links or an advertisement-strewn real estate site. We aren’t looking to dish gossip or recite articles from the local newspaper.

We do, however, want to help potential West Linn residents gain a local perspective on housing, lifestyle, and livability. Home values, neighborhood descriptions, architecture, parks, schools, commutes, city planning, and local businesses all add up to paint the entire picture. We are the blank canvas…for now.

Here’s what we plan to cover:

• Market Activity - active listings and recent sales
• Real Estate Fundamentals - average time on market, price per square foot
• Neighborhood profiles - home styles, values, streets, geographic features
• People and Places - interviews and profiles of local residents, businesses, and places to visit

Content on our site will change frequently, so subscribe in your favorite newsreader, or sign up to receive our posts via email. Your comments are welcome, and frankly encouraged. We don’t claim to have a corner on the information or opinions about West Linn, so current residents’ and other readers’ thoughts will fill out the picture more completely.

Contact us with your ideas or leave a comment below.

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Jody McLeod March 26th, 2007

Welcome to Move2WestLinn.com, a local guide to real estate, lifestyle, and livability of West Linn, a suburb south of Portland, Oregon.

Your hosts, Ron Ares and Jody McLeod, are real estate brokers with Advanced Real Estate Services, a West Linn business located in the turn-of-the-century Willamette District.

We will focus not only on recent real estate sales and the types of homes West Linn has to offer, but also some insight to what makes the city click, from personal interviews of townsfolk and political happenings to our opinions on recent events in the area.

We hope our content informs, educates and entertains you. Perhaps, it will also persuade you to share your experience and opinions with us and other readers.

And with that said, we begin our new experiment with a mixture of excitement and trepidation, like the first trip on a new ride at the amusement park. We’ve taken our seat, the safety bar has been latched… aaaand weee’re off!

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