I think location and district size play a pretty big role here. One of the reasons my wife and I left the Pacific NW was because we wanted kids and did not like any of the choices within reasonable driving time ( 1 hr) of where I worked. So off to a new job in Midwest. I have some friends from the same general area in the NW who loved their community and school but it was a lot smaller district and further from the urban areas.

In the spirit of full disclosure I will also fess up to having a lot of teachers in my immediate family and they all cared for the kids and went out there way to be there when needed. Of course they have all complained about at least one co-worker who just kind of drifted through the classroom. Ultimately parents are responsible for their kids but the good teachers can really make a difference. Like anything else, put the time in to learn the territory and make good decisions for you and yours.

- Eric