Helpful Reference Websites for Buyers
Schools
www.greatschools.org - Great Schools’ trusted ratings and school information help parents find the right school for their family and improve schools in their communities. The thousands of articles, tips and interactive tools help parents support their child’s learning and wellbeing every day.
www.schooldigger.com - Start your search for a great school at SchoolDigger.com! We have test scores, rankings, school and district boundaries, student/teacher ratios, ethnic makeup, and scores of other useful metrics and information for over 120,000 elementary, middle, and high schools in the United States!
www.learndc.org/schoolprofiles - LearnDC offers a wealth of information about each public school and public charter school in DC, from test scores and graduation rates to program offerings, enrollment trends and more. As you navigate the information, helpful data visualizations and descriptions empower you to make the most of what you're seeing.
www.k12.niche.com/rankings/public-high-schools/best-overall/m/washington-dc-metro-area - The 2018 Best Public High Schools ranking is based on rigorous analysis of key statistics and millions of reviews from students and parents using data from the U.S. Department of Education. Ranking factors include state test scores, college readiness, graduation rates, SAT/ACT scores, teacher quality, and high school ratings.
Crime
www.crimereports.com - CrimeReports is the nation's largest collection of law enforcement agencies committed to transparency, public access, and citizen engagement. The data on CrimeReports is sent on an hourly, daily, or weekly basis from more than 1000 participating agencies to the CrimeReports map.
www.spotcrime.com - SpotCrime is a crime data aggregator. We map the crime incidents, plot them on Google Maps, and deliver alerts via email, Facebook, Twitter, SMS, RSS and a multitude of other platforms. The data comes from police departments, news reports and user-generated content. Our goal is to provide the most accurate, timely geocoded crime information to the public.
http://mpdc.dc.gov/page/statistics-and-data - Get up-to-date information on homicides, arrests and firearm recoveries in DC. Or use the links below to view annual official crime statistics for recent years or preliminary monthly statistics for the current year.
DC Blogs
www.popville.com - PoPville chronicles the happenings in Washington D.C.’s neighborhoods. Topics covered include quality of life, real estate, restaurants, bars, retail, architecture, gardening, pets, transit, crime and other general observations about daily life in D.C. Washingtonian magazine has called PoPville the “King of Neighborhood Blogs” and The Washington Post has written that Silverman “probably knows more about the District than some beat cops.”
https://dc.urbanturf.com/ - UrbanTurf is the website that people come to see the DC area's best and most interesting homes for sale. It’s the site that those who are development-focused come to find out what new residential projects are going up in their neighborhood. It’s where you come to get the dirt about trends that could influence your home buying, selling or renting decision. And it is routinely a place that real estate fanatics come to think about their dream home or the next neighborhood they might want to upgrade to.
Neighborhood Message Boards
https://nextdoor.com/ - Nextdoor is the best way to stay informed about what’s going on in your neighborhood—whether it’s finding a last-minute babysitter, planning a local event, or sharing safety tips. There are so many ways our neighbors can help us, we just need an easier way to connect with them.
