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Old 09-02-2011, 12:44 PM
 
14 posts, read 54,768 times
Reputation: 38

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Quote:
Originally Posted by rjl786 View Post
We hadn't realized how repressed we were in Plano schools!
Exactly! I'm glad we weren't the only ones who felt 'repressed' while at PISD. Here are a few of the rules and policies I recall from those days:

-. Volunteers are not allowed near the classrooms because that might interfere with learning. They should report to a secluded room to do all the cutting, labeling, sorting, etc. (okay...)
-. AND they are not allowed to bring younger siblings while volunteering. (Seriously, because they can disrupt learning from that 'secluded' space?)
-. Kindergarteners are not allowed to bring their water bottles into the classroom. Those should stay in the backpacks, because water tends to spill, and spill tends to create mess, and mess, well mess disrupts learning. (Expecting five-year-olds to remember that they should drink their fluid and stay hydrated with no fluid in sight... yeah, that tells you how much those teachers take into consideration the developmental stages of their entrusted, or how much they care about the overall well-being of the kids. 'Avoid circumstances that would lead to mess at all cost' rather than 'mess happens in life, but there are always ways to deal with them. Take it in strides and focus on more important things.' - which is the life lesson you want your kindergartener to learn?)
-. Bathroom ban from 9:30 to 11:30. (Right, and they say they want to avoid mess. Tell that to the first grader who were too scared to tell the teacher that he had to go and soiled his pants. He could be traumatized for life, but well, as long as his 'learning's on track..)

After scratching heads at these 'rules' and 'policies' a few times, we finally realized that what they meant by learning was all about academics - more specifically, being a better test taker, not about character building, not about being a more mature and responsible member of the society, not about being a 'wholesome' person. I hate 'teaching for TAKS' for what it is, but despise it more for the culture and mindset it creates and fosters.
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Old 09-02-2011, 12:48 PM
 
71 posts, read 119,098 times
Reputation: 47
Quote:
Originally Posted by TurtleCreek80 View Post
It amazes me. Parents come on here saying education is their top priority....until they get distracted by the shiny NEW! BIG! home in a lesser school district.

My parents could have bought a palace with acreage in Plano or Garland or Rockwall in the 1980's. Instead, they spent nearly $300k in 1986 to buy a cottage in HPISD because of the schools.

If education is the top priority, you sacrifice on home (size, age, amenities) to buy the best damn education you can for your kids.

If it's not a top priority, that's another thing. But don't say it is and then buy a home zoned to the 35th ranked SAT.
Interesting point. Typically, the PCs are viewed as the "rich snobs with big houses." But, it makes me wonder, since your folks bought something considerably smaller compared to others nearby, was there any stereotyping directed at y'all given the much smaller home?

From what I've seen there, the smaller homes ("cottages") are actually very well-kept. So, I guess there wouldn't be anything to worry about in terms of the wealthier folks looking down on someone living in something much smaller...
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Old 09-02-2011, 12:50 PM
 
Location: Texas
44,257 posts, read 64,046,055 times
Reputation: 73913
Quote:
Originally Posted by rjl786 View Post
Completely untrue. I travel extensively in both cities for my job, and Plano stoplights are the worst in the metroplex. It's hideous. It's as if they set 'em and forget 'em.
I can't even go to Frisco anymore because the traffic makes me so angry.
Gimme Park and Preston over 121 and Preston any day.
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Old 09-02-2011, 12:52 PM
 
Location: Texas
44,257 posts, read 64,046,055 times
Reputation: 73913
I think it's hilarious that y'all are comparing school systems that are enough alike that the factor deciding where your kid is going to wind up at college is pretty much THE KID and THE PARENTS.
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Old 09-02-2011, 12:56 PM
 
71 posts, read 119,098 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by stan4 View Post
I can't even go to Frisco anymore because the traffic makes me so angry.
Gimme Park and Preston over 121 and Preston any day.
Agreed! The traffic from SB 121 exiting NB Preston who then zip over to the turn lane into the mall really tick me off. It's not their fault the roads were designed that way, but still...it's very frustrating. Traffic in that area, in general, is ridiculous...
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Old 09-02-2011, 01:10 PM
 
Location: Wylie, Texas
3,812 posts, read 4,381,118 times
Reputation: 6102
Quote:
Originally Posted by TurtleCreek80 View Post
You're not making an equal comparison-> top St Mark's kids are not choosing MIT because they're going to other T20 schools. MIT and UPenn/Yale are in the same league; Baylor and A&M are not.

The SAT scores and NMSF % in Prosper would indicate those students never had a fighting chance at Harvard. They're going to UT and A&M because that's the quality of students they are- and more telling, those schools are "aspirational" in Prosper (vs aspiring to H/Y/P/S at Plano, Highland Park, Southlake, Coppell,'etc).


On the flip side, I highly recommend the OP do a search in the dallas forums for Big G's thread on the going ons in the Plano ISD...it might tilt the scales towards Frisco...for RIGHT NOW, yes Plano is still an elite school district...I wonder for how much longer though...
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Old 09-02-2011, 01:18 PM
 
13,194 posts, read 28,091,857 times
Reputation: 13124
Quote:
Originally Posted by YouKnowWho View Post
Interesting point. Typically, the PCs are viewed as the "rich snobs with big houses." But, it makes me wonder, since your folks bought something considerably smaller compared to others nearby, was there any stereotyping directed at y'all given the much smaller home?

From what I've seen there, the smaller homes ("cottages") are actually very well-kept. So, I guess there wouldn't be anything to worry about in terms of the wealthier folks looking down on someone living in something much smaller...
That's a common Park Cities misconception, but in reality if you can affor a home there, you "belong" and certainly aren't looked down upon. Most of those "rich" people are too busy running companies to sneer at a 1,800sf cottage (Plus, the cottage's resident teenager might be the Scot's Quarterback or Belle lieutenant.....kids look up to those leaders, not down on them!!)

The only exception I can think of is the "apartment dwellers"'(whose numbers are dwindling as they've almost all been torn down) and most neighborhoods across the metroplex tend to look down on "apartment dwellers"....hardly unique to HPISD.

There are a ton of those cottages and small post-war 2-stories left in the Park Cities- probably more than half the housing stock in UP and a third of HP's?

We are newlyweds and looking in the Park Cities now. We'll probably be buying one those cottages (for $700-850k in today's market) and have zero worries about "being looked down on". Who's to look down when the whole neighborhood lives in a similar-sized home??
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Old 09-02-2011, 01:25 PM
 
13,194 posts, read 28,091,857 times
Reputation: 13124
Quote:
Originally Posted by stan4 View Post
I think it's hilarious that y'all are comparing school systems that are enough alike that the factor deciding where your kid is going to wind up at college is pretty much THE KID and THE PARENTS.
I wouldn't discredit the school's culture in playing a role in where the kid ends up going to college. I learned about some great schools I applied to because older HP kids went there. I don't know if I would have looked into Davidson or Vanderbilt or Wake if I had grown up in Prosper.

Also, some kids need that competitive "push" from other kids to do their best work. It's hard to be the lone academic wolf when everyone else just wants to go to state school.
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Old 09-02-2011, 03:36 PM
 
1,315 posts, read 2,665,454 times
Reputation: 762
I understand your points....

When it comes to growing school districts,it is important to consider the direction the town/city is going in.Frisco's build out is estimated to be near 300,000.They will have section 8 housing soon and have looser zoning standards than other areas with standout school districts ( Southlake,Colleyville,etc) when it comes to multi family.They also have alot of lower priced houses ( under $160,000) that are rentals.The Frisco isd today will not be the same in 10 years.A district like Prosper has potential to be great for a number of reasons.The town has been very strict with zoning and figuring out how to make the most of tax payers contributions when it comes to the isd. The district has the same mascot thru all grades ,for all schools.The district has an enormous sense of pride,driving around you will see many cars on the road in Prosper with a green P on the back of their car.This by no means makes Prosper isd an amazing district academically just yet. When investing money in real estate today it is important to look past where a city is in DFW right now and think of where that same city will be in the near future. Example.....I am sure that the people in the Chapel Creek subdivision of Frisco ( $7000,000 PLUS RANGE ) are thrilled that there is going to be a section 8 apartment complex right behind their walking trails.This will effect the enrollment of the feeder school for that area.Many isd's down here are in a unique position because they are in cities that are still growing.It is important to look at a town's comprehensive plan and what they have actually followed thru on.I want to live in a place where the tax payers have a say in what their money is going to.
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Old 09-02-2011, 05:12 PM
 
Location: Wylie, Texas
3,812 posts, read 4,381,118 times
Reputation: 6102
Quote:
Originally Posted by CREW747 View Post
I understand your points....

When it comes to growing school districts,it is important to consider the direction the town/city is going in.Frisco's build out is estimated to be near 300,000.They will have section 8 housing soon and have looser zoning standards than other areas with standout school districts ( Southlake,Colleyville,etc) when it comes to multi family.They also have alot of lower priced houses ( under $160,000) that are rentals.The Frisco isd today will not be the same in 10 years.A district like Prosper has potential to be great for a number of reasons.The town has been very strict with zoning and figuring out how to make the most of tax payers contributions when it comes to the isd. The district has the same mascot thru all grades ,for all schools.The district has an enormous sense of pride,driving around you will see many cars on the road in Prosper with a green P on the back of their car.This by no means makes Prosper isd an amazing district academically just yet. When investing money in real estate today it is important to look past where a city is in DFW right now and think of where that same city will be in the near future. Example.....I am sure that the people in the Chapel Creek subdivision of Frisco ( $7000,000 PLUS RANGE ) are thrilled that there is going to be a section 8 apartment complex right behind their walking trails.This will effect the enrollment of the feeder school for that area.Many isd's down here are in a unique position because they are in cities that are still growing.It is important to look at a town's comprehensive plan and what they have actually followed thru on.I want to live in a place where the tax payers have a say in what their money is going to.

and yet after all that cheerleading you just did, Prosper ISD is ranked below Frisco, and Plano in SAT scores...you guys arent even in the same universe...that's how bad it is...so if Prosper can't get their act together when they are still a small district and according to you, being VERY SELECTIVE with who they let in to Prosper, then what hope does your city have when it is no longer the "hot new thing" and you now have a broader range of families, some of whom may not be the best material?

That's why PISD needs to receive more praise...to keep an elite school district, that is so large, with a sizeable (and growing) poor population, speaks volumes for how good a job the district is doing.
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