Information about Dallas private school (Allen, Frisco: fit in, apartment, house)

[EDS_]

Originally Posted by Vacation101

To EDS. I saw, in an unrelated thread, a comment you made about how you would not send your kids to Greenhill. May I ask why? Based purely on Google and their website, since we have yet to visit Dallas, it seemed like an attractive option.

Also, in terms of neighborhoods, are most of the homes in North Dallas, houses? Or do they have condos/apts as well? I'm not a huge fan of houses, which is why I'm leaning toward downtown. I also don't like the whole suburban scene but I'm mindful of an earlier comment that downtown is not "family friendly."

I'm not sure if anyone has any insight but I'm curious to know what schools look for when assessing a 4 year old for admission to kindergarten. Do they care very much about what the parents do for a living? Where they went to school? Assume affluent Ivy grad professionals are a dime a dozen in Dallas. Does a bright kid from a reasonably high income but not super rich family even have a shot at the top tier schools? I certainly don't think there's anything particularly distinctive about my child that distinguishes her from other 4 yr olds.

1. Suffice it to say Greehill is a great school academically. You should investigate it thoroughly. I'll send you a DM about my issue with Greenhill it'd be inappropriate for me to broadcast my concern.

2. Generally, the privates look for bright kids with parents who are willing to be involved - check homework, volunteer at school, participate in fundraisers etc.

3. The privates love well employed parents. You do not have to be rich.

[debtex]

Originally Posted by Vacation101

Debtex, thanks. I'm getting really depressed now! I've never lived in a house. And a yard?! Whoa. That's like wide open space for running around and bbqs, right? With that green stuff? I think they call it grass?

Seriously tho, how serious are the schools about the unofficial May 1 cutoff? My kid has a summer birthday but she is in pre-k now and I would want her to move up next year.

Sounds like St John's is definitely worth a look for us when we visit. Thanks! As you mentioned, it must fly under the radar a bit as I did not come across it in my searches.

They're pretty serious about the summer birthdays, but they leave it up to the parents in the end. It's not every kid, but speaking as someone who was younger in school, we wouldn't even consider promoting up our two summer birthdays.

[Vacation101]

Is it possible to rent homes in the Park Cities (assuming I bite the bullet and go "native")? Seems like there are many listings for sales but harder to find homes for rent. How much would a decent 3-bedroom home in the Park Cities cost in terms of monthly rent? Ideally, I wouldn't want to spend more than $4,000 a month (of course less is better). Is that doable in the Park Cities? Should I be looking elsewhere?

I like the sound of Uptown and perhaps what you seem to refer to as M streets but am mindful that I may need to be in a good public zone in case we get dinged from the privates.

[TX75007]

There are quite a few condos and town homes available up around the Dallas Tollway (DNT) and Preston Road corridor. Most of the kids who go to the privates live along this corridor from Dallas northward into Plano.

There are a least six new townhome developments 15 minutes from Greenhill - this is just one. And there are many older locations around the area as well.

Austin Waters

In this corridor are lots of homes for rent. We are 12 minutes from Greenhill and rent 3000 SF 4BDR for $1400 a month - an older nice home on a greenbelt.

I would rent a home or apt for a year before buying anything. And I would not buy a home in anticipation of getting into a private. Get accepted, spend a year there, then look for a better location to live.

Private school admission for the Tier 1 privates is competitive with few exceptions. The acceptance rates speak for themselves. Most of the schools offer tuition assistance for needy families. A lot of bright, wealthy kids do not get accepted and once in your kid is enrolled, they still need earn the right to get an invite to re-enroll for the next year.

In general, you have to be 5 for K on Sept 1 and 6 on the same date for first grade. Most places would require completed applications by December and many require on-site interviews with your child around this time as well. CATS is required by most.

All of the privates are more liberal arts schools than strong STEM schools. You see a lot of liberal arts awards and scholars from the privates whereas the science and math scholars come out of the public schools in the northern suburbs.

North Dallas and the suburbs have very little segregation by race and multiracial couples and kids are common. Most schools are multiracial. Compared to other cities of its size, the Dallas area has excellent race relations.

[Lakewooder]

Originally Posted by TurtleCreek80

vast majority of wealthier neighborhoods like Park Cities, Lakewood, and North Dallas/Preston Hollow) are white.

However, in Lakewood and M-Streets the white kids go to diverse schools - see Lakewood Elementary, Stonewall Jackson Elementary, J. L. Long Middle and Woodrow Wilson High School. International Baccalaureate is offered after elementary school - Long is still in candidacy stage but offers the IB MYP curriculum this year and Woodrow was certified as an IB World School in March - offering IB Diploma Programme and has applied to offer IB Career Certificate (IBCC) to those who complete the school's STEM and BEF (Business, Entrepreneurship and Finance) academies and and complete two IB courses. There is also a performing arts academy as well as the IB academy.

[TurtleCreek80]

Originally Posted by Lakewooder

However, in Lakewood and M-Streets the white kids go to diverse schools - see Lakewood Elementary, Stonewall Jackson Elementary, J. L. Long Middle and Woodrow Wilson High School. International Baccalaureate is offered after elementary school - Long is still in candidacy stage but offers the IB MYP curriculum this year and Woodrow was certified as an IB World School in March - offering IB Diploma Programme and has applied to offer IB Career Certificate (IBCC) to those who complete the school's STEM and BEF (Business, Entrepreneurship and Finance) academies and and complete two IB courses. There is also a performing arts academy as well as the IB academy.

Yes, the neighborhood kids who go to public school are in a more diverse environment (as in, the white kids are the minority come 6th grade), a family who lives in Lakewood and goes private for schools is living in a VERY white world.

[TurtleCreek80]

Originally Posted by Vacation101

Is it possible to rent homes in the Park Cities (assuming I bite the bullet and go "native")? Seems like there are many listings for sales but harder to find homes for rent. How much would a decent 3-bedroom home in the Park Cities cost in terms of monthly rent? Ideally, I wouldn't want to spend more than $4,000 a month (of course less is better). Is that doable in the Park Cities? Should I be looking elsewhere?

I like the sound of Uptown and perhaps what you seem to refer to as M streets but am mindful that I may need to be in a good public zone in case we get dinged from the privates.

You can rent a home for around $3,000/mo minimum- and they go way up from there. Duplexes (where you have 1/2 a home- usually top/bottom floor and sometimes side-by-side) run about $2500/mo for a 3br. Most listings come on the market around spring break and are gone before school starts in August. Very little market activity in rentals during the rest of the year.

You cannot find better schools than HPISD in the Dallas area- highest SAT average, 99% college-bound, high % National Merit, etc. Tops in athletics and other extracurriculars, too. Top 30 high school in the US. I know you have a 4yo, but it's good to know the kindergarteners grow up to e academically successful!!

[Lakewooder]

Originally Posted by TurtleCreek80

Yes, the neighborhood kids who go to public school are in a more diverse environment (as in, the white kids are the minority come 6th grade), a family who lives in Lakewood and goes private for schools is living in a VERY white world.

It depends on your definition of the boundaries of Lakewood: I live two blocks from Lakewood Theater and looking from my front porch I can see two homes where Hispanics live (one of Mexican heritage, the other of Salvadoran heritage), a house where African Americans (recently from Africa) live and a white lesbian couple is on the corner - a VERY white world is the Park Cities - in Highland Park High there were only seven black people last year.

[debtex]

Originally Posted by TurtleCreek80

Yes, the neighborhood kids who go to public school are in a more diverse environment (as in, the white kids are the minority come 6th grade), a family who lives in Lakewood and goes private for schools is living in a VERY white world.

So true.

[TurtleCreek80]

Originally Posted by Lakewooder

It depends on your definition of the boundaries of Lakewood: I live two blocks from Lakewood Theater and looking from my front porch I can see two homes where Hispanics live (one of Mexican heritage, the other of Salvadoran heritage), a house where African Americans (recently from Africa) live and a white lesbian couple is on the corner - a VERY white world is the Park Cities - in Highland Park High there were only seven black people last year.

You live in Junius Heights as you have pointed out in many threads. You also very well know the "definition of Lakewood" as you have also pointed it out many times. East Dallas is one thing; the actual Lakewood neighborhood (bordered by Abrams, Gaston, Mockingbird, & White Rock) is another. And it happens to be VERY white. Like 98%.

I have about 10 couples/families who are close friends who live in Lakewood proper (Westlake, West Bay, Lawther, Kenwood, Lakefair Circle, Chantilly, Vanderbilt, etc streets) - we are over at their homes multiple times each month with friends and their neighborhood friends (neighbors, Lakewood Early Childhood PTA, etc) and I have honestly NEVER seen a person of color at their homes or out in the yards, walking in the neighborhood, etc. Not once. All the parents are white, the kids are white, the kids neighborhood friend's are white. The random neighborhood kids playing in the field/park at Lakewood Elementary on the weekends are white. The Lakewood Early Childhood PTA annual fundraising party is full of white people. It's a really white neighborhood any way you want to spin it.