Bear Creek Lancaster (Houston, Dallas: neighborhood, construction, school district)

[lion07]

Does anyone live in Bear Creek Lancaster? What is it like? Is traffic bad going north on 342? Any idea when detouring will end? Any talk of building a new elementary school nearby? I was very excited about moving there but when I found out it was Lancaster ISD only one elementary for the southern sector I am beginning to change my mind. How is Lancaster Elementary School if you have children there? Please let me know how you like it.

[Acntx]

Hello,
I don't live in Bear Creek, but I do live in Lancaster and can answer your questions about the schools and traffic on State Highway 342. Bear Creek seems to be a nice neighborhood and I have never heard anything about the area that would be cause for concern.

The Lancaster Elementary School campus served as the district's junior high school up until the 2005-06 school year, so it is larger than many of the other elementary schools. It currently serves a large area of southern Lancaster that is only starting to see development.

Based on the most recent test scores, Lancaster Elementary is one of the district's best performing elementary schools. The percentage of students passing the Writing portion of the test is 90%, the highest among Lancaster ISD's seven elementary campuses. The school also did well in Reading and scored significantly higher than the district average in Math.

In the last three years, there have been three bond elections held to address the district's growth. The first, held in 2004, passed. It provided for the construction of a new high school and elementary school, a new stadium, and other projects. The high school and a larger Houston Elementary campus (located in northern Lancaster) were completed and opened in August 2006, but there were cost overruns and concerns over spending. That, coupled with growing dissatisfaction with the school board and superintendent, meant that the next two bond elections – held in November 2006 and May 2007 – failed. In my opinion, many voters knew that the district needed new campuses, but didn't want to risk more overspending. The district did alter the existing elementary attendance zones to relieve schools with rapidly expanding populations. As far as I know, there are no plans at present for another bond election, but as growth continues on the south side of town, more campuses will have to be built.

It is common for many people who post here to describe the entire Lancaster Independent School District negatively. I know that the district has its good and bad points, but a good education can be obtained in Lancaster schools.

Regarding traffic on State Highway 342, there is never really that much in Lancaster proper. A $34 million bond that called for street improvements along 342 and across the city passed by an overwhelming margin last week, so there may be construction delays in the near future. The only area where it gets problematic is near the intersection of I-20 and 342 in Dallas, where there are a lot of truck stops and truck traffic.

I hope this helps!