Pretty picture of Lovejoy (Dallas, Fort Worth: real estate, 2015, credit)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Recently, I've read several posts posted by a new poster to promote our schools and area. I moved here from Richardson where our kids went to Plano schools. We moved here because at that point we were mesmerized by the idea of having a big and shiny house in a small town.
In reality, we all miss our Richardson location and Plano schools. Being a small district with affluent demographics we can manage to secure rankings in theory but practically these schools are no where near PISD. It takes hours for spouse and I to reach our work in Dallas and heading home in emergencies seems painfully long. We are seriously considering moving back to Richardson. Another thing we hate is septic tank and local clicks. I wouldn't recommend this area and schools if you have better choices. Don't get swayed by posters trying to paint a rosy picture of their real estate investment.
Recently, I've read several posts posted by a new poster to promote our schools and area. I moved here from Richardson where our kids went to Plano schools. We moved here because at that point we were mesmerized by the idea of having a big and shiny house in a small town.
In reality, we all miss our Richardson location and Plano schools. Being a small district with affluent demographics we can manage to secure rankings in theory but practically these schools are no where near PISD. It takes hours for spouse and I to reach our work in Dallas and heading home in emergencies seems painfully long. We are seriously considering moving back to Richardson. Another thing we hate is septic tank and local clicks. I wouldn't recommend this area and schools if you have better choices. Don't get swayed by posters trying to paint a rosy picture of their real estate investment.
Not to totally discredit your post, but I have to say, a lot of these issues seem specific to your family. I personally did not attend LISD and have no reason to boost it, but my cousins we're close with all attended, and I do have a knowledge of the schools from their experiences.
Local cliques are going to be anywhere - that's life. People complain Southlake has cliques, Highland Park has cliques, etc. That is just a reality that is not specific to Lovejoy.
There are pros & cons to any area. Everyone has a different tolerance for what commute they can handle, and many folks work in areas that are probably closer to LISD than where y'all might work. Also, if only one of the adults in the household is commuting, that might be a non-issue.
All I'm saying is with the exception of the septic tank, there's not really an issue raised that is specific only to Lovejoy or anything that should prevent folks from moving there. Property values in the area have been on the rise for quite some time, so I don't think people need to try to hard to protect a real estate investment that wasn't in jeopardy to begin with.
I personally think many areas of Richardson look kind of dirty and run down. Clearly others disagree, but that is just my opinion. That's why there are so many different types of places to live - everyone can't like the same area.
Recently, I've read several posts posted by a new poster to promote our schools and area. I moved here from Richardson where our kids went to Plano schools. We moved here because at that point we were mesmerized by the idea of having a big and shiny house in a small town.
In reality, we all miss our Richardson location and Plano schools. Being a small district with affluent demographics we can manage to secure rankings in theory but practically these schools are no where near PISD. It takes hours for spouse and I to reach our work in Dallas and heading home in emergencies seems painfully long. We are seriously considering moving back to Richardson. Another thing we hate is septic tank and local clicks. I wouldn't recommend this area and schools if you have better choices. Don't get swayed by posters trying to paint a rosy picture of their real estate investment.
I assume you mean me... It's funny that I'm a new poster but I've been on here for years, just didn't post much. Also it seems odd that you created a new username and this is your first post. Are you truly a new poster or one of the Lovejoy bashers who just created a new username and persona?
I admit that Lovejoy isn't for everyone and if you read some of my posts I give the best advice I can based off my knowledge of the area and data available on the internet. I don't always suggest Lovejoy to people. My wife and I both commute so I am well aware of the logistically issues, however it was a sacrifice we both decided to make. It's not easy being a Leopard and I fully realize it isn't for everyone.
If you miss Richardson I highly suggest you make the best decision for your family. There aren't a lot of houses on the market in Lovejoy right now so I'm sure you could sell quickly since Summer is the best time to sell.
I do agree with the original poster in regards to the recent comparison of Lovejoy ISD to the top schools in DFW. This topic of top schools in DFW has been discussed many times and I agree Lovejoy ISD is a good district but compared to HP, Southlake, Plano (W Plano & Central), Coppell and Flower Mound it certainly falls behind.I will just point to the following threads that discuss the top schools in DFW based on Actual DATA points instead of subjective articles.
All the articles I point to were external sources and based off actual data. Yes 2 out of 3 Plano schools have an edge in SAT scores, but that gap shrinks annually and I haven't seen this year's data. Plus I haven't seen ACT rankings.
The second link points to an incomplete thread about National Merit Semi-Finalists. Lovejoy had 3 by the way, but this thread doesn't mention Lovejoy. Try using valid external info and you will see the pattern.
PISD graduates almost 4500 kids per year. Lovejoy currently graduates less than 300. Lovejoy just graduated it's fifth senior class and continues to trend upward. That puts PISD about 15 times larger than Lovejoy and based off statistical data and demographics Plano places a huge value on SAT scores and National Merit Scholars.
I think Plano has really good schools, just not as great as a lot of posters on here. When I decided to move before my kids started school I did a deep dive on the data and chose to eliminate PISD from my search grid. I took a minor gamble on Lovejoy and left myself the option of moving if it didn't work out. It has worked out wonderfully.
Looking at real data (external sources) the best districts are:
HP
SLC
Lovejoy and Argyle
Allen and Coppell
Frisco and Prosper
Plano
Flower Mound
When I start to factor in athletics and fine arts my list might change slightly.
You kinda avoided addressing the NMSF thread...just reading that thread on page 3 Big G posted the following -
It's not perfect, but...
Public schools only, using 2011 class size (most recent available) from TEA database of AEIS reports as a proxy for 2014 class size. (Growing schools will therefore have overstated percentages.)
Private school fanboys are welcome to add in their own enrollment figures and percentages - I gave up tracking down the school profiles about 2 schools into the task.
1.6% 508 8 - Highland Park High (Highland Park)
1.3% 527 7 - Colleyville Heritage (Grapevine-Colleyville) 1.3% 229 3 - Lovejoy High (Lovejoy)
1.3% 1313 17 - Plano East (Plano)
1.1% 475 5 - The Colony (Lewisville)
1.0% 482 5 - Paschal (Fort Worth)
1.0% 402 4 - McKinney High (McKinney)
1.0% 412 4 - Lake Highlands (Richardson)
SAT Scores (2012-2013) -
1. Highland Park - 1792 2. Carroll (Southlake) - 1723 3. Plano West - 1715 4. Coppell - 1700
5. Plano Senior- 1695 6. Flower Mound (LISD) - 1687 7. Coppell New Tech - 1669 8. Lovejoy - 1650
So with this information - you are saying that Lovejoy is better (you have pointed this out in several other threads) than Plano / Flower Mound (FMHS) / Coppell even though all three are more established and have better stats in the categories that give the best perspective on college readiness. Again I'm not saying Lovejoy is not a good school district, I completely agree it is BUT it is not comparable the more established districts that have been producing outstanding numbers for a long period of time.
The second link points to an incomplete thread about National Merit Semi-Finalists. Lovejoy had 3 by the way, but this thread doesn't mention Lovejoy. Try using valid external info and you will see the pattern.
.....That puts PISD about 15 times larger than Lovejoy and based off statistical data and demographics Plano places a huge value on SAT scores and National Merit Scholars.
Lovejoy had 3 NMSF; Plano ISD had 78. Plano is 15X larger than Lovejoy so to put the Plano NMSF on Lovejoy's scale, 78 / 15 = 5.2
Even adjusted for size, Plano has 73% more NMSF than Lovejoy (5.2 vs. 3).
I don't know how you can possibly keep saying Lovejoy ISD is better than Plano? Lovejoy isn't bad; it's certainly a top 10-15ish area high school, but it's not in the same league as Plano, HP, Southlake, Flower Mound and Coppell. Sorry. It's most definitely in the next tier of schools....which is not a bad place to be!
TC - I can't tell you how many times I've heard folks who moved to Lovejoy claim it's the same as HP. (which honestly makes me choke back laughter). I'm sure there are a lot of strong points to the area and the schools, but that's a pretty massive claim to make.
All the articles I point to were external sources and based off actual data.
And on one of them you have used frequently, USA.com, just says at the bottom with no rhyme or reason as to where it gets its ranking from. It just says "Public School Performance data" with no links or criteria listed. This one has Wyile ISD ranking higher than Allen, Frisco, Prosper and Plano. Lewisville/Flower Mound is way down the list. It is also based on the overall district and not the individual schools. So that list is questionable at best.
I find looking at individual schools in a district helpful in my decisions than just a blanket ISD stat.
Also agree with what nawvtanzi09, TurtleCreek80 and MurphyPl1 says. Not saying Lovejoy is a horrible school district at all. For some Lovejoy is a great fit whereas others desire something of a Frisco/Plano. However they are not on the same playing field so it really becomes an apples/oranges debate. What works for one may not work for someone else.
All in all I consider myself lucky to have so many choices available. As TC80 says not a bad place to be at all.
I didn't avoid the NMSF thread. It just another thread, it was 12 pages long and I didn't bother reading them all. I addressed the fact that the opening post was someone doing there own research. Just like your above post is showing 2011 data.
Your post above makes Dallas look like the best choice in the first chart and then they fall off the map in the second chart. Also the second chart for SAT scores leaves out them percentage of students actually taking the SAT. My kid has already taken the ACT and she was only a seventh grader. What are the percentage of students taking the score. I know Lovejoy encourages all of our students to take the SAT/ACT, do other schools do the same or is it only college bound students who tend to score higher? As more data becomes available I'm hoping you continue to do legitimate research and see the trends. A lot of what is posted here is opinion and manipulated for a desired result. US News, USA.com and Big D magazine don't have any reason to present falsified statistics...
So what is the deciding factor to decide the best schools? Is it SAT, ACT, TAKS, STAAR, gifted and talented, IB or how the school stacks up internationally?
I disagree with your opinion and have shown in other posts and multiple links that Lovejoy is easily comparible with Plano / Flower Mound (FMHS) / Coppell.
It's all what you are looking for in education. I personally prefer the single High School ISD (Lovejoy, Allen, Coppell, HP, SLC, Argyle). But that is my opinion and have never presented facts that single high school ISD's produce better results. There are multiple high school districts that perform very well (Plano, Flower Mound, Frisco).
Also are pure academics the only reason to chose a school? No... Prices, location, commute, community, amenities (shopping), athletics, fine arts and the vibe you get all matter. I'm obviously pro-Lovejoy. But I'm also pro on other schools as well. I work in Plano, but I chose not to have my kids go to school here for multiple reasons. Frisco is a shorter commute but the growth and rezoning wouldn't be conducive to my children s education. I like Allen but my wife and I didn't like the size of the grade levels. At one point we looked at relocating closer to Ft. Worth and I began to research schools and SLC, Argyle and Aledo where the schools that jumped out to me for various reasons.
To each his own, but I used pure external data for the academic portion of my research. If Lovjeoy wouldn't have performed and continue to improve I would have moved.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
