Rowlett TX schools & commute (Dallas, Fort Worth: low income, 2014, apartments)

[Liltxmama]

Hello-my family & I are relocating to the Dallas area. My husband really likes the Rowlett area. I am a little nervous about Garland ISD. Are there any parents or people who have experience with the schools in Rowlett & who would give me advice on where to put kids? I've looked into Rockwall, but I will be working in downtown Dallas & I want the shortest commute (so if you have suggestions for short commute, great schools and large home lots please pass them along!).

My second concern is the commute. How long is it realistically? Also, I know the DART runs through Rowlett, how long is it using the rail system?

Thanks in advance!

[ChristieP]

DART.org - Dallas Area Rapid Transit will have info on train schedules, timetable, etc. You can always drive from Rockwall to the station in Rowlett. It's not that far.

There is a little piece of Rowlett that is Rockwall County, and has Rockwall schools. It's basically everything east of Rowlett road. My sister recently moved there and her son goes to Rockwall HS. Not sure what your budget is, though.

[Liltxmama]

Thanks. My budget is around $300K. The houses we have found and really like are in Garland ISD. I hear mixed reviews.

[TurtleCreek80]

Originally Posted by Liltxmama

Thanks. My budget is around $300K. The houses we have found and really like are in Garland ISD. I hear mixed reviews.

Overall, Garland's demographics are low income and not very white (61% live in poverty and 76% are of color), very similar to Dallas ISD. It is a HUGE district with 7 high schools covering a tremendous swath of northeast Dallas. This puts the district "behind" before they even get the kids because those socioeconomic indicators point towards low academic achievement.

That said, Garland does a significantly better job educating an "at-risk" population than Dallas ISD does. Garland allows parents / students to pick any high school, even if it's not your neighborhood high school. The various schools offer different academic programs, including the rigorous IB Diploma. Garland's top graduates often matriculate to outstanding universities, including Brown, Cornell, Rice, and Wash U-St Louis in the past few classes.

Garland HS has the top SAT score (1535 MVW), Rowlett is further behind (1465), then Sasche (1448), North Garland (1438), and the bottom schools are Naaman Forest (1396), Lakeview Centennial (1344) and South Garland (1278). All schools except the bottom two outscore even the "best" Dallas ISD neighborhood schools.

I wouldn't write it off completely, but I would definitely do some campus visits before buying to make sure you're comfortable. There aren't a lot of private schools up that way so if you don't like it, you'll be stuck.

[Walter Benjamin]

Perhaps take it with a grain of salt, but at least certain demographic groups seem to do well at Garland High as measured by SAT scores...

Dallas, Texas Area School Information: 2012 SAT Scores Ranked by Demographic Group in Dallas-Fort Worth Area High Schools

With all due caveats, make of it what you will. (I have no personal knowledge of the situation, beyond what this chart shows.)

[Rowlett Resident]

All children in homes East of Dalrock Rd, not Rowlett Rd, in Rowlett go to Rockwall School District. There is one RISD elementary school in Rowlett, Cullins on Scenic. Older students have to take the bus across the lake to Rockwall. Lake Pointe Hospital is also in Rowlett/Rockwall County.

We are about 4 miles from the DART light rail system. DART's on call service serves the area as well as Rockwall County's STAR transportation service.

There are some new home subdivisions on Scenic Dr. both North and South of Hwy 66. The subdivision South of Scenic has homes starting in the $200,000 range. The North subdivision is in the $600,000. However a developer is about to build apartments by the North subdivision so their values may go down.

There are advantages to living here compared with Dallas County. If you get called to jury duty you only have to drive a few miles to the courthouse. Same if you want to renew your tag or license. School taxes are a little higher but we don't have to pay property taxes on junior colleges or Parkland.

[jdallas]

Garland ISD is large. check the zipcode demographics for the homes you like and drill down to the schools. I am in GISD but it's 50% white and 20% Asian in my area with the Math, Science and Tech magnet and the trilingual international leadership school both within 1 mile. If you have an interest and are involved with your child's education, they'll be fine.
The Dart rail from either Spring Valley or Forest/Jupiter takes about 30 mins to get downtown.
Driving is unpredictable. It's taken me 20 mins or over an hour with the average being around 40 mins given a 7:30-6:00 work schedule.

[MurphyPl1]

As previous posters have pointed out Garland does a pretty good job of educating their students considering the challenges they face. And one of the things they have going for them is their school choice program. If your local school is not up to par, then you have many other choices you can select from. And especially in the HS age, if your child has a particular interest, say law, they have magnets at each of the schools.

Sachse and Rowlett are somewhat unique in GISD in that they have more of a hometown feel. Kids in those cities don't seem to transfer to other schools at the same rate as the rest of the district (and that's just anecdotal from living there 12 years). They are on the edge of the district, they do a good job educating the kids and they have strong extracurriculars that foster a community feel.

Rowlett's principal for many years was Marlene Hammerle (formerly Carter). She was my daughter's asst principal in middle school and she ran a tight ship at Rowlett. She retired a couple years ago (as did her husband - Sachse's original principal who turned around the middle school he was assigned to). Dr. Hammerle was followed by Michelle Bounds. She was the principal at Hudson MS in Sachse for several years. They were one of the better middle schools in GISD while she was there.

[biafra4life]

Originally Posted by TurtleCreek80

Overall, Garland's demographics are low income and not very white (61% live in poverty and 76% are of color), very similar to Dallas ISD. It is a HUGE district with 7 high schools covering a tremendous swath of northeast Dallas. This puts the district "behind" before they even get the kids because those socioeconomic indicators point towards low academic achievement.

That said, Garland does a significantly better job educating an "at-risk" population than Dallas ISD does. Garland allows parents / students to pick any high school, even if it's not your neighborhood high school. The various schools offer different academic programs, including the rigorous IB Diploma. Garland's top graduates often matriculate to outstanding universities, including Brown, Cornell, Rice, and Wash U-St Louis in the past few classes.

Garland HS has the top SAT score (1535 MVW), Rowlett is further behind (1465), then Sasche (1448), North Garland (1438), and the bottom schools are Naaman Forest (1396), Lakeview Centennial (1344) and South Garland (1278). All schools except the bottom two outscore even the "best" Dallas ISD neighborhood schools.

I wouldn't write it off completely, but I would definitely do some campus visits before buying to make sure you're comfortable. There aren't a lot of private schools up that way so if you don't like it, you'll be stuck.

Lived in Rowlett for a year, and nearby Rowlett for 3 more years. TC gives you good stuff in her post, but one thing to bear in mind is that while it is true that GISD educates a broad range of students, the majority of which are lower income kids, there are HUGE differences between the schools depending on what city they are in. The demographics of Rowlett/Sachse schools are very different to those of kids in South Garland. Rowlett, Sachse and North Garland tend to have kids from more affluent homes, more in common with what you would see in Collin County. South Garland tends to be more what you would expect from Dallas ISD, majority minority, high levels of ESL/reduced lunch kids. The premier school in GISD will always be Garland High School due to the IB program being based there, but I've heard nothing bad about Rowlett/Sachse. Also GISD is one of the few districts with a decent Gifted and Talented program if your kid qualifies. Something else to consider.

As for the city of Rowlett itself, this is going to be a crucial time period. Now that the George Bush has been extended all the way to I-30, lots of new developments both residential and commercial are now slated to open up. How the city manages this growth will determine whether Rowlett becomes a truly upscale city, or just another ho hum run down in 20 years type place.

[ETex2]

I live in the part of Rowlett that is in Rockwall County. We loved the schools (most were not close to home), but be warned that if your daughter isn't the cheerleader type with the looks of a beauty queen, she might have trouble fitting in. Rowlett High is in Garland ISD but isn't too bad in my opinion. The City of Rowlett has been largely mismanaged in the last 15 years that I've lived here. There are glimmers of hope and the city appears to be trying a little harder now. The rebuilding of the downtown area during the next few years is a decent start, however this Rowlett 2020 project was also largely mismanaged by an out of state firm that didn't have a clue about Texas. Certain aspects are positive, however.

For the most part, I do enjoy living here. No more problems than other suburbs, and less than most.