Local opinion needed. Urgent (Plano, Coppell: homes, buyers, school districts)

[biafra4life]

Wylie Resident here.
My kids attend a charter school in Garland, so I'm not really plugged into the Wylie ISD system, but from everything I've heard, the west side schools of Wylie (which would include the ones you mentioned) are considered to be the better schools in Wylie ISD. As you will hear a million times on this thread, Wylie schools are generally speaking lower performing than Plano ISD. So if your kids are genius level performers academically, then they will get bored quickly in Wylie, however, for the majority of kids there, Wylie ISD does a decent job of educating them.

Wylie is quietly one of the fastest growing suburbs in all of DFW. Lots of land out here so the homes are cheaper than what you would find in Plano. Lots of stores opening up seemingly every day on 544 so your daily shopping needs would be met. Plus Firewheel Mall in Garland is 10 minutes away.

Personally I think Wylie offers a decent commute to Richardson. I live in Wylie and commute to George Bush and Preston (a little further out than Richardson) and it takes me no more than 40 minutes so subtract 10 minutes from that for Richardson.

We've been living here for 3 years now. I hated it when we first moved here, but it's growing on me more and more.

I would suggest that in addition to Wylie, you also look at Sachse, Rowlett, Murphy (Wylie ISD) and East Richardson (zip code 75082). They all offer homes within your budget with equally good or stronger schools (that part of Richardson has Plano schools), and a better commute.

[BigDGeek]

I don't know why the OP drank the RISD hater-ade. The schools are actually excellent. They certainly do deal with more English learners and economically disadvantaged kids than some other school districts do (and these students inevitably drag down overall average test scores) but if you correct for that and break it down by cohort, RISD is doing just fine. It does better than just fine. The schools in the Pearce feeder pattern are outstanding. Most of the ones in the RHS feeder pattern are also outstanding, and RHS itself is also where all the magnet programs are.

In my part of southwest Richardson (which is one of the oldest parts of town), there is only one family I know that sends their kids to private school, and that is because they are deeply religious and wanted a Christian-centric education for their kids. The rest of them send their kids to public schools and are very happy with them.

Personally I think the OP is being foolish by not considering it.

[lovethisarea]

Originally Posted by biafra4life

Wylie Resident here.
My kids attend a charter school in Garland, so I'm not really plugged into the Wylie ISD system, but from everything I've heard, the west side schools of Wylie (which would include the ones you mentioned) are considered to be the better schools in Wylie ISD. As you will hear a million times on this thread, Wylie schools are generally speaking lower performing than Plano ISD. So if your kids are genius level performers academically, then they will get bored quickly in Wylie, however, for the majority of kids there, Wylie ISD does a decent job of educating them.

Wylie is quietly one of the fastest growing suburbs in all of DFW. Lots of land out here so the homes are cheaper than what you would find in Plano. Lots of stores opening up seemingly every day on 544 so your daily shopping needs would be met. Plus Firewheel Mall in Garland is 10 minutes away.

Personally I think Wylie offers a decent commute to Richardson. I live in Wylie and commute to George Bush and Preston (a little further out than Richardson) and it takes me no more than 40 minutes so subtract 10 minutes from that for Richardson.

We've been living here for 3 years now. I hated it when we first moved here, but it's growing on me more and more.

I would suggest that in addition to Wylie, you also look at Sachse, Rowlett, Murphy (Wylie ISD) and East Richardson (zip code 75082). They all offer homes within your budget with equally good or stronger schools (that part of Richardson has Plano schools), and a better commute.

Thank you for insights. This is the information I was looking for. So thank you!!!

[lovethisarea]

Originally Posted by BigDGeek

I don't know why the OP drank the RISD hater-ade. The schools are actually excellent. They certainly do deal with more English learners and economically disadvantaged kids than some other school districts do (and these students inevitably drag down overall average test scores) but if you correct for that and break it down by cohort, RISD is doing just fine. It does better than just fine. The schools in the Pearce feeder pattern are outstanding. Most of the ones in the RHS feeder pattern are also outstanding, and RHS itself is also where all the magnet programs are.

In my part of southwest Richardson (which is one of the oldest parts of town), there is only one family I know that sends their kids to private school, and that is because they are deeply religious and wanted a Christian-centric education for their kids. The rest of them send their kids to public schools and are very happy with them.

Personally I think the OP is being foolish by not considering it.

Again, thank you for another perspective. I will surely research more about RISD. Do you know of any new construction in feeder areas for schools you mentioned?

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by lovethisarea

Again, thank you for another perspective. I will surely research more about RISD. Do you know of any new construction in feeder areas for schools you mentioned?

Yes, but it might be out of your price range. Think garden homes in the $350-$450k range and teardowns in Canyon Creek. Teardowns are few and far between in Richardson, but they do exist.

If you want a brand new house in a brand new development, the only place in Richardson you can find that is 75082. Otherwise, get used to sitting in traffic.

[lovethisarea]

Originally Posted by BigDGeek

Yes, but it might be out of your price range. Think garden homes in the $350-$450k range and teardowns in Canyon Creek. Teardowns are few and far between in Richardson, but they do exist.

If you want a brand new house in a brand new development, the only place in Richardson you can find that is 75082. Otherwise, get used to sitting in traffic.

Yes budget is a major constraint.

[MurphyPl1]

Originally Posted by unknown00

Plano East (depiste how bad the east side is) is still nationally ranked and highly looked upon by colleges while Wylie i dont even see in the news/press/ranking. if i had to pick 1 of the 2 personally, i would pick Plano

you are right that you can't find 4-5 years houses in plano. plano is done being developed, no new houses are popping up. you will have to settle with what is there.

i hate to say this (since i'm going through the same thing), but with your limitations you can't have it all. you will have to sacrifice 1 thing (price, school district, or house). good luck!!

And not for nothing, Plano East, McMillen HS, and Williams HS haven't had any students murdering other students. Not what you can say for Wylie East.

[lovethisarea]

Originally Posted by MurphyPl1

And not for nothing, Plano East, McMillen HS, and Williams HS haven't had any students murdering other students. Not what you can say for Wylie East.

Didn't know that. Can point to news etc?

[TurtleCreek80]

Originally Posted by lovethisarea

Didn't know that. Can point to news etc?

Police: Dispute over girl led to Wylie East High student's killing | Dallas Morning News

Also, if you read the entire article there is a synopsis of the last murder involving Wylie HS students - 3 years ago, a 14 year old student shot a 15 year old student in the head at point blank range & another 14-year-old dumped the body.

Rough crowd, IMO.

[synchronicity]

Originally Posted by rantanamo

why does this board make it seem like your child is doomed if they don't go to Plano, Coppell, HP or Southlake schools?

Although i get where you're coming from, if someone has the choice between Plano (or Richardson) and Wylie, would likely have an easier commute from much of the first two than the latter, and puts an emphasis on schools, why the heck would they opt for Wylie other than "we can't buy a house more than 5 years old"? And seriously, as others have pointed out "home maintenance" is similar on most houses regardless of age (newer ones can be more energy efficient and/or look less "dated"). I've cracked wise on DFW residents seeming to look down their noses on houses more than 15 years old as if they're about to fall apart, but the OP is from out-of-state so one would think they would know better.

Also, looking DOWN on RISD because of "school issues" leads me to believe they haven't done much research. Pearce is one of the best high schools in DFW and the rest of RISD, although most is not quite at that level, is certainly pretty strong.

Yes, there are scads of perfectly good schools outside of the Usual Suspects, but it sounds like the OP could use some help in clarifying what they're trying to achieve. Even brand new homes require "maintenance", and sometimes an older home can require less of it than a new one that was thrown up by a builder who cut corners.