Plano or Allen for high school and PSHS or PWHS (Austin: rent, transfer to)

[Acntx]

Moderator Note: Several posts in this thread have been removed due to rude exchanges between posters and off-topic content. Please be respectful, the petty bickering and name-calling benefits no one.

I would also point out that the OP asked about schools, not stadiums, stadium sizes, or stadium costs. Keep that in mind when posting. Thanks.

[TurtleCreek80]

Originally Posted by Sali1019

Hi, we are moving from nj and trying to decide between Plano and Allen high school. With the current restructuring in Plano schools, we are looking at between Clark / Jasper and Plano West / Plano Senior. We hear Jasper and Plano West best however concerned of the competitive nature and having a balanced lifestyle while having excellent academics. This is why then we started looking at Allen high school which seems to offer everything but huge and comprised of all of Allen though not ranked as high as plano? We are not concerned of housing or commutes, just want best education for our gifted 9th grader (who plans to go to a great higher education university), while having many opportunities such as in science research, debate, orchestra and fine arts, caring teachers who make you think, and a supportive environment. We are interested in APs and Honors, not in IB. Can you please share your knowledge of whether Allen is great in meeting our desires or should we stick to Plano and if Plano which combination? Thanks so much in advance!

Allen may not be as highly ranked as Plano but it's right up there in the top 15-20 public high schools out of the 140+ in the DFW metroplex. So "not as high" is relative...they're all three great schools with great academics and extracurriculars.

In Plano it will be hard to find a balanced lifestyle and still get a GPA high enough to gain entry into a top public university in Texas. UT is now accepting the top 7% while A&M is at the state's mandated top 10%. Yes, students below the 7th percentile will get into UT from Plano but just know what you'd be getting into. Allen a little less competitive but likely equally difficult to get to the top 7%.

Will you have time to visit the schools before needing to buy? That might be helpful for your kid to be able to play a role in the decision on where to live.

[Sali1019]

Thanks to all the Allen info! I had visited Allen high school (didn’t know 9th was Lowery beforehand and it was being built) and was pleasantly surprised how nice it was. However, while I love beautiful facilities, as an educator and parent, I’m more interested in how the teachers are yet most posts or niche reviews mention mostly about football stadium and facilities? I do like that Allen offers so many electives in one place, yet I was anxious about the size of the school and appreciate learning from above to consider hard to get into certain classes or lead teams due to the many students and scheduling issues. Is this similar to plano schools since Allen has about 1800 per grade, and Plano West for example has 1500? Or is it different since there’s only two year groupings per school at Plano? I agree with poster on dual credit vs AP depending on student after high school plans which my daughter is looking towards higher universities, and possibly ivies. Does anyone know how teachers are at Clark, Jasper, and Lowery? How is the support and teaching? Not interested in IB due to having more freedom to explore classes. Interested in AP and honors, gifted. We are also confused while we like Plano schools, will it be better route to get into ivy or top universities within plano environment (if so which schools) or through Allen where it seems student body is more academically diverse?

[El Senor]

You’re really getting to the point that you’re splitting hairs at the finest level.

If your child is eyeballing ivies before their freshman year, it will not matter what school they go to of the bunch you have listed.

Find the house that fits you, with the most time to spend with them. Guess what subject never comes up down the road... how much time they had to study. What does come up? How much time they had with you.

Again. There is absolutely no difference between the high performers.

[Sali1019]

Thanks :-), definitely want balanced lifestyle as originally mentioned while having supportive environment and opportunities that will enable student to go to top universities if she chooses after high school. Hoping that’s possible!

[compSciGuy]

If you're kid is capable enough to succeed at a top university, get them involved in the process of choosing. What are the unique offerings, what is realistically attainable, what are the logistics, etc. Everything has a cost.

Personally, I think too many parents cater too much to their children in this area. Realistically, it's great that a lot of these schools have so many offerings, but it's not so great that I'm seeing parents do things like act as a transportation service between the Freshman Center/Junior High School/(or even Middle School) to the main High School, to the extent that it interferes with the duties of the parent's job and economic security.

I've seen many parents leave work in the middle of the work day, even for elementary students, for things that may not have even been important to the kids, or maybe even detrimental to the long term development.

That being said, there are some locations that may be more friendly toward newcomers than others. That's something that may be something worth extra consideration.

[UnfairPark]

Imho kids do better if they are taking classes with better teachers and challenging peers. Just don't make them take more academic load than their strength. Majority of students at West or other good schools limit their AP courses and have a balanced life, still get into decent colleges. If focus in getting into top colleges like Ivies or Rice or Duke etc or programs like BS-MD or BHP then they'll be stressed out, taking tons of AP, no matter Allen or West or whatever. You would he better off focusing on children getting good education so they can do well at whatever college they end up attendding. It's not wise to be overly focused on elite college admissions.

[El Senor]

Originally Posted by Sali1019

Thanks :-), definitely want balanced lifestyle as originally mentioned while having supportive environment and opportunities that will enable student to go to top universities if she chooses after high school. Hoping that’s possible!

It’s extremely doable. Don't put so much pressure on which school it is from an academic perspective. Find the right fit for your kid.

[Sali1019]

@compsciguy def agree and don’t want to chauffeur child in middle of the day which is why we are looking into schools which will have own transportation or have all classes she may need to take on campus, especially prior to driving age. Clark and Jasper both have this and Lowery transports to Allen if needed.
Agree @unfairpark - would like place with great teachers and peers!
My daughter likes many subjects and has many interests, likes to be with peers who are similar to her academically but not super competitive. We prefer quality of life while getting an education that will prepare to get into such programs unfairpark mentioned since she is interested in that.
Thanks everyone for your input and insights!

[unexpected]

echoing what El Senor and TurtleCreek have said above, I find your goals a little bit in conflict with each other.

PISD is "better" at churning out Ivies than AISD precisely because there more academic pressure and less of the "balance" that you seek.

Note that within PISD, in about each class of 1400-1500, there are probably only about 30-40 kids that get into Ivy-league or Ivy-league caliber schools. Allen probably has about 10-20 in their class of 1800.

Getting into an Ivy league school is a numbers game, and PISD kids are well-versed at how to maximize and enhance their chances.

I, personally, was a participant in that culture, and looking back, I have no idea how it was built. It certainly wasn't our teachers - they encouraged us to slow down and live a "balanced" life, but we pushed ourselves. It was more of a reflection of our peer groups and our parents that drove us - two critical factors which I feel like are way more important than choosing between Allen or Plano.