Hebron HS/Lewisville Schools (Dallas, Plano: house, transfer to, buyers)

[Spree]

We just returned from Dallas. I was there while dh in processed into his new job. I was able to drive around the area - oh.. my.. gawd... the cars! I knew Dallas was big and I thought traffic was bad in Tampa, but I have never seen so many people going so many places! I don't think it helped that it was the holidays and that people were out finishing last holiday preparations.

Anywhoo, I was impressed w/the friendliness of the people! I had pulled out of a parking space at a mall, went around the corner and realized I should pull out some change to keep handy for tolls, so I pulled over to the side real quick. A young woman knocked on my window and told me she was leaving and that I could have her parking space. I don't think that would have happened here.

There are several nice places to live. We have started to narrow down and will get with a realtor in January. We liked the Park Cities, and if we're lucky we might find something within our budget. We also liked the Frisco area if dh can come to terms w/the drive to Love Field. One of the areas we looked at, the kids go to Hebron High School (Arbor Creek for middle school) - Lewisville Schools instead of Frisco schools. Anyone know of the reputation of these schools? It definately looks like there's soccer for my youngest, hockey for my oldest so I just need to find a reputable ballet school for my dd without driving too far.

thanks - b

[smh]

If you can afford the Park Cities, go for it. The schools there are stellar.

Hebron HS is in the Lewisville school district, but it's actually in far north Carrollton. One drawback would be that it won't be as close to where you live as you might like. There would be bus service, though.

My kids went through the Lewisville school district, and I had no complaints. There were things that could have been better, but there were certainly things that could have been worse. But, it's been a few years since they graduated (late 90s), and it seems to me that the overall quality of the district has declined somewhat. Some schools are better than others - it really depends on the school and the students.

Though I don't have any personal experience with Hebron, I know several top-ranked students who went there and loved it. It draws from affluent areas of Carrollton (Castle Hills) as well as West Plano and Frisco. It's a fairly new school (less than 10 years) but has quickly established itself as a contender for state championships in band, football, etc. The kids there seem to primarily be the high-achieving, college bound type, which is usually reflected positively in test scores and other metrics of quality.

OK, this was a long-winded way of saying that I wouldn't rule out a house just because of Hebron HS. It's not the district per se, but the individual schools that are important. It would be worth checking out further.

Welcome to Texas. I'm glad you had a positive experience (well, except for the traffic) while you were visiting.

[socketz]

Based on reputation, the schools in the Park Cities are probably the best in the state, maybe even the region. Seriously, there is alot of money there....old Texas money. Where there is money, things like education also rise to the top. It is like that just about anywhere in the US.

The drawback I've been told is that the folks there are not real warm to newcomers. A friend from work even told me of ordinances they've passed to keep people like joggers from the surrounding areas out. My nieghbor here in Plano lived there for 9 years and has some pretty bad stories about how the people of the park cities decide if they want you to move there....you laugh, but because they are so affluent, they are connected and can gang up on new buyers and find issues/concerns that need to be fixed before the new buyer can move in....they also pull the paperwork card and bury you in process. Eventually, the buyers tire and move on.

All legit, all behind the scenes. She was part of this mess and became fed up and left it behind. She now lives in Willowbend with me and thinks this supposedly snotty area (according to many) is the friendliest place she's ever lived. She flat out said that unless you click, you wont have alot of friends in the park cities.

I've been there several times and the normal dallas hospitality starts to dissapear and feel more like your in the middle of LA.

In closing.....take all this as one person's opinion, but the things I hear about the area are consistently: great schools, sh__ty people and awful traffic.

And again, there are great schools in every affluent disctrict and at some point it's a comparison of great vs greater.....splitting hairs.

If your looking at homes in Arbor Creek, your probably looking over in Kings Ridge (by the Arbor nature preserve) in far west Plano. Homestead is another elementary over there....both have good reputations but get knocked online for typically growing pains any new schools have. Regardless, that area is ultra nice and extremely family friendly. Personally, I'd go with it over the Park Cities. it is also close to Love Field (which is ~12 miles south on the Tollway).

As for Hebron, that school is a feeder for affluent areas all the way from Carrolton/Castle Hills to Plano to Frisco......it covers alot of area. I sat with a middle school Football coach from Lewisville on the plane back from San Diego last trip back and we spend the entire time talking about schools (and football)....he said Hebron was an excellent school and he wished he could transfer to it......

[Spree]

Glad to hear the positive reviews of Hebron high school.

I'm also aware of the snobby reputation the park cities (may) have. It's one of my concerns. Luckily I don't have my heart set on it. One other thing that turned me off when drove around the area pretty much the whole day was the amount of construction in that area. We drove around the Preston Hollow (?) area south to the Park Cities. I would venture to say that every street had some sort of tear down, reconstruct a monstrosity of a house on small lot. It really starts to price out a buyer like me who can afford one of the smaller, cottage type homes in the area. I'm amazed that this is even allowed, it really starts to change the character of the area imo. Even if we were to get into the Park Cities, it would be hard to put up w/the possibility of construction mess and noise next door to me.

We also can't understand that with the tax base of the Preston Hollow area that Hillcrest High school isn't a better performer? We really liked that area as well, older homes, set back from the street with nice yards. I guess everyone who lives in that area sends their kids to private schools?

~b

[socketz]

Seems that Dallas ISD (in some areas) breaks the rule of thumb that generally says affluent areas have better schools. The only time I've seen this in the past is when an area becomes rundown then later regenerates.

Some of the areas in DISD have been nice since conception, but still have marginal schools.

As for construction, I agree. It seems that construction chaos is pretty common all over Dallas.

Plano/Richardson seem pretty construction-free at this point, but I'm not sure how long this will last as I heard Plano scored some funds to rebuild a couple of old malls.