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Let give you some thoughts from my experience. We live in Lakewood as well and I currently have one child at Lakewood Elementary and another (older) child at a private school. In addition to those current schools, we have experience with a Dallas ISD choice school as well. I love living in Lakewood and one of the things that can be both a blessing and a curse is that there are so many schooling options in terms of zoned public (Lakewood/Long/Woodrow), DISD choice/magnets, and private schools. It can be a bit overwhelming looking at all the options.
Just a couple of quick items to think about:
1. In terms of religious schools, I would not worry about it in the context of the types of schools you are considering. My experience from touring schools, talking to friends/neighbors, and experience from my own child is that religious instruction is a relatively small component in these schools (chapel or mass once a week, etc.).
2. I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss Long as a middle school option (or Woodrow as a High School option). I realize that may sound hypocritical since I have an older child in Private School, but there is a long story behind that that isn't relevant to your family. Our younger child may well attend Long. I think you will find that there is a large group of kids that attend Mockingbird/Lakewood and then transition to Long and that group continues to grow. At the High School level, Woodrow has a lot going for it. The overall metrics don't look as impressive as a highly rated suburban school because of greater socioeconomic diversity, but if you look at performance of similar students Woodrow is similar to well regarded suburban schools. Plus, Woodrow has a lot of specific "academies" including IB, STEM, etc. that produce strong students (or attract strong students more accurately).
3. Beyond that, DISD also has TAG options for 4th-8th grade (Travis, Sudie), that are very well regarded and magnet high schools (TAG, SEM, Booker T) that are very highly sought after.
4. For the private schools, as TC80 notes, take the time to visit some select schools during open houses, etc. as this will give you a feel for the different schools and their respective missions.
5. One thing that is really great about Lakewood in general and Lakewood Elementary specifically is the neighborhood feel. It's a great school with tremendous community support and you know your child will have friends nearby. That's really easy to underestimate.
6. Last, but not least, is the logistics. The commute isn't just about drop off and pick-up, but all the school events, activities, etc. and there are more of those in a private school than a public school from my experience. If interested in the private route, I would strongly suggest at least visiting and looking into St. Thomas, St. Johns, and maybe Lakehill (pretty small school though, but some prefer that).
Thank you so much for your insight! Your thoughts make me more inclined to stay with Lakewood. That'll save me a lot of money too
Yes. On the commute, during this past summer, my son went to summer camps at Greenhill and Hockaday for a few weeks, the commute was not too bad for us.
We currently live in Lakewood, which has an excellent elementary school. My son loves it and I do too. We are looking for private school options because the middle school in Lakewood is not that great, and I heard it's more competitive to try to get into middle school vs. elementary school for a lot of private schools.
But also because Lakewood elementary is great and the commute is super easy, I am not totally committed to private schools either, hence only wanted to apply to a few. I feel like if my son gets into St. Marks, great; but if he doesn't, Lakewood is also great. We'll evaluate the school situation a few years later.
Anyway, I'll look into a few more and see if we want to apply. As for religious schools, I'm a little hesitant -- I don't mind religious teaching and value it highly, but I also don't want to continuously check on what they are learning from school, e.g. I definitely don't want them to get ideas like wives should obey their husbands, etc.
We live in Lakewood as well and our son attends St. Marks. For what its worth, the commute in the morning is fine given the time. The afternoon commute back can be tricky, especially considering sports practices and other activities. That is when it weighs on us a little, but overall, its very manageable.
We live in Lakewood as well and our son attends St. Marks. For what its worth, the commute in the morning is fine given the time. The afternoon commute back can be tricky, especially considering sports practices and other activities. That is when it weighs on us a little, but overall, its very manageable.
Not to mention you're on a social "island". Our son is at St. Marks now and has more classmates in our neighborhood (Bluffview/Greenway Parks) than when he was at Christ the King because most of his friends were in Preston Hollow.
The OP's approach here seems fairly casual. I don't say this in a disparaging way, b/c Lakewood has good schools, but I feel like you've got to go all-in if you want to be at any of the schools listed, not take the attitude of 'if it works out, great, if not, oh well'.
Yes. On the commute, during this past summer, my son went to summer camps at Greenhill and Hockaday for a few weeks, the commute was not too bad for us.
We currently live in Lakewood, which has an excellent elementary school. My son loves it and I do too. We are looking for private school options because the middle school in Lakewood is not that great, and I heard it's more competitive to try to get into middle school vs. elementary school for a lot of private schools.
But also because Lakewood elementary is great and the commute is super easy, I am not totally committed to private schools either, hence only wanted to apply to a few. I feel like if my son gets into St. Marks, great; but if he doesn't, Lakewood is also great. We'll evaluate the school situation a few years later.
Anyway, I'll look into a few more and see if we want to apply. As for religious schools, I'm a little hesitant -- I don't mind religious teaching and value it highly, but I also don't want to continuously check on what they are learning from school, e.g. I definitely don't want them to get ideas like wives should obey their husbands, etc.
I agree with the others about Travis or Sudie for 4-8. Also hearing great things about Longfellow for 6-8.
We live in LW & have 2 marksmen. We found that most of the kids are in PH/PC and it's a PITA socially until they drive...the earlier your kid starts, the more pressure you will feel to move. Our first moved in middle and second in high school, and I really think that was a good time. They had a neighborhood experience for a long time, which was really valuable.
Something I think isn't discussed enough is the cost in terms of workload. Those kids work HARD and a lot of them end up at the same colleges as the high achieving kids from Woodrow/BL. I say that to say...your motivation should be your kid's day to day experience at school now, not some idea of what will come after.
As for applying casually - my son applied on a lark and got in, it's not that unusual. That said, it's kind of a crapshoot as to who gets in. It's good to have a place you're happy with while you shoot for these schools.
We have two kids older than yours but with the a similar age split. When we moved to Dallas we applied to Hockaday for PK4 and were rejected. We were shocked at the testing and application process in general, and I'm still skeptical of the ability to judge one three year old from another in terms of future academic success...but that's for another post.
Anyway, we ended up at Wesley Prep, a smaller private school that goes from PK to 6th grade. Our experience was that WP offers a great community and solid academics. We ended up reapplying my daughter to Hockaday for 5th grade (big entry point). She was accepted and has really flourished there. My son is still at Wesley Prep but we imagine when we're ready to move him he will be ready too.
I would suggest you check out Wesley Prep, but more importantly remember that there is a school fit for everyone. If you don't get into your dream school now there will be other chances. I think its also a positive to figure out who your kids are (academically) before you commit them to a long term school.
We have two kids older than yours but with the a similar age split. When we moved to Dallas we applied to Hockaday for PK4 and were rejected. We were shocked at the testing and application process in general, and I'm still skeptical of the ability to judge one three year old from another in terms of future academic success...but that's for another post.
Anyway, we ended up at Wesley Prep, a smaller private school that goes from PK to 6th grade. Our experience was that WP offers a great community and solid academics. We ended up reapplying my daughter to Hockaday for 5th grade (big entry point). She was accepted and has really flourished there. My son is still at Wesley Prep but we imagine when we're ready to move him he will be ready too.
I would suggest you check out Wesley Prep, but more importantly remember that there is a school fit for everyone. If you don't get into your dream school now there will be other chances. I think its also a positive to figure out who your kids are (academically) before you commit them to a long term school.
I don't know if this holds today but in the past PK Hockaday applicants were required to take an age appropriate CATS test. CATS test results are very tight IQ result proxies. IOW though the test HS tires to ID each kid's IQ at the moment of testing. There are all sorts of issues and problems administering IQ like tests to younger kids including kids mature IQ wise at greatly different rates......some plateau early, others late etc.
Good to hear the positive comments about Wesley Prep.
Not to mention you're on a social "island". Our son is at St. Marks now and has more classmates in our neighborhood (Bluffview/Greenway Parks) than when he was at Christ the King because most of his friends were in Preston Hollow.
The OP's approach here seems fairly casual. I don't say this in a disparaging way, b/c Lakewood has good schools, but I feel like you've got to go all-in if you want to be at any of the schools listed, not take the attitude of 'if it works out, great, if not, oh well'.
Thank you for your input!
What does it mean to be "all-in." I do plan to complete the application process, including the written application, the testing, the interview, etc. What else do I need to do to be "all-in?" Do we need to do the admissions events or campus tours? I ask because I feel like I've been to those schools and seen the campus multiple times -- I've attended events at St. Mark's (as a parent or in other capacities, just not for application purposes), my son attended summer camps at Hockaday and Greenhill, and we got booklets and other materials from those schools. To be perfectly honest, the campuses all look beautiful and they all say pretty much the same things, character, academics, community.
That said, I'd still do those events if that helps with the admission decision. Anything else we need to do?
Thank you for your input!
What does it mean to be "all-in." I do plan to complete the application process, including the written application, the testing, the interview, etc. What else do I need to do to be "all-in?" Do we need to do the admissions events or campus tours? I ask because I feel like I've been to those schools and seen the campus multiple times -- I've attended events at St. Mark's (as a parent or in other capacities, just not for application purposes), my son attended summer camps at Hockaday and Greenhill, and we got booklets and other materials from those schools. To be perfectly honest, the campuses all look beautiful and they all say pretty much the same things, character, academics, community.
That said, I'd still do those events if that helps with the admission decision. Anything else we need to do?
I think they meant “all in” as in committed to pursuing private education.
As for the admissions tours, being on campus during the school day and meeting the leadership is 110% different than attending an event on campus or summer camps (which in many cases are taught by outside companies and not the school faculty). You will not tour St Marks and Greenhill and leave with the impression that they are both “pretty much the same thing.” They are two totally different communities and cultures. We toured 8 or 9 schools and none of them were “pretty much the same.”
I think they meant “all in” as in committed to pursuing private education.
As for the admissions tours, being on campus during the school day and meeting the leadership is 110% different than attending an event on campus or summer camps (which in many cases are taught by outside companies and not the school faculty). You will not tour St Marks and Greenhill and leave with the impression that they are both “pretty much the same thing.” They are two totally different communities and cultures. We toured 8 or 9 schools and none of them were “pretty much the same.”
This. Don't just go to the "morning coffee" or tours. YMMV, but in my opinion, they need to know you and your kids by name. You need to know the admissions people, the leadership, the professors. Know who is going to be responsible for your children's development. These schools (Hockaday and SM at least) are taking over for your kids' educational growth, and they want you to take a step back. It sounds counter intuitive, but it is the reason they are the cream of the crop. They know what they're doing much better than you.
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