Schools in Mesquite (Dallas, Garland, Spring: budget, apartment, rental)

[jeffari-al-texani]

Ahhhh, Balch Springs...even when I lived there back in the early 80's, we called it the armpit of Dallas County...of course, I was just a stupid teenager...

Personally, I wouldn't live there, but there are some pockets that aren't so bad.

Christie says the schools are awful, but let's take a look at the facts. The Mesquite ISD had 8 middle schools. In 2007, five of them were rated Academically Acceptable, while three of them were rated as Recognized. Of the three that were recognized, one of them is AC New, which is the middle school that all MISD students living in Balch Springs attend. Sounds pretty awful, doesn't it?

Oh, by they way, Balch Springs has four MISD Elementary Schools that feed into AC New. Two of them were also Recognized (Mackey and Hodges). Yep, those schools sound downright atrocious.

[ChristieP]

The problem isn't necessarily the rating of the schools, but the kids who go there. What % are on the free lunch program? Are there any gangs in the middle and elementary schools? (Yes, they start young.) I would look at a lot more than just the academic rating of the school. As I said earlier, my sister's kids went to Joe Lawrence elementary in Mesquite (Exemplary) and she pulled them out and moved to Royse City because the neighborhood had gotten so bad. Yes, the classroom education was great, but when the kids were getting beat up on the playground by older kids, or repeatedly getting stuff stolen by their classmates, it just isn't worth it. My friends who still have kids in Mesquite schools say that AC New is by far the roughest middle school, and that says a lot. Used to be, Wilkinson was the worst, and Agnew in recent years. I would never live in that part of town, nor would I send a child to those schools.

I used to ride horses at the Balch Springs Saddle Club back in the 1980s'. Balch Springs was crap then, and I'm sure it isn't any better now. Balch Springs is between Mesquite and Pleasant Grove, and IMHO, it gets the worst of the two cities...

[Grainraiser]

Originally Posted by ChristieP

The problem isn't necessarily the rating of the schools, but the kids who go there. What % are on the free lunch program? Are there any gangs in the middle and elementary schools? (Yes, they start young.) I would look at a lot more than just the academic rating of the school. As I said earlier, my sister's kids went to Joe Lawrence elementary in Mesquite (Exemplary) and she pulled them out and moved to Royse City because the neighborhood had gotten so bad. Yes, the classroom education was great, but when the kids were getting beat up on the playground by older kids, or repeatedly getting stuff stolen by their classmates, it just isn't worth it. My friends who still have kids in Mesquite schools say that AC New is by far the roughest middle school, and that says a lot. Used to be, Wilkinson was the worst, and Agnew in recent years. I would never live in that part of town, nor would I send a child to those schools.

I used to ride horses at the Balch Springs Saddle Club back in the 1980s'. Balch Springs was crap then, and I'm sure it isn't any better now. Balch Springs is between Mesquite and Pleasant Grove, and IMHO, it gets the worst of the two cities...

Your arguement makes no sense to me. How can a school get a great rating but have out of control students. Mesquite for the most part is a blue collar and has mostly blue collar neighborhoods. There are certainly some schools in the district that are not so great but this applies to surburban district in the DFW area. I would suggest the OP take a look at the Falcon Liar, Pecan Creek or Parkchase subdivisions. All are located in the same area of Mesquite and have good to great schools. Drive the neighborhoods morning and evening on both the weekends and weekdays. Make an appointment at the schools and take a tour. Your eyes seldom lie to you. Mesquite is a nice and safe city to live in. Do your research and do whats best for you and your family.

[kaykay]

Originally Posted by ChristieP

DO NOT MOVE TO BALCH SPRINGS!! It is not a nice area. Very low-income and fairly high crime. The schools there are AWFUL. You can still live in Mesquite and drive in to Balch Springs every day.

I agree. I used to live in Dallas very close to Balch Springs. Yes! If you must work in Balch Springs, tryto live in one of the areas mentioned earlier in Mesquite! Mesquite is very, very close to Balch Springs and commuting over there is not an issue at all. Crime rate is just too prolific in Balch Springs. I don't know about the schools but again, it's the crime rate and general quality of life I would be concerned about. There may be pockets of it which are all right, but in general, it's just not a good area.

[dfwguy70]

Mesquite certainly is blue-collar for the most part, but do not be misled by some of the negative comments people say about the community. Mesquite is a nice place to live and does have good schools. Southeast Mesquite and the area that feeds into Horn HS is growing and most of these neighborhoods are less than 10 years old (well-kept homes and FAR from ghetto!).

As a resident of Mesquite, I would definitely agree with ChristieP.....go with the Northeast section of Mesquite that feeds into Ralph H. Poteet HS.
The schools are nice and have been VERY consistent over the years. Poteet HS....well, your kids will definitely know what it is like to go to a school that has immense PRIDE...this shcool is also extremely rich in extra-curricular activities.....football, baseball, drill team, cheerleading, and especially their state-recognized Band program - all these groups are top-notch!!

Good luck!!

[fancysea]

Hi!

Thanks for your comments. I have a question.
What does blue-collar mean?

Fancysea

[Grainraiser]

Originally Posted by fancysea

Hi!

Thanks for your comments. I have a question.
What does blue-collar mean?

Fancysea

The color of the collar is just a general term of what kind a work a person does for a living.

Blue Collar- electricans, plumbers, machinist, factory workers etc.

Grey Collar- Policemen, firemen, teachers, realtors etc.

White Collar- Accountants, mid-management, attorneys etc.


There is alot of overlap and the amount of money a person earns does not always have to do with what a group a person is in. For the most part Mesquite is blue collar but the nicer areas have a very large precentage of grey and white collar workers. You would be hard pressed to find a house in Mesquite over 300k. Most of the people who are looking for a house in the price range or more would choose Sunnyvale or Rockwall. My main issue with Mesquite is that they have not realized that by offering homes in this price range people who are moving up will have the opportunity to stay in Mesquite instead of moving to other communities. Just take a look around and see what you think.

[dfwguy70]

Originally Posted by Grainraiser

The color of the collar is just a general term of what kind a work a person does for a living.

Blue Collar- electricans, plumbers, machinist, factory workers etc.

Grey Collar- Policemen, firemen, teachers, realtors etc.

White Collar- Accountants, mid-management, attorneys etc.


There is alot of overlap and the amount of money a person earns does not always have to do with what a group a person is in. For the most part Mesquite is blue collar but the nicer areas have a very large precentage of grey and white collar workers. You would be hard pressed to find a house in Mesquite over 300k. Most of the people who are looking for a house in the price range or more would choose Sunnyvale or Rockwall. My main issue with Mesquite is that they have not realized that by offering homes in this price range people who are moving up will have the opportunity to stay in Mesquite instead of moving to other communities. Just take a look around and see what you think.

I am so glad you said that! It is true...the council recently approved a huge housing development that will go up near Horn HS and there was a lot of debate over the kind of housing this would be. I think it will be similar to Falcon's Lair, which is very nice, but the city needs to be more open to developments other than the typical 150k - 250k price range that you see in this area.

[dfwguy70]

Fancysea,

I hope you do not mind me asking, but what price range are you looking to buy? Or will you be renting?

[JagFan27]

Originally Posted by dfwguy70

The schools are nice and have been VERY consistent over the years. Poteet HS....well, your kids will definitely know what it is like to go to a school that has immense PRIDE...this shcool is also extremely rich in extra-curricular activities.....football, baseball, drill team, cheerleading, and especially their state-recognized Band program - all these groups are top-notch!!

Hello all,
I just stopped in here to read a bit of where I used to live.
It's nice to hear good things about Poteet High School. We lived in Mesquite from December 1984-October 1991. Poteet was a brand new high school when we lived there. We lived down the street from the school (near Galloway/Tripp). We lost money on our house (bought for $76,000 & sold for $69,900). I hope the housing market improved after we left.
We now live in sunny Florida. The weather is much the same as the Dallas area, just not as windy. Is it still windy out there?