So if you could pick any private school/neighborhood option, what would it be? (Dallas: how much, house)

[comingtobigD]

My hubby and I are moving to Dallas. He needs to have access to downtown and DFW airport only maybe once per month, so we could literally live anywhere in the Dallas area, neither of us have commute considerations. We are finding that while this flexibility is nice, it also makes it hard to choose. From reading this board, I realize that most people here have either commute to office or commute to airport considerations, we dont have either.

We have two young boys, who we would like to put into the same private school K-12. We dont have anything against public schools, so please no comments about that. We want small classrooms and small overall school environment...seems that very few public school systems offer that... so could we respectfully not start a debate about public vs. private...

**Things that we are looking for in a private school : good teacher-student ratios, small classes, Christian/Catholic preferred but not mandatory, all boys or co-ed both ok, track record,etc. We would like to minimize the snobiness richie rich syndrome if at all possibe...we realize that this is sometimes difficult in top private schools. Any tution amount is ok for the right school environment. We dont feel the need to spend just for the sake of spending, but we can afford whatever is best for our boys.

**Things that we are looking for in a neighborhood: community feel, trees, kids, safe, lot size, close to school, outdoor opportunities, appreciation potential... I guess all the stuff everyone is looking for. Again, we would like to minimize the "Biff and Tad" phenomena... no offense to the Highland Park crowd, but we arent interested in that culture, even though we could probably afford it. University Park area maybe, but probably not for us.

The following look promising and would be interested in feedback on these and other additions... (?)

Southlake - Clariden School, Liberty Christian, Holy Trinity??
Westlake - Westlake Academy
North/west/Preston Hollow/Bluffview - Lamplighter, ESD, St. Marks, St. Rita
Irving - Cistercian (heard this is impossible...one of the top 5 in academics nationally)

Are there other areas that we should be considering for match of neighborhoods and really good private school options? Oh yeah, we would love to be in the $800s or less for a house, but could spend up to $1mm for the right situation.

I know this was long, but this is our life we're talking about! Thanks for reading and helping!

[FarNorthDallas]

Well, I think Westlake Academy is a public school, charter, which means they still have to deal with the states' high stakes testing which is a total beating.

Greenhill is age preschool to 12th grade and more down to earth perhaps than other independent private schools. They don't wear uniforms. Probably a bit more liberal. My child went to summer school there once and it was really nice.

Cistercian is not K-12. It starts at 5th. Yes, very hard to get into. They like scholar athletes. If you don't get into it at 5th it's tough to get in later on. My neighbor applied twice, two different years, and each year they only had 1 opening. He did not get in as he is only a scholar. He is doing very well at another private high school.

ESD is probably the most popular independent private school right now. Lots and lots of high profile families go there.

St. Marks starts at 1st grade. They also take a big class at 5th grade, probably related to the fact Lamplighter goes to 4th grade. Both really good schools.

Most of the diocese Catholic schools are K-8 and then you move on to one of the diocese high schools. Different schools. There are 5 high schools, one boys, one girls and 3 co-ed. There is the Highlands School run by an Order which is preschool through 12th grade. It's pretty conservative for a Catholic school. They have single gender classes from 4th or 5th grade on. They have a lovely campus. Very pretty. If it's anything like their sister schools, there isn't much Keeping up with the Jonese going on there. I have relatives in another school run by the same order, but in another state. (It's the Legionnaires of Christ order, I think.)

I don't know anything about the Southlake schools except that Liberty Christian, isn't that in Argyle? I have heard good things about it, if that's the one. I'm guessing most folks in Southlake have their kids in public unless the kids had trouble there and then went private. There are Southlake families at the private school my son attends and it's not near there.

There's also Trinity Christian Academy in Addison and Prestonwood Baptist in Plano, both large private schools, both very religious and conservative, both have all grades. Trinity Christian in Addison has been around longer. It's well regarded.

If it turns out either or both of your kiddos have learning disabilities like Dyslexia, the Dallas area is really lucky in that we have several very good private schools for LD kids. Oftentimes parents start out in these private schools and that school tells the parents they need some extra help and remediation and they end up at an LD school for a few years and then return to the private school, that one or a different one.

[comingtobigD]

Thanks. But of all these options, we would be interested in any distinct opinions about the ideal neighborhood/private school combo that allows for the following ---

- community feel, down to earth people, safe, nice, quick commute to school
- top academics, minimize snob factor if possible

[MurphyPl1]

I know several people in Sunnyvale who send their kids to Dallas Christian for all 12 grades. It's a pretty quick commute. Definitely not snobby people at all (perhaps I'm just not one to attract snobby?) - one even has a whole seperate 2000 sf guest house out back with a huge (and I mean huge) scrapbook room. They hold a lot of Y Princess meetings there for their girls. But they are just as cool as can be.

[Lakewooder]

Originally Posted by comingtobigD

Thanks. But of all these options, we would be interested in any distinct opinions about the ideal neighborhood/private school combo that allows for the following ---

- community feel, down to earth people, safe, nice, quick commute to school
- top academics, minimize snob factor if possible

You are describing Lakewood but the top kids in the public schools here are as good or better than the private schools - check National Merit results.

Dallas has several wonderful, world-class private schools - and some of them are very difficult to crack. Most are in North Dallas, which is the snootier side of town. OTOH there are many 'white flight academies' of which you need to be wary.

[FarNorthDallas]

Originally Posted by comingtobigD

Thanks. But of all these options, we would be interested in any distinct opinions about the ideal neighborhood/private school combo that allows for the following ---

- community feel, down to earth people, safe, nice, quick commute to school
- top academics, minimize snob factor if possible

Well, I guess I don't understand what you mean by neighborhood/private school combo. There are a lot of nice neighborhoods to live in all over Dallas and surrounding areas. Cistercian is in Irving, Greenhill is in Addison, several are in North Dallas, Prestonwood is in Plano. I guess you would want to pin down the school first - get the acceptance letter and then decide where to live if the goal is to live nearby. You can look at the directory of any private school and see the kids come from all over the Metroplex.

Least snobby - the Catholic schools and Greenhill would be my guess, although I don't have first hand info on all the private schools in Dallas.

[kacvb1974]

The Dallas metroplex is very much a 'see and be seen' town. Period. Been here all my life and still firmly believe that.

Generally speaking, with what you're able to pay for a home, areas in your range could potentially come along with those hard-to-swallow trimmings, teeming with elitists, just in varying degrees. May be the nature of the beast. Look for homes at about a 1/4 of your budget if you're really really anti-snobbery, lol. However...

I attended Trinity Christian Academy and had friends from all the major private schools. I'd be really reaching if I said the kids I knew in the Park Cities/Royal Ln/Park Ln 'hoods (in Dallas proper) who went to Hockaday and St. Marks were all snotty and the ones who went to Greenhill or Lamplighter and lived outside those areas were automatically more 'normal' or down to earth. As a poor kid by my school's standards, I was acutely aware of what you call the Bif and Tad syndrome. But I was more comfortable in the homes of the old money families in long established neighborhoods like University Park... folks quite secure in driving late model Volvos and wearing last season's shoes rather than the Look What We've Got attitude *I* often encountered N of LBJ in all the fancy pants new developments. (Will never forget visiting a 2nd grade classmate's far N Dallas castle-- because her tour started in the garage with her parent's matching Rollses. From an 8 yr old?! Never once experienced that kind of thing when I entered the "Bubble" of the Park Cities. They knew my working class status wasn't contagious.) Just my experience tho.

Because of that I'm not very diplomatic about old money and new money contrasts and lingering stereotypes in this city, but in Dallas, IMO, it's ultimately the particular families themselves and not the zip code or school that dictates the 'meet you at the club for a brandy' behavior. And since we have so many great private schools it's just like FarNorthDallas wrote, you probably want to narrow down your schools based on the info you gather and then pick your house from there. You can find 4+ private schools within 15 miles of just about anywhere, all of which would fit your small classroom desires, academic standards, etc.

Plus, Dallas has some areas where one street is high falutin' and three blocks over is a crack house. A gated community or a mini mansion in exurbia can be more desirable for folks who can't dig that. But it's another reason limiting yourself to a neighborhood very near your favorite school could be tough.

Perhaps in other towns you can pinpoint a school/zip code combo more definitively. BTW, commute times here can wildly vary, not based on miles but just congestion on any given route. I think all of this may be why you've not exactly gotten the specific info that would certainly be helpful for y'all but ultimately difficult to answer as it's so subjective. Someone may reply with "Move off Hillcrest and go to Lamplighter, we love it!" but the area still wouldn't suit you.

[pepper131]

Seems that Lakewood (75214) or Forest Hills (75218) would suit you best and have your kids go to St Thomas, then move onto Bishop Lynch for high school. This would be the easiest solution.

But you will find many in these areas do drive/carpool over to Lamplighter, Greenhill, Hockaday, St Mark's.

[RE Diva]

Coming to Big D,

I pm'd you.

Just wanted to mention here that Texoma Christian School, TCS, has been a wonderful experience for us and many that we know. It's far north, but if you live in Prosper, it's not that bad of a drive and Prosper is a wonderful growing area. When we lived in Aubrey, it took us 45 mins. to take our son there. It would've taken that long to get him to any of these other schools.

When we brought breakfast to the class for our son's birthday party, two of the twin boys (out of a classroom of 8 total kids) asked me how much a muffin top was? Their parents were really teaching them about the value of money and it was wonderful to see pre-K kids engaged that way. They live in a beautiful 15,000 sq. ft. home with limestone & granite on the walls, basement, mother-in-law wing, tennis courts, swimming pool with retractable glass roof, separate pool house with spa, nanny, gardener, house manager, cook, and full-time serving staff. Just a knock-out. Those children are so sweet and down to earth.

Happy to help,
T. Hayley

[stan4]

Greenhill has a great reputation for diversity.

Unfortunately, at least in Dallas, I don't see how you plan to do private school and "no snobs" simultaneously. Especially when there are _public_ schools in affluent areas of the metroplex where "snobbery" is rampant.