Please Help! Frisco/Plano School Names & Zip Codes, Pictures (Dallas: houses, transfer)

[LStrom]

Hi All,
My husband and I are considering relocating to Dallas from Chicago and based on the advice posted on the forum, we are considering moving to either Frisco or Plano. We have 3 children ages 2,3, & 10(5th grade). I have 3 questions:
1)What are the top schools in Frisco and Plano(for our 5th grader)?
2)What are the zip codes that these schools serve, so that we can price houses/apts?
3)Does ANYONE have pictures of these areas to share? We have been to Dallas but did not visit these neighborhoods. We will be back in 2 weeks to check them out, but the suspense is killing me!
Thanks in advance for your help!

[Saintmarks]

Can't speak to the Plano ISD situation as well, but Frisco is exemplary just about any area you go. It has one of the best funded school districts in an area of well regarded school districts. The difference with Frisco over neighboring districts is the commitment to build more schools with smaller student populations.

I don't know the statistics for elementary schools, but one thing to consider in Plano -- They have three senior high schools for only 11th and 12th grades and several separate high schools for 9th and 10th grades. The schools compete in 5A, the state's largest classification for sports and academic competitions.

Frisco on the other hand has decided to build more 9-12th grade high schools and max them out at only the 4A classification. Frisco, with a population of around 90,000 already has four high schools and two more under construction. Plano is more built out within the city limits than Frisco, has a pop. around 250,000 and has only 3 sr. high schools in comparison.

As I said, I don't know if this same numbers thinking is trickling down to the elementary schools, but my ex as a teacher transferred to Frisco ISD from McKinney as they are building almost twice as many schools as McKinney and both cities are growing at about the same rate. Her middle school (she teaches 7th grade) has 800 students. The school she left in McKinney had almost twice that. She likes that smaller school as a teacher and thinks it is better for the students as well.

As Frisco has grown from a town of about 5,000 in 1990 to almost 100,000, most of the growth is at the least above average middle class on up to very upper middle class. Being as schools usually reflect income levels, you won't find much in Frisco that is lower income, so just about any area you choose will have solid schools.

I've been in the area 5 years now, have kids in McKinney ISD (we are happy with their schools). For the most part any ISD in Collin County is well regarded.

All the best in your move.

[FalconheadWest]

I have a couple of websites you could look at. Go to mapdallashomes.com and you'll be able to see the boundaries of the school districts and student teacher ratios and what some of the neighborhoods look like and such. However, since it's an areial viewing site, not all the brand new areas are on it as they only update this type software every few years.

A great site for school information is har.com/school and you can enter the different districts and it will spit out the recent test scores and such.

I have heard recently that Plano is planning on building a new Senior High school, but I'm not versed on all the facts of it.

Also, keep in mind that many parts of Frisco feed to Lewisville schools and not Frisco. Many people think that Denton County means Lewisville and Collin County means Frisco schools, but this is not true. The boundaries are conveluted, and you will need to do an address search at the different county sites to see which district you would go to if you're not in an obvious section of the area.

[canuckmom]

Originally Posted by LStrom

Hi All,
My husband and I are considering relocating to Dallas from Chicago and based on the advice posted on the forum, we are considering moving to either Frisco or Plano. We have 3 children ages 2,3, & 10(5th grade). I have 3 questions:
1)What are the top schools in Frisco and Plano(for our 5th grader)?
2)What are the zip codes that these schools serve, so that we can price houses/apts?
3)Does ANYONE have pictures of these areas to share? We have been to Dallas but did not visit these neighborhoods. We will be back in 2 weeks to check them out, but the suspense is killing me!
Thanks in advance for your help!

Howdy,

I am a recent transplant with school aged kids, as well, and spent months researching cities, schools, commute distances etc...

The information is out there, but I found looking at various websites helped
to give me a better overall idea of where we wanted to live.

Some websites I used in my searches - in addition to City-Data.com:

www.greatschools.net - parent & student reviews/demographics etc...

Texas Education Agency - you can check stats/test scores by city, district, school etc...

Check Frisco ISD and Plano ISD websites for specific school info/pictures etc..

Each city has their own website - where you can get some insight into community activities & events, parks & rec, etc...

Neighborhood websites/HOA's - once you have a particular neighborhood in mind, see if they have their own website. Many have neighborhood photos.
[b]
A FEW THINGS TO CONSIDER:[/B]

* Property tax levels vary by city and compared to where we used to live (Atlanta) are quite high. In Collin County, anywhere from $10,000 to $12,000 annually on a $400K to $500K house.

* School districts do not follow city limits - for example, you can live in Plano and attend Frisco schools, or live in Allen and attend Plano schools.

* Grades vary by school district - some Elementaries go from K to 5 or K to 6, Middle Schools can be 6 to 8, or 7 & 8, there are some high schools divided by a 9 & 10 grade "jr" high school and a 10 & 11 "sr" high school. In Allen, all 9th graders go to a Freshman center, then high school.

Hope this info helps somewhat.

The other key element to consider is how far a commute you and/or your husband would have to get to work. Traffic here can be really heavy.

Good Luck!!!!!

[Big G]

Originally Posted by FalconheadWest

I have heard recently that Plano is planning on building a new Senior High school, but I'm not versed on all the facts of it.

Not an 11-12 Senior High, just a new 9-10 High School - waaay over on the east end of the district. The bond to fund construction has already passed, so you can count on it. They have no plans to expand beyond the three 11-12 Senior Highs they have. Plano West is running under capacity right now, and Plano East is already full and going to get more full, so expect the boundaries to shift at some point in the next 3-4 years.

[unexpected]

Originally Posted by Big G

Not an 11-12 Senior High, just a new 9-10 High School - waaay over on the east end of the district. The bond to fund construction has already passed, so you can count on it. They have no plans to expand beyond the three 11-12 Senior Highs they have. Plano West is running under capacity right now, and Plano East is already full and going to get more full, so expect the boundaries to shift at some point in the next 3-4 years.

I think the plan is this:

the new high school and williams to go to Plano East
Clark and Vines go to Plano Senior,
Jasper and Shepton go to Plano West

[Big G]

I think you are correct. That will drastically change the demographics of Plano Senior. Currently, Plano Senior is the most "Asian" of the 3 schools, mostly because of the neighborhoods that feed into Jasper. (Right now, Jasper splits between Plano and Plano West.) Once that changes to Clark/Vines, there will be very few Asians in the mix, and you probably won't be seeing 60+ National Merit Finalists like you did this year.

One other complication is that Clark is the IB high school that feeds into the Plano East IB program. One logical solution is to move the IB 9-10 program to the new school. Problem is, PSID sells IB as available to the entire district. It will be hard to say that with a straight face when the lion's share of the student body would have to travel over half an hour to get to the school.

[shailak]

I want to move to frisco,but my daughter wants to plano senior high ,is it possible.

[FarNorthDallas]

No, you can't live in Frisco and send a kid to Plano Senior. Is that what you are asking? Some districts will take non-resident kids in their district if you pay tuition, but I don't think Plano ISD accepts them.

[Big G]

AFAIK, the only non-resident kids PISD will accept are
1) children (occasionally grandchildren) of employees, and
2) 11th or 12th grade kids who have moved out of the district, but are looking to finish up their senior year of high school in PISD. (And even that's on a space-available, case-by-case basis, and involves a hefty tuition.)