Plano Preschools and Plano in general (Houston, Dallas: cul-de-sac, 2015, buying a house)

[Relo Houston to Dallas]

Hi all - Lots of great info from ya'll on this site.
We will be moving the the Dallas area in the spring, and are focusing on the Plano area. We have a 2 and a 4 year old so schools are very important as well as being within 1/2 hour of hubby's office at 75 and 635. We love old growth trees so are hoping to find a nice 4 bedroom home on a cul-de-sac.

I had been told to look north of Spring Creek and inside of Coit and Custer. What do ya'll think of that area?
Do you know if it is really difficult to get my children in to a Plano preschool in April or May, as I know registrations are usually in February. Does anyone have experience with any Plano preschools as to ones to recommend and ones to stay away from.

Thanks for your help!

[compSciGuy]

Originally Posted by Relo Houston to Dallas

Hi all - Lots of great info from ya'll on this site.
We will be moving the the Dallas area in the spring, and are focusing on the Plano area. We have a 2 and a 4 year old so schools are very important as well as being within 1/2 hour of hubby's office at 75 and 635. We love old growth trees so are hoping to find a nice 4 bedroom home on a cul-de-sac.

I had been told to look north of Spring Creek and inside of Coit and Custer. What do ya'll think of that area?
Do you know if it is really difficult to get my children in to a Plano preschool in April or May, as I know registrations are usually in February. Does anyone have experience with any Plano preschools as to ones to recommend and ones to stay away from.

Thanks for your help!

Are you Asian? The area you are describing might most likely appeal to Asians wanting the better schools (around other Asians) but looking to avoid the affluence of Plano West. If that's the case, the information is slightly dated as those areas have been rezoned (last month) from Plano Central to Plano West.

[FarNorthDallas]

Plano ISD has a tuition-based preschool you might want to look into.
Early Childhood Programs : Plano ISD

[Relo Houston to Dallas]

Hi -
fdm9M,
No we are not Asian.
,

[PlanoGirl]

I think you were told right. One of my absolute favorite "older" neighborhoods in Plano is around Jack Carter Park (look at houses North of Spring Creek, South of Legacy, West of Custer, East of Independence). The elementary is Carlisle, which is a fantastic school. The neighborhood has many winding streets (as compared to the straight grid pattern most Plano neighborhoods have) and lots of mature trees. In addition, the Chisolm Trail (a 5 mile hike & bike path) runs right through there. In my opinion, it is one of the prettiest trails in Plano. The neighborhood also has one of the city's recreational pools, plus a great splash playground for kids under 6. Also, the dog park would be just a short walk down the trail.

[PlanoGirl]

Oh, and I'm not sure what is up with the Asian comment above. Yes, Plano OVERALL has quite a significant Asian population (it is really quite diverse for a suburb)...but I wouldn't say that that area has a particularly high number of Asians. Actually I think the more northwest you go in Plano, the more prominent that population is. For example, according to greatschools, the asian population of Carlisle Elem is 19%.

[Relo Houston to Dallas]

Sorry, my 2 year old grabbed the computer and the emailed replied before i'd meant it to.
SO, we are no Asian - this is just an area of Plano another person relocated to and recommended. I was hoping to get the opinions of others.

[PlanoGirl]

ANd one more thing...another reason I like that neighborhood is that it is NOT zoned for Plano West (Carlisle feeds into Plano Senior). Both are terrific senior highs as far as education, sports, clubs, etc goes, but personally, I would prefer my kids to be around a group of students that are a little more economically diverse.

(Do double check the attendance zones though. From what I understand that new rezoning only affected Schmilphenig Elem, not Carlisle.)

As far as preschool, PISD's tuition-based preschool program is supposed to be great. I also have a great Montessori school to recommend if that's your thing

[Relo Houston to Dallas]

PlanoGirl -

Thanks so much for all the info. Yes, economically diverse is a good word and exactly what we are looking for. I would love to be in a neighborhood where we can walk and you actually meet neighbors outside.

Would love to know which Montessori School you'd recommend? We have not had out kids in Montessori as there was always a waiting list here.

Thanks!

[Big G]

Originally Posted by PlanoGirl

ANd one more thing...another reason I like that neighborhood is that it is NOT zoned for Plano West (Carlisle feeds into Plano Senior). Both are terrific senior highs as far as education, sports, clubs, etc goes, but personally, I would prefer my kids to be around a group of students that are a little more economically diverse.

(Do double check the attendance zones though. From what I understand that new rezoning only affected Schmilphenig Elem, not Carlisle.)

To be precise, those schools feeding into Schimelpfenig Middle School (Bethany, Mathews, and Carlisle Elementary Schools) were, indeed, recently rezoned to Plano West, beginning with the senior high graduating class of 2015.

However, for reasons far too long, boring and controversial to bother to explain here, the PISD board granted Schimelpfenig special status and will allow students in that area to opt to attend the 9-12 combination of Clark/Plano Senior if desired, rather than the new default of Jasper/Plano West.

--

For the OP:

Just about all the schools in Plano ISD are excellent. I wouldn't restrict my search to a specific area based on the schools.

Given your work location, you might want to explore the possibility of buying a house on the east side of 75. There are even some Plano ISD portions of Richardson, south of Geo. Bush, that would shorten your commute even more.

Do you have a price range in mind?