Garland ISD (Dallas, Austin, Rowlett: credit, home, transfer)

[Jan70]

How are the middle schools on Garland ISD? Which one is the best?

[Jan70]

Originally Posted by Jan70

How are the middle schools on Garland ISD? Which one is the best?

* in the Garland ISD?

[MurphyPl1]

Depends on the school. But the benefit of GISD is that it has school choice, so if the school closest to you doesn't meet your child's needs, you can put another one as your first choice.

GISD also includes Rowlett and Sachse.

[momof2dfw]

Like ALL districts, some schools are better than others. Not that the "bad" ones are REALLY bad...........just that there are others in the district that are better. I've got one in high school (Garland HS) and one starting ms next year (Austin Academy). Both of them will have gone thru Austin which is the g/t magnet. I LOOOOOOOOOOOOVE Austin. But there are other middle schools that are good too. I would not say to just totally avoid any of them, honestly. I mean, a great kid w/ good parental support is going to do well no matter where you put them. And that goes w/ any district.

Overall, I have LOVED the GISD. The programs they offer are outstanding. The teachers have been very caring and actually care about the kids getting a good education. Even in high school I get emails from the teachers if they see any concern whatsoever with my child and she is in the top classes (IB and AP). The schools have a lot of involved parents even in middle school and high school.

If you are looking at a particular school and have questions about it you can pm me if you like.

[Jan70]

Thanks murphy and momo.......
Infact after posting my question, I read a lot of momo's feedback on another thread. I will be PMiing u for sure. That was the plan....but my comp froze last night.

[Jan70]

Here are some of my 'Garland' questions:
1. Which is a good Middle School? Ppl keep telling me about N Foster high school but for now I need a great middle school. I need to google Austin Acad but does it have 8th grade? Can I still apply there?
2. Is there a magnet school for 8th graders? That would be Austin A I presume. And gifted and talented for 8th graders?
3. Is there any after school care/ home work club/ glee club/ any events at the school after school hrs. It will be 5 or 5:30 pm byt the time I get home?
4. The drive from downtown to Garland would be approx 1 hr to and fro?

P.S. I apologise for asking repititious questions but I've been reading so much on the threads........I wanted to make sure.

[MurphyPl1]

I believe you mean Naaman Forest HS. My DSD graduated from there. Solid school. She attended Webb MS which was pretty good, but I'd say Hudson up in Sachse is stronger. Austin has 8th grade, but I'll let Mom go in depth on that.

[momof2dfw]

1. Which is a good Middle School? Ppl keep telling me about N Foster high school but for now I need a great middle school. I need to google Austin Acad but does it have 8th grade? Can I still apply there?

Of course I prefer Austin Academy. Webb used to be a very good middle school but it has not held up for the last few years. The academics have slipped and they have some other issues that plague the school. Of course these feed over to Naaman Forest HS and the same issues are still prevelant there. If your daughter is in a G/T program now she won't be happy at Naaman. Two of my daughters friends went to Naaman over Garland HS for 9th grade and they both transferred mid-term to Garland HS. Same goes for Sachse. The kids from Austin that went to Sachse did so for other reasons than academics. Athletics for the girls.

Yes, Austin has 8th grade. Our middle schools have 6th, 7th and 8th grades.
Call the numbers below and see how you can get her in.

2. Is there a magnet school for 8th graders? That would be Austin A I presume. And gifted and talented for 8th graders?

The G/T magent is Austin. Brandenburg is the arts and classical center magnet for middle school. Jackson is the technology middle school. All 3 are considered magnets. I'd take Brandenburg as well. Unless you can get Austin first.

3. Is there any after school care/ home work club/ glee club/ any events at the school after school hrs. It will be 5 or 5:30 pm byt the time I get home?

Austin Academy is one of the only middle schools that offer before and after school clubs. They have "Extended Day" and bus transportation IS provided. There are different clubs and activities but they are not everyday. Middle school gets out at 3:50 and my daughter got home on the bus at 4:20 (Firewheel area). I made her ride the bus as we were literally following it home every single day and she was the first stop. Other than "Extended Day" or different practices for band, orchestra, choir, athletics, etc there is no "after school care" at the school.


4. The drive from downtown to Garland would be approx 1 hr to and fro?

Depends on traffic. You can be in downtown Dallas in 30 minutes if there is not any traffic. From 190 to 75 it is practically a straight shot. In traffic you are looking at I'd say a little less than an hour. If there is an accident.......... hour.



Call NOW, do not delay, about getting her into Austin Academy. If she is already in a G/T program and you can get that paperwork from the school transfered with her scores they might be able to get her in or at least on the wait list. If you get called even after school starts and can get into Austin, DO IT!


For questions regarding the application process:
Coordinator of Gifted/Talented Education
972-487-3193
A899@garlandisd.net

For information about the Austin Academy program:
Austin Academy for Excellence
1125 Beverly Drive Garland, TX 75040
972-926-2620
A041@garlandisd.net
Link Lookup

[follie]

I went to Austin for MS and Naaman for HS- I would highly recommend both!!

Austin had so many opportunities, like weekend trips, fun electives, and a great band (I was a total band nerd).

The Garland vs Naaman argument has been going on since Naaman opened. I personally would still choose Naaman over Garland. However, I'm not in the area any more so I don't know current stuff. But I tested out of several college courses because of the AP classes I had at Naaman, so I'm biased.

[theloneranger]

It's really just a question of AP vs IB. Garland High has IB, whereas Naaman only offers AP.

IB gives you a guaranteed minimum of 24 credit hours at Texas public universities. It doesn't have the flexibility AP offers, however, as it's a set curriculum and not a set of courses to choose from.

AP level classes at most suburban high schools in DFW are going to offer you about the same quality of education, so when it comes down to it, if you're kid's almost certainly going to be in AP classes, you probably want to look at the other factors moreso than the academics in your school choice for high school.