Comparison between Carroll HS and Keller HS (Plano, Lewisville: buying a house, buying)

[rhodesianrider]

Can someone help me with comparing the 2 highschools of these 2 school districts?
We are thinking of buying a house either in Grapevine(Carroll ISD part) or Keller.

What we found was E, M and I in both ISDs for the homes we saw were exemplary. But Keller HS was rated "Recognized" and Carroll HS was exemplary.
Do you guys know students who went to either can you share your thoughts?

[padcrasher]

These ratings are heavily influenced by demographics. When you have more racial/income diversity you'll normally see the lower ratings. Carroll of course is more whiter/asian/wealthier on average than Keller and that's the prime reason for the difference. Going forward I think Southlake is going to continue this trend of being considered more exclusive than the surrounding areas and house values will hold up better here.

There is a lot of school pride at Carroll that I don't see to that level at Keller. Go take a look a Carrol's school facilities then drive by Keller's football stadium. Night and day.

Also if your kids are in athletics, hands down Southlake is the place to be. Southlake will win the Lone Star Cup this year for having the most success in extra-carricular activities for 5A schools in the State. In the last year we have won the State title in Football, girls and boys cross country, and girls and boys swimming.

[txtoal]

I went to schools in both Keller and Southlake, however this was more than 15 years ago. Things are much different now than they were then so I can't really give you a current description on how things are. I still have family and friends in both cities. My parents moved us from Keller to Southlake for various reasons, mostly for the size of the schools and student per teacher ratio. Feel free to PM me if you like.

[Rakin]

Personally I would send my kids to both schools. Carroll ISD (Southlake) is probably quite a bit more wealthy and could possibly be a lot more Peer pressure on kids.

[jcamber]

Originally Posted by padcrasher

These ratings are heavily influenced by demographics. When you have more racial/income diversity you'll normally see the lower ratings. Carroll of course is more whiter/asian/wealthier on average than Keller and that's the prime reason for the difference. Going forward I think Southlake is going to continue this trend of being considered more exclusive than the surrounding areas and house values will hold up better here.

There is a lot of school pride at Carroll that I don't see to that level at Keller. Go take a look a Carrol's school facilities then drive by Keller's football stadium. Night and day.

Also if your kids are in athletics, hands down Southlake is the place to be. Southlake will win the Lone Star Cup this year for having the most success in extra-carricular activities for 5A schools in the State. In the last year we have won the State title in Football, girls and boys cross country, and girls and boys swimming.

That said, don't you have a better chance of getting into a team in Keller? I would imagine it'll be that much difficult to make the team in Southlake if you're not a gifted athlete

[ChristieP]

Southlake has a big emphasis on athletics over academics. Yes, the students do well on the state tests (hence the exemplary rating), but when you look at the colleges where the top graduates go, they are far from the best schools. Bottom line: if you are looking for academics, Carroll ISD may not be where you want to be. And if you are looking for athletics, it can be difficult to make the team since most of the other kids on the team have been playing together since junior high, and they all know the plays, etc. Dragon Football is a very big thing!

And yes, the peer pressure there is BIG. Your kids' classmates will get fancy cars for their 16th birthdays, and even middle school girls will carry designer purses.

[padcrasher]

Originally Posted by ChristieP

Southlake has a big emphasis on athletics over academics. Yes, the students do well on the state tests (hence the exemplary rating), but when you look at the colleges where the top graduates go, they are far from the best schools. Bottom line: if you are looking for academics, Carroll ISD may not be where you want to be. And if you are looking for athletics, it can be difficult to make the team since most of the other kids on the team have been playing together since junior high, and they all know the plays, etc. Dragon Football is a very big thing!

And yes, the peer pressure there is BIG. Your kids' classmates will get fancy cars for their 16th birthdays, and even middle school girls will carry designer purses.

Elite College admissions and National Merit scholarships are another indicator that gets effected by demographics. Find the school districts with highest percentages of Asian students and they will excel in this area. I agree SL does need to stress academics more but that's not the sole reason SL lags here. They don't have the Asian percentages that Coppell and Plano do.

[padcrasher]

Originally Posted by jcamber

That said, don't you have a better chance of getting into a team in Keller? I would imagine it'll be that much difficult to make the team in Southlake if you're not a gifted athlete

I don't believe it's that way. It has much more to do with just showing up and putting in the effort. The gifted athletes aren't that numerous and they are multiple sports to participate in. It is true most have started from a young age, so I could see how someone new to a sport would be at a disadvantage, but in most sports everyone makes one of the A, B or C teams, including football.

[loves2read]

if you are moving in from out of district and especially out of state your child faces big challenge in getting playing time on teams at any 5A school--
athletics in almost any sport are very competitive and some of these students have been playing together since they were in elementary schools
their coaches know them, have coached them or know coaches who did
your child would have to be an exceptional athlete to win a starting spot as first year player--

any senior student has to be on varsity team accourding to UIL rules--but that does not guarantee playing time for college scouts to get a look or to build stats

some schools of course have weakers performance history and it might be easier to get noticed there--but again that player would be coming in as an unknown quantity--and would have to show some stellar promise to rise above other, better-known players with a history with the coach--

prime example--
Remember the Titans--when the surfer dude from CA comes to tryout for the team and manages to throw a ball farther with more accuracy than any other player...definitely caught the coaches' attentions...but even then he started behind the quarterback who was there first (and talented)...

and I think it is a cheap shot to say that Southlake ranks athletics over academics--and there are plenty of Southlake students going to name-brand schools -- as legacy students if nothing else--

I think you can say the same thing about athletics for ANY 5A or strong 4A high school in TX--or really any public school
most public schools equate strong athletic performance to the quality of their academics in many ways--and will do whatever it takes to put a winning team on the field--starting with football and dropping down the sports heirarchy
if there is money to support athletics it is going there first in the sense that money to build a new football stadium is usually NEVER voted down in a bond election whereas other bond elections tied to enhanced academic/physical plants of schools has been...

[rhodesianrider]

Over the last week we drove through areas of Flower Mound, I cant begin to describe how beautiful it was. Plus it was raining and the Fairway road from Grapevine to FM was absolutely breathtaking!

We drove west of Gerault and saw some property right on the border between Lewisville and FM that come under FM schools (E,M and HS) but if there is ever redistricting and if these homes go over to Lewisville, that could be catastrophic to my investment in the house and misery in terms of schooling.
I know it happened in Keller, but can anyone shed light on the process and the recourse if any to homeowners? Would that be something the builder or the realtor would know?