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My family is relocating to FW next summer. We're looking for newer construction, more transitional/modern style, 4,000sf+. We're looking at Montserrat and La Canterra at Team Ranch (which is technically in Benbrook). Can anyone tell me the differences associated with a Fort Worth address vs a Benbrook address (taxes, schools, etc)? I believe they are both FWISD although they are different schools. Do you have experience with any of these schools? Do people in these neighborhoods gravitate to the shopping over off Bryant Irving? And why hasn't there been more shopping/restaurant development over by Montserrat, which seems to have been around for longer? I'd love the inside scoop on these areas!
Montserrat and La Cantera feed into the same FWISD elementary school (Waverly Park) although they go to different middle and high schools; in this case, Leonard MS and Western Hills HS for Montserrat, and Benbrook Middle-High School (yes it’s one school) for La Cantera. Leonard and Western Hills also draw from some very rough areas of town (Las Vegas Trail area) so they aren’t really good schools at all. Benbrook MHS is average at best. The FWISD School Site Locator would be a good resource for you to consider. Really the only good part of FWISD is going to be the Tanglewood-McLean-Paschal zone, especially at the budget level you are looking at.
If you can afford Montserrat and La Cantera then you are probably going to be considering private schools, I would be assuming. All Saints, Fort Worth Country Day, and Trinity Valley are usually considered the best in the Fort Worth area. But if you insist on using public schools, I would be looking into Aledo ISD (including the Walsh Ranch area), or the Tanglewood zone near TCU. Carroll ISD (Southlake) is probably the best in Tarrant County; I’d also look into the Keller HS portion of Keller ISD and the Westlake Academy in Westlake.
Your main shopping areas around Benbrook will be at Bryant Irvin, Hulen Mall area, and Ridglea/Camp Bowie Avenue. Ridglea is the "old money" area of Fort Worth with older larger homes and a country clubs. Western Hills has a decent mix of people but trends more low income. Ridgmar Mall is basically dead at this point so that area has gone way down hill.
There are two brand new upscale shopping center called "Waterside" and "The Shops at Clearfork" nearby as well.
The only public schools in the FWISD that gets any praise are in the Tanglewood area. Benbrook schools are not terrible but not considered great. If you are looking at Montserrat/Team Ranch then your budget must be large. Any kids living in those two neighborhood would go to private school at All Saints School or Country Day Academy. They aren't going to public schools.
Thank you both for your input. It's very helpful. We're definitely set on Fort Worth, though I know Southlake, Colleyville, etc, offer great schools. We are applying to non religious private schools, but I have no idea how selective the admissions are. It would also be nice to have an option come high school if the kids want to switch back to public. There are some lottery schools opportunities as well in Fort Worth, correct? Is anyone familiar with the high school lottery or magnet options?
And finally, what's the drive time like to get downtown FW on a weekend or Friday evening from Montserrat/Team Ranch? How about to DFW (not in rush hour)?
Thank you both for your input. It's very helpful. We're definitely set on Fort Worth, though I know Southlake, Colleyville, etc, offer great schools. We are applying to non religious private schools, but I have no idea how selective the admissions are. It would also be nice to have an option come high school if the kids want to switch back to public. There are some lottery schools opportunities as well in Fort Worth, correct? Is anyone familiar with the high school lottery or magnet options?
And finally, what's the drive time like to get downtown FW on a weekend or Friday evening from Montserrat/Team Ranch? How about to DFW (not in rush hour)?
Thank you.
Fort Worth Country Day and Trinity Valley are the two main non-sectarian private schools in Fort Worth, and are also considered the most prestigious of the private schools in Fort Worth. The K-8 Fort Worth Academy is also worth looking into as well, though I believe their educational philosophy does differ a bit from some of the other private schools. I believe most of the other well-regarded private schools in the area, aside from these three (plus Hill School, though they are geared towards those with learning differences/special education), are religious in affiliation.
Lottery and magnet options in the Fort Worth ISD, at the high school level, include the new I.M. Terrell STEM and VPA Academy (a public magnet school that has yet to prove itself, and it's in a rough part of town near the homeless shelters off of East Lancaster) as well as Paschal High School's college preparatory program. Since Paschal is a zoned school, and you have such a large budget, if you want Paschal you are probably best served by living in that zone, but even Paschal will still have some of the problems of inner-city schools too. The Texas Academy of Biomedical Sciences (TABS) is another FWISD magnet high school program worth looking into as well, part of that school is housed in West Fort Worth near Montgomery and I-30 and the other part is housed at the Tarrant County College Trinity River Campus in downtown.
Stripling and McLean are probably the only zoned middle schools even remotely worth attending in FWISD; compared to some of the middle schools in the suburban districts they are quite average, but McLean does get some of the Tanglewood kids who stay in public schools, plus Stripling does have the TABS prep program (lottery). The Applied Learning Academy is a magnet middle school that follows a different educational philosophy from other FWISD middle schools. Elementary-level lottery programs include Spanish immersion at Burton Hill Elementary and the Alice Carlson Applied Learning Center, not to mention Daggett Montessori (there's also Como Montessori but it's in a rough part of town, both FWISD Montessori schools are K-8).
Keep in mind it can be hard to get chosen to attend an FWISD Choice program (lottery and magnet schools), as there are a lot of other people who want to leave sub-par schools to get into somewhere better. If you don't get chosen for a lottery program (or a school transfer), you get left with your zoned school, and with respect to transfers, they only apply to the school your child has transferred into and not to the entire feeder pattern (eg. a transfer to McLean is not guaranteed a spot at Paschal). With respect to charter schools, I should mention the Fort Worth Academy of Fine Arts, a fine arts-focused charter school off of Hulen Street.
If you don't want to pay for a private school (such as if you have many school-age children that it would be very costly to send them all to private school when you could be saving for their college), I will definitely continue to suggest somewhere like Southlake, Colleyville, Westlake, Keller proper, Aledo, or the Tanglewood area (though Tanglewood, after elementary, comes with the caveats of FWISD middle- and high-schools mentioned above). You do pay for those better public schools with increased home prices though.
As for driving to downtown Fort Worth from the Team Ranch area, I would say about 20 minutes or so if there is no traffic should you take I-820 north to I-30 east (you'll hit a few traffic lights in downtown, it will take a bit longer once you consider finding parking and stuff). DFW Airport would be at least double that amount of time, but I would plan for an hour from when you leave to when you first drive into the airport (though if there is no traffic it would be less than an hour). And once you get east of downtown Fort Worth, including along I-35W north of I-30 and SH-183 in the Mid-Cities, you can see bad traffic outside of rush hour.
If you dont mind driving a little further into town, look into Bella Flora Estates off of Hwy 1187 to the Southwest of Benbrook. I believe it is zoned for Aledo ISD which is a very nice public school district.
Fort Worth Country Day and Trinity Valley are the two main non-sectarian private schools in Fort Worth, and are also considered the most prestigious of the private schools in Fort Worth. The K-8 Fort Worth Academy is also worth looking into as well, though I believe their educational philosophy does differ a bit from some of the other private schools. I believe most of the other well-regarded private schools in the area, aside from these three (plus Hill School, though they are geared towards those with learning differences/special education), are religious in affiliation.
Lottery and magnet options in the Fort Worth ISD, at the high school level, include the new I.M. Terrell STEM and VPA Academy (a public magnet school that has yet to prove itself, and it's in a rough part of town near the homeless shelters off of East Lancaster) as well as Paschal High School's college preparatory program. Since Paschal is a zoned school, and you have such a large budget, if you want Paschal you are probably best served by living in that zone, but even Paschal will still have some of the problems of inner-city schools too. The Texas Academy of Biomedical Sciences (TABS) is another FWISD magnet high school program worth looking into as well, part of that school is housed in West Fort Worth near Montgomery and I-30 and the other part is housed at the Tarrant County College Trinity River Campus in downtown.
Stripling and McLean are probably the only zoned middle schools even remotely worth attending in FWISD; compared to some of the middle schools in the suburban districts they are quite average, but McLean does get some of the Tanglewood kids who stay in public schools, plus Stripling does have the TABS prep program (lottery). The Applied Learning Academy is a magnet middle school that follows a different educational philosophy from other FWISD middle schools. Elementary-level lottery programs include Spanish immersion at Burton Hill Elementary and the Alice Carlson Applied Learning Center, not to mention Daggett Montessori (there's also Como Montessori but it's in a rough part of town, both FWISD Montessori schools are K-8).
Keep in mind it can be hard to get chosen to attend an FWISD Choice program (lottery and magnet schools), as there are a lot of other people who want to leave sub-par schools to get into somewhere better. If you don't get chosen for a lottery program (or a school transfer), you get left with your zoned school, and with respect to transfers, they only apply to the school your child has transferred into and not to the entire feeder pattern (eg. a transfer to McLean is not guaranteed a spot at Paschal). With respect to charter schools, I should mention the Fort Worth Academy of Fine Arts, a fine arts-focused charter school off of Hulen Street.
If you don't want to pay for a private school (such as if you have many school-age children that it would be very costly to send them all to private school when you could be saving for their college), I will definitely continue to suggest somewhere like Southlake, Colleyville, Westlake, Keller proper, Aledo, or the Tanglewood area (though Tanglewood, after elementary, comes with the caveats of FWISD middle- and high-schools mentioned above). You do pay for those better public schools with increased home prices though.
As for driving to downtown Fort Worth from the Team Ranch area, I would say about 20 minutes or so if there is no traffic should you take I-820 north to I-30 east (you'll hit a few traffic lights in downtown, it will take a bit longer once you consider finding parking and stuff). DFW Airport would be at least double that amount of time, but I would plan for an hour from when you leave to when you first drive into the airport (though if there is no traffic it would be less than an hour). And once you get east of downtown Fort Worth, including along I-35W north of I-30 and SH-183 in the Mid-Cities, you can see bad traffic outside of rush hour.
This is one of the most accurate and comprehensive posts I've seen on K-12 education in Fort Worth. Nicely done!
We currently own land in La Cantera although we've had to hold off on building our home. We looked at Bella Flora but ruled it out because the drive up 377 to I-20 can be rather congested and there's no decent shopping nearby. I don't want my only convenient grocery store to be a Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market. I also didn't like that the neighborhood is on well water since there's a huge tract of undeveloped land across the street from the neighborhood. Since the area's unincorporated there's not much constraint on development using well water out there. I'm concerned about eventually too many homes relying on the same well source when the inevitable drought occurs.
I have looked at all 3 of the private schools mentioned and have one kid at one of them. PM me if you'd like more feedback.
The Oakridge School sits on the Arlington/FTW border so North Fort Worth is convenient. A private school def worth checking out.
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