Several questions about Vanguard and Magnet Schools in Houston ISD

[KatieKennedy]

Apply everywhere you have even a small interest in going and get tested/apply to your zoned school GT program as a back up. That is what everyone else is doing and it is unlikely to change.

Also apply to a few private schools in case you fall through all the lotteries. Sulaimon came out of Strake and Winslow out of St. John's. Both obviously had the jump shot. Aside from football and basketball stars, the private schools also look for outstanding male and female athletes in other sports like wrestling, soccer, track, cross country, field hockey, lacrosse, golf, swimming, tennis, cheerleading, etc. They also look for students that test high and are likely to be future National Merit Scholars.

The odds of getting the Vanguard Magnet schools are getting smaller because there is now an online application and more folks are applying to multiple schools. There are a lot more qualified Vanguard students than there are spots at the Vanguard Magnets.

[Sulaimon to Winslow]

Originally Posted by KatieKennedy

Apply everywhere you have even a small interest in going and get tested/apply to your zoned school GT program as a back up. That is what everyone else is doing and it is unlikely to change.

Also apply to a few private schools in case you fall through all the lotteries. Sulaimon came out of Strake and Winslow out of St. John's. Both obviously had the jump shot. Aside from football and basketball stars, the private schools also look for outstanding male and female athletes in other sports like wrestling, soccer, track, cross country, field hockey, lacrosse, golf, swimming, tennis, cheerleading, etc. They also look for students that test high and are likely to be future National Merit Scholars.

The odds of getting the Vanguard Magnet schools are getting smaller because there is now an online application and more folks are applying to multiple schools. There are a lot more qualified Vanguard students than there are spots at the Vanguard Magnets.

Thanks. How much of a drop-off is there between the Vanguard magnets and the neighborhood versions? I get the impression that the neighborhood Vanguards pull the kids out once a week or so, while at the Vanguard magnets, it's pretty much a daily thing for the academic classes.

[KatieKennedy]

At the high performing neighborhood schools you won't find much drop off. For example, West U Elementary the G/T students make up a large portion of the student body. The students are grouped together in various "color" groups for their core classes and mixed in with the rest of the students for homeroom, etc. For example, my daughter was in the purple group which was all G/T kids. She was in a class with the very smart children of astronauts, doctors, and lawyers, etc. It was obvious some groups were more advanced than others, but the school did not say what group was what. The G/T kids used different text books and moved at a faster pace than the non G/T kids.

[mrs. snarkypants]

We recently went through the Magnet/Vanguard process and are wait listed at all 5 schools that we put on our list. Our son qualified for the Vanguard program, although there is not currently a spot for him at any of the schools we applied to. If your child does not qualify for the Vanguard program, she/he is still eligible for a Magnet transfer. Some schools, such as TH Rogers, Travis, River Oaks and Oak Forest, require that you qualify for the Vanguard program in order for you to transfer into their school, as the Vanguard program is their Magnet. All neighborhood schools have a Vanguard program, but some are more high performing than others. Harvard is a STEM magnet, with a great neighborhood Vanguard program, for example.


I can't speak definitively for other school district's programs, but I don't think there are Magnet programs, such as Fine Arts, STEM or Dual Language, at more suburban school districts. From what I can tell, it seems pretty unique to HISD. We strongly considered moving to Katy at one point, so I did look into their schools quite a bit, and I found no such thing as a Magnet program.

I hope this is helpful and makes sense. My son's preschool held a meeting for the parents that helped explain the Magnet/Vanguard process. It took a lot of sorting through to get a good understanding of this process! Feel free to message me if you have more questions about our experience.

[Sulaimon to Winslow]

Thanks for the reply! Your situation sounds like one of the worst case scenarios for parents of kids who get into the Vanguard program. So if no spots open up, are you going to go with Neighborhood Vanguard? I guess that shows the importance of being close to a top neighborhood school.

To be honest, I'm not surprised about the waitlist situation. I bet River Oaks, TH Rogers, Oak Forest, and Travis get a lot of common applicants from the same area, and Herod might as well. On the other hand, I bet Carrilo, De Zavala, and Pleasantville are not drawing from the same applicant pool at all.

What kind of testing is required for the Magnet programs, btw? Doesn't seem to be the same as Vanguard.

[Meyerland]

In the past it was easy to get into a vanguard or magnet program in HISD, but with the boom there are only so many spots. Anyone moving here needs to be zoned to a school they find acceptable, and if they make it into another program that would be a bonus.

I also advise people who are zoned to a school to make contact with that school the previous year to the one they want to enroll their child. That way there will be a spot for your child. Don't show up in Late July and think they have a spot for your child in August. Some schools will turn away kids and send them to an over flow campus. ( this is extremely rare but it has happened)

If you are buying a house go to the campus as soon as you can and let the registrar know your child is going to attend.

[mrs. snarkypants]

Sulaimon, we will not be doing the neighborhood vanguard program, as I do not want my son to attend the school we are zoned to. We played both sides of the fence and applied to both Catholic schools and Vanguard Magnet program. He will be going to Catholic school in the fall.

Meyerland is correct about the zoned school not necessarily having a spot for your child if it is a popular school if there is not enough notice. There have been a couple of incidents in which a family moved to Oak Forest in the summer thinking their children would be going to OFE and it wasn't so! They wound up having to go to an overflow campus. If I recall correctly, there was availability for them the following year.

[mrs. snarkypants]

There is no testing for a Magnet program. You can still get a Magnet transfer without qualifying for the Vanguard program. Does that make sense? If you want your child in a Dual Language program (or STEM, Fine Arts, etc), they are eligible for that transfer. There just has to be a spot.

[Meyerland]

Yes, that is true about the magnet programs. I suggest applying to a variety of magnet and vanguard programs. It is a different process, with a different application process. ( just to make things difficult)

If you are zoned to a school you would not put your child at, then you need to apply to some private schools too. There is a free online school for Texas, but I forget the name of it. Maybe someone else knows it.

Yes, if there is not room for your child at the school you are zoned for one year...there will be room the next year. It really doesn't happen often, and usually if you move over the summer. Sometimes it might just be a specific grade level at a campus.

Some campuses are so popular that they now reserve spots for extra kids that move in over the summer. Contact the school for more information.