High schools in Sugarland, Katy (Houston, Austin: homes, theater, top schools)

[sarabhi2017]

We are moving to Houston from AZ this summer and are considering the following schools.

Fort Bend ISD
----------------

Travis HS
Austin HS

Katy ISD
-------------

Jordan HS
Tompkins HS (not completely sure)


DD will be a HS freshman. She has been doing well academically and socially in her current school. We would like her to have a good HS experience similar to what she has been doing. We do not want to overwhelm her with the crazy academic competition so aren't considering the top schools (like Clements, Seven Lakes etc.)

Would like any feedback on these school as far as academics go. Diversity , an active school community, few competitive clubs is definitely important.
We will of course consider property taxes etc. for finding a home.

Any help is appreciated.

Regards

[Questions4houston]

Austin HS. Don't know about the Katy ones.

[ATLForr]

Austin HS is slightly better than Travis HS. Jordan HS is new so not a whole lot of information. Tompkins High is the best and most highly rated out of the schools you mentioned. Then it would be Austin, and then Travis. All four of those schools are very diverse, and the areas that these schools are in are some of the most racially diverse in the nation. Austin High School is almost 50% Asian, while the rest of the schools are split almost 25/25/25/25 between the four major races. The schools you mentioned in Katy ISD are more affluent than the schools you mentioned in FBISD.

[NigerianNightmare]

Originally Posted by sarabhi2017

We are moving to Houston from AZ this summer and are considering the following schools.

Fort Bend ISD
----------------

Travis HS
Austin HS

Katy ISD
-------------

Jordan HS
Tompkins HS (not completely sure)


DD will be a HS freshman. She has been doing well academically and socially in her current school. We would like her to have a good HS experience similar to what she has been doing. We do not want to overwhelm her with the crazy academic competition so aren't considering the top schools (like Clements, Seven Lakes etc.)

Would like any feedback on these school as far as academics go. Diversity , an active school community, few competitive clubs is definitely important.
We will of course consider property taxes etc. for finding a home.

Any help is appreciated.

Regards

While Seven Lakes is the most hyper-competitive school Tompkins is just as competitive a school and Jordan is demographically almost the exact same as Tompkins and Seven Lakes. Hell Cinco Ranch and Taylor are pretty similar as well. South Katy schools while they cover a vast area are all demographically upper-middle class, majority-minority schools with White folks having the biggest percentage of any group. Culturally their all similar.

Two schools that sort of strike the balance between the two areas in terms of being good schools and a lot less competitive are Foster and Fulshear high schools. In Lamar CISD. Those schools are also zoned to some newer homes.

[Guinness2000]

I'd stay away from both of those Katy schools if you don't want competitive.

[descovy]

My 3 kids graduated from Seven Lakes. -youngest in 2022. It’s the absolute same school atmosphere at Tompkins and Jordan. Basically those schools were built to alleviate the crowding at SLHS as building booms in the SW corner of Katy/Fulshear.

These schools can be as ultra competitive or not as you want them to be. My Seven Lakes grads did not go the crazy academic route - solid B students who enjoyed the theater and fine arts departments and had after school jobs annd outside interests- and are doing just fine in college/grad school.

[usc619]

Originally Posted by descovy

My 3 kids graduated from Seven Lakes. -youngest in 2022. It’s the absolute same school atmosphere at Tompkins and Jordan. Basically those schools were built to alleviate the crowding at SLHS as building booms in the SW corner of Katy/Fulshear.

These schools can be as ultra competitive or not as you want them to be. My Seven Lakes grads did not go the crazy academic route - solid B students who enjoyed the theater and fine arts departments and had after school jobs annd outside interests- and are doing just fine in college/grad school.

I couldn’t agree more. Schools are going to be whatever you make of it.

[LocalPlanner]

Originally Posted by usc619

I couldn’t agree more. Schools are going to be whatever you make of it.

Yes, unless you're one of those parents who's obsessed with having your child achieve auto-admit status to A&M or UT. Then, if you do pick certain schools, you have no choice but for your child to engage in the competitive craziness.

[txdad99]

Originally Posted by usc619

I couldn’t agree more. Schools are going to be whatever you make of it.

This. I never understood the obsession with sending ones kids to the most competitive & ‘it’ schools.

[detachable arm]

Originally Posted by txdad99

This. I never understood the obsession with sending ones kids to the most competitive & ‘it’ schools.

All that academic stuff is like sports, but for nerds. And instead of the kids being driven to a lifetime of physical injuries, they are driven to a lifetime of mental illness.