Houston relo - coming in Nov & need advice on best middle & high school (Bellaire: custom home, neighborhoods)

[waf001]

We may be moving to Houston from out of state, and we are trying to figure out the school situation. I've read the other forums and not seen all that much on middle and high school options. Have been sifting through a ton of data online, but it's really hard to tell sort it out. We've got a Thanksgiving trip to Houston planned, and would love to try to set up visits to a few schools, but are having difficulty getting the real scoop and figuring out which ones to see.
Ideally, we would like a school with excellent academics, a diverse student body, a wide variety of extra-curricular activities, a robust gifted and talented or AP-type program, and a great college admissions track record.
My children are middle school and high school aged, and currently attend a private independent school geared toward gifted & talented students that has all the above attributes. Plus, they participate in a wide variety of activities inside and outside of school, including sports (soccer, volleyball, track & field), music (piano, guitar & 3 choirs), acting, art, etc.

My kids have also had French every day since kindergarten, and recently started Chinese as well. So a program where they can continue to have foreign language instruction, and some or all of their other current activities as part of the curriculum would be great.

Husband's job will be in the "Energy Corridor" (which I'm told is on Memorial Drive west between Eldridge and HWY 6). Knowing that Houston commutes can be a killer, we're definitely interested in top notch schools close to there. But best schools are top priority. Several colleagues have pointed to the Cinco, John Cooper School, Kincaid, Memorial, Bellaire, and Seven Lakes. Any feedback/suggestions on those schools or others would be greatly appreciated!

[westres1]

The Village school seems to be a good fit for what you are describing. Also consider Strake Jesuit and St Agnes for HS. If going public I would choose Memorial.

[sbhubbell]

All depends on your other priorities, budget, neighborhood and housing preferences. If you want public, I'd go for either Memorial HS or Seven Lakes HS. Both are easy commutes to the EC.

[Mr. Football]

Cy-Fair, Cy-Ranch, Cy-Woods, Cy-Creek, Klein.

We live in Longwood here in the "HP Corridor" area of Cypress. Beautiful area, top-notch schools, great demographics. Easy commute to the Energy Corridor.

We're zoned to: Hamilton Elementary (Exemplary), Hamilton Middle (Exemplary) and Cy-Fair HS (Recognized) in the Recognized Cy-Fair ISD.

[LizzySWW]

Memorial High School neighborhoods are the easiest commute to the Energy Corridor. It's also the highest rated public High School in the city of Houston. But it offers very little diversity and you wanted diverity.....so Seven Lakes High School would be a better choice. The downside of Cinco Ranch compared to Memorial neighborhoods is that your commute to work increases by about 30 minutes. But the upside of Cinco is that you can get a newer, huge home, for less than an older & much smaller starter home in Memorial.

It's a hard call. Living in Memorial gives you at least an extra 7 hours each week of not being stuck in traffic. That's attractive too!

[Supermac34]

I make the commute from the Klein/Champions area to the energy corridor every day. It allowed me to own a very nice custom home for about $100K less than it would be in a place like the Woodlands or Katy. (I live in Champion Woods).

The commute is about 30 to 40 minutes depending on traffic and isn't bad at all.

The Klein schools are awesome and Klein High is a tier 1 high school.

[hsw]

Would examine what % of students at the various public and private HS enter top 5-10 colleges (however you define those)

IIRC, none of public HS in Hou are notably strong on that metric but a couple of private HS (in Memorial/RiverOaks area) are better

Also, would figure out which schools are chosen by presumably like-minded parents in energy industry

Check google traffic maps feature to quantify traffic flows better

Many myths/erroneous generalizations of traffic congestion exist for every major city (traffic can be awful in certain suburban corridors/fwys but be quite efficient in others); as a business traveler, have always found Hou's traffic (esp in relevant Galleria-EC corridors) to be rather brisk and efficient, esp for anyone who is accustomed to NYC region's traffic and puny fwys....and Hou doesn't have winter snow/ice slowdowns of NYC or Chic traffic

[waf001]

Thanks everybody for your helpful and quick responses. So far, all of you seem to have pointed toward the public school system, except for one suggestion to look at the The Village School. did any of you consider the private school option? Or know anything about those schools? Have heard some less than wonderful things about them being more of an enclave of rich, non-diverse kids v. a superior academic environment, but hard to tell what's real...

Also, I greatly appreciate the suggestions of other areas to look at -- all the co-workers we've asked seem to have opted for Katy (to get the house/lot/good commute), except for two trend-buckers -- one who went Bellaire and one who went Memorial. And while I have my preferences, lifestyle-wise (not a fan of cookie-cutter subdivisions built in former corn fields with a minimal sprinking on builder-provided saplings at regular minimum intervals), my top priority is finding the best schools for my kids. So I greatly appreciate the feedback and suggestions received so far, and please keep them coming -- the more the better!

[Poltracker]

Originally Posted by waf001

Thanks everybody for your helpful and quick responses. So far, all of you seem to have pointed toward the public school system, except for one suggestion to look at the The Village School. did any of you consider the private school option? Or know anything about those schools? Have heard some less than wonderful things about them being more of an enclave of rich, non-diverse kids v. a superior academic environment, but hard to tell what's real...

Also, I greatly appreciate the suggestions of other areas to look at -- all the co-workers we've asked seem to have opted for Katy (to get the house/lot/good commute), except for two trend-buckers -- one who went Bellaire and one who went Memorial. And while I have my preferences, lifestyle-wise (not a fan of cookie-cutter subdivisions built in former corn fields with a minimal sprinking on builder-provided saplings at regular minimum intervals), my top priority is finding the best schools for my kids. So I greatly appreciate the feedback and suggestions received so far, and please keep them coming -- the more the better!

Definitely not corn fields....rice fields You also did not mention your budget which would help tremendously. Big budget difference in some of those areas.

[Premont]

Stratford High School is right there in the energy corridor. There's nice neighborhoods close by like Nottingham Forest.